Often, the ideas that are most meaningful to me have multiple levels. Perhaps that is a function of aging. As the years go by, it seems more important to spend available energy and time thinking about things that are meaningful. Perhaps it is because leveled thinking appeals to my fascination with creativity, metaphor, and stretching … Continue reading
“I don’t have time to think about creativity. Look at the amount of curriculum I have to cover this year. No time for anything else!” Ever felt like that? I suspect most teachers have. Fortunately, it is not an either-or choice. Really, it’s not. Creativity is not something extra to be pulled out late Friday … Continue reading
Good curriculum and good assessment go hand-in-hand. So it is not surprising that the fourth key principle in developing curriculum supportive of creativity relates to assessment. In curriculum for creativity: Assessment includes multiple formative and summative assessments, including some that offer choices and use content in new ways. In all good curriculum, we start with … Continue reading
It is back-to-school time, at least in most of the U.S. Depending on where you live, you are probably in the last stages of new-year planning or already in the thick of things. Either way, it is a good time to think about general principles for planning curriculum that supports creativity. Helping students think more … Continue reading
Knowing what to teach can be tricky. Really. Given the seeming endless lists of outcomes, objectives, core ideas, etc. teachers face each day, that might sound odd. It seems any number of people and groups are oh-so-happy to tell us what to teach. But that can be the problem. When the lists are long and … 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
Recently I had the wonderful opportunity to work with some Korean teachers interested in incorporating more creativity in their teaching. We had only a short time together, and so it was important to stick to a few key ideas. Like many teachers, they have a required curriculum, and any creative adaptations must build on those … Continue reading
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