I didn’t mean to take most of December off from blogging. I really didn’t. But this year the end of the semester about did me in. Somehow the combination of the end-of-term grading, sewer pipe lining (don’t ask), last minute legal needs regarding my dad’s estate, and trying to manage a semblance of Christmas, meant … Continue reading
Teachers, how confident are you in your ability to engage students in learning activities? How confident are you in your ability to use a variety of effective instructional strategies? How about your classroom management? Are you confident in your skills in that area? A study from Turkey* suggests that teachers’ answers to such questions are … Continue reading
In a recent conversation with a friend, we ended up talking about play. She mentioned that she was going to go home and play—by reading a work-related book. Now, I really do enjoy my work, but to me, reading work-related books is work. It is not play, even when I find the books fascinating. Stuart … Continue reading
Who needs innovative thinking more than educators? What with constantly changing curriculum mandates, new methods, complicated relationships with colleagues and scores of individual students with needs, teachers have a lot to manage. One researcher* found that, when compared to 17 other professions, teachers responded to more stimuli per hour than anyone but air traffic controllers—and … Continue reading
Having a more creative school year is not about beautiful bulletin boards or teachers shouting from the desktops–though those don’t hurt. More importantly, it is about becoming a classroom in which students are encouraged to be their most creative selves, while learning content that matters. It is serious work, but it can be a lot … Continue reading
This week I was working with a group of teachers when one of them raised a familiar question, “How can I help students be creative when I’m not creative myself?” It’s a dilemma. If we really believe we are not creative, how can we help students go beyond our capacity? It can feel like being … Continue reading
Bad behavior in schools can be really frustrating—especially when the bad behavior is among the adults. I don’t know if it is warmer weather or exhausted lack of patience, but I’ve heard more stories lately of teachers not-at-their-best. And most of these stories center around students who just don’t fit the mold–the creative ones with … Continue reading
Have you ever been in a situation when you really needed a new idea and your brain seemed to freeze? Or maybe you’ve tried to solve a problem and every idea seemed like a bad one? You are not alone. Creativity and anxiety—or even small amounts of uncertainty—don’t necessarily mix well. Researchers Mueller, Melwani and … Continue reading
How would you like to spend 20% of your time doing something creative, just because you think it is interesting? Sound impossible? It’s not. Here’s one example. One of the most famous “perks” of working at Google is that for many employees, twenty percent of their time can be used on any project they choose. … Continue reading
In a recent blog on the Scientific American site, Maria Konnikova asked Why Are We So Afraid of Creativity? I’ve been thinking about that question ever since. Are we really afraid? And if we are, why? Konnikova cites some interesting research that suggests that under conditions of uncertainty, individuals are likely to have an implicit … Continue reading
