"Creativity is a human skill, and the advancement of civilization depends on it. The basics required for creativity include a deep knowledge base in a subject and a willingness to play with the ideas in new ways" (Brookhart (2010) What is the difference between creativity and creation? Can we teach creativity? Or do we simply provide opportunities to create? Brookhart (2010) defines creativity in the classroom as "putting things together in new ways (either conceptually or artistically), observing things others might miss, constructing something novel, using unusual or unconventional imagery that nevertheless works to make an interesting point" (p. 124), and suggests creativity "is when you put things together so that others will have an "aha!" moment" (p. 125) - these two definitions are somewhat in antithesis to each other or at the least, not necessarily mutually exclusive. Educators provide plenty of opportunities to create and to be...
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English Language Arts teachers are constantly fighting the battle to instil habits of reading and writing into learners who have so many other options of how to spend their leisure time. Exacerbated by the influx and availability of technology incessantly at the fingertips of many of today’s learners, it is becoming even harder to lure them towards print. When much of today’s youth inhabit an interactive multimedia-rich environment, its no wonder the printed page appears somewhat cold, lifeless and unappealing in comparison. Weil (1997) suggests that learners are “natives in a place that most adults are immigrants” and to foster a culture of reading and writing for these “digital natives” (Prensky, 2006), we need to move our thinking about reading, writing, literacy and books beyond the traditions of the printed page to engage and motivate our learners to read in a way that looks recognisable to them. Educators need to explore the future of fiction. This paper explores the educationa...
In line with this week’s MEd discussion, I have chosen to discuss creativity as outlined in The National Curriculum 2007 (Department for Education, 2012). This document outlines the standards required for Key Stage 3 English, which equates to Middle School or Grades 6-8. It lists standards for reading, writing, and speaking and listening but also states four over-arching key concepts of competence, creativity, cultural understanding, and critical understanding “that underpin the study of English” (Department for Education, 2012, p. 62). The document states that learners “need to understand these concepts in order to deepen and broaden their knowledge, skills and understanding” and that “these essential concepts promote pupils’ progress in speaking and listening, reading and writing” (p. 62). I chose to look at the key concept of creativity, as Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy places creativity at the top of the higher order thinking skills (HOTS) and is something that in English, and in...
Learning Classification Chart using Bloom's Taxonomy Educational technologies for addressing each level of learning My latest assignment for the course on New Learning Environments asked me to explore existing educational technologies and how they may apply to Bloom's Taxonomy. I had to choose one tool for each level of learning - which, if you are aware of just how much is out there, is no mean feat! I am so new to technology I think I have a grasp only on the tip of the iceberg; keeping up to date with new tools is one of the things I find the hardest. Working full time, leading PL sessions at school whilst completing three online courses (and being a mom and wife and runner) means I have limited time to fully explore every new tool I come across. I am trying to limit myself to experimenting with new tools only once I have applied, used and evaluated one fully. Therefore, whilst there are many possible, perhaps limitless potential tools for each...