What kind of skills set would be the most sought after once our children reach adulthood? In this constantly evolving information age, it is so difficult to ascertain what that might be.
Innovation has been the key driver, resulting in the formation of the cloud, big data analytics, social, mobile, and digital transformation. These innovations are driving business value, disrupting models and transforming organisations.
One thing has been certain. The ideas that have driven such changes have come from people who are creative thinkers, and not necessarily from people who were great mathematicians or political scientists or even those at the top of their class.
If there is one thing that can be said about innovators of the future, it is that they will be creative thinkers. How does one teach one’s child to think creatively? You encourage their natural inquisitive nature. Children in their nature are full of wonder. We adults might be accustomed to the way things are, but young children will always want to know why they are as they are.
I get asked by a lot of parents when they should start teaching their children to code or how to go about it before they are ready to start coming to our workshops. Coding is so natural to creative thinking, as you are essentially breaking a creative thought process down into simple, bite-sized instructions for a machine to follow. There are several features of coding that can be taught to very young children. These include algorithms, logic, fiddling/improving, and debugging. Breaking down an everyday routine, for instance, is a good way of doing it. If it is 7am, wake up. THEN have breakfast. IF it is wet outside, then put a rain coat on, ELSE put on a jumper etc.
Once they are a little bit older, around five, they are ready to learn abstraction, prediction, sequencing and repetition. Young children love hands on learning and the use of physical objects, so learning can easily be carried out using games, toys, and other interactive experiences even in the absence of screens.