Creativity and innovation have become mantras of our time.

It seems that if we don't include creativity and innovation in practically every aspect of our lives, we're not doing it quite right.

However, not all spaces always require creating something new or innovating in a disruptive way. "Don't touch it, that's how the rose is" is one of Juan Ramón Jiménez's

shortest and possibly most famous poems. Inspired by

these mere eight words, and perhaps taking it out of the context in which it was written, this text

makes us see that sometimes the essential thing to achieve our goals and

achieve good results is right in front of us; perhaps we just need to do well what we already do well, to insist on what already works.

Similarly, eccentricity is often confused with creativity. Definition aside, it's often believed that being creative means "stepping outside the box," doing things outside the ordinary just for the sake of it. But that's eccentric. Creativity adds value and is useful in achieving a goal.

In addition to originality and eccentricity, let's look at five other elements that must be taken into account regarding creativity:

1. It's not a diagnosis, nor can it be measured. None of the existing creativity tests have earned the reputation for psychological or scientific rigor necessary to become a universally accepted standard; they merely serve to measure creativity.

As Llorenç Guilera rightly points out in Anatomy of Creativity, this occurs because these four aspects always intervene in creativity.

In the diverse contexts of educational innovation, creativity techniques proven in different fields, both pedagogical and other professional sectors, acquire special interest. The opportunity that comes with applying creativity tools is familiar to no teacher. However, to generate an innovative approach to teaching, it is necessary to understand the strategy and objectives of said innovation from the outset.

The approach to innovative teaching is immersed in a demanding and changing educational paradigm, which requires education professionals to be aware of the continuous changes in both the environment and student profiles. Educational innovation, therefore, is a necessary condition for carrying out certain types of teaching.

Following the recommendations of the Oslo Manual, the OECD (1997) reference manual for measuring Scientific and Technological Activities, these are the main differences:

Research: Activities whose objective is the acquisition of new knowledge that may be useful for the creation of new products, processes, or services or contribute to significantly improving existing ones.

Development: The acquisition, combination, configuration, and use of existing knowledge and techniques, whether scientific, technological, business, or other, with a view to developing plans and structures or designs for new, modified, or improved products, processes, or services. It includes the preparation of

projects, designs, plans, and other types of documentation, as long as they are not

intended for commercial use, as well as the development of prototypes and

pilot projects.

Innovation, as we will see, goes further. It uses knowledge and a

plan, but its priority is application and viability in a real-life environment.

introducing new things).

2. The creation or modification of a product and its introduction to a market.

In the strictest sense, however, ideas can only be considered innovations if, thanks to them, new products, services, or procedures are implemented, which truly find successful application, becoming established through diffusion.

The aforementioned Oslo Manual defines innovation as the conception and

implementation of significant changes in the product, process, marketing, or

organization of the company with the purpose of improving results.

From these definitions, the characteristics of innovation can be distilled:

● It is an action, a process, an activity. Innovation requires doing things.