Schools Kill Creativity

Click here to view a Ted Talk video. Ken Robinson discusses how people in schools kill creativity.

Using Creativity in the Content Areas

Starko (2010) stated that “[t]eaching content is at the heart of most schools” (p. 173). Creativity is a vital tool that teachers need to use when they are making lessons and activities for all content areas in school. I will provide websites and activities that teachers can use to implement in their classrooms. The contents areas I am covering are language arts, social studies, art, science, and math.

Language Arts:

What I love about language arts is that most strategies and ideas that are used for this content can be integrated in other areas. Students can grow in language arts at the same time as they learn about other content knowledge.

Read/Write/Think Webbing Tool:

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/readwritethink-webbing-tool-30038.html

This website provides graphic organizers that students can manipulate online. There are many lesson plans on this site that integrate these webbing tools and other content areas.

SCAMPER:

I absolutely loved the 4^th little pig SCAMPER lesson. Students have to think outside the box and use their imagination to help the 4^th little pig from the popular story "The three Little Pigs".

Social Studies:

Social Studies is an area where teachers can really be creative when they teach it; however, it takes effort. I have had a difficult time finding web tools and sites that support creative thinking and social studies.

Primary Games

http://www.primarygames.com/social_studies.php

This website has games for primary students to help them learn facts about social studies, but it does not promote creativity. It is a great site because students can be engaged online.

Art:

Students have to use creativity in art. The teachers, however, need to learn to allow students to use their mind and creativity to create something.

Manipulating Art:

Students can use editing programs to manipulate photographs.

Virtual Tours:

Students can take virtual tours and see famous museums and other collections of art. They can view each piece like they would in a museum, and they would not have to watch slides from a PowerPoint.

Google Art:
www.googleartproject.com

Students can go on virtual field trips for any museum in the world. Students can even make their own galleries. 

Science:

Ted Talks:

http://www.ted.com/talks

This website has the cutting edge research. Scientists and researchers are asked to speak about the research they are conducting. Most videos are about 15 – 20 minutes, and they are fascinating. Students and teachers will love this site.

Bad Piggies:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/10/how-big-are-the-bad-piggies/

This is an app/game for smart phones where people have to manipulate objects so that the bad piggies can make it to the end. This game requires physics and other scientific ideas. The website introduces the scientific ideas in the game.

SmartScience:

http://www.smartscience.net/SmartScience/SmartScience.html

This website is an online laboratory where students can do labs and experiments. It is not a free site.

SchoolTool:

http://schooltool.us/labs.html

This website is a list of sites that have experiments teachers can have their students conduct.

Math:

Lure of the Labyrinth:

http://labyrinth.thinkport.org/www/

This website allows students to explore mathematics through an online game. This game is for middle school students.

Math Manipulatives:

http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/node/1201/print

This website includes a list of sites that have math manipulatives.

Illuminations:

http://illuminations.nctm.org

This website offers many resources for teaching math. It includes lessons and activities that students can do in the classroom that promote creativity. 

Post-Up

Post-Up

Skills Descriptions: This is a smaller group strategy to get students engaged in ideas. They will do a variety of brainstorming and thinking while using post-it notes to organize their ideas.

Procedures: “Define the problem Define the problem in the normal way and make sure it is visible to all of the team. Prime the team Tape or pin up paper on the wall. Two or three flip-chart pages together, side-by-side give a good working area. Give everyone 3" x 5" Post-It Note pads plus fibre-tip pens. The pens should be thick enough so a posted-up note is readable from several feet away, but not so think that only a few words can be written. Tell them to always write one idea per Post-It Note. If you are doing this by yourself, you can scale the whole thing down by using mini-Post-It Notes and stick them on standard sheets of writing paper. You can even do it on the computer. Silent writing of ideas Start with everyone silently writing down ideas, one per Post-It Note. They should not at this time stick their Post-It Notes up on the wall (the focus is on capturing ideas). Post up ideas The team then posts up their ideas on the wall. A good way of doing this is to have each person take turns to post one idea.  The person posting up the idea reads it out and everyone else listens. If any posted idea triggers other ideas for anyone in the team, they can write them on more Post-It Notes and add them to their pile. When all ideas are posted, then you can also use other creative methods to generate even more ideas. Shuffling and exploration When you run out of ideas, you can move the Post-It Notes around to group together ideas into themes or otherwise explore further. Beware when combining ideas of ending up with a vague 'generalised' idea that loses the essence of some its more original constituents” (2010, Post-up).

Lesson Activities: This strategy would be great for students to use when they are discussing solutions to problems. There are many solutions that can be done for every problem. By giving students a more hands-on way to discuss the issues, they can support each other and create new ideas.

Reference: 2010., Post-up. CreatingMinds.org. Retrieved on November 18, 2012 from           http://creatingminds.org/tools/post_up.htm.

Take a Break

Skill Descriptions: When students are working hard, taking breaks can help their creativity peak. This strategy should not be abused; however, when it is used correctly, it can benefit student success.

Procedures: “Decide to take a break When things are fading and the ideas are running out, or just when it seems like a good idea, decide to take a break. If you are running the creative session, you can ask people, 'Would you like a break?' Watch their reactions when you ask this -- their body language will tell you whether they are ready or not for a break. Even when you are working alone, you can still take a break! Change your environment In taking the break, go outside the room. Stretch and move the body. Go for a walk. Go outside. Breathe deeply of some fresh air. Seek other stimulation Also look for ways to find other stimulation. Talk to people at the coffee machine. Go outside and smell the roses. Open the senses and look deeply into everything you see. You can muse about the creative problem and you can also forget it and let the subconscious mind work on it. Do something to distract the subconscious, such as phoning someone or taking on a simple task” (2012, Take a break).

Lesson Activities: I want this strategy to be a procedure and routine in my classroom. I know that after I take a break for myself, I have more motivation and energy in the task I am doing. Students get burnt out quickly. By allowing them to take breaks when necessary, teachers trust the students. They will learn responsibility as well as get a reward for working hard.

Reference 2012. Take a break. Creatingminds.org. Retrieved November 18, 2012 from             http://creatingminds.org/tools/take_break.htm.

Disney Creative Strategy

The Disney Creative Strategy: Fusing Imagination and Planning

Skill Descriptions: Just as Walt Disney turned his dream into a reality, so can students. This strategy that was developed by Robert Dilts to model thinking strategies of successful people.

Procedures: There are three steps in this strategy: “Dreamer: This is the visionary big picture is produced. With no boundaries, limitations or restraint. The dreamer position typically uses the visual representation. Ask yourself "What do I really want, in an ideal world" Realist: This is where the plans are organised, and evaluated to determine what is realistic. Think constructively and devise an action plan. Establish time frames and milestones for progress. Make sure it can be initiated and maintained by the appropriate person or group. Ask Yourself "What will I do to make these plans a reality?" Critic This is where you test the plan, look for problems, difficulties and unintended consequences. Think of what could go wrong, what is missing, what the spins-offs will be. Remember that a critic is someone who should evaluate - not just point out what is wrong. Ask yourself ‘What could go wrong?’” (2010, Mycotes).

Lesson Activities: I would allow my students to use this strategy when I ask them to create something. These three steps are very important and can have positive effects on student learning. Allowing them to dream about something, but then they have to critically think about how they can make their dream into a reality.

References: 2012., The Disney creative strategy. MindTools. Retrieved on November 16, 2012            from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_85.htm. 2010., Disney creativity strategy. Mycoted. Retrieved on November 16, 2012            from http://www.mycoted.com/Disney_Creativity_Strategy.

Rolestorming

Rolestorming

Skill descriptions: Oftentimes when students have ideas or questions, they may be too embarrassed to share their thoughts. Rolestorming gives students an opportunity to share their thoughts while acting as someone else. This procedure was developed by Rick Griggs.

Procedures: “Follow these steps to use Rolestorming with your group: 1.   Brainstorm Obvious Ideas First, conduct a regular brainstorming session with your group. Not only will this generate some good initial ideas, but it will also highlight more obvious ideas. This leaves you free to expand your thinking and push boundaries in later steps. 2. Identify Roles Next, decide which roles or identities you'll use. You can assign one role to each person in the group, or play the role collectively, moving on to another role when you're done. The person you choose can be anyone, so long as it's a person not in the current group. Consider people such as a colleague, your boss, a major competitor, someone in public life, a leader from the past, or a friend or family member. Ideally, you should know enough about them to take on their identity for a short time. (They don't necessarily have to be associated with the problem you're trying to solve.) 3. Get Into Character For each role, allow group members a few minutes to get into character. Use these questions to help with this: •   How does this person see the world? •   What is this person's personality or attitude likely to be? •   How would this person solve problems? •   What are this person's strengths and weaknesses? Make an effort to get into the persona of the character: the more deeply you understand this person's feelings, worldview, and motivations, the better you can use this perspective to generate good ideas. Note: If someone on your team chooses to become a person that everyone knows, such as your boss, a client, or a colleague, make sure that they avoid characterizations that could be harmful or disrespectful. 4. Brainstorm in Character When people have a good sense of the new identity they've taken on, start brainstorming ideas using these new perspectives. Encourage people to use phrases such as "My person..." or "My character..." when presenting ideas – this helps to create the distance that people need to speak freely. Make sure that everyone in the group has an opportunity to speak up and share ideas. (Techniques like Round-Robin Brainstorming can be useful here.) 5. Repeat as Required Repeat the exercise with as many different identities as you need, so that you can generate enough good ideas” (MindTools, 2012).

Lesson Activities: This activity can be used in all academic areas. It would encourage even my shyest students to propose ideas that they would never want to admit. The role the students take on creates security for the students. They should not feel inadequate when they express their ideas as someone else.

Reference: 2012., Rolestorming. MindTools. Retrieved on November 16, 2012 from                      http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/rolestorming.htm.

Starbursting

Starbursting

Skill Description: “Starbursting is a form of brainstorming that focuses on generating questions rather than answers” (MindTools, 2012).  When people generate these questions, they support previous the previous questions and answer to create a systematic approach.

Procedures: “Step 1 Download our free worksheet and print it out or take a large sheet of paper, draw a large six-pointed star in the middle, and write your idea, product or challenge in the center. Step 2 Write the words "Who", "What", "Why," "Where," "When" and "How" at the tip of each point of the star. Step 3 Brainstorm questions about the idea or product starting with each of these words. The questions radiate out from the central star. Don't try to answer any of the questions as you go along. Instead, concentrate on thinking up as many questions as you can. Step 4 Depending on the scope of the exercise, you may want to have further starbursting sessions to explore the answers to these initial questions further. Figure 1 below shows some of the questions you might generate in a short starbursting session, focused on the skates mentioned above” (MindTools, 2012).

Lesson Activities: When teachers are teaching students about a new or ambiguous concept, they can have class discussions following the procedures. They can evaluate new products that are being used in society – such as an Ipad. They also can use worksheets that are available on the site below for students to generate their own ideas and questions based a product. Starbursting is a systematic approach that will help students learn how to generate supportive questions. You can download a worksheet for Stabursting at this website: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_91.htm

Reference: 2012., Starbursting. MindTools. Retrieved on November 16, 2012 from        http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_91.htm