tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11154418.post2785194325725717824..comments2024-03-08T05:58:28.168-06:00Comments on A Difference: Threatening CreativityDarren Kuropatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08462283847470560887noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11154418.post-13743567470442668052007-01-20T10:27:00.000-06:002007-01-20T10:27:00.000-06:00In my mind, creativity involves two elements: An a...In my mind, creativity involves two elements: An action/idea and a context. For an event to be creative the individual experiencing the event (the action in a particular context) must be having the experience fot the first time. At least one of the two elements must be new. A new action/idea is creative. An old action/idea in a new context is also creative.<br /><br />An event may be considered creative for one observer and not for another depending on the past experiences of the observers. But the discriminating factor for creativity is whether the actor had prior experience.<br /><br />For example: If a child draws a clock melting off of a table. That action may or may not be creative depending on that child's experiences. If the child has been exposed to the art of Dali then the melting watch would probably not be creative. The child is merely duplicating not creating. If however the child's inspiration came from watching butter melt and the child applied the melting in a new context that would be creative.<br /><br />Creativity can be "practiced" in any academic setting merely by asking students to take a concept and apply it in some personal way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11154418.post-24645622678188563332007-01-19T15:59:00.000-06:002007-01-19T15:59:00.000-06:00Thank you for sharing this, Darren. Creativity is...Thank you for sharing this, Darren. Creativity is something that happens when students are allowed to disagree with the teacher and take their own perspective. I often find that the students change me when I back up and allow them to truly pursue a topic and be creative. Wow!Vicki Davis @coolcatteacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05549879610620143027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11154418.post-20915867707113711272007-01-18T09:54:00.000-06:002007-01-18T09:54:00.000-06:00Funny...I relistened to this talk on my way to wor...Funny...I relistened to this talk on my way to work today. I thought, "Gee, I wish I had a text transcript of this so I could pull some of the quotes."<br /><br />:)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11154418.post-76424532101952172562007-01-18T08:55:00.000-06:002007-01-18T08:55:00.000-06:00I knew someone would pick up on the thread of asse...I knew someone would pick up on the thread of assessing creativity? ;-)<br /><br />When I wrote that I was thinking of the maxim: "We value what we assess." When I give students an assignment and I say to them: "Be creative." What does that mean? How are they supposed to be creative? Does it mean put in a lot of pictures and colours? ... I don't think so. Does it mean make a poster or present the project on 3 paneled presentation board? ... again, I don't think so. <br /><br />I know creative work when I see it. But for a kid who is not sure what creative work looks like, or rather, how to inject creativity into their work, how do I help them do that? And if I insist on students submitting creative work shouldn't that somehow be reflected in the grade they receive? How do I evaluate that?<br /><br />Not sure if this is a coherent elucidation of what I was thinking ... mostly because my thinking about this is still a little muddy in my own head.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11154418.post-19919507324153242382007-01-18T08:43:00.000-06:002007-01-18T08:43:00.000-06:00I use to teach the creativity courses to preservic...I use to teach the creativity courses to preservice teachers at Valdosta State University. Without exception, teachers would come in thinking they had no creativity and leave convinced they could structure their classrooms in such a way that their student's creative potential could be engaged.<br /><br />Creativity is tied to passion. Passion is tied to being engaged with what you are learning/studying and engaged learners are willing to learn deeply with excellent recall.<br /><br />It is interesting Darren, that we are both back thinking about creativity. Check out my podcast with Rob Sweitzer of the band Mae (Capitol Records)<br /><a href="http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/2007/01/creativity_podc.html">Creativity Podcast Series-#1</a> <br /><br />Rob's interview is the first in a series I plan to do with highly creative people outside of education. Through these interviews I hope to discover ways for teachers to do as Ewan suggests, "...to help them have their creativity unleashed from the shackles of their professional boredom."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11154418.post-63228454529138023962007-01-18T01:45:00.000-06:002007-01-18T01:45:00.000-06:00I was lucky enough to hear this talk live and it h...I was lucky enough to hear this talk live and it had a permanent effect on my outlook. One point: who says we have to assess creativity? Creativity is rather the thing that will make us better at all the rest because it releases us from our shackles of boredom in the classroom and allows us to excel in our passions.<br /><br />Boredom is also related to the exponential growth in ADHD diagnoses. Marc Prensky spotted the T-shirt in New York:<br /><br />"I'm not ADHD. I'm just bored"<br /><br />I think that in some cases this is true - if I'm bored I start to fidget. Sometimes the 'symptoms' of a child diagnosed with ADHD can 'subside' when they are engaged in a task which involves their creative edge.<br /><br />Seems the role of the teacher here might be tricky for some to see until they also have their creativity unleashed from the shackles of their professional boredom.Ewan McIntoshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12885676413351678827noreply@blogger.com