“Creativity comes from the right side of the brain.” “Children are more creativity than adults.” “Creativity happens primarily in art.” “Only a few rare geniuses are really creative.” Not true. None of it. Creativity myths are found across the globe. In fact, Benedek et al. (2021) examined beliefs about creativity across six countries: the United … Continue reading
Filed under Lesson Ideas …
The Story of AND
I’ve always loved picture books, and I read them to anyone from visiting preschoolers to graduate students. I also love folk music and, in particular, the Midwest’s own Carrie Newcomer. This week I had the chance to enjoy both, in Sandy Eisenberg Sasso’s The Story of AND: The Little Word That Changed the World, with … Continue reading
Creativity and Resilience
In creativity, as in all of life, beliefs and emotions matter. When individuals feel confident in their ability to work creatively, they are more likely to undertake creative projects and stick to them when times get tough. Teachers who have confidence in their own creativity are more likely to teach to support students’ creativity—and find … Continue reading
Giving Students a Voice: Podcast!
Ever since I started teaching, back in the misty annals of time, I’ve tried to give students options for sharing ideas. My students, from elementary to graduate school, have written reports (of course), created poetry, acted out scenarios, built art works or models, composed music, recorded radio dramas, made charts and diagrams, etc. etc. Each … Continue reading
When Creativity is Invisible: The CASE for Shadow Creativity
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
Creativity in Math. Yes, We Can.
Recently I’ve been working on a chapter for a book on creativity in mathematics. I am, to say the least, an unlikely choice to be an author in such a book—a fact of which I‘ve reminded the editors more than once. I’m not a mathematician. Sadly, I am from a generation in which, when I … Continue reading
Just for Fun: Late to the Bardcore Party
Just in case you, like me, missed the Bardcore genre when it emerged in 2020, this seemed like a good day to share a bit, just for fun. Somehow I missed the phenomenon when it was streaking across the Internet, but it is still a fine example of genre-bending flexibility that folks who are interested … Continue reading
French Toast Alerts
Apparently, in Boston, this week has been full of French Toast alerts. I’m not sure when the French Toast Alert system was created, but it surely must have been after my years living in New England, otherwise I can’t imagine missing such a delicious weather warning. According to Boston’s Universal Hub, the French Toast Alert … Continue reading
The Chalk Art Handbook: Chalk Art for All of Us
David Zinn is an Ann Arbor treasure. I’ve written before about the seeming magic of his chalk art, in which fantastical creatures briefly appear in the nooks and crannies of the city, only to disappear with the summer rains or (as currently) winter snows. Now Zinn has shared his techniques with young people in The … Continue reading
Butterflies, Mathematicians, and Creativity
This is Katherine Johnson. I know it looks like a monarch butterfly egg, and it is, but its name is Katherine Johnson. It is not every butterfly egg that is fortunate enough to be named after an early NASA mathematician, but this one is. Katherine—the butterfly version—was named by my four-year-old friend, who holds Katherine … Continue reading