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Is understanding and appreciating creativity really that important? To answer this question one must take a journey with seven distinct breaks along the way. Perceiving, patterning, abstracting, embodied thinking, modeling, play, and synthesizing are all essential stops along this voyage designed to develop creativity. These seven approaches are vital to fostering creativity both in education and one’s personal life.
In order to begin this long journey into creativity, this elusive term must be defined. What is creativity? In “A NEW Approach to Defining and Measuring Creativity: Rethinking Technology & Creativity in the 21st Century”, Punya Mishra and Danah Henriksen argue that creativity can be defined using three “definitional indicators.” A creative product must be novel, effective, and whole. | |
“A creative solution is NEW, i.e. it is Novel, Effective and Whole or creativity is a goal driven process of developing solutions that are Novel, Effective and Whole.” According to Sir Ken Robinson, imagination is the process of stepping out of one’s current space; consequently, “Creativity is putting your imagination to work.”
The cognitive tool of perceiving is a process that utilizes observation and imaging. If one chooses to perceive, he/she must first observe an object using the five senses and later image the object mentally going beyond simply using the five senses. For example, after listening to President Ronald Reagan’s famous 1987 “Tear Down This Wall” speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, Germany, I began to genuinely employ the tool of perceiving. I began my observation of the President’s address by simply listening to the nearly twenty-seven minute speech in its entirety. I then began picking important sound bites and repeatedly listening to these shorter excerpts of the President’s words. I found myself listening for crowd approval or disapproval, where the crowd fell silent, when Mr. Reagan paused for effect, and the particular tone of his voice. This exercise afforded me the opportunity to experience this speech in a way I could never have dreamed before. I began to feel as if I were a member of the crowd intently listening to these words of defiance, of total refusal to accept the oppressive traditions of communism and Gorbachev.
Perceiving, regarding my content area topic, propaganda, will prove to be influential in my classroom. I have already begun creating a lesson plan to assist the students in observing and re-imaging different objects of propaganda to better understand the object in its entirety. If the students are actively exploiting these different sensory perceptions, they can begin to understand the topic/object with unprecedented breadth. I know this to be true by my own interaction with this method. I have never felt closer to freedom and democracy and further away from oppression and domination. Is this propaganda, and has it done its job? I shall think so.
Patterning is the process of using observations and imaging to decipher the relationship among different arrangements of material. A great example of patterning in propaganda is the “Loose Lips Sink Ships” propaganda poster from the World War II era. There are numerous patterns that can be realized when unearthing the phenomena of propaganda. Many of the different patterns that can be found in propaganda have even been given names to make the pattern-hunting that much easier. Name calling, glittering generalities, testimonial, fear, bandwagon, and plain folks are just a few of the different patterns that arise when looking into propaganda.
The cognitive tool of perceiving is a process that utilizes observation and imaging. If one chooses to perceive, he/she must first observe an object using the five senses and later image the object mentally going beyond simply using the five senses. For example, after listening to President Ronald Reagan’s famous 1987 “Tear Down This Wall” speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, Germany, I began to genuinely employ the tool of perceiving. I began my observation of the President’s address by simply listening to the nearly twenty-seven minute speech in its entirety. I then began picking important sound bites and repeatedly listening to these shorter excerpts of the President’s words. I found myself listening for crowd approval or disapproval, where the crowd fell silent, when Mr. Reagan paused for effect, and the particular tone of his voice. This exercise afforded me the opportunity to experience this speech in a way I could never have dreamed before. I began to feel as if I were a member of the crowd intently listening to these words of defiance, of total refusal to accept the oppressive traditions of communism and Gorbachev.
Perceiving, regarding my content area topic, propaganda, will prove to be influential in my classroom. I have already begun creating a lesson plan to assist the students in observing and re-imaging different objects of propaganda to better understand the object in its entirety. If the students are actively exploiting these different sensory perceptions, they can begin to understand the topic/object with unprecedented breadth. I know this to be true by my own interaction with this method. I have never felt closer to freedom and democracy and further away from oppression and domination. Is this propaganda, and has it done its job? I shall think so.
Patterning is the process of using observations and imaging to decipher the relationship among different arrangements of material. A great example of patterning in propaganda is the “Loose Lips Sink Ships” propaganda poster from the World War II era. There are numerous patterns that can be realized when unearthing the phenomena of propaganda. Many of the different patterns that can be found in propaganda have even been given names to make the pattern-hunting that much easier. Name calling, glittering generalities, testimonial, fear, bandwagon, and plain folks are just a few of the different patterns that arise when looking into propaganda.
I have always used the original pattern with students to begin discussing propaganda and its importance throughout history. Now, I will use the re-patterned images found earlier to illustrate for the students the far-reaching command a particular message can have by using propaganda. For instance, the original pattern of the ship sinking in the night will effect only a certain demographic. By re-patterning the image, a larger group can be impacted by this particular message. I am planning on giving each student a different patterned image of propaganda, and, after discussing the importance of re-patterning, asking each student to re-pattern the image to focus on a different section of the population.
The next stop on the journey is with abstraction. This particular tool is used to "zero in" on one particular feature of an object to gain a better understanding of the object as a whole. While examining propaganda, I “zeroed in” on patriotism. After abstracting Johnny Cash’s Ragged Old Flag and a “Be Patriotic” World War II poster, my concept area topic of propaganda began to emerge clearer then ever before.
Given that propaganda is a complex concept, abstraction will help the students gain a better understanding by looking at individual aspects instead of the concept on the whole. Both the poem and the poster could be used to create a lesson plan where students can explore, engage, and interact with patriotism. Ragged Old Flag will be the auditory piece while the poster will be the visual representation of patriotism. This understanding of abstraction can not only assist students in understanding propaganda, but also understanding confusing concepts in all studies. A student could easily use abstraction to better understand a troubling math equation, a difficult writing tool like dialogue, or science concepts such as kinetic and potential energy.
Embodied thinking is the process with which people complete physical actions without having to think about the action while completing it. These actions that we innately know how to do could be brushing our teeth, playing a musical instrument, or tying our shoes. I witnessed this tool one afternoon while observing my grandfather watching an old World War II newsreel. His blank, expressionless face, save the creased forehead, downturned lips, and intense gaze, has stuck with me all these years.
Embodied thinking affords great learning opportunities within the classroom. It seems as if so much of the world will be opened up to the students once they fully understand embodied thinking. More than just simply better understanding a concept such as propaganda, students will now be able to better understand and interact with other people. When we can better “read” people we can become improved communicators, which is an exceedingly essential life skill today. I have learned a great deal about my grandfather and the relationship I had with him by becoming better acquainted with embodied thinking. I plan on using the concept of embodied thinking this year within my classroom. I’m going to show Steven Spielberg’s recent hit Lincoln to my 8th grade students. I would like to set up a video camera to record the students’ physical reactions to the movie’s climactic scene where President Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. This can afford a great learning opportunity to each student discovering one of the most infamous crimes in American history.
Embodied thinking affords great learning opportunities within the classroom. It seems as if so much of the world will be opened up to the students once they fully understand embodied thinking. More than just simply better understanding a concept such as propaganda, students will now be able to better understand and interact with other people. When we can better “read” people we can become improved communicators, which is an exceedingly essential life skill today. I have learned a great deal about my grandfather and the relationship I had with him by becoming better acquainted with embodied thinking. I plan on using the concept of embodied thinking this year within my classroom. I’m going to show Steven Spielberg’s recent hit Lincoln to my 8th grade students. I would like to set up a video camera to record the students’ physical reactions to the movie’s climactic scene where President Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. This can afford a great learning opportunity to each student discovering one of the most infamous crimes in American history.
Modeling is a specific representation of a concept in order to better study the specific idea. In an effort to use modeling to better explain propaganda, I created a Prezi presentation. This graphical representation was designed to demonstrate the many dimensions of propaganda. As one “travels” through the presentation, he/she is participating in a backward journey of propaganda throughout history.
Models can be a very useful tool to draw upon while teaching almost any concept in the classroom. When discussing the solar system I have employed a small, movable solar system to assist in describing the planets’ orbit around the sun. When discussing the layers of the earth, I have utilized a model that can be split into multiple pieces affording a better understanding of the size and importance of each layer. Now, I can use this newly created Prezi to model the evolution of propaganda throughout the years in an effort to guide student understanding of this multifaceted concept.
Playing is using one’s knowledge and abilities for the simple reason of amusement. Deep play is used by professionals in many disciplines as a catalyst for extraordinary advances within the specific field. Thinglink.com proved to be an exceptional resource to simply play with my content area of propaganda.
Models can be a very useful tool to draw upon while teaching almost any concept in the classroom. When discussing the solar system I have employed a small, movable solar system to assist in describing the planets’ orbit around the sun. When discussing the layers of the earth, I have utilized a model that can be split into multiple pieces affording a better understanding of the size and importance of each layer. Now, I can use this newly created Prezi to model the evolution of propaganda throughout the years in an effort to guide student understanding of this multifaceted concept.
Playing is using one’s knowledge and abilities for the simple reason of amusement. Deep play is used by professionals in many disciplines as a catalyst for extraordinary advances within the specific field. Thinglink.com proved to be an exceptional resource to simply play with my content area of propaganda.
Educators are expected more and more to captivate and motivate students. When play is used in the classroom it can be inspiring to both pupil and instructor. In addition to thinglink.com, students could play with original propaganda posters to creatively produce a new propaganda poster about either a “school concept” or simply a concept important to the students. For example, the Star Wars inspired “Loose Lips Bring Down Starships” poster playfully captures the central theme of the original “Loose Lips Sink Ships” campaign during World War II.
The final stop on the journey is with synthesizing. To synthesize is to “put the pieces together.” One must tie multiple concepts together to gain a deeper understanding of the whole picture when synthesizing. In essence, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Synthesis is vital to the creative process, especially in education. If the students are simply understanding the pieces and not the whole, a great deal is being lost. The Sparks of Creativity Wiki articulates, “No major problem of the world today can be boxed neatly within a single discipline or approached effectively from any particular angle alone.” Accordingly, all educators must use synthesis to create a comprehensive education of value where all students can look at the world through a transdisciplinary approach.
This expedition into creativity began with Sir Ken Robinson and should therefore conclude with this renowned creativity expert. According to Robinson, “Creativity is not an option, it’s an absolute necessity.” It is desirable that Robinson’s observation will become the pervasive belief in the educational community. He argues, “Children have extraordinary capacities for innovation.” It is vital, then, that creativity is understood and appreciated in every classroom on every level. After all, as Carolina Miranda of parenting.com pontificates, “Our children’s future success – and the country’s – depends on the creative education they receive in school.”
The final stop on the journey is with synthesizing. To synthesize is to “put the pieces together.” One must tie multiple concepts together to gain a deeper understanding of the whole picture when synthesizing. In essence, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Synthesis is vital to the creative process, especially in education. If the students are simply understanding the pieces and not the whole, a great deal is being lost. The Sparks of Creativity Wiki articulates, “No major problem of the world today can be boxed neatly within a single discipline or approached effectively from any particular angle alone.” Accordingly, all educators must use synthesis to create a comprehensive education of value where all students can look at the world through a transdisciplinary approach.
This expedition into creativity began with Sir Ken Robinson and should therefore conclude with this renowned creativity expert. According to Robinson, “Creativity is not an option, it’s an absolute necessity.” It is desirable that Robinson’s observation will become the pervasive belief in the educational community. He argues, “Children have extraordinary capacities for innovation.” It is vital, then, that creativity is understood and appreciated in every classroom on every level. After all, as Carolina Miranda of parenting.com pontificates, “Our children’s future success – and the country’s – depends on the creative education they receive in school.”
Elevator Pitch
As an additional reference, below is the Prezi used in the elevator pitch above.
Twitter Message
Creativity is a fundamental concept that must be taught in schools today. Let’s work together to help construct a more creative world.