If there is one thing teachers and parents could use about right now it is something new, something productive, something that kids will enjoy, right? As a bonus, how about something that can teach a variety of skills in an interesting interdisciplinary way? Let’s talk about inventing. Thinking about inventors and inventing can fit into … Continue reading
If I were to stop 50 random people on the street and ask each one to name a creative person, I suspect very few of them would name teachers. When we think of creativity, many of us think first of artists or musicians, then perhaps great scientists or inventors, but creative teachers don’t often enter … Continue reading
Whether you are teaching in person or online, helping young people understand COVID precautions is likely to be a part of your job. One way to do that creatively is through the website Wash Your Lyrics. I discovered the website in my own university-required COVID training. Wash Your Lyrics allows you to create your own … Continue reading
Failure is not an upbeat subject. Now, as the school year begins, even in this strangest of school years, few of us are likely to be thinking, “OK, let’s go in there and fail!” And yet, I’ve been thinking about failure a lot. First, of course, I’m thinking about failure because it is the last … Continue reading
I’ve always been a curious person. Most of the time that has served me well, though when I was young, it occasionally led me into trouble. Observing the insects in the yard was interesting. Exploring the plants in the nearby woods was problematic, when some of them turned out to be poison oak. The only … Continue reading
For the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking about the affective or social/emotional elements of creativity—the attitudes and habits of mind we must support if we hope to help our students develop their creativity. I started my explorations with Modeli, a model of innovation from The Henry Ford museum. Unlike many models of design thinking, … Continue reading
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a list of characteristics associated with creativity that didn’t include some version of “risk taking.” Creativity, by its nature, requires going beyond the norm and trying something new—always an endeavor that requires some risk. Most creativity doesn’t involve physical risk but it does require risking looking foolish, being thought … Continue reading
In my last post, I began thinking about The Henry Ford’s Modeli for innovation, and particularly its Habits of an Innovator, as they express social and emotional characteristics associated with innovation. Thinking about the first one, “Be Empathetic” was straightforward and I could easily envision how it could be be taught and supported in schools. … Continue reading
As we consider the social emotional strengths that will serve students well in building creativity—and in learning—one good place to start is with The Henry Ford Museum’s Model i, a model of design thinking for innovation. The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation is exactly what the name suggests, an extraordinary collection of artifacts showcasing … Continue reading
Want to make a comic book? Create a character? Play a scribble game? Do you really really need some summer fun when activities are closed? Author/illustrator Jarrett Lerner has your back. Lerner, author of books like EngiNerds (and Revenge of the EngiNerds!), has a wonderful website, full of treasures for teachers, students and parents. There’s … Continue reading
