Critical Creativity in the Classroom

@amyburvall
@WickedDecent
Integrating and Assessing
the Core Competencies
#ISABC17
Critical Creativity in the K-12 Classroom
http://bit.ly/intentionCC

#oodledoodle
1 side: doodle what you LOVE about your course or content
1 side: doodle what frustrates you /
what you found challenging / your struggles
(1 min each side)

@wickeddecent
1 word +
3 image
sketch note
(reﬂect 1st day
of school)

Identify an
education-related
metaphor
#imagiphor

Or pass camera roll
to a friend and
choose one
of their photos

Questioning ReﬂectionAnalysis Synthesis
Draw conclusions and
defend judgement =

Plan SharePerform Summarize
Acquire, interpret, present…
explain a concept =

Ideate MakeRemix Collaborate
Create new things within
constraints of form, a problem,
or materials =

CRITICAL
CREATIVITY
in the
CLASSROOM

Students using creative expression
to demonstrate deeper thinking
and the nuances of understanding content

“if they build it they will get it”
@wickeddecent
creation reveals comprehension

Whether you THINK or you BELIEVE or you KNOW,
you’re a lot of other people…
but the moment you FEEL…
you’re nobody but yourself
ee cummings

holistic,
reﬂexive,
reﬂective,
experiential,
relational…
requires exploration
of one’s identity
First Peoples’ Principles of Learning

GOAL:
learning is sticky, meaningful, authentic

Constructivism
(meaning through inquiry)

Constructionism
(meaning through making)

Connectivism
(meaning through networks)

EPIC WORK
comes from making a deeper
to who we are
& ﬁnding a MEDIUM to EXPRESS it well
to OTHERS
@berkun
CONNECTION

Almost all creativity involves
purposeful play
- Abraham Maslow

It is paradoxical
that many educators and parents
still differentiate between
a time for learning
and a time for play
without seeing the vital connection
between them
- Leo Buscaglia

A child loves his play not because it is easy,
but because it is hard
-Benjamin Spock

ﬂexible thinkers
adaptable
creative / innovative
open to change
trusting
tolerant / bonding
purpose / mastery
makes us…

conﬁdence
problem-solving
focus
perseverance
collaboration
What we learn from MAKING

empathy
need-finding
iteration/ revision
reflection and feedback
creative confidence / fail up
DESIGN

observe
connect
interpret
ﬁnd patterns
evaluate
question
explore perspectives

the larger
an animal’s brain
the more play
(like dolphins)

the opposite of play
is not work -
the opposite of play is
depression
- Steve Keil
A Manifesto for Play

kitties deprived of
play cannot be social

grows our amygdala -
emotional center of brain…
so better interpersonal skills

promotes pre-frontal
cortex growth
(so better decision makers)

Cmdr. Chris Hadﬁeld
psychologists insisted on having a guitar on space station
importance of emotive qualities of the arts and whimsy

I have the answers to the questions
they never ask
- Gwen Burvall

…there was less direction…
…and
more discovery?

less “learning” and
more yearning?

…the question was
more important
than the answer?

Extended Thinking
what if…?
what do you believe / feel/ think?
what can you design / develop / do?
what are other perspectives?

the WHEN and WHY
to use a tool is as important
as the HOW

connections as valuable
as knowledge
within the course
to other courses
to life
to the outside world
connection
maps

analysis/ insight
what can the trending in diff countries tell us?

learn why the world
wags and what wags it
- Merlin

even the tiniest pencil can leave a lasting mark

backchannelling a basic practice?

break the 4th wall of
the media we consume?

class as
a studio with no walls?

What if the “group” in “group project”
was the world?

What if #FF was for students…
what if teacher role is also ampliﬁer?

Creativity is a Tao
- a Way
- a Lens

“CREATIVITY is relational.
…casting widely and disparate dots
of existing knowledge in new ways
…mine your knowledge;
know your dots”
-Bruce Nussbaum

CREATIVITY is…
…connecting dots

to dot connect
you must have the dots

help students
grow their dot forest

need blend of direct instruction
and open inquiry

Egon Schiele meets
Thom Yorke
of Radiohead

Combinatorial Play
Albert Einstein

make disciplines
dance together

REMIX:
the ultimate
demonstration of learning?
TRANSFORM to give
new MEANING

is like a Long Island Iced Tea
mix of existing ingredients,
deconstructed and re-contextualized

is like a White Russian
two or more opposing things
layered and blended

see relationships
to which others are blind
Mission for Juxtaposition

I saw the angel
in the marble…
Michelangelo
…and I carved
to set it free

Multi-media
STUDIO
in the pocket
try a Wonder Walk

use metaphorical and visual thinking to
express complex and abstract ideas

The way out of the box is via the shackles

Prick-y and Meraki
Henri Matisse,
bedridden

synopsize synthesize
ESSENTIALIZE

Picasso’s Exercise: used at Apple

Paul Rand
midcentury graphic artist

Wonder-Fueled Writing:
Creating with
WORDS

Lewis Carroll
chortle:
chuckle + snort
mimsy:
miserable + ﬂimsy
portmanteaux
phrankenword

blackout poetry (magazine)
try a “found poem”
by layering 2 poems,
speeches, or literary texts
next to each other
extract from each
to create a new poem
IDEA!
- David Theriault

@austinkleon
In other words…

unsplash.com
10 free hi-res photos
every 10 days

close reading of text
theme / mood / irony
David Theriault

Listening is Knowing
Creating with
SOUNDS

SCORE THE NEWS
beatlab.com
http://www.incredibox.com/

Beatle-fy Your Course
alone or with a partner from the same discipline
use any Beatle song as the base
(ﬁnd the lyrics + use to ﬁgure out rhyme scheme + meter
Try to write at least 1 verse BASED on
some concept you teach

History for Music Lovers YouTube: Iceman

Plan a VlogMash
in the style of 50 People 1 Q
what question could you pose for students
to answer and create a “vlog mash”?
think deep, open-ended provocations,
but ones that require short, poignant responses

Seeing the Beauty
of the Bigger Picture:
Creating with
IMAGES

Colour Palette
Use ColourLovers site (http://www.colourlovers.com/ )
if you can
*if not, just make it up
Think of a concept, idea, person, etc. from your discipline
assign a palette to them + justify your reasoning

http://www.colourlovers.com/palettes/add
To Kill a Mockingbird palette excerpt
@wickeddecent

emoji story
“emojiliterate”?

minimalist posters
of a concept

visual metaphor
for
“eating disorder”

mood board: Padlet via @wickedDecent
historical events, novels (this is Of Mice and Men)

Crowdsourced
Visual Vocab
create dictionary
of iconography

Building to a Better
Understanding:
Creating with
STUFF

3 dimensional visualization of:
vocab word
math problem
event in history
process in science
movement in political science
Make it Tangible

process
belief system
historical ﬁgure

Ironic T-Shirt
think of concepts, vocabulary + people in your discipline
try to make a pun / play on words / portmanteau
illustrate as appropriate
(the image can be the funny part too)

William Burroughs
“cut up method”
(also used by Bowie and Cobain for lyrics)

My “Makeout Poetry”
ipad Paper 53 +
magazine +
Instagram ﬁlter

metaphorical architecture
Ribbon Chapel, Hiroshi Nakamura

Debris of the Sea
Mandy Barker

OREO Challenge
everyone gets 1 Oreo (a malleable object)
*if you need more you can partner with someone
use the Oreo, paper, + markers to visually depict
either:
(something from content)

Shape of the Content:
Creating with the
BODY

CHOREOGRAPH AN IDEA
lifecycle of a hurricane?
chapter of a novel?
experiencing a culture for the ﬁrst time?
a historical ﬁgure’s life?

use real life items or people
length of hair= frequency of addiction

Collisions and
Collaborations:
Creating with
OTHERS

link to other schools/
collaborative projects

collaborative creativity: #remash

exquisite corpse
crowdsourced poem

exquisite corpse/
consequences

exquisite corpse/
consequences
to work out UX for
school website
@daibarnes

Create a Band
Band Name= Title of Wikipedia article regarding some
aspect of your curriculum
Album Title: Quote or pieces of quote from someone key
to your discipline (famous ruler, philosopher, artist, scientist

Create a Band
Song Titles: relate to a concept from the course
Cover Art= Use search terms related to your subject area
OR a random Flickr or Instagram search (#tagged)
http://5card.cogdogblog.com/
OR try 5 card Flickr
Produce using an app, Photoshop, Gimp, PicMonkey

Owen’s “Anthem for Doomed Youth” +
Grateful Dead “Dark Star”

Dare to Share:
Creating with
SOCIAL MEDIA

Faux
Social Media
Proﬁles
* empathy
(get inside character)

practice metaphor
#2016in3words

HashMash: hashtag mashup
food + elements of ﬁction in #EatingStories
games and geography in #GameMaps
children’s literature with psychology in #SeussianPsyche

Storify research project
(tag-based)

Serendipitous Story
based on tags

critique a tweeter’s
arguments or build a case
made of tweets

paraphrase a book or poem
using 140 characters

REAL ISSUES
REAL TOOLS
REAL TIME
kqed.org/donow

@thebriefbox
signage for art gallery
coffee cup design
carbon footprint infographic
e-commerce web page
redesign gmail UI layout
example briefs

Assessment
Welsh slate
apprentice’s portfolio

What if we had less testing
…and more questing?

What if assessments had the 3 Vs:
Verbal, Visual, Vocal

expectation:
discuss process
and inﬂuences,
and have a lineage tree
that archives attribution?

Inﬂuences
Inspiration
Tools
Troubleshooting

project specs
roposals
rocess
ondering (reﬂection)

leave a blank column
for the unknown
Rubrics

Try: slide decks
with only
pictures and
a provoking
question?

What if all tests were
open resource?

artifact bag
bag of tools mashup
bio bag
“In the Bag”

Creation
Creator
Motivation
Pos/Neg Effects
relations between
people and ideas
INFOGRAPHIC

pic/ play / post app
Process Product Reﬂection

…students, as part of
their portfolio
or ﬁnal exam,
had to come up with
a lesson?

must ruminate to innovate
Reﬂect
(metacognition)

Could your course have
a #TIL like on Reddit?

Emoji Exit Ticket
Affective Data
how did I feel about my work or my learning?

…we used tags and
emoji as reﬂection
of each assignment?

…we used mind
peeks / peaks
as an exit ticket?

…we used “Weird,
Wonderful,
and Worrisome”
as a reﬂection?

…we reﬂected using cartoon structures?
@anasalter
@dogtrax

listicle
(Thinglink or info.gram)

5 takeaways
5 min vlog or ﬁlm
5 annotated images
5 paragraphs

…we had a vox box
in every room
and used it for
parent night too?

VISIBLE THINKING
Try Flipgrid!

GOAL
demonstrate learning / knowledge

…there were universal project specs?
beautiful
unique
poignant
relevant
transparent

Love the …
…What if…?
Peer Feedback
( Pixar’s “plussing” )

Space as Muse…
…mise en scène
design experiences
offer resources

…make like a Hitchcock cameo …
set scene and get out of way

true teachers are those who
use themselves as bridges
over which they invite their students to cross;
then, having facilitated their crossing,
joyfully collapse,
encouraging them to
CREATE THEIR OWN
Nikos Kazantzakis

curriculum like Wired Magazine?

try THEMATIC, CONCEPT-based instruction
teach IDEAS not ITEMS

sharpies
dry erase markers
coloured pencils
coloured markers
scissors
glue sticks
$10 design kits
Mise en Place

environment: $10 design kits
Mise en Place

Remix Labs and Deconstruction Zones
as well as Maker Spaces?

creative crowdsourced curation

The Studio
collaborating
planning/ brainstorming
developing
making/doing

The Studioteacher
help troubleshoot
reﬁne
critique
guide offer resources

The Studio
Production
ask a student to be the “Paparazzo” + archive

DaVinci - fy
always have
a notebook

ideas are butterﬂies
- notebook is net

drawing is putting a line
around an idea
- Henri Matisse

“Why Doodlers are the New ‘Now’”

you begin to see things
you never noticed
before.…
you get closer
to the artist’s secret
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Should “mobile learning”
include
sketchbooks and pens?

How about DEAD
(Drop Everything
and Draw) time?

@michelrijk
Try a one-line
drawing
Mindfulness

analog tags on post-its
add further context or questions to things in room

Professional
Development
growing ourselves

have space for convening
with others outside your
sphere
watercooler effect

Pro - D walkabout?
“host” your room
…tourists
in our own land?

There is no WIN
There is no
FAIL
There is only
MAKE
- John Cage

your big takeaway
a question
your personal
challenge

Critical Creativity in the Classroom

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