Creative classroomfor lend

Creating a Creative Classroom Culture

Helen Legge

Teacher, Trainer and CoordinatorBritish Council Milan

Today’s Aims:

•Creative myths

•Creative dialogue

•Creative tasks

•Creative chaos!

Myths about creativity Ken Robinson

1.Only special people are creativeEveryone has creative capacities

• 2. Creativity is just about the artsCreativity can be in everything we do

• 3. Creativity is all about uninhibited "self-expression”Creativity can require great discipline and many different skills.

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Why creativity?

• “When students are motivated to learn, they naturally acquire the skills they need to get the work done.” •

Ken Robinson

Reggio Emilia Approach

Children's work shows analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

How can I bring creativity into my classroom?

•Through careful task planning

•Through careful dialogue

Student – Teacher Dialogue

•A) 8.30 A.M. •Student: I’m too tired to concentrate!•Teacher: You can’t be tired! It’s the first hour of the day!

•B) 11.15 A.M.•Student: I don’t know what to write.•Teacher: Of course you do! I’ve just spent the last hour talking about it!

•Mmmm. It can be difficult to concentrate when you are tired.

•It sounds like you are having trouble finding ideas.

•This is boring!

•I hate colouring in!

•He said I was bad.

•She took my pencil.

•I see. You just don’t findit interesting.

•It can be a pain to colour in if you don’t like it.

•It’s not nice to be called names.

•It can be a problemwhen we don’t have the things we need.

Dialogue 2 - Questioning

• Socratic Questioning technique

- open-ended

- thought-provoking

- clear

Socratic Questioning

• In reaction to an unusual object:

• What do you think this is used for?• Are the materials the best ones for the object?• What would you do with this object at... a party?

• In reaction to a painting:• What is your impression of this painting?• How does the painter use colour?• If you could be in this painting, where would you • want to be? Adapted from www.Paideia.org

Teacher = a model of creativity

Use thought-provoking responses and prompts

I was wondering what would happen if...

I’m not sure about that,

I can’t understand why they ... but maybe …

Let’s decide together...

•Divergent thinking Vs Convergent thinking

Creative Tasks:

Open ended:– not just one, correct answer (all responses

valued!)

Alternative:- Look at something from a different

perspective (divergent)

Use higher-order thinking skills: - Build it. Evaluate it.- collaborate on it

Reading

•Read ...•and think of 3 questions •and invent a new ending•and write a note to...•and draw a picture of...•and make story cards•and imagine how ...•and make a graph to show...•and say what you agree with.

Student generated

Writing

•If you were X in the story what would you do...?•Write a note to ...•Rate the information.•Find 3 things to change.•Make a list of ...•Find a solution to the problem...•Compare X with Y.

Listening

•Listen •and finish the sentence/story.•and say why something happened.•and say how you would change it.•and think of 3 questions to ask X.•and summarise in 10 words.•and teach your friend something new.

Speaking

•Say why/how you…

•Solve a problem.

•Say why X is ...

•Compare and contrast images or ideas

•Explain X to your partner

How are they different? (compare & contrast)

You have a banana, you really want an orange. Your friend had an orange. What can you say to get the orange? (solve a problem)

Remember: there aren’t any ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers!

Reflection

‘Fail forward’. Mistakes are part of learning

When failure is framed by reflection and iteration and less by penalty and closure, we are more likely to loosen up in our efforts and be less afraid to make mistakes.

Stacey Goodman, Edutopia

Exit tickets: Choose one or two

What did you enjoy today?

What could you do better?

What are your next steps to improve?

How did you help the class today?

Can you teach someone what we learnt in class today?

A summary

Creativity

=

Motivation

=

Better opportunities for learning.

A creative classroom has:

- appropriate dialogue to establish trust and value contributions.

- appropriate tasks to allow students to practice higher order thinking skills

Over to you!Work in groups.

Take ONE skill – reading, writing, listening or speaking

Plan a part of a lesson (a series of tasks), which explores the creative points I’ve mentioned and any others you may know of.

Feedback.

All links to references and resources

•www.edutopia.com•www.teachingwithamountainview.com•www.guardian.co.uk•www.pinterest.com•http://www.reggiochildren.it/•www.paideia.org

http://padlet.com/TeacherHL/hu113kr13vdqIf there are problems viewing the content, click on ‘source’ in bottom right of screen

Online sources:

• References

• Black, Susan ‘The Creative Classroom’ National School Boards Association Available from http://sparkaction.org/node/25303 Accessed February 2015.

• Faber, Adele How to Talk So Kids Can Learn At Home & in School (PDF). Available from http://knowinggarden.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/how-to-talk-so-kids-can-learn.pdf Accessed December 2014

• Ofstead Learning 2010: Creative approaches that raise standards (PDF). Available from http://www.creativitycultureeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/learning-creative-approaches-that-raise-standards-250.pdf Accessed January 2015

• Panagiotis Kampylis and Eleni Berki (2014). Nurturing Creative Thinking (PDF), UNESCO International academy of Education. Available from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002276/227680e.pdf

• Riche, Trisha (2011), ‘22 Simple Ideas for Harnessing Creativity in the Elementary Classroom’. Available from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/creativity-in-classroom-trisha-riche Accessed January 2015.

• Robinson, Ken (2013), To encourage creativity, Mr Gove, you must first understand what it is, Available from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/may/17/to-encourage-creativity-mr-gove-understand Accessed January 2015

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