Creativity & Innovation in the Classroom

A Continuation of Thinking and Work at Walnut Hills ElementaryNovember 6, 2013

#waukthetalk

As long as you be breathin’…

Learning Targets• Participants will understand the 21st Century

Universal Constructs and how they contribute to innovative learning.• Participants will examine the environments that

encourage creative thinking and innovative work within the classroom.• Participants will explore technology and arts

integration as tools for working in the 21st Century.• Participants will discover inquiry-based

frameworks, strategies, and activities.

OUR VEHICLE FOR LEARNING

• Participants will discover inquiry-based frameworks, strategies, and activities.

TOPIC OF STUDY

Creativity &

Innovation

• Googledoc: Creativity and Innovation in the Classroom• Visual Surroundings• Connection Checkpoints (lots of K-1 examples)• Our Learning Map

Creative and Innovative habits of

thinking and working

Curiosity FLOW

INQUIRY

Problem SeekingRisk TakingCollab &

Comm

by embracing for the purpose of

through by encouraging fueling• Immersion• Questions• Wonder• Play• Passion

• Authentic purpose/audience

• Removing walls of school• Organic dialogue• Synthesis• Arts and technology

• Entrepreneurial thinking

• Failure• Perseverance• Embracing

ambiguity

• Perspective• Critical thinking• Flexibility• Dissonance

• Increase motivation• Increase engagement• Increase happiness• Increase reflection• Increase ownership• Increase inspiration• Increase connectedness

invites

Guiding Questions:1. What habits exist in an innovative classroom?2. What role does inquiry play in nurturing

creativity and innovation?3. How does an inquiring mindset get us to

“flow”?

OUR LEARNING

MAP

“If there's something you really want to believe, that's what you should question the most.” Penn Jillette

Some of my first wonderings…• What are my passions? Do I even acknowledge them or intentionally

practice them?• Why is “play” so hard for me? Is it related to self-conciousness?• What does it feel like to be deeply engaged in the creative process? • Why do “creative” people generally seem more happy to me? Why

was I uncontainably happy after our studio recording? • Can you practice creativity? Get better at it?• Are creativity and innovation the same thing? Different? Why? How?• What are the habits of creative thinking?• What environments spark creativity?• Why do I often feel more creative in my social life than in my work life?

How can I change that?• How will we know if our mission/vision is moving us forward? • What do or would our students say about our mission/vision?

What have been some of your first wonderings?

3.5.10(modified)

3.5.10 (modified)

2 min.All participants independent write. Mine your thinking

and dig up your questions.

4 min.Have a

conversation with a partner at

your table.

8 min. Share with your group. Combine

questions and discover emerging themes.

How do I get all

of my students

to take creative

risks?

What about

kids who always

want to be

right?

How do I

embrace

creativity but

still cover what I

need to?

How do I bring out more

creativity in myself?

When did I lose my

fearlessness?

3.5.10 (modified)

3 min.All participants independent write. Mine your thinking

and dig up your questions.

5 min.Have a

conversation with a partner at

your table.

10 min. Share with your group. Combine

questions and discover emerging themes.

Connection Checkpoint

• Content Snapshots• Content Storytelling• Wonder Strategies• Memory Making• Thinking Prompts• Model Curiosity

Content Snapshots…

Content Storytelling…

Trees in my Backyard Me and Ben

Wonder Strategies…

Wonder Strategies…

Wonder Strategies…

Memory Making…

Thinking Prompts…

Thinking Prompts…

Thinking Prompts…

Thinking Prompts…

Modeling Curiosity…

Resources…

K-2 3-5/R.A.

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”-Abe Lincoln

Meet Colleen Flanigan…

My new questions…• When do our roadblocks to creativity begin?• How can I/we ignite positive action?• Do teachers describe themselves as innovators? If we don’t… Why

don’t we?• If we have lost our creativity…how do we get it back?• How can I help teachers take back their creativity?• Can we be expected to bring out creativity and innovation in our

students if our own creative selves are dormant?• Could we re-train ourselves to think more creatively?• Would we see our students naturally become creative as a result of

teachers nuturing their own habits of creativity?• How would we do that?• Who could we learn from? Who could teach us to bring habits of

innovation into the field of education?

What could we, as educators, learn about creativity and innovation

from the DSM Arts community?

Who’s in the room?DSM Artist Work

Emma Peterson CEO, TiklyJames Biehn Musician/Owner of Central Iowa Music LabDon Short Owner of West End SalvageBonne Finken Singer/Songwriter Mike Draper CEO, RaygunBill Henns CEO, BiLT Guitars

Read the profile of your artist.Try out the “party perspective” strategy with your table group.Record on individual sheets.

Perspective Party

Connection Checkpoint• Perspective Parties• Be the…• Value Lines• Morning Meeting• Written

Conversations• Write Arounds• Insider/Outsider

Views

“There are two questions that we have to ask ourselves. The first is ‘Where am I going?’ and the second is ‘Who will go with me?’”~ Howard Thurman

Bradley Seidenfeld• Former teacher• Musician• Comic Performer• Photographer• Storyteller• CEO, Oceanwide

Studios

A glimpse of Bradley’s work…

http://vimeo.com/76822971

Emma Peterson• 22-years old• Entrepreneur• CEO, Tikly

• Tikly was named one of the top five startups to watch by CNBC & has been featured as an exciting, new ticketing alternative by Pollstar, The Owl Mag, Music Connection Magazine and The Washington Post.

Emma Peterson

Joe McGuire• Stay-at-home dad• Musician• Artist-Welder

“I just don’t feel right unless I am making

something.”

Joe McGuire

Joe McGuire

Jerry Lorenson• Singer/Songwriter

(Towncrier)• Musician-piano• Poet/Writer• B.A Social Psychology• M.A. Sociology• Teaching Assistant• Currently working on

PhD at Iowa State

Jerry Lorenson (DMU Project)

“Because you’re the best you when you feel

at home.”

Choose your Interview…

Connection Checkpoint• Invite experts to the

classroom• Field Research• Quotes from

experts/mentors• Create the venue• Skype• Blog/Email• Social Media

“When Teachers Meet Artists…”

alilocker.com@ali_locker

#waukthetalk