Creativity in the ClassroomPractical Examples !Laura, Laura, Pat Hinsdale Central H.S.

Creativity: A multi-year journey! Assessment Data ! Creative Tuesdays ! Art Show ballots ! Creative Stations

Program View

Learning activities address what we value   Learning activities do not address our values  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Samples, examples, and exemplars are used as standards for students.  

  Samples, examples, and exemplars are not used as standards for students.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Enduring themes in art are explored through instruction and assessment.  

  Enduring themes in art are not explored through instruction and assessment.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Students know and understand the criteria for assessment.  

  Students do not know and understand the criteria for assessment.  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Teacher acts as coach/facilitator and regularly monitors work and provides feedback.  

  Teacher do not act as coach/facilitator and regularly monitor work and provides feedback.  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Teacher create situations in which students develop strategies for creative problem-solving  

  Teacher do not create situations in which students develop strategies for creative problem-solving  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Significant classroom time is spent on creativity, problem solving, and larger concepts/themes.  

  Significant classroom time is things other than spent on creativity, problem solving, and themes.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The classroom is a creative environment to work in.   The classroom is not a creative environment to work in.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Students are involved in authentic artistic problem solving.   Students are involved in skill development more than in authentic artistic problem solving.

 

Assessing Our Program

Use the continuum to analyze our classroom practices. Where are we?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Program ViewASSESSMENT DATA

Program View

2. Research1 Preparation

3 Generating Options

4 Illumination

5 Audience

Program View

2. Research

Creativity Key QuestionsKey Concepts ! Creativity is when an artist reframes ideas and experiences in order to

generate new ideas (Czikszentmihalyi) ! Creativity occurs when an individual is faced with a problem that is

ambiguous and proposes alternatives (Dewey) ! Artists have many ways by which they organize and form their work. ! Creativity allows our internal thinking to be made visible and

communicate to others. Creation is a dialogue, not a monologue (Eisner).

! Creativity requires judgment, reflection and editing. Essential Questions: ! Where do artists get their ideas? What can I make art about? ! What is creative thinking?

Program View

Strategies or Skills that enhance creativity:! Capturing- We never stop generating ideas-even while we sleep. We

need was to capture our ideas- attend to them and preserve them. All creative people- artists, inventors, writers, composers, and so on- have great capturing skills.

  ! Challenging- New ideas occur when old ideas compete. The more

behaviors competing, the more likely that new ideas will arise. Failure is valuable to the creative process because it forces us to generate many ideas.

  ! Broadening- We can be more creative if we increase the number of

behaviors for solving problems through training.   ! Surrounding- By controlling and changing the stimuli that surround us, we

can be more creative.

Program View

Definition Creativity is the ability to find ideas that are are both novel and useful. !! Creativity is An Ability. A simple definition is that creativity is the ability to imagine

or invent something new. As we will see below, creativity is not the ability to create out of nothing (only God can do that), but the ability to generate new ideas by combining, changing, or reapplying existing ideas. Some creative ideas are astonishing and brilliant, while others are just simple, good, practical ideas that no one seems to have thought of yet. Believe it or not, everyone has substantial creative ability. !

! Creativity is An Attitude. Creativity is also an attitude: the ability to accept change and newness, a willingness to play with ideas and possibilities, a flexibility of outlook, the habit of enjoying the good, while looking for ways to improve it. !

! Creativity is A Process. Creative people work hard and continually to improve ideas and solutions, by making gradual alterations and refinements to their works. Contrary to the mythology surrounding creativity, very, very few works of creative excellence are produced with a single stroke of brilliance or in a frenzy of rapid activity.

Creative Tuesdays

CreativityBelief #1: Everyone is creative. ! We’ve all heard it: "I'm just not creative." Wrong. In fact, anyone in

your group could be the source of that next great, radically different idea. The problem is that most people confuse creativity with talent.

! Creativity, however, is the ability to do something that hasn’t been done before. And anyone can do that.

!Belief #2: There are no bad ideas. ! The biggest impediment to getting really creative is the fear of

sounding stupid. That’s why we remind everyone in our creative meetings that there are no bad suggestions. Sometimes, the zaniest, craziest thoughts turn into the best ideas. Ones that win awards and gets noticed.

Creative Tuesdays

Ground Rules for Creativity Tuesdays! Give people the time, space and permission to be

creative. Scorn, ridicule, sarcasm, and eye rolling are not welcome.!

! Participate to your fullest

Creative Tuesdays

Creative Tuesdays

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT !To enhance divergent thinking, the space needs to stimulate the senses. ! Visual stimuli- the way the room looks- art,

sculpture, etc… ! Aromatherapy- select a citrus aroma to

stimulate activity or select lavender to relax during incubation

! Rhythmic music played at a moderate level is helpful.

!Interaction with diverse people can stimulate the imagination.

Creative Spaces Lego Corp

ENVIRONMENT! Creativity “stations” ! Theme-based art shows

Creative Spaces

Vote for your favorites in this

Art Department Show.

!Please put the title AND the artist on each line.

!

Hinsdale Central Art Department

Digital Imagery: Artist Title !______________________________________________

Jewelry: Artist Title !______________________________________________

Drawing: Artist Title !______________________________________________

Sculpture: Artist Title !______________________________________________ !

Painting: Artist Title !______________________________________

Mixed Media: Artist Title !______________________________________________

Ceramics: Artist Title

Title Artist Most Realistic-____________________________________________________________________ Best Craftsmanship-_________________________________________________________________ Best Design-_______________________________________________________________________ Best Mixed Media-___________________________________________________________________ Most Complex Construction (3-D)-_______________________________________________________ Most Humorous-_____________________________________________________________________ Most Thought Provoking Art-___________________________________________________________ Most Creative-_______________________________________________________________________ “Best of Show” Award ( I wish I had made that)-____________________________________________  

Creative Spaces

Classroom PracticeMoving from “add on” to “into “the classroom

!

The following are a series of categories which can be introduced into classroom instruction in order to

“unfreeze” or “warm up” ideas. !

• Producing • Analyzing • Elaborating • Pointing up • Associating • Constructing • Translating • Revising • Seeing analogies

More Ways Than One: Fostering Creativity in the Classroom

Chapter 8-Classroom Activitiesby Arthur J. Cropley

CREATIVITY DEVELOPMENT !

(1 2 3 4 5) SCALE !Do you practice spotting paradoxes? (paradox= irony, inconsistencies and apparent contradictions) Do you notice discrepancies? (discrepancy=differences, gaps and missing links) Do you see and make analogies? (analogies= comparison; likenesses among unlike things) Are you a skilled researcher? Can you obtain needed information? (artistic research) Do you overcome the effects of habits? (Can you break out of conventional thinking and habits?) Do you engage in visualizing? (seeing a problem in your mind’s eye) Do you carry out intuitive thinking? (making an informed guess , or following a hunch) Do you communicate in your art? (both skills and willingness) Do you learn from mistakes? Can you accept change and novelty? Can you tolerate ambiguity? (ambiguity=doubt, uncertainty) Do you have good work habits? (effort does matter)

!!

The Weekend Collage-Constructing (combining ideas or objects to form a specified new product) Everyday creative moments- Analyzing (precisely defining the content of objects and ideas) See your world- Translating (seeing/expressing ideas in a different form) Sketchers Scavenger Hunt- Elaborating (developing a detailed structure on the basis of guiding principles) Three Things- Seeing analogies (recognizing new examples of the familiar) Can You Feel the Love- Pointing up (establishing the decisive, definitive elements of objects and ideas)

Go with the flow- Metacognition (reflect upon one’s thoughts) Recipe card- Constructing (combining ideas or objects to form a specified new product) Collaborate to compete- Producing (offering a coherent idea or thought) How do you photograph smelly? - Revising (Breaking away from existing relationships among ideas and suggesting new ones) Running Fence- Creative thought based on process vs. product. A twist on the ditto, ditto- Associating (seeing connections between ideas)

Creative Challenges

Student(s) Creative Challenge Rubric  Teacher(s)A B C D F Clear rendering of a monster. A B C D FA B C D F Equal participation A B C D FA B C D F Thoughtful collaboration A B C D FA B C D F Followed rules. A B C D FA B C D F Other- A B C D F

Reflect on the positives and negative of working together and how you might have communicated better. !What aspects did you find enjoyable and most frustrating about this experience.

More ways than one: fostering creativity in the classroom. Producing (offering a coherent idea or thought)

o inspire group innovation.

By: Stefan Mamaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield

Collaborate to Complete

Many of today's jobs require creative and productive teamwork and leadership skills. Form several teams for the purpose of generating more and better art ideas. !Stefan Bucher’s Daily Monster (www.dailymonster.com) is a great example for the concept of “creativity of the moment,” the thought that we can grow creatively in large ways by exercising creative thoughts in small, digestible opportunities. !As a team of 3 or 4, you are going to use a pencil to create a monster. The only restrictions are: 1. Once you put the pencil down to start drawing, you

can’t lift it back up- scribble, scratch, shade, do whatever you want, but you can’t remove the pencil from the paper until you’re done- and

2. 2. You and your partners are working together to create one monster, so you all must start on the same piece of paper working on the same monster. You can talk it out as you go, or stay silent and read from another’s direction what you can add to the monster. Mark sure you have enough space around a table to move, get different perspectives and see what’s been created.

Caffeine for the creative team, 150 exercises to inspire group innovation. By: Stefan Mamaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield

CONSTRUCTING- combining ideas or objects to form a specific new product. !Select an assortment of old school slides. Combine the visual image, transparent quality, and the structure of the slide itself into an art form. Be thoughtful to your assemblage method and how that can impact the finished result. Document your thoughts as you go. !Creative Challenge Rubric Reflect on experience:

Slide Challenge

Student(s) * Teacher(s)A"B"C"D"F Innovative"use"of"materials. A"B"C"D"F

A"B"C"D"F Quality"of"craftsmanship. A"B"C"D"F

A"B"C"D"F Detail. A"B"C"D"F

A"B"C"D"F Original"exploration"of"specific"material/theme. A"B"C"D"F

A"B"C"D"F " A"B"C"D"F

A"B"C"D"F Other? A"B"C"D"F

• Individual Creativity • Breanna’s Self Portrait

• Cognitive and Behavioral Factors

!• What do individual students

understand about themselves and creativity?

!• What does recent Neurology

research say about the brain?

• Student’s thoughts about Creativity

People are born with it. Some people have talent, some do not. It is a mystery. I can only be creative in one area. I am not creative. I have no new ideas. Practice does not help me create. It is a family dynamic. Listening to music. Looking at inspiration. Reading poetry. Writing stories.

• Define Creativity“Creativity is the ability to produce

work that is original, unexpected and

appropriate for the project objectives. It

takes place in the whole brain.

THE LEFT & RIGHT BRAIN WORKING

TOGETHER.”

• Adolescent Brain Mechanics

The brain is actively growing, changing and developing until young

adulthood (Spano, 2003). !

Brain development extends from 11-28 years of age for women and 31

for men.

• Processing CreativityThe prefrontal cortex of your brain develops creativity though a mechanical processes: ▪ Attention ▪ Perception ▪ Memory/Experiences ▪ Self-reflecting ▪ Consciousness ▪ Associating ideas ▪ Combining ideas ▪ Transforming ideas ▪ Examining ideas ▪ Reducing the number of ideas ▪ Right & left brain blending ▪ Abstract thinking ▪ Social decisions making

•Mechanics of Creativity• The Mechanical or Cognitive

approach to creativity requires:DIVERGENT (different) thinking. It is all about generating ideas.

!

• Creativity requires:CONVERGENT (appropriate) thinking.This is the ability to combine those generated ideas into the best result.

Two brain processing phases in creative thought:

1.Constructing symbols in our mind from experiences.

2. Exploring creative ideas (brainstorming).

• How Does Student Behavior Affect Creativity?

• Self behaviors: attitude, time management, intrinsic motivation

• Attention: observation, concentration

• Personality: development, external factors

• Experiences: they grow with us

• Environments: reactions to space, sound, color

• Learning: builds and interacts with creativity.

•Describe Self-Behaviors Write a process goal for your current art class using the traits identified below:!!!

▪ Self-efficacy –determined, directed, disciplined

▪ Overcome obstacles ▪ Persistence ▪ Flexibility of materials, ideas ▪ Take sensible risks ▪ Tolerate ambiguity-uncertainty ▪ Intrinsic motivation –built-in, genuine

• How do student’s blend creativity?

CognitiveEmotional

Deliberate

Spontaneous

Values & norms. !Brain retrieves affective

memory.

Flex the prefrontal cortex. !Piece things together.

Personal experiences. !Creativity is like a

revelation.

Incubation and sudden insight. !A Ha! Moment.

Deliberate

Spontaneous

CognitiveEmotional

• Learning & Creativity▪ Collaboration

▪ Diversity

▪ Idea EXCHANGE

▪ Building on one another’s ideas

Creative Resources•ASCD, Why Creativity? A conversation with Sir Ken Robinson !•DIETRICH, ARNE (2007). Introduction to Consciousness. New York: Palgrave MacMillian. !•DIETRICH, ARNE (2007). Who’s afraid of a cognitive neuroscience of creativity?. Methods 43 (2007) 22-27: Science Direct. !•DIETRICH, ARNE (2007) Article !•PINK, DANIEL (2009). Drive: New York: Riverhead Books. •Educational Leadership (Sept. 2009). • Why Creativity? A Conversation with Sir Ken Robinson. !•RUNCO, MARK A. (2007). Creativity: Theories and Themes: Research, Development, and Practice. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Academic Press. !•STERNBERG, ROBERT J. (2009) 12th ed. Handbook of Creativity. New York: Cambridge Press. !•KRAUSE, JIM (2003). Creative Sparks. Ohio: F+W Publications. !•SCALIN, NOAH (2011). UNSTUCK. Minneapolis: MBI Publishing Company. !•Caffeine for the Creative Team: 150 Exercises to Inspire Group Innovation, Stefan Mumaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield (2009) HOW Books !•Caffeine for the Creative Mind: 250 Exercises to Wake Up your Brain, Stefan Mumaw (2006), HOW Books !•Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes, Keri Smith (2010) Penguin Books !•More Ways Than One: Fostering Creativity in the Classroom, Arthur J. Cropley (1992) Praeger

!

Creativity in the Classroom

• Door Prizes

!

• Thank you!