Sunday, April 22, 2012

Creativity and Curiosity: My Thoughts-Special Post #12A.

I don't think any one school INTENTIONALLY destroys creativity. I think that certainly there is always room for improvement on the development of curiosity and creativity because we can always get better and there is always room to grow. I think the main thing is staying focused on keeping creativity alive and fresh and remembering to make it a priority. To increase the curiosity of students, I think it would be a neat idea to have students create assignments for their classmates. This gives them a sense of responsibility, freedom, and a chance for them to feel powerful. Of course there would have to be guidelines but just think of the possibilities! Also, I think it would be neat to have students create powerpoint presentations or make posters about themselves (in detail) about their interests, hobbies, families, and dreams and have the students guess which of their fellow classmates each report belongs to. This will give them a chance to learn things about each other that they may have otherwise never learned. To increase the creativity of students, I would assign more tangible, hands-on experiments. Students tend to learn more through self-exploration and personal experiences. Also, I think it would be a good idea to have more open-ended discussions (for all ages)to allow students to really THINK and discuss certain issues/topics. Some students learn better when they hear their peer's views and perspectives on things because they can express to each other in ways that teachers can't. I would also incorporate more Art projects and more activities where the students have the freedom to come up with ideas on their own about creating the assignment (with approval). I would also encourage a lot of feedback and ask them what worked, what didn't work, and what they would change (if anything. Also, in my class I would have more essays over multiple choice because this is a method where we, as teachers, can really tell if they understand the term/concept, rather than just choosing A, B, C, etc. To increase the curiosity of my students, I would play into their interests by gaining knowledge on students' interests/strengths, and share with them new facts/information about that particular subject. I also might assign projects and have prizes such as "no homework passes" for students who go into elaborate detail on their reports. To increase my students' creativity, I plan to make them THINK, constantly. I would like to have open-ended, debate style discussions as frequently as possible, as this makes them "dig deeper" and think about the topic at hand. I will ask them WHY they think/feel certain ways about particular things/issues and I will ask them to put themselves in uncomfortable situations and explain what they would do to get out of them. During an Art project where everyone is given the exact same instructions, I will ask them what they plan to do to make there project unique and different from everyone elses. What would help me to become more creative is to be as well-rounded as I possibly can and to never stop learning. I have never been that great of an artist so I would love to gain some artistic ability. I will watch all the videos on creativity that are made available to me. I will take field trips to museums/exploreums and I will converse with other teachers/faculty members on creativity and what inspires them. Honestly, I don't know that there is anything that would help me become more curious than I already am! I have always been very curious in nature since I was a little girl, which often got me into trouble. I am very eager to have my own classroom one day and to learn all about my students from their strengths and weaknesses to their hopes and dreams. I am also curious to see how I will make a difference in their lives, because I know I will.
curiosity

1 comment:

  1. "...create powerpoint presentations..." How about using Google Docs? It's free.

    Interesting. A lot of really good ideas (at least in my opinion. Well written.

    You have generated more specific ideas than 75 others put together. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete