How do I love thee?
I feel as though I could study creativity for years, and still never quite fully grasp what it is and how one can become creative. I absolutely enjoyed the "Sparks of Genius" book, although there were parts I found redundant. Many times, I felt that there were way too many examples of the same concept. I found my mind drifting off as example upon example of patterning was explained. Perhaps it is me. Patience was one of the virtues I was working on (developing what I lack) in order to become more creative.
The cognitive tools which we studied over this semester were very informative. There is a part of me that wishes I could have taken this class during the summer when I could labor over each and every tool of creativity. One of the reasons I wish I could have labored over each tool for a longer period of time is because I feel creativity is what leads to amazing discoveries and outstanding inventions. Perceiving, patterning, abstracting, embodied thinking, modeling, playing, and synthesizing are each an integral part of the creative process.
Observing is the first step in gaining new knowledge. Observing means being able to not just see things, but to recognize them as well. This is a concept that can be nurtured and acquired. The human eye must be trained to see things in order to describe them accurately or make connections about concepts or ideas which may be unconnected. In science, observation is the initial step of what is known as the scientific method. It consists of watching the world and looking for different things. I count gathering knowledge as part of the observation process. In order to make good observations, one must have an ability to know what to search for. Sometimes, observations are made and they are unnecessary because they do not mean anything. With knowledge, I could make observations AND be able to make connections. In my science classroom, I devote the entire first unit to Inquiry. I want students to learn how to ask questions and make good observations because those two ideas are the basis for all science. I started the year off with a lesson dealing with Inquiry Cubes. The challenge to the students was to figure out what was on the face of the bottom of the cube. It wasn't that the answer was difficult; sometimes it was pure common sense. However, the goal of the exercise was to have students gather as much evidence as possible to support their guess. It steadily became more difficult as I used more difficult patterns and such on the different cubes. I wanted them to make as many observations about the cube and then be able to pull them together to make an educated guess about what was on the bottom face of the cube.
I would like to do more activities in my classroom like the one mentioned above. The topic which I used for my projects was the cell and the cell theory. I envisioned making other inquiry cubes, perhaps with pictures of organelles on one face and then the function on the opposite face. Maybe then students would associate the organelle and its function together. Creating activities for science class that deal with observation does not seem to be very difficult. I envision next year doing a handwriting analysis activity, where students will use magnifying glasses and handwriting analysis information to determine who forged a check. Another activity could be doing an analysis of graffiti (fake, of course) in the upstairs bathroom. Students could make observations of the crime scene and test various paints or inks and compare to the original. It could be a crime scene investigation!
Fortunately for my classroom creativity, patterning goes hand in hand with observing and perceiving. Again, I feel that in science this is a natural piece of what I am teaching. So much of science has been learned due to looking at patterns and making connections about the world around us. When I do the activities I envisioned above, patterning would be a major part of all of them. On the cube, I want to have students make connections and see patterns with the numbers, sayings, phrases, et cetera, on the opposite sides of the cube. I usually see patterns fairly easily (maybe I have more creativity than I think), but it takes practice to see them regularly. I would like to get to a point where students are able to recognize patterns without any prodding from me. I feel that this would be one of the best lessons I could teach my students because patterns are everywhere.
Abstracting...oh, abstracting. How I wish to strangle thee! I am still struggling with this concept. I understand what an abstraction is, but I find it extremely difficult to abstract a concept. In my classroom, I want to encourage students to abstract concepts. Currently, I'm envisioning my students trying to abstract photosynthesis. I have a couple ideas of how this could be done, but I am not sure that I'd be able to do it. I could see taking a light bulb and maybe a picture of pollution (to represent carbon dioxide) and an ocean (for water)...still not quite sure what to do with it from there. I feel I could possibly enlist the help of our art teacher for some ideas. We could develop some art/science lessons together!
Modeling is already a part of my pedagogy, so I was excited to see that it is part of the creative process. I like the idea of using modeling. I think that modeling and embodied thinking are two concepts that could be easily intertwined. I use modeling during our protein synthesis unit. I have students envision themselves as the messenger RNA and they have to "pick up" the copy of DNA from the nucleus, then transfer it to the ribosome. Students are active and moving in the classroom, as well as pretending (or could we call it playing?) to become the mRNA. This is an example of modeling as well, except the students are the actual models. I think modeling is great for microscopic organisms or concepts. In chemistry class, I have students make the stick and ball molecules of things like water and carbon dioxide. In biology, we model the cell by making an edible cell or a jello cell.
With all the above having been said, I feel that I've learned a ton about creativity, but I also feel the need to express that I think all of the above are just a part of being a good teacher. Good teachers differentiate their lessons and try to encompass as many of these pieces into their curriculum. Part of what we should be doing as educators is teaching students as a whole. No part of their education should be separated or compartmentalized. I truly feel that all concepts or subjects can be intertwined. I know this is what the Bernsteins were writing about when they covered synthesizing. Synthesis is taking all the other pieces and helping students make connections from classroom to classroom and subject to subject. Education, especially in America, needs to embrace this idea in order to foster young, well-rounded citizens of the twenty-first century.
The cognitive tools which we studied over this semester were very informative. There is a part of me that wishes I could have taken this class during the summer when I could labor over each and every tool of creativity. One of the reasons I wish I could have labored over each tool for a longer period of time is because I feel creativity is what leads to amazing discoveries and outstanding inventions. Perceiving, patterning, abstracting, embodied thinking, modeling, playing, and synthesizing are each an integral part of the creative process.
Observing is the first step in gaining new knowledge. Observing means being able to not just see things, but to recognize them as well. This is a concept that can be nurtured and acquired. The human eye must be trained to see things in order to describe them accurately or make connections about concepts or ideas which may be unconnected. In science, observation is the initial step of what is known as the scientific method. It consists of watching the world and looking for different things. I count gathering knowledge as part of the observation process. In order to make good observations, one must have an ability to know what to search for. Sometimes, observations are made and they are unnecessary because they do not mean anything. With knowledge, I could make observations AND be able to make connections. In my science classroom, I devote the entire first unit to Inquiry. I want students to learn how to ask questions and make good observations because those two ideas are the basis for all science. I started the year off with a lesson dealing with Inquiry Cubes. The challenge to the students was to figure out what was on the face of the bottom of the cube. It wasn't that the answer was difficult; sometimes it was pure common sense. However, the goal of the exercise was to have students gather as much evidence as possible to support their guess. It steadily became more difficult as I used more difficult patterns and such on the different cubes. I wanted them to make as many observations about the cube and then be able to pull them together to make an educated guess about what was on the bottom face of the cube.
I would like to do more activities in my classroom like the one mentioned above. The topic which I used for my projects was the cell and the cell theory. I envisioned making other inquiry cubes, perhaps with pictures of organelles on one face and then the function on the opposite face. Maybe then students would associate the organelle and its function together. Creating activities for science class that deal with observation does not seem to be very difficult. I envision next year doing a handwriting analysis activity, where students will use magnifying glasses and handwriting analysis information to determine who forged a check. Another activity could be doing an analysis of graffiti (fake, of course) in the upstairs bathroom. Students could make observations of the crime scene and test various paints or inks and compare to the original. It could be a crime scene investigation!
Fortunately for my classroom creativity, patterning goes hand in hand with observing and perceiving. Again, I feel that in science this is a natural piece of what I am teaching. So much of science has been learned due to looking at patterns and making connections about the world around us. When I do the activities I envisioned above, patterning would be a major part of all of them. On the cube, I want to have students make connections and see patterns with the numbers, sayings, phrases, et cetera, on the opposite sides of the cube. I usually see patterns fairly easily (maybe I have more creativity than I think), but it takes practice to see them regularly. I would like to get to a point where students are able to recognize patterns without any prodding from me. I feel that this would be one of the best lessons I could teach my students because patterns are everywhere.
Abstracting...oh, abstracting. How I wish to strangle thee! I am still struggling with this concept. I understand what an abstraction is, but I find it extremely difficult to abstract a concept. In my classroom, I want to encourage students to abstract concepts. Currently, I'm envisioning my students trying to abstract photosynthesis. I have a couple ideas of how this could be done, but I am not sure that I'd be able to do it. I could see taking a light bulb and maybe a picture of pollution (to represent carbon dioxide) and an ocean (for water)...still not quite sure what to do with it from there. I feel I could possibly enlist the help of our art teacher for some ideas. We could develop some art/science lessons together!
Modeling is already a part of my pedagogy, so I was excited to see that it is part of the creative process. I like the idea of using modeling. I think that modeling and embodied thinking are two concepts that could be easily intertwined. I use modeling during our protein synthesis unit. I have students envision themselves as the messenger RNA and they have to "pick up" the copy of DNA from the nucleus, then transfer it to the ribosome. Students are active and moving in the classroom, as well as pretending (or could we call it playing?) to become the mRNA. This is an example of modeling as well, except the students are the actual models. I think modeling is great for microscopic organisms or concepts. In chemistry class, I have students make the stick and ball molecules of things like water and carbon dioxide. In biology, we model the cell by making an edible cell or a jello cell.
With all the above having been said, I feel that I've learned a ton about creativity, but I also feel the need to express that I think all of the above are just a part of being a good teacher. Good teachers differentiate their lessons and try to encompass as many of these pieces into their curriculum. Part of what we should be doing as educators is teaching students as a whole. No part of their education should be separated or compartmentalized. I truly feel that all concepts or subjects can be intertwined. I know this is what the Bernsteins were writing about when they covered synthesizing. Synthesis is taking all the other pieces and helping students make connections from classroom to classroom and subject to subject. Education, especially in America, needs to embrace this idea in order to foster young, well-rounded citizens of the twenty-first century.