Saturday 17 January 2015

Sparking Creativity




Book Review: Sparking Student Creativity
by Patti Drapeau
Concerned that creativity is lacking in many classrooms, Patti Drapeau offers Sparking Student Creativity as a practical resource guide for teachers to promote its use. 
She begins by outlining her Creativity Road Map, which is a useful framework for teachers wishing to spark creativity in their students.  Its foundation is a safe classroom environment in which “The teacher supports creativity by encouraging unusual ideas and provides positive feedback”. (15)   The framework consists of 4 parts:

  • Use of verbs and phrases that spark creative thinking( ie. brainstorm, predict, create, improve);
  • Focus on creative teaching strategies such as brainstorming, visualizing, and symbolizing;
  • Use of the step-by-step problem solving process; and,
  • Development of a variety of responses and products (ie. written, oral, visual, kinesthetic).

Chapter 2 focuses on the teacher’s role in nurturing student creativity.  A teacher should use novel approaches, such as games, props, music, etc., to intrigue and engage students.  As well, students should be provided with choice in their learning opportunities and a sense of community in the classroom.  A teacher should also set realistic goals and timelines for students and scaffold supports (including coaching) when required.

Chapter 2 also outlines Paul Torrance’s four creative thinking skills:
  • Fluency – The ability to generate many ideas;
  • Flexibility - The ability to generate different kinds of ideas;
  • Originality – The ability to generate unusual, one-of-a-kind ideas;
  • Elaboration – The ability to extend ideas.
Fluency can be promoted through brainstorming.  A strategy for developing flexibility in students is categorization.  Elaboration can be introduced by “encouraging students to piggyback on each other’s ideas”. (24)  As well, real-world examples of elaboration can be used, such as building additions, movie sequels, and scientific theories.

Torrance’s four creative thinking skills
A great feature of this book is that many Grab and Go teaching strategies for developing student creativity are provided.  For instance, a Starter Phrase such as “New ways to do something” will spark fluency, while originality can be targeted with Starter Phrases like “Invent a …” and “Devise your own way to …”. (28-29)  Reverse Brainstorming is a strategy that promotes fluency and flexibility. Students are instructed to come up with as many ideas as they can about the opposite of what they want.  For example, “Increase pollution instead of reducing pollution.” (31)  My favourite Grab and Go idea from Chapter 2 is Lost & Found, whereby students pretend to discover lost information, such as a missing chapter from a novel they are studying, that provides elaboration.

In Chapter 3, the author looks at the intersection between learning goals and creativity.  A “back door” way she recommends of using creativity to aid students in meeting standards is to alter the standard by either replacing the verb with a creative thinking verb or modifying or adding adjectives and adverbs that describe the degree to which the student is required to respond. 

Thinking Verbs

Four conditions that allow imagination to flourish are identified in Chapter 4:
  •       Provide challenges – especially real-world ones;
  •       Provide foundational knowledge;
  •       Create a safe risk taking environment; and,
  •     Provide motivation by attaching value to learning opportunities, giving the right level of challenge, and ensuring students have the necessary learning tools.
Several Grab and Go strategies for stimulating students’ imaginations are provided. One is the KWW chart in which students list what the know, what they want to know, and what they wonder about.  Another fun strategy is for students to write Back to The Future letters, whereby they respond to a letter from the past (ie. during the Industrial Revolution) and “write individual responses about what was, what is now, and what they think will be.” (85)  Avatars, as the term suggests, has students create a character of themselves and put themselves in the subject they are studying.

Chapter 5 outlines strategies for encouraging innovation.  First, students need to be made aware of the steps in the innovation process – brainstorm, evaluate ideas and needs, identify enablers and disablers, and reflect.  Students should also be given a physical space to innovate – a think tank area. (97)  Another strategy is for the teacher to provide real examples of how someone took an idea and turned it into an innovation.

Heinz History Center Innovation Station
Nervous Nellie is an interesting Grab and Go strategy for promoting innovation.  Students brainstorm several different worries about a situation and then come up with a variety of ways to alleviate these worries.  Creating Consensus involves folding a sheet of paper into 8 squares and having a student draw a picture of his/her innovation in the first square.  In the second square, after discussion and questions from other students, the student writes the first step that is needed to enable the innovation.  Then, in turn, other students add what each of them thinks should be the next steps to complete the innovation process.
Chapter 6 explores strategies for helping students be successful in creative problem solving. To be effective in problem solving, students must be encouraged to suspend judgement and must be able to detect bias.  The classroom environment should expose them to the steps in the problem solving process and have visual displays of these steps. 

The first step in the problem solving process is for students “to list what they do not know, what they think they know, and what they definitely know about the problem.” (123)  Then they research all aspects of the problem to determine what is the “overarching problem” (125) Next, students brainstorm as many solutions as possible to the problem. They then establish criteria for determining the best of these solutions.  After pausing for reflection, students determine the resources, methods, and skills required for successful implementation of the solution and consider the context.    
In Chapter 7, a few suggestions regarding creativity and assessment are given.  Students should be explicitly made aware of learning goals and success criteria related to creativity.  As well, the shared vocabulary around creativity should be used in the rubrics.  Lastly, when a teacher assesses student work, he/she needs to distinguish between mistakes – trivial slip ups that the student can easily fix – and errors – more serious wrong answers or misapplications that reflect a lack of knowledge and require remediation.    

Saturday 3 January 2015

Memorable Images of 2014

Here are the 10 most memorable photos (related to education and learning) that I either viewed or snapped in 2014:

#10  Mystery Reader at St. Andrew & St. Luke
On May 8, during Catholic Education Week 2014, I was very pleased to appear as a mystery reader at both St. Andrew and St. Bernard schools.  Research has confirmed that story telling is an effective way to help young children become interested in reading and develop literacy skills.  During the 15 years that I taught English and language arts, I was often amazed at how mezmorized students became (even high school students) while listening to a story told by an enthusiastic reader.

Me with other 'Mystery Readers at St. Andrew: Mayor Jim Watson,
City Councilor Jan Harder, & Trustee Alison Baizana

#9: Steven Katz Presentation
On May 28, Steven Katz, author of Intentional Interruption, presented in Ottawa.  His ground-breaking theories on learning have had a significant impact on many educators, including me.  By identifying both the enablers of and barriers to learning, Katz has helped redefine how professional learning is conducted.

Thrilled to have my picture taken with Steven Katz




#8 Gallery Walk at St. Joseph High School
On May 21, I was part of a Student Success learning walk at St. Joseph High School that included a visit to an English class where students were participating in a gallery walk.  A gallery walk is a student-centred teaching and assessment startegy whereby students move around the classroom and view the evidence of each other's learning and interact in order to deepen their learning experience.  In this particular class, students had created displays and activities to demonstrate their insights into the themes of the novels they studied.  The picture below shows a board game a student designed for Of Mice and Men.




#7: Baby Jesus Birthday Party at St. Elizabeth
On December 16, along with Mayor Jim Watson, I was honoured to be a "celebrity server" at the annual Baby Jesus' Birthday Luncheon at St. Elizabeth.  This pre-Christmas celebration provided the elementary students with not only a wonderful turkey lunch but also served as a reminder that Jesus is the reason for the season.  A combination of social justice and faith in action, it was a great reminder of what Catholic education is all about!

Me serving gravy at St. Elizabeth Baby Jesus Luncheon


#6: Student Self-Reflection at St. Jerome ElementaryFor the past few years, teachers at Ottawa Catholic schools have been focusing on student self-assessment and self-reflection as means of both helping them develop thinking skills and empowering them during their learning.  I snapped some pictures during a learning walk at St. Jerome Elementary School on April 7, 2014, including those below of primary students self-assessing their written and group process work.




#5: My Ashes Selfie at Mother Teresa High School
Inspired by both Ellen DeGeneres' selfie at the Academy Awards on March 2, and their commitment to their faith, several students at Mother Teresa High School took this selfie of the ashes in the shape of the Cross with which they were anointed during the Ash Wednesday service at their school on March 5.

My Ashes Selfie by Mother Teresa HS Students

#4; Restoring One Another in a Spirit of Gentleness
The pastoral theme for the Ottawa Catholic School Board during the 2014-2015 school year is Restoring one another in a spirit of gentleness.  As a long-time supporter of restorative practices as a whole-school approach to positive school climate, I was thrilled that the board adopted this theme, and even more heartened that, in 2014, close to 150 teachers and school support staff particiapted in  2-day training sessions developed by the International Institute for Restorative Practices.  


Banner on the theme of restoring relationships designed
 by grade 12 Mother Teresa HS student Katy Heffernan 


#3: Summer Learning
This past July, for the 2nd summer in a row, primary-age students at Dr. F. J. McDonald were offered the opportunity to attend Count Me In Math Camp.  This summer camp provided the children with an inquiry-based numeracy program that combined the use of technologies such as iPads, chromebooks, and Smartboards with outdoor activities such as scavenger hunts and sand castle construction. 

Here I am with 3 other happy and engaged Count Me In math camp attendees at Dr. F. J. McDonald Elementary School.


#2: Embracing Digital Learning
Ottawa Catholic School Board teachers are well known for the enthusiastic manner in which they are leveraging digital technologies to engage students and enhance learning.  The banner below, which is strategically placed in the atrium near the front doors of Mother Teresa High School (another creation of Mother Teresa student Katy Heffernan), speaks clearly to the changed mentality of teachers: Don't turn your iPhones off as you enter the school; rather, turn them on to ignite your learning!



#1: The Teachable Moment - Tribute to a Hero
Ottawa Catholic School Board staff at the Catholic Education Centre gave up their lunch on Friday, October 24 to line Hunt Club West Road in order to show their respect for Corporal Nathan Cirillo (who was fatally shot by a lone gunman at the War Memorial on October 22) as the hearse bearing his remains passed by en route to the Highway of Heores and his final resting place in Hamilton.
Hearse bearing the remains of Corporal Cirullo passes by
the Catholic Education Centre on West Hunt Club Road

Just some of the Ottawa Catholic staff at the Catholic Education Centre that
lined West Hunt Club Road at his hearse passed by - to pay respect to
Coporal Nathan Cirillo (more gathered on the other side of the road)