Improvisation,planning and the creative process

Abstract

We anticipate and create the future in many ways. Through active planning, improvisation, and even procrastination, we move beyond the moment. The purpose of this paper is to argue that future oriented processes are creative processes. By engaging in formal and informal educational activities children learn to create the future from the present and the known from the unknown. In this paper I explore the uses of improvisation and planning as vehicles for creativity by describing some of my work as well as research and ideas of others in the fields of psychology, anthropology, and education