Fostering Creativity in the Classroom through Animated Storytelling - Challenges and Potentials for Arts-integration in 21st. Century Learning

Creativity has been termed one of the most important skills of the 21st. Century classroom.
While a traditional approach to education has not had a big emphasis on creativity in most subjects, the emerging learner-centered paradigm, as well as learners’ everday use of media, is making many educators aware of the importance of integrating digital creativity in the teaching of the curriculum. However, in order to facilitate the integration of arts-based learning into the curriculum - not only as a subject but as a pathway to learning - new tools, competencies and mindsets are needed.
This paper reports on research into the first phase of a teacher competency development project, integrating animation into the curriculum across all schools in a municipality. This phase is focused on digital animation as a medium for storytelling in hybrid environments, and on exploring how animation can serve as a creative pathway to learning in primary education.