Some of the brightest people I know have disabilities. I have a gifted uncle who is blind. I have friends—young and old—with exceptional intelligence and attention disorders. A professor-friend, a national leader at the top of his field, has trouble reading. I could go on. Sadly, as anyone in the field of special education can … Continue reading
Recently, The New York Times has been publishing the results of its Found Poetry contest for students. This is a grand opportunity to introduce students to the poetic form of found poetry and to share exceptional examples of work done by high school students. Found poetry takes words and phrases from existing texts, rearranges them … Continue reading
This is the story of three “aha” moments regarding students with special needs and creativity. A few years ago I was teaching a basic research class that is taken by students in a number of masters’ degree programs. Several of the students, knowing I had written Creativity in the Classoom, asked if I could take … Continue reading
It is a classic line: If the teacher is bored, we have a problem! In this guest post, Melanie Carbine describes a math lesson that is an example of both creative teaching, and teaching for creativity. Like many creative activities, it emerged from a moment of need. Here’s Melanie. I had a month substituting for … Continue reading
My visit to Chinese schools has left me with amazing memories and a sense of scale that has changed forever my sense of “big.” The train stations were enormous. The cities were enormous. The schools were enormous, well organized, and full of bright-eyed students eager to try out their English on visitors. I loved the … Continue reading
One of the basic principles of creativity is that it often entails looking at something in a new way. Flexible thinking can help us look at something from another person’s point of view, from another angle, with another purpose, or in another form. One way we can help students think flexibly is by asking them … Continue reading
It is easy for all of us to forget the power we have to change the world. That certainly is true of many children. When children go through days and weeks of scheduled hours and mandated activities—in and out of school- it is easy to imagine how they may come to feel small and lacking … Continue reading
Warning! The Scale of the Universe is addictive. You may have trouble pulling yourself away from this fascinating exploration of size, scale, and relationships. It takes a moment to load, but once it does, it presents items in order of size, from quantum foam at 1X10-35 meters, past microbes, ants, giant earthworms, the Titanic, and … Continue reading
Tomorrow I’m getting on a plane and flying to China. How beyond amazing is that? It is a small and wonderful world, for sure. In a whirlwind week I’m going to have the opportunity to visit schools in several cities, with educators who are interested (among other things) in developing students’ creativity. But, of course, … Continue reading
Today I welcome guest blogger Holli Weaver. When she told me about this activity I just knew it needed to be shared, so I’m thrilled that she was willing to step in to the guest-blogger role. So, with thanks, here’s Holli. During a unit on Earth Science, my third graders engaged in a creative project … Continue reading
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