Creativity Can Be Taught: How Students Learn to Think, Not Just Answer

Creativity Can Be Taught: How Students Learn to Think, Not Just Answer

Creativity is often treated as something you either have or you don’t.

Some students are labeled “creative,” while others quietly assume they’re not. But in my experience, creativity isn’t a personality trait—it’s a way of thinking. And like most ways of thinking, it can be taught.

During my master’s program, with an emphasis in gifted and talented education, I was introduced to two instructional models that completely reshaped how I think about creativity in the classroom: concept formation and concept attainment.

Learning to Think in Different Directions

Both concept formation and concept attainment are structured, intentional teaching models—but they invite students to think creatively through reasoning, pattern recognition, and curiosity.

They rely on two different types of thinking:

• Inductive reasoning: building understanding from examples

• Deductive reasoning: narrowing ideas to identify a concept

What I love about these models is that they show students how to play with ideas, not just memorize information.

Concept Formation: Building Toward Big Ideas Together

In concept formation, students start with a big idea and work together to break it down into smaller ideas.

Students:

• Analyze examples

• Sort information

• Discuss patterns

• Collaborate to refine understanding

This model is incredibly collaborative. Students talk, debate, adjust their thinking, and build meaning together. Creativity shows up in how students connect ideas and explain relationships.

Concept formation teaches students that big ideas don’t appear out of nowhere—they’re built.

Concept Attainment: Letting Students Figure It Out

Concept attainment flips the process.

Instead of starting with the big idea, students are given examples and non-examples. Their job is to figure out what the concept is by noticing patterns, testing hypotheses, and refining their thinking.

This is where concept attainment really shines.

When I first learned about this model during my program at the University of Southern California, one of my professors spoke about concept attainment with so much enthusiasm that I was honestly skeptical. She claimed it engaged every student—even the ones who rarely participated.

She was right.

Concept attainment naturally pulls students in. Even students who don’t typically raise their hand start thinking, guessing, revising, and leaning forward. The structure invites participation without pressure.

It’s one of the best entry activities I know for introducing new content.

Creativity Through Curiosity

Both models encourage students to ask questions, test ideas, and think flexibly. That’s creativity.

Rather than being told what to think, students are guided toward discovering ideas themselves. The process feels novel, active, and meaningful.

I’ve found that starting a new unit with a concept attainment lesson sparks curiosity immediately. Students want to know more. They’re invested before the content is even named.

That curiosity makes everything that follows more engaging.

A Systematic Way to Be Creative

One misconception about creativity is that it’s unstructured or spontaneous. These models show the opposite.

Creativity can be:

• Intentional

• Structured

• Systematic

By teaching students how to explore ideas from different angles, we give them tools they can use again and again—across subjects and throughout life.

Why This Matters

At Provo Mountain Academy, we believe creativity is something students learn, not something they’re born with.

By using teaching models like concept formation and concept attainment, we help students become active thinkers—students who ask questions, look for patterns, collaborate, and approach new ideas with confidence.

Creativity isn’t about having the right answer. It’s about learning how to think.

Written by Scott Long, M.Ed., Co-Founder of Provo Mountain Academy