Creativity is no longer for the select few - anyone can be creative and we all need creativity to thrive in our ever-changing world.

Coding is creative and we’ve come up with 3 ways to how coding fosters creativity and prepares kids for the necessary skills to succeed in the 21st century.

Why Creativity is Essential in the 21st Century

There are many varied definitions of creativity. One that stands out is writer, Pam Slim's: “Creativity is expressing your ideas in a full-contact, full-colour way. It is using as many senses as possible to express an idea. It is the zone from which great, useful things are created.”

And why is creativity a key skill to have and nurture in the 21st century? According to Creativity Researcher, Dr. Mark Batey; “At the heart of this essential skillset for the future lies... creativity.” Your child will need this essential skill to thrive in any career of their choosing and here’s how coding can help to teach it.

1. Coding is Creative and Interest-Led

Coding allows kids to express their ideas in a ‘full-colour way’ and create something ‘great and useful’. They start with learning the basics of coding concepts - variables, for loops, syntax - and can create based on their interests. The creative freedom to choose and create based on a set of learning criteria aligns with what today’s educators are encouraged to practice in their teaching strategies: supporting the individual differences of their students with differentiated instruction - a way of teaching that gives students multiple options for taking in information.

2. Coding Teaches Creative Problem-Solving

Coding teaches kids how to solve complex problems in creative ways. When kids run into a problem with their code not working, they need to first find out where the problem is and then come up with possible solutions to fix it. Also, if their code isn’t rendering how they envisioned it in their mind to look like, then they’ll have to explore possible alterations in the code to achieve their desired result.

Strong creative problem-solving skills give kids an agile mind - having a quick resourceful and adaptable character. Employers want people who not only have the knowledge, but also the skills to be adaptive, innovative, and entrepreneurial to be prepared for the challenges that the future will bring.

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3. Coding Encourages Creative Thinking

Since creativity is no longer a skill just for the arts, and the Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21) created the Four C’s necessary for 21st Century Learning: collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity - creative thinking is a must-have when learning any new skill.

Computer programming provides kids with an environment for experimentation with creative thinking as their guide. As they progress through learning the structure of a coding language and are encouraged to experiment with it, they learn to see opportunities in failure and gain confidence to take more risks. Having the confidence to take risks and not fear failure will make kids more resilient for whatever their future will hold for them.

Code Their Way to the Future

Coding is creative, so whether your child is interested in math and science to music and gaming, they can combine their interests with learning to read and write code and grow their creative skills to best prepare them for the future.

Think your child would be interested in giving coding a try? Have them try it out for free with Hatch Coding.