Teaching Creativity

I have tried to put more focus on creativity in my 2nd grade classroom.

We brainstormed what it means to be creative and the students did very well describing what it means to be creative. They said creativity means putting things together, building things, if you mess up you can make something new out of it, doing things you haven't done before, using different things, and making something new.

I've tried to have a Creative center for the students to participate in once a week.

I am still trying to come up with 4-5 things that sum up what it means to be creative and haven't settled in on them.

I am starting with the assumptions that everyone is creative and people must be creative to succeed.

Here are some links that I have found to be helpful...

Teaching Creativity

Critical Thinking Web

The Creative Educator

Creative Learning

Tags: Creativity, Elementary

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Comment by Nancy Bosch on January 21, 2009 at 5:15pm: I've taught gifted kids for 25 years and I have to say that for the most part I think "you've either got it or you don't". That said I do think creative thinking can be enhanced. One thing I think is important is to make sure kids know that being artistic and being creative are two different things--people in all walks of life use creative thinking skills--computer programmers, presidents, writers, poets, inventors. Let me know if you would be interested in some book titles with good creative thinking ideas in them?

Comment by Patrick Stansberry on February 8, 2009 at 5:32pm: Thanks to this video from TED Talks I have narrowed my skills down to 5 things (as of right now)...

-Perspective: Look at things another way
-Be Curious: ask questions
-Make Connections
-Persist
-Observe: notice things around, use things in a new way

Comment by Patrick Stansberry on February 17, 2009 at 8:42pm: Came across this article about a technique to teach creative thinking called SCAMPER...

SCAMPER is based on the notion that everything new is a modification of something that already exists. Each letter in the acronym represents a different way you can play with the characteristics of what is challenging you to trigger new ideas: * S = Substitute * C = Combine * A = Adapt * M = Magnify
* P = Put to Other Uses
* E = Eliminate (or Minify)
* R = Rearrange (or Reverse)

To use the SCAMPER technique, first state the problem you’d like to solve or the idea you’d like to develop. It can be anything: a challenge in your personal life or business; or maybe a product, service or process you want to improve. After pinpointing the challenge, it’s then a matter of asking questions about it using the SCAMPER checklist to guide you.

Comment by Patrick Stansberry on May 2, 2009 at 4:15pm: The point is the world is not a slow walk, sit down environment. With the technology we have, it is a information at your fingertips and we must make connections, improvise, adapt, solve problems, and be able to create new things. If you can't do this then you are stuck flipping burgers or sending widgets down the assembly line and the assembly line jobs are leaving the country.

As an educator, it does no good to fight the world the students are growing up in, but to teach them the skill they need to succeed the ever changing world.

Students learn best when they can create and then are given the chance to revise and edit. This is where they must learn to step back, slow down, and think about where they can improve.

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