David Wiesner’s classic picture book Tuesday is a delight, and inspiration for creativity from preschool to graduate school. Tuesday is an almost wordless tale that begins “Tuesday evening, around 8:00.” It uses a series of wondrous watercolors to recount the story of swarms of toads and flying lilypads as they adventure through the night. Here, … Continue reading
How Would Henry VIII Dress Today?
Working with historian Dr Suzannah Lipscomb, a team of digital artists try to answer that question in a series of updated portraits imagining what historical characters might look like today. Dr. Lipscomb is Senior Lecturer for History at New College for the Humanities and a presenter for the television series “Secret Life of…..” on the … Continue reading
Family Fun for May: Let’s MAY-KE Something
This month’s family fun ideas are dedicated to all things maker. A maker, of course, is anyone who makes something, and they are on the rise. From maker spaces, where collaborators young and old share equipment and expertise, to Hacker Scouts dedicated to solving problems through making, there are lots of opportunities for creative building … Continue reading
Assessment FOR Creativity #4: Using Choice in Assessment
This is the fourth in a series of posts on assessment FOR creativity, that is, classroom assessment that is not aimed at assessing creativity itself, but at assessing content in ways that support students’ creativity. Assessment for creativity entails at least three factors: Assessment FOR creativity builds intrinsic motivation through a sense of … Continue reading
International Exchanges: Multicultural Experiences Just a Click Away
This is the time of year when I vacillate between being grateful to see the semester wind down and thinking about all the things I hope to do better next term. In case you, too, are in the mood for dreaming about next year’s exciting options (or for my Australian friends, embarking on a new … Continue reading
Beautiful Oops
One of my long ago favorite Bill Cosby routines was one about the word “Oops” and times you would really hate to hear it. From your surgeon. Or your dentist. Or perhaps your plumber. But funny as that is, I have a new favorite reference for “Oops,” the book Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg. Beautiful … Continue reading
I’ve Got A Meme for That: Math Style
There is a meme for about everything today. Regardless of your social network of choice, sometimes-amusing graphics are everywhere. Why not use them to teach math? The font of all things meme, CHEEZburger, has a GraphJam section full of graph and diagram memes. Perhaps you are teaching pie charts. You could start with this. You … Continue reading
OLogy: Choose Your Exploration
The American Museum of Natural History’s OLogy site, subtitled “The Museum’s Science Website for Kids” could also be labeled, “Catalog of Creative Scientific Investigations.” OLogy allows students to “Choose an OLogy,” from Anthropology to Zoology, and then explore resources in each area. There are interviews with scientists, interesting facts, polls to take, games to play, … Continue reading
Comedy Across the Curriculum: Treasures of Creativity
Once in a while (OK, maybe more than once in a while) I find a blog post I really wish I’d written. Recently, while looking for resources suitable for silly family fun for April, I came across this 2011 post from The New York Times Education website, focusing on serious ways to teach comedy across … Continue reading
Assessment for Creativity #3: Using Content in New Ways
Imagine trying to learn how to drive a car from a book or from lectures given by expert drivers. You study diagrams showing the position of the accelerator, brake, and clutch pedals. You read about the process of releasing the clutch as the accelerator is depressed. You memorize the appropriate braking distances… When you have … Continue reading