Ideas to Foster and Nurture Creativity in the Elementary Classroom.

1. Ideas to Foster and Nurture Creativity in the Elementary Classroom. KD LaPine

2. What is Creativity? • Cre.a.tiv.i.ty (noun) the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns and relationships to create meaningful new ideas; originality or imagination. • Please share your working definition of Creativity? • http://youtu.be/yuKqwzhmPIM

3. My Renewed source of inspiration

4. Sir Ken Robinson • Sir Ken Robinson, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in the development of education, creativity and innovation.  He is also one of the world’s leading speakers with a profound impact on audiences everywhere. • http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

5. (Ellis) Paul Torrance: The Father of Creativity • Paul Torrance thought IQ tests were an inappropriate way to gauge true intelligence. So he devised methods of testing creativity that are now employed the world over. • In 1951 he first defined creativity like this, "Whenever a person is faced with a problem for which he has no known or practiced solution, some degree of creativity is required." It was obvious to him, then as now, "that people who employed creativity were the best at what they did. The best pilots were creative in their performance."

6. Testing for Creativity • The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) evaluates the following: Fluency: The total number of responses Originality: The statistical rarity of the responses Elaboration: The amount of detail in the responses Abstractness in Titles Resistance to Closure Creativity tests are typically divided into four main components: Divergent thinking, Convergent thinking, Artistic assessments and Self assessments. Articles: Torrance- The father of creativity Test Your Creativity/ 5 Classic Creative Challenges / Articles / The 99 Percent

7. Divergent thinkingis the ability to consciously generate new ideas that branch out to many possible solutions for a given problem. These solutions or responses are then scored on four components: • Originality - statistical infrequency of response • Fluency - number of responses • Flexibility - the degree of difference of the responses, in other words do they come from a single domain or multiple domains • Elaboration - the amount of detail of the response

8. Convergent thinking is the ability to correctly hone in the single correct solution to a problem.  • In creativity, convergent thinking often requires taking a novel approach to the problem, seeing the problem from a different perspective or making a unique association  between parts of the problem. Theses solutions are scored either correct or incorrect .

9. Artistic assessments are the evaluations of an artistic product (e.g., painting, story, poem, musical composition, collage, drawing etc.). • Evaluations are typically done by two or more judges that must be in near agreement on the creativity of the product.

10. Self assessments • Self assessments are person's responses to the amount of creativity a personal feels they exhibit.

11. Creativity Traits: • Products: Fluency, Flexibility, Originality, Elaboration • Attitudes: Curiosity, Imagination, Complexity, Risk Taking • Behaviors: Flexible, Imaginative, Nonconforming, Novel Answers

12. Thinking/Cognitive Characteristics: • Metaphoric Thinking (new synthesis, perspective, transformation) • Flexibility & Skill in Decision Making • Independence in Judgment (not compelled by latest trends) • Coping Well with Novelty (What if?, work with ideas) • Logical Thinking Skills (evidence, conclusions, if-then, cause-effect) • Visualization (imagery, personal analogies) • Escaping Entrenchment (new angle/pattern, break set, unpredictable) • Finding Order in Chaos (complexity in thought, asymmetrical images) • Problem Finding • Evaluation

13. Possible, extreme, Negative Traits of Creativity • Tends to question laws, rules, authority • Indifferent to commonconventions and courtesies • Stubborn, uncooperative, resists domination • Argues the rest are out of step • May not participate in class • Argumentative, cynical, sarcastic, rebellious • Demanding, assertive, autocratic • Low interest in details • Sloppy, careless, disorganized with unimportant matters • Self-centered, intolerant, tactless • Capricious • Temperamental, moody • Emotional, withdrawn, aloof, uncommunicative • Forgetful, absentminded, mind wanders, watches windows • Overactive physically or mentally

14. John Cleese • Excerpts from a Video Arts Conference. The video is quite long. Informative, but, long. The original can be found here: http://youtu.be/VShmtsLhkQg • Open and closed mode • The five things necessary for the process of creativity: space, time, time, confidence, and humor. • http://youtu.be/ijtQP9nwrQA

15. Jonah Lehrer • From the bestselling author of How We Decide comes a sparkling and revelatory look at the new science of creativity. Shattering the myth of muses, higher powers, even creative "types," Jonah Lehrer demonstrates that creativity is not a single "gift" possessed by the lucky few. It's a variety of distinct thought processes that we can all learn to use more effectively. Lehrer reveals the importance of embracing the rut, thinking like a child, and daydreaming productively, then he takes us out of our own heads to show how we can make our neighborhoods more vibrant, our companies more productive, and our schools more effective. • http://youtu.be/4v2O3Cc_q0Q

16. Classroom Atmosphere • A great deal of fostering and nurturing creativity has to do with the atmosphere of your classroom. Students need encouragement to think freely, without restrictions and constraints. They need to be encouraged to use higher level questioning and thinking skills, no matter how silly or extreme their results are. This is how some of the best ideas came about.

17. “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” Sir Ken Robinson • Students need to not be afraid of making mistakes. Some of the greatest products, ideas, and innovations were born from mistakes. Establishing an environment where every thought is valuable and worth hearing will encourage kids to share their crazy, far-fetched ideas, that just could lead to something BIG!

18. Internet references • Elm Creative Arts School http://www2.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/elm/committee.html • Opening Minds through the Arts (OMA) http://www.edutopia.org/arts-opening-minds-integration-video Khan Academy http://www.khanacademy.org/

19. Internet Resources cont. • Ted-Ed http://ed.ted.com/ The 99 percent http://the99percent.com/

20. Book of reference • Creating Meaning through Literature and the Arts: Arts Integration for Classroom Teachers (with MyEducationLab) (4th Edition) (Pearson Custom Education) by Claudia E. Cornett (Apr 10, 2010)

21. Articles ~ Specific lists of: How to….. Enhance, encourage, spark, Foster, etc… creativity, • 22 Simple Ideas for Harnessing Creativity in the Elementary Classroom | Edutopia • Fostering Creativity in the Classroom - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com • Ideas into Practice • Indiania University course • infuse creativity by 4 • Master Classroom/ Designs Inspired by Creative Minds | Edutopia • TEACHING FOR CREATIVITY/ TWO DOZEN TIPS

22. Specific List articles continued: • Ways not to kill classroom creativity • Ways to Enhance Creativity/ A Different Approach • Why Boredom Is Good for Your Creativity / Tips / The 99 Percent

23. Questions that spark creativity: • What is your favorite shape and why? • What would you throw off an eight story building? • If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? • What makes you happy? Article: What would happen if…15 Questions for Creativity