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
Recently I saw a notice of National Hummus Day, which made me smile. I mean, I like hummus, but how did it come to have a national day? Then I discovered hummus appears to have two celebrations: National (U.S.) Hummus Day on the third Thursday in May and International Hummus Day on May 13. I … Continue reading
One of the best ways to help students experience the power of creative thinking is to involve them in solving real world problems. Sometimes problems appropriate for young problem-solvers are local to a school or neighborhood, but sometimes young people can have an impact on problems of global scale. One such problem is the die … Continue reading
For me, it started with popcorn. I discovered The New York Times ScienceTake video explaining the physics behind the glorious dance of the popcorn kernel, and I was entranced. Sadly, I can’t manage to get the video to embed, so you are going to have to Click here to see it. I know, it’s annoying. … Continue reading
While we’re considering play, let’s talk about fun. DeepFUN. Game designer Bernie DeKoven’s DeepFUN website is all about games. Here’s the way he describes it. This site is about games – not just any games – just the games you play for fun. In the process of growing up, most people lose touch with the sources … 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
A few years ago I first learned about the small country of Bhutan’s unique contribution to the process of measuring progress—Gross National Happiness (GNH). Gross National Happiness suggests that there are things that make a country great, beyond the amount of money it generates. Gross National Happiness, as defined by Bhutan’s survey, includes nine dimensions, … Continue reading
The last few warm days have given me hope that summer may one day return to Michigan. When that glorious day finally arrives (can you tell it’s been a LONG winter?), many homes will be filled with seemingly ever-hungry children wondering to eat next. This doesn’t necessarily sound like a creativity problem, but it can … Continue reading
Every once in a while I see a TV ad so creativity-focued I just can’t resist sharing. Not long ago I loved the General Electric ad on the care and feeding of an idea. Today, I loved Emily’s Oz. It would make a great lesson on perspective, visualization, or illustration. Watch and see. Yes, it’s … Continue reading
Ever dream of movie fame? As the screenwriter? Do you teach high school English or Media Studies? I have a book for you, with a title appropriate for our household of animals, “Save the Cat!” Writer Blake Snyder claims to have written “The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need,” despite the fact that he … Continue reading
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