Imagine a student tasked with reducing waste at their school. A few years ago they might have searched the web, asked teachers, or brainstormed with classmates; today they can type the question into a generative AI like ChatGPT and get suggestions within minutes. That speed, however, does not guarantee a deeper understanding of the root causes: is the waste primarily from cafeteria packaging, food waste, or missing recycling systems? Who is affected, and which changes are feasible in that specific school context?
The OECD defines creative thinking as producing, evaluating, and refining original and effective solutions. This process includes testing and improving ideas in practice: inventing something new is not enough—one must also assess whether the idea actually addresses the problem. The American Psychological Association (APA) emphasizes that the educational impact of technology depends on how and for what pedagogical purposes it is used.
Therefore, AI’s quick idea generation does not substitute for problem-solving thinking. These systems can be wrong, may ignore local circumstances, or present incorrect statements in persuasive language. The value comes when students compare machine-generated suggestions with their own inquiry, data collection and experiments.
Why creative problem-solving matters for the future
A World Economic Forum report lists analytical thinking, flexibility and adaptability among the skills employers value most. By 2030 the mix of skills needed for work could change substantially due to automation and new technologies. While we cannot know exactly which tools young people will use in a decade, there will still be a need for people who can interpret new situations and make responsible decisions.
For that reason, teaching children how to operate a specific technology is not sufficient on its own. Equally important is encouraging them to ask questions, experiment, and persist even if their first idea fails.
How to raise creative problem-solvers: practical steps
These approaches do not necessarily require extra classes or complex tasks; often it is enough for adults to change how they respond to children’s questions.
- Don’t give the answer immediately
- Offering ready-made solutions repeatedly robs children of the chance to practice problem-solving. The Harvard University center for developmental studies notes that executive functions (such as planning, focusing attention and flexible thinking) develop through interactions with the environment and repeated practice.
- Instead of a ready answer, ask guiding questions: “How would you start?”, “Why didn’t your first idea work?”, “What could you try differently?” The goal is to build increasing independence, not to abandon the child.
- Let children work on real problems
- Fear of failure can block creative thinking. If assignments always have a single correct answer and mistakes only lead to bad grades or criticism, children may learn to stick with safe, familiar solutions. Real-world problem-solving, however, is rarely linear: making mistakes and correcting them is part of the process.
- Tasks without predetermined answers—such as how to make a schoolyard friendlier or how students could help elderly neighbors—encourage learners to go beyond textbook examples. To find solutions they need to learn about others’ needs, gather information, collaborate and weigh consequences.
- Use AI as a thinking partner
- If AI is not used to replace thinking, it can help develop creativity. A simple exercise: first ask the child to come up with three solutions independently; then request additional ideas from ChatGPT and compare the two lists.
- Discuss which idea is most inventive, which is easiest to implement, and which might have unexpected drawbacks. Requiring the child to argue for their choice or to find weaknesses in AI suggestions turns technology into a training ground for critical thinking.
- It’s not important that they know every answer
- Growing up with easy access to information does not make knowledge obsolete: without solid understanding, it is hard to spot false claims or to grasp complex issues.
- Future education should prepare young people not only to acquire knowledge but to apply it creatively. That requires environments where students can ask questions, debate, fail, start over, and turn a good idea into a tangible outcome.
A practical opportunity: the "Megoldások a holnapért" challenge
The Samsung and EdisonKids joint program "Megoldások a holnapért kihívás" offers 7th–12th grade students a chance to develop ideas for real problems in teams, build prototypes and test them. The top eight finalist teams perform live before a jury, and selected teams receive mentoring and training to further develop their ideas.
Applications for the program’s 2026/2027 round are open until November 25, 2026. Further details are available on the program’s official channels.
While ChatGPT can suggest several solutions in seconds, it remains a human responsibility to decide which problems are worth addressing and to determine whether an idea will actually work in practice.
