Often, the ideas that are most meaningful to me have multiple levels. Perhaps that is a function of aging. As the years go by, it seems more important to spend available energy and time thinking about things that are meaningful. Perhaps it is because leveled thinking appeals to my fascination with creativity, metaphor, and stretching … Continue reading
What’s good teaching? How do we recognize it? Are good teachers the ones whose students score highest on standardized tests? Or might they be the ones whose students learn to love learning? What about those whose students learn to be amazing problem solvers? No simple answers here. It reminded me of a response I used … Continue reading
When does creativity not look like creativity? Perhaps, sometimes, because we do not recognize it. Recently, Kaufman and Glăveanu suggested we may need a new concept to describe the space between “Wow, this is creative!” and “Nope, that’s not creative at all.” They’ve called it “Shadow Creativity.” Most definitions of creativity focus on two dimensions: … Continue reading
I had a birthday last week. I had balloons, courtesy of a five-year-old companion, ice cream sundaes, and many greetings from friends. I even had presents. These included a small plastic glow-in-the-dark cat and two puppets, one a giant clam, complete with pearl, and the other a little girl who looks as if she could … Continue reading
I recently retired after 35 years at Eastern Michigan University (OK, I’m teaching again this semester, but that’s another story). Even this state of not-quite-retired has caused me to think back on my years at EMU, in roles from beginning assistant professor to interim dean, in times of near-explosive growth and periods of retrenchment. The … Continue reading
If you haven’t yet seen Mark Rober’s wildly viral How to See Germs Spread video, you should. In fact, stop reading and go watch it right now. The clear demonstration of how germs spread from surface to surface is disconcerting, to say the least, but also clear and easy for young people to understand. Wonder … Continue reading
I left elementary school absolutely convinced I could not draw and, in fact, that I was no good at art. Any art. I’m not sure exactly when that happened. As a young child I enjoyed drawing, painting, clay, and creating all manner of things with boxes, sticks, etc. But a few years later I knew, … Continue reading
Yes, (in case you wondered after my “learn from failure” post) I’m still taking French. For fun. This semester I’m taking a conversation class in which we do a variety of activities to attempt to communicate in “spontaneous French.” Easier said than done! But during class we ended up discussing the challenges of the process … Continue reading
Emotions and creativity seem always entwined. Our creativity can be affected by our moods, our confidence, and our ability to deal with frustration. New creative products can feel personal and touch a tender part of our hearts, whether they be a new painting or a new business strategy. I can’t think of an instance in … Continue reading
This is a time of reflection in the United States—at least I hope it is. Sometimes it feels as if the universe is trying to catch our attention. First, a pandemic upended our daily routines. Then, in my home state, a flood destroyed homes and livelihoods in central Michigan. Now, technology is bringing many of … Continue reading
creativiteach 