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102 views7 pages

Professional Development

PD

Uploaded by

Sidnie
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Creative Teaching And Teaching Creativity: How To Foster Creativity In The Classroom TOPICS:Resources For TeachersStudent LearningTop 20 Principles POSTED BY: LAUREN CASSANI DAVIS DECEMBER 17, 2018 “Describe the tongue of a woodpecker,” wrote Leonardo Da Vinci on one of his to-do lists, next to sketching cadavers, designing elaborate machines, and stitching costumes. Da Vinci filled ‘over 7,000 notebook pages with questions, doodles, observations, sketches, and calculations. He nurtured creativity as a habit and skill every day—and it paid off. Da Vinc'’s work reshaped multiple disciplines, from science, to art, to engineering. was intrigued when my co-teacher suggested using “Da Vinci" notebooks in our 2nd grade classroom. The idea was simple: students keep notebooks, independent of any academic subject, where they can try creative exercises and explore personal passions. I ordered a stack of bound notebooks for the occasion. Within a week, the results astounded me. Whenever a student's thinking diverged from our lesson objectives, or their question glimmered with the spark of a potential new interest, we sent them to their Da Vinci notebook. “Write it downt"—a refrain chanted countless times a day. One day, we did a "100 questions challenge,” inspired by the book How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci by Michael Gelb. The goal: Write 100 questions, in one sitting, about anything. The 2nd graders asked questions like: How does your brain work? Why do we have music? Do tiny people live on atoms? Why am I not a tiger? How do keys open door locks? Why do things have to die? Why did Beethoven write an ode to joy if he was so grumpy? Why aren't all cars electric? By the end of the year, the Da Vinci notebooks were gloriously full. One 2nd grader had designed and sketched a fleet of zombie-apocalypse vehicles. Another wrote poem upon poem, practicing techniques she'd learned earlier in the week. Another took insightful notes on her day-to-day observations of our classroom. Despite many trips between home and school, only one child lost their notehook all year—no mean feat for 7-year-olds. The Da Vinci notebooks weren't just for students. We teachers kept them too. Joining in on the creative chaos with our students, we logged our own curiosities and passions. As I scribbled poems, sketched the plant on my desk, and recorded questions about who invented the fountain pen, I was re-immersed in the joy of the learning process. I'm convinced the notebook made me 2 more engaged teacher, especially on challenging days. There's no way to know with certainty what the effects of these notebooks were. But the creative attitude of Da Vinci began to take root in our classroom—in our students and in us as educators. Creativity is often paid lip service, but in reality, most schools are currently experiencing a “creativity gap"—with significantly more creative activity occurring outside of school. Numerous psychologists argue that creativity is not just an enrichment or add-on in the classroom: Itis a definable, measurable, set of psychological skills that enhance learning and will be necessary in the 21st-century workforce, (Do your students regulary display and develop their creativity while in your classroom? Are you in touch with your own creativity as a teacher? Here are some steps you can take to reflect—and some strategies you could try. Awell-accepted definition of creativity is the generati Mn of a new product that's both novel and appropriate in a particular scenario. (A product could be an idea, an artwork, an invention, OF an assignment in your classroom.) There isn't just one way for a person to “be creative,” or ‘one set of characteristics that will differentiate “the” creative person. Instead, many experts think of creativity asa set of skills and attitudes that anyone is capable of tolerating ambiguity, redefining old problems, finding new problems to solve, taking sensible risks, and following an inner passion. Some researchers distinguish between several stages of creativity, Most people are familiar with “Big-C” creativity: rare ideas of extraordinary people, like Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, or Einstein's paradigm.shifting theories of theoretical physics. But there are also everyday forms of creativity: "Mini-c” creativity, when a person learns something new and their Understanding of the world changes, and “Little-c" creativity, when a person’s life become embedded with everyday creative thoughts and actions, Temay also be instructive to think about what creativity is not: 1. Just for artists, writers, and painters. 1's an attitude and way of problem-solving that applies across domains, from engineering, to biology, to business. 2. Necessarily a result or sign of menial illness. While there may be connections between Creativity in individuals with certain disorders, beware anecdotal stories of ear-slicing artists and hot-headed scientists. A fixed trait that only some people possess. The same as 1Q. Even students who are not intellectually “gifted” can be highly creative, Beyond measurement. While no single test is perfect, there are many ways to assess (and improve) creativity. pw Many experts in psychology and education argue that creativity skills are psychological skills ‘needed for success in school and in the future workforce. As such, schools have a duty to teach them and value them. One 2010 survey found that over 1,500 executives valued Creativity as the most crucial business skill in the modern world, In a knowledge economy By noticing broader patterns and connecting material across academic disciplines, creative thinking can facilitate deeper cross-curricular learning. As Alane Jordan Starko points out in the book Creativity in the Classroom, the strategies that support creativity—solving problems, exploring multiple options, and learning inquiry—also support depth of understanding. Robert Sternberg has argued that creativity can predict college success above and beyond just what we get from standardized test scores: In one study of students taking the GRE, higher scores correlated with higher creativity. Beyond academic achievement, creativity can make learning more fun—leading to joy and positive emotional engagement in students. (Watch out for what Jonathan Plucker, a professor in the Johns Hopkins School of Education, calls “Listerine” approach to education—that “serious and boring" is the only way towards productive learning.) Develop your students’ creativity in the classroom Creativity requires a safe environment in which to play, exercise autonomy, and take risks. AS teachers, i's up to us to establish this kind of supportive classroom. Here are some suggestions from psychologists and educators for how to develop and nurture your students’ creativity: Create a compassionate, accepting environment. Since being creative requires going out on a limb, students need to trust that they can make a mistake in front of you. Be present with students’ ideas. Have more off-the-cuff conversations with students. Find out what their passion areas are, and build those into your approach. Encourage autonomy. Don't let yourself be the arbiter of what “good” work i Instead, give feedback that encourages self-assessment and independence. Re-word assignments to promote creative thinking. Try adding words like “create,” “design,” “Invent,” “imagine,” “suppose,” to your assignments. Adding instructions such ‘as “Come up with as many solutions as possible” or “Be creative!” can increase creative performance, Give students direct feedback on their creativity. Lots of students don't realize how they are, or et feedback to help them incorporate “creative” into tisk © Use creative instructional strategies, models, and methods as much as possible in a variety of domains. Model creativity for students in the way you speak and the way you act. For example, you could say “I thought about 3 ways to introduce this lesson. Tm going to show you 2, then you come up with a third,” or show them a personal project you've been working on. * Channel the creativity impulses in “misbehavior.” For students who are often disturbances, see if you notice any creativity in their behavior. Perhaps that originality could be channeled in other ways? © Protect and support your students’ intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation fuels Creativity, Several studies have shown that relying on rewards and incentives in the classroom can undermine intrinsic motivation to complete a task—an effect called “overjustification.” To avoid this, Beth Hennessey, @ professor of Psychology at Wellesley College, suggests that educators try to limit competitions and comparison with others, focusing instead on self-improvement. Experiment with monitoring students less as they work, and provide opportunities for them to pursue their passion when you can. © Make it clear to students that creativity requires effort. The creative process is not a simple “aha” that strikes without warning, Tell students that truly creative people ‘must imagine, and struggle, and re-imagine while working on a project. * Explicitly discuss creativity myths and stereotypes with your students. Help them. understand what creativity is and is not, and how to recognize it in the world around them. © Experiment with activities where students can practice creative thinking. Many teachers have suggestions for creative activities they've tried as warm-ups or quick breaks. “Droodies,” or visual riddles, are simple line drawings that can have a wide range of different interpretations, and can stimulate divergent thinking. "Quickwrites” and “freewrites" can help students to let go of their internal censor. As part of reviewing material, you could have kids use concept cartooning, or draw/design/paint Visual metaphors to capture the essence of complex academic information. Teachers: Develop and nurture your own creativity As creativity scholars Scott Barry Kaufman and Carolyn Gregoire write in their book Wired to Create: “Creativity isn't just about innovating or making art—it’s about living creatively. We can approach any situation in life with a creative spirit.” Teaching is, through and through, a ray also be happier teachers, One study in the Journal of Positive Psychology SuBBests that engaging in a creative activity—doodling, playing a musical instrument, knitting, designing-—just once a day can lead you into a more positive state of mind. This positve state ‘of mind will sustain you, and spread to your students. Here are some ways teachers can develop and nurture their own creativity: Be aware of your own limiting misconceptions about creativity. Examine your own attitude toward creativity and help yourself grow by thinking about alternative . .w ways of teaching in the classroom—could you try 2 new arts integration lesson you've always been afraid to try? What about trying a new hands-on ‘STEM investigation? wake ask te express your creative side. Often il doodle something on the board as an attention-getter, or to deliver the morning message. Having a meerkat or a dragon telling students to put their backpacks away is ‘much more likely to amuse, plus it's chance for me to challenge myself artistically every day. e Treat lesson planning as the creative exercise it is. Every day, you face new constraints in the form of the needs and preferences of the ‘specific learners in your

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