Are you in the long-winter doldrums? Are you interested getting sparking your students’ creativity and having a little fun at the same time? The Imagination Foundation’s 2016 Inventors’ Challenge may be just the thing for you. The Imagination Foundation started with a chance encounter that resulted in the viral film Caine’s Arcade, the story of … Continue reading
In my last post I said it seems questioning is in the air—and so it is. What should arrive in my latest ASCD Education Update but a newsletter whose headline reads “The Wonder Years.” If you are an ASCD member you can read the newsletter at the link, but simply reading the introduction gives … Continue reading
It seems questioning is in the air. Years ago, when I talked about helping students ask questions I was often met with “And when do you think we have time to do that?” stares. And given our educational climate, there were good reasons. But times shift. I’m told that my naturally curly hair is going … Continue reading
Not long ago, one of my favorite very bright young people gave up the opportunity to go to a prestigious math/science high school because they didn’t have an orchestra. Or much of a music program. While I suspect this young man will one day make a career in the sciences, life without music was just … Continue reading
Did you know there was an actual Mr. Ferris behind the Ferris Wheel? I didn’t. Like so many inventions, the Ferris Wheel originated with a challenge. In 1890, as the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago was being designed, the builders had a problem. Just the year before, France had created the Eiffel Tower for their … Continue reading
Eric Weiner’s recent essay in the Wall Street Journal, “The Secret of Immigrant Genius,” suggested an unusual take on today’s immigrant debate—How many of the world’s greatest creative achievements have come via immigrants or refugees? Einstein was one, emigrating from Germany to Switzerland. The article cites others clearly recognizable as having sparked creative change: Sigmund … Continue reading
You know I’ve been spending time with pre-adolescents when a book titled I Love You More than Moldy Ham sets me chortling in the bookstore aisle. The book, targeted at primary grade students, tells the story of a young monster who trudges through swampland to gather ingredients for a special dinner for his mom. It … Continue reading
Can squeezing a soft ball help you generate more ideas? How about a hard ball? What would you predict? Those are questions addressed by researcher JongHan Kim in a study titled, logically enough, “Physical Activity Benefits Creativity: Squeezing a Ball for Enhancing Creativity.” Studies in embodied cognition both fascinate and puzzle me. The assumption of … Continue reading
Sometimes the most interesting discoveries happen in unexpected ways. For the last several weeks I’ve been busily working on content for an online graduate course on motivation. One of the concepts in the course is learned helplessness. It is such a common topic in psychology courses, I decided to look at YouTube to see if … Continue reading
When I was a little girl, I used to sit on the floor of my family home and read the World Book Encyclopedia. Yes, I know, today that would be considered a very “nerd” thing to do. Maybe it was then, too, but not among my friends. When I was bored, I’d pull a random … Continue reading
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