How Schools in Odisha Enhance Creative Thinking Among Young Minds

Author : Purnima Mishra | Published On : 27 May 2026

Creativity is no longer considered a soft skill. In a world driven by innovation, problem-solving, and cross-disciplinary thinking, the ability to generate original ideas has become as important as academic performance. Recognising this shift, several schools in Odisha have begun embedding creative thinking into their core educational frameworks, moving beyond the conventional lecture-and-test model toward something far more meaningful.

At the forefront of this movement is ODM Public School in Bhubaneswar, an institution that has made creative development a structural priority rather than a supplementary activity.

Why Creative Thinking Needs to Be Taught Deliberately

Creative thinking does not emerge automatically in a competitive academic environment. Students who are consistently evaluated on memorisation and recall tend to suppress divergent ideas in favour of predictable answers. This is precisely the pattern that forward-thinking schools in Odisha are working to disrupt.

ODM Public School approaches this challenge through its CPX 360-degree learning model, a framework designed to engage students across cognitive, physical, and experiential dimensions. Rather than treating creativity as the exclusive domain of art and music classes, the school integrates it into science, technology, language, and entrepreneurship programs, ensuring that creative reasoning becomes a consistent habit of mind.

Project-Based Learning and Design Thinking

One of the most effective methods ODM employs is project-based learning, where students apply theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios. Instead of answering questions on paper, they are asked to solve problems, build prototypes, and present findings. These are activities that require synthesis, experimentation, and reflection.

Design thinking hackathons form another pillar of this approach. These structured, time-bound challenges push students to identify problems, ideate solutions, test assumptions, and iterate rapidly. The process mirrors what professionals in technology, architecture, healthcare, and business do daily, giving students early, authentic exposure to professional creative workflows.

Among schools in Odisha, very few have institutionalised this kind of structured ideation at scale. ODM's investment in these programs reflects a genuine understanding that creative thinking can be developed with the right environment and guidance, not a quality only some children are born with.

Early Technology Exposure

ODM Public School holds the distinction of being the first school in Odisha to introduce artificial intelligence and coding from Standard 1. This early exposure serves a dual purpose. On one level, it equips students with practical digital skills. On a deeper level, it builds logical reasoning and computational thinking, capacities that are closely linked to creative problem-solving.

When children learn to write code, they learn to break complex problems into smaller steps, identify patterns, and construct solutions from scratch. These cognitive habits reinforce exactly the kind of flexible, generative thinking that creative education aims to develop. By embedding this in the earliest years of schooling, ODM ensures that students grow up treating problem-solving as a natural, iterative process rather than something to be feared.

Arts, Language, and Cultural Exchange

Creative thinking is not limited to science and technology. ODM Public School sustains a rich culture of literary and artistic engagement through specialised clubs in dance, vocals, instrumental music, and literature. These programs do more than develop talent. They cultivate expression, empathy, and the ability to communicate ideas through multiple forms.

International cultural exchange programs further expand students' creative horizons. Exposure to different traditions, languages, and perspectives sharpens divergent thinking by helping students recognise that problems can be approached in multiple valid ways. This global dimension is increasingly important as schools in Odisha prepare students for careers that will frequently demand cross-cultural collaboration and an open, adaptable mindset.

Building an Entrepreneurial Mindset

ODM's curriculum also includes startup showcases and financial literacy programs that encourage students to think like builders and creators rather than passive recipients of knowledge. Understanding how ideas become products, and how products create value, is an exercise in applied creativity. Students who learn this early are better equipped to take initiative, manage uncertainty, and approach challenges with genuine confidence.

A Model Worth Replicating

What ODM Public School demonstrates is that creative education requires intentional design and cannot be an afterthought. The school's 360-degree model, which combines technology, arts, entrepreneurship, and experiential learning, offers a clear and honest vision of what modern schooling can look like when institutions commit seriously to the whole development of a child.

As schools in Odisha continue to evolve, ODM's approach offers a practical and replicable model, one in which creativity is not a subject on a timetable but a thread woven through everything a student does. That, more than any single program or initiative, is what makes the difference.