Assignment: Creative or not?
In this assignment, you will have an opportunity to integrate a variety of perspectives on creativity as you analyze learning experiences for young children.
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCES
• Shively, C. H. (n.d.). Dimensions of creativity: A model to analyze student projectsLinks to an external site.. TeachersFirst.
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFK25rzXols
To prepare:
Closely review the following resources:
• “Snapdragons and Math: Using Creativity to Inspire, Motivate, and EngageLinks to an external site.”• “Dimensions of Creativity: A Model to Analyze Student ProjectsLinks to an external site.”
Note: Be sure to click on and read each of these tabs: Intro, Fluency, Flexibility, Originality, and Elaboration• Ramprasad Raghavan: Sparking Curiosity and Nurturing CreativityLinks to an external site.
Then, consider the following scenario:
Your work as an early childhood teacher has benefited from the courses in your Walden MS in Early Childhood Studies program. You have been excited to share insights, resources, ideas, and challenges with your colleagues. One colleague, who teaches kindergarten, has been working enthusiastically to ensure that she engages children in learning experiences that promote creativity. Recently, she shared an article titled “Snapdragons and Math: Using Creativity to Inspire, Motivate, and Engage.” She was excited to read the author’s insights about creativity but very unsure about the activities the author included, as they did not seem particularly creative to her. She asks for your opinion about the activities in the article and one other she has designed.
You’re happy she has come to you to think about this together. You decide to use a chart that lists dimensions of creative experiences, or behaviors, children are involved in when they are immersed in creativity and learning.
Part 1: Analyzing Creativity and LearningYou decide to analyze the math learning experiences your colleague has shared in the following way:
• Review the document Math Learning Experiences – Creative or Not? Download Math Learning Experiences – Creative or Not?and the Creativity Dimensions/Behaviors Chart Download Creativity Dimensions/Behaviors Chart. • Read over each of the four learning math experience summaries. Then note on the chart how each of the activities engages children—or does not engage children—in the listed creative dimensions/behaviors.
Part 2: Reflecting on Creativity and LearningAfter you analyzed the learning experiences, you are ready to discuss your thinking with your colleague. You want the discussion to be supportive and encouraging, but you are also concerned that she will be disappointed when she learns that the experiences she hoped were creative turned out not to be so. You decide to take time to clarify your thinking about what you have learned from this process. To prepare for meeting with her, you record your thoughts in your teaching journal in response to the following:
• Respond to your colleague’s enthusiasm and concern about the article “Snapdragons and Math: Using Creativity to Inspire, Motivate, and Engage.” As you formulate your response, consider what you have learned from other resources in this module and from the first part of this article as well as the activities highlighted in the last part of this article?• Can a learning experience promote creativity in young children without involving them in any of the behaviors listed on the chart? If yes, how; if no, why not?• Explain how at least two of the learning experiences your colleague shared could be amended so they each provoke any or all the dimensions/behaviors of creativity.• What advice do you have for your colleague about how to inspire creativity in young children and why this is so important?• How did this experience impact your thinking about creativity, especially as it pertains to working with young children? How might you change your practice to ensure children’s experiences nurture their creativity by provoking “Ah!” “Aha!” and “Haha!” moments.
By Day 7 of Week 4 Submit:
Part 1: Your Creativity Dimensions/Behaviors ChartPart 2: Your Reflection on Creativity and Learning: 3–4
