RESOURCES
Books/Journal Articles/Blogs
Puccio, Gerard J., Marie Mance, Laura Barbero Switalski, and Paul Reali.
Creativity Rising: Creative Thinking and Creative Problem Solving in the 21st
Century. Buffalo, NY: ICSC, International Center for Studies in Creativity,
2012. Print.
This book explains why we need to teach creativity, how to teach creativity, and the tools to use during creative problem solving. It covers the entire process of creative problem solving from start to finish. I will be using this as a reference for the coming year as I begin using creativity in the classroom.
Teaching Creativity - Creativity in Teaching by Claus Nygaard. This book addresses how to develop a creative environment in the classroom. It also deals with how to develop a curriculum and assessment when using creativity in the classroom. With the large push on assessment and authentic assessment, this would be a good resource to reference as creative instruction becomes a larger part of education.
http://udini.proquest.com/view/classroom-behaviors-in-elementary-pqid:2396779751/ This is a link to an article that has the research behind teaching creativity. It is also a research paper that show common behaviors of elementary teachers that foster creativity. This will be useful to see how many of these behaviors I have, and what I need to work on to become a teacher that fosters creativity in her classroom.
Thinkertoys by Michael Michalko This book states it will help you change the way that you think. The index has a some activities that I do recognize such as forced connections, brainstorming, and the matrix. It would be interesting to see the other activities in the book and to practice developing my own original, creative ideas. In order to become a teacher of creativity, I need to work on becoming more creative myself. This would be a resource worth checking out.
Creative Problem Solving in the Classroom: A Teacher's Guide to Using CPS Effectively in Any Classroom by
Joel McIntosh and April W. Meacham This book seems to target the novice CPS facilitator and teacher. It talks about what convergent and divergent thinking are, how to begin using CPS in the classroom, and specific activities to use with elementary children. It looks like a great resource to use in the classroom with my students.
Out of Our Minds - Learning to be Creative by Ken Robinson Ken Robinson offers a groundbreaking approach to understanding creativity in education and in business. He argues that people and organizations everywhere are dealing with problems that originate in schools and universities and that many people leave education with no idea at all of their real creative abilities. Out of Our Minds is a passionate and powerful call for radically different approaches to leadership, teaching and professional development to help us all to meet the extraordinary challenges of living and working in the
21st century. I really what I have seen by Ken Robinson so far. I think this book would really impact how I teach creativity in the classroom. It's great to know that there is a problem, but this book addresses what is and can be done about it.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.html A Newsweek article that describes the decline of creativity in the US and what we can do to help get it back. It says that the push towards curriculum leaves little time to teach or encourage creativity in the classroom, while other nations are doing just that. It is a good piece of documentation to have as administration will be wondering what is happening in the classroom as we spend a little more time on things that seem irrelevant to the curriculum.
Websites
http://www.p21.org/overview
This website has downloadable pdfs to help support a vision for learning to ensure 21st century readiness for every
student. It includes information on creating a learning environment, professional development and an overview of 21st century learning. This is a good reference for setting up the classroom environment at the beginning of the year, and as you change it around throughout the year.
https://www.stormboard.com/
Online brainstorming site that uses sticky notes. It can be used from the browser and discussions can happen online. This would be good during a technology session to practice brainstorming where we can all see each other's ideas. It also conserves paper. If not used in the classroom, it would be good for committee meetings.
http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/10-ways-to-fake-a-21st-century-classroom/
Although the title of the article says how to fake a 21st century classroom, there are several good ideas on how to introduce concepts into what you are already doing. Fake it, until you make it! It is often overwhelming to have so many great ideas that you want to start right away. This website has practical ideas to bring in right away.
http://www.goshen.edu/art/ed/creativitykillers.html A blog created by a teacher on ways that he kills creativity in his
classroom. It has a list of the things that negatively impact a creative classroom, but it also lists the things that can be done to make it a positive. The positives and the negatives are all beneficial to refer back to as I engage in bringing creativity into the classroom.
http://www.bartelart.com/arted/questions.html This website focuses on the correct types of questions to bring about divergent thinking. The author also lists types of test questions that promote creative thinking as there is no one correct answer. This type of questioning would really get the students thinking and then provide a good discussion. Which answer is best? Are there similar themes in the different types of answers. We want to promote novelty in creative problem solving, this would provide a good platform in the classroom for discussing different novel answers.
http://www.creativeeducationfoundation.org/ "The Creative Education Foundations - Where Brainstorming Began" This website has conferences that are coming up to attend, what creative problem solving is, and how it has been successfully used. The access to different conferences and opportunities make this a site I want to remember. I also like that it has some real life examples of corporations using creative problem solving to benefit their company.
http://www.creativelearning.com/creative-problem-solving/free-resources This website offers free resources on using creative problem solving in the classroom. There are also free activities for teachers to use with students. These are CPS tools with classroom lessons already planned. This is an excellent starting place for the fall! I really like that they are the same tools tailored for classroom use.
http://creativity.buffalostate.edu/ As the first and oldest degree granting program in creativity in the world, the
foundation of ICSC dates back to Alex Osborn's seminal work in creativity education in the 1940s and 1950s. This website has resources for what creativity is and why you should teach it. It also has links for resources, and how to continue an education in creativity. It informs my thinking on creativity because it not only has the resources, but the history of the program. It is a good reference to have to see new links, new uses for creativity in the classroom, and what else is being developed in the field.
http://www.creativeproblemsolving.com/index.htm
This website defines creativity, what creative problem solving is, and the tools. It also has links to facilitation of creative problem solving and other creative resources to use. Another great tool to have in my resource library. It will be used a refresher and it also has links to the lesson plans posted in the tools section. I will be using and modifying those for my own elementary classroom.
Workshops
http://www.cpsiconference.com/ CPSI (Creative Problem Solving Institute) is the oldest and longest running program dedicated to the teaching a practice of creative skills. They are offering a three day immersive workshop to develop skills to develop creativity and innovation skills. It would be beneficial to attend to see teaching and implementation in the works. I would have new ideas to carry back to the classroom with me.
http://www.creativelearning.com/creative-problem-solving/workshops-training Based out of Sarasota, Florida, Creativelearning.com offers workshops on creativity and creative problem solving throughout the year. They also offer a trainer to come help facilitate hands-on training for the entire staff. The also offer curriculum or program development. My work on the student services committee might benefit from a consultation from this group as we move our school towards a more inclusive design across the board.
Online Videos
This video below shows how to how to use creative problem solving and convergent and divergent tools in the classroom. There is a list of all convergent and divergent tools. This is a good refresher to remind you of all the tools and the steps to successfully implement them.
Puccio, Gerard J., Marie Mance, Laura Barbero Switalski, and Paul Reali.
Creativity Rising: Creative Thinking and Creative Problem Solving in the 21st
Century. Buffalo, NY: ICSC, International Center for Studies in Creativity,
2012. Print.
This book explains why we need to teach creativity, how to teach creativity, and the tools to use during creative problem solving. It covers the entire process of creative problem solving from start to finish. I will be using this as a reference for the coming year as I begin using creativity in the classroom.
Teaching Creativity - Creativity in Teaching by Claus Nygaard. This book addresses how to develop a creative environment in the classroom. It also deals with how to develop a curriculum and assessment when using creativity in the classroom. With the large push on assessment and authentic assessment, this would be a good resource to reference as creative instruction becomes a larger part of education.
http://udini.proquest.com/view/classroom-behaviors-in-elementary-pqid:2396779751/ This is a link to an article that has the research behind teaching creativity. It is also a research paper that show common behaviors of elementary teachers that foster creativity. This will be useful to see how many of these behaviors I have, and what I need to work on to become a teacher that fosters creativity in her classroom.
Thinkertoys by Michael Michalko This book states it will help you change the way that you think. The index has a some activities that I do recognize such as forced connections, brainstorming, and the matrix. It would be interesting to see the other activities in the book and to practice developing my own original, creative ideas. In order to become a teacher of creativity, I need to work on becoming more creative myself. This would be a resource worth checking out.
Creative Problem Solving in the Classroom: A Teacher's Guide to Using CPS Effectively in Any Classroom by
Joel McIntosh and April W. Meacham This book seems to target the novice CPS facilitator and teacher. It talks about what convergent and divergent thinking are, how to begin using CPS in the classroom, and specific activities to use with elementary children. It looks like a great resource to use in the classroom with my students.
Out of Our Minds - Learning to be Creative by Ken Robinson Ken Robinson offers a groundbreaking approach to understanding creativity in education and in business. He argues that people and organizations everywhere are dealing with problems that originate in schools and universities and that many people leave education with no idea at all of their real creative abilities. Out of Our Minds is a passionate and powerful call for radically different approaches to leadership, teaching and professional development to help us all to meet the extraordinary challenges of living and working in the
21st century. I really what I have seen by Ken Robinson so far. I think this book would really impact how I teach creativity in the classroom. It's great to know that there is a problem, but this book addresses what is and can be done about it.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.html A Newsweek article that describes the decline of creativity in the US and what we can do to help get it back. It says that the push towards curriculum leaves little time to teach or encourage creativity in the classroom, while other nations are doing just that. It is a good piece of documentation to have as administration will be wondering what is happening in the classroom as we spend a little more time on things that seem irrelevant to the curriculum.
Websites
http://www.p21.org/overview
This website has downloadable pdfs to help support a vision for learning to ensure 21st century readiness for every
student. It includes information on creating a learning environment, professional development and an overview of 21st century learning. This is a good reference for setting up the classroom environment at the beginning of the year, and as you change it around throughout the year.
https://www.stormboard.com/
Online brainstorming site that uses sticky notes. It can be used from the browser and discussions can happen online. This would be good during a technology session to practice brainstorming where we can all see each other's ideas. It also conserves paper. If not used in the classroom, it would be good for committee meetings.
http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/10-ways-to-fake-a-21st-century-classroom/
Although the title of the article says how to fake a 21st century classroom, there are several good ideas on how to introduce concepts into what you are already doing. Fake it, until you make it! It is often overwhelming to have so many great ideas that you want to start right away. This website has practical ideas to bring in right away.
http://www.goshen.edu/art/ed/creativitykillers.html A blog created by a teacher on ways that he kills creativity in his
classroom. It has a list of the things that negatively impact a creative classroom, but it also lists the things that can be done to make it a positive. The positives and the negatives are all beneficial to refer back to as I engage in bringing creativity into the classroom.
http://www.bartelart.com/arted/questions.html This website focuses on the correct types of questions to bring about divergent thinking. The author also lists types of test questions that promote creative thinking as there is no one correct answer. This type of questioning would really get the students thinking and then provide a good discussion. Which answer is best? Are there similar themes in the different types of answers. We want to promote novelty in creative problem solving, this would provide a good platform in the classroom for discussing different novel answers.
http://www.creativeeducationfoundation.org/ "The Creative Education Foundations - Where Brainstorming Began" This website has conferences that are coming up to attend, what creative problem solving is, and how it has been successfully used. The access to different conferences and opportunities make this a site I want to remember. I also like that it has some real life examples of corporations using creative problem solving to benefit their company.
http://www.creativelearning.com/creative-problem-solving/free-resources This website offers free resources on using creative problem solving in the classroom. There are also free activities for teachers to use with students. These are CPS tools with classroom lessons already planned. This is an excellent starting place for the fall! I really like that they are the same tools tailored for classroom use.
http://creativity.buffalostate.edu/ As the first and oldest degree granting program in creativity in the world, the
foundation of ICSC dates back to Alex Osborn's seminal work in creativity education in the 1940s and 1950s. This website has resources for what creativity is and why you should teach it. It also has links for resources, and how to continue an education in creativity. It informs my thinking on creativity because it not only has the resources, but the history of the program. It is a good reference to have to see new links, new uses for creativity in the classroom, and what else is being developed in the field.
http://www.creativeproblemsolving.com/index.htm
This website defines creativity, what creative problem solving is, and the tools. It also has links to facilitation of creative problem solving and other creative resources to use. Another great tool to have in my resource library. It will be used a refresher and it also has links to the lesson plans posted in the tools section. I will be using and modifying those for my own elementary classroom.
Workshops
http://www.cpsiconference.com/ CPSI (Creative Problem Solving Institute) is the oldest and longest running program dedicated to the teaching a practice of creative skills. They are offering a three day immersive workshop to develop skills to develop creativity and innovation skills. It would be beneficial to attend to see teaching and implementation in the works. I would have new ideas to carry back to the classroom with me.
http://www.creativelearning.com/creative-problem-solving/workshops-training Based out of Sarasota, Florida, Creativelearning.com offers workshops on creativity and creative problem solving throughout the year. They also offer a trainer to come help facilitate hands-on training for the entire staff. The also offer curriculum or program development. My work on the student services committee might benefit from a consultation from this group as we move our school towards a more inclusive design across the board.
Online Videos
This video below shows how to how to use creative problem solving and convergent and divergent tools in the classroom. There is a list of all convergent and divergent tools. This is a good refresher to remind you of all the tools and the steps to successfully implement them.
The video below is about the importance of creativity in the elementary classroom and why it should not be ignored. It also addresses the new roles of the students and the teacher. It is a good resource to remind me as a teacher what I need to be doing to prepare students for the future.
Another video by Ken Robinson that states why we must change the way that education is going. It follows how the current education system came into place, and why it must now change. What we haven't isn't working, so it's time to change it. This illustrates for me the importance of teaching creativity in the classroom. Students think and act in different ways, so we need to harness these abilities to help them forge into the future.