🌿 From Reflection to Agency: How Creativity Builds Confidence and Voice in the Classroom

“When students create, they learn more deeply.”

In this weeks' video of our Creativity & Critical Thinking series, we explored how creativity grows from reflection and blossoms into agency. In Rekla’s Finnish-

inspired CBC approach, creativity isn’t decoration, it’s direction. It guides students toward independence, confidence, and authentic learning.

When learners are encouraged to reflect, connect, and design ideas that matter to them, they move from passive participation to ownership. They begin to see themselves not as followers of instruction but as authors of learning.

🌿 The Research Behind Creativity as Agency

Modern educational research confirms what many teachers intuitively know creativity is central to student agency.

• Confidence through creation: Pasi Sahlberg notes that “learning happens best when students feel trusted to explore their own ideas.” Finnish teachers build trust through open-ended projects and reflective dialogue.

  
  

• Critical thinking as reflection: Project Zero researchers Ritchhart and Perkins (2008) show that visible thinking routines help learners see their thought process, which enhances both creativity and metacognition.

  
  

• Autonomy and motivation: Deci & Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory (2000) identifies autonomy, competence, and relatedness as the drivers of intrinsic motivation — all fostered by creative, student-led inquiry.

  
  

• Global relevance: UNESCO’s 2023 global education framework identifies learner agency and creativity as essential 21st-century competencies for rebuilding systems that prioritize humanity and innovation.

  
  

Together, these studies show that creativity is not a skill to add; it’s a mindset to cultivate.

🌱 From Reflection to Confidence to Agency

Agency doesn’t appear overnight, it grows from reflection. Rekla’s Finnish-CBC fusion models this through a simple three-step progression:

1️⃣ Reflection – “What did I notice about my learning?”

2️⃣ Confidence – “I can do this differently next time.”

3️⃣ Agency – “I’ll apply this idea in my own way.”

Each stage builds emotional safety and self-awareness. When students feel seen and trusted, they begin to act with purpose. Confidence becomes visible and with it, agency emerges naturally.

💡 Practical Routines for Building Creative Agency

1️⃣ Connect–Extend–Challenge

Use this routine at the end of lessons or projects:

• Connect: How does this idea relate to what I already know?

• Extend: What new insights or questions does it add?

• Challenge: What’s making me rethink or question?

It builds creative reasoning and helps students integrate new learning with personal meaning.

2️⃣ Claim–Support–Question

Encourage students to make a claim, support it with evidence, and ask a follow-up question that keeps curiosity alive. This nurtures reasoned creativity confidence grounded in inquiry.

3️⃣ Creative Circles

End the week with a short “creative circle.”Students share one idea, drawing, or insight they created that week: no evaluation, just celebration. Agency grows where creativity is recognized.

4️⃣ Reflection Cards or Journals

Invite students to respond to reflection prompts weekly. Rotate questions that help them see growth and take ownership.

🌿 Rekla Reflection Questions for Creativity & Agency

1️⃣ Reflection – Seeing My Own Thinking

• What surprised me about my thinking today?

• How did my ideas change as I worked?

• What part felt easiest or hardest — and why?

• What mistake helped me learn the most?

• How does this connect to something I already care about?

  
  

2️⃣ Confidence – Recognizing Growth and Possibility

• What am I proud of in my work this week?

• When did I feel most confident, and what led to that moment?

• What feedback helped me improve?

• What would I like to try again but differently?

• How have my ideas grown since the start of this project?

  
  

3️⃣ Agency – Taking Initiative and Ownership

• What choice did I make today that mattered?

• What do I want to explore next, and how will I start?

• What goal am I setting for myself this week?

• How did I take the lead or help someone else learn?

• How can I make my next project more meaningful?

  
  

4️⃣ Community & Contribution – Growing Together

• What did I learn from someone else’s perspective today?

• How did our group combine ideas creatively?

• What role do I naturally take in a team?

• How can I help others feel confident sharing their ideas?

• What small action did I take that improved our class environment?

  
  

🪴 How to Use Them:

• Reflection Cards: 3–4 questions per card; students draw one per level each week.

• Journals: Rotate through one tier weekly (Reflection → Confidence → Agency → Community).

• Circles: Choose one question for class reflection to close the week.

  
  

These questions help students shift from thinking about learning to acting on learning.

📘 What This Looks Like in Practice

In Rekla-inspired CBC classrooms:

• Teachers guide rather than direct.

• Students document their process through visible routines.

• Assessment happens through reflection, not after it.

• Classrooms become calmer, more intentional spaces.

  

  
  

As one teacher in Nakuru shared:

“When I stopped correcting and started asking, ‘Tell me how you got that idea,’ my students began to lead the discussion. The same learners who feared mistakes are now suggesting new projects.”

That’s creativity as agency, confidence expressed through curiosity and contribution.

🌾 Reflection and Forward Movement

Creativity and critical thinking are not opposites; they are partners. Reflection opens the door, creativity walks through it, and agency builds the path forward.

🌱 Rekla Reflection Question:

“How might your students take creative action this week based on what they’ve already learned?”

Give them space to decide, create, and share and watch learning transform from compliance to confidence.

🎥 Watch the full video: Creativity & Critical Thinking: Moving Toward Student Agency