How much time do you spend thinking about bugs? Have you thought about how they’ve changed the world? Sarah Albee has. The first time I spotted the book Bugged: How Insects Changed History, I was fascinated. In it, Albee recounts notable events in world history that were caused by insects. Did you know insects were … Continue reading
I don’t often post profoundly personal things here, but there are times in life when only the profound things are meaningful. This was one of those weeks for me. I buried my father this week. He had as good a death as a person could wish—fully himself nearly to the end, surrounded by those who … Continue reading
Don’t you hate it when hear about a special event just after it occurred? That happened to me this year with Ada Lovelace Day. I’m not a big fan of invented holidays, particularly those that seem designed solely to keep greeting card companies and florists in business, but I think a day for Ada is … 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
As more and more schools realize that creativity and problem solving are essential skills, we face a dilemma—how do we manage organize curriculum in ways that do both? One possibility is using design thinking to organize curriculum. And some schools are doing just that. For example, Vista Design and Innovation Academy, a magnet middle school, … Continue reading
Want a better mousetrap? Want hotels that feel like home? How about a new way of thinking about literature? A new way to design curriculum? You might consider Design Thinking. While there are a number of varieties and definitions, design thinking is a process, much akin to Creative Problem Solving (CPS), in which the strategies … Continue reading
This week, while reading about schools using design thinking, I was struck with a piece of advice given in one school’s literature. When brainstorming, it suggested, think of your worst, most obvious idea and list that idea first. No idea is likely to be worse, so the pressure is off. Participants can feel free to … Continue reading
Every now and then I run into something that reminds me of the interconnectedness of the world around us—and the wonder of it. I’m sure many of you have see the video making the rounds of social media titled “How Wolves Change Rivers.” If not, just stop now for 4.3 minutes and prepare to be … Continue reading
If, as the adage suggests, curiosity killed the cat, what killed curiosity? I’ve been wondering about curiosity lately. Anyone who has ever spent time with toddlers knows they are full of questions. “Why is my cat fluffier than Jane’s cat?” “Where does milk go when I drink it?” “What is dirt made of?” “Why can’t … Continue reading
Are the Common Core State Standards stifling creativity in students and teachers? Some current commentary seems to suggest they are. Of course, the difficulties do not lie in the standards themselves, but in the way the standards are enmeshed in the drive toward policy-driven test-based education. When the success of education (or the assessed value … Continue reading
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