The accepted definition of creativity is production of something original and useful... There is never one right answer. To be creative requires divergent thinking (generating many unique ideas) and then convergent thinking (combining those ideas into the best result).
(WPR program: Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.)
Instead of answering a child's question ask, "Why do you think it was? What reasons do you think...?" Asking them to come up with different explanations and then to pick the best one. And that right there is a microcosm of the creative process. It's thinking divergently, coming up with as many different ideas and approaches to a problem as you can; and then the convergent step: picking the best thing and then proceeding with it. If you track that, that applies for whether you're going to start a business, write a novel, come up with a new public policy.
More here: read or listen.
Center for Creative Learning
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
On Organization
At the end of the day Graves came and stood in my doorway with his coat on, smiling.
"What are you smiling about?" I asked.
"I'm smiling at you," he said. "You know what makes you such a good writing teacher?"
Oh God, I thought. Here it comes: validation from one of the world's most famous writing teachers. In a split second I flipped through the best possibilities. Was he going to remark on the piercing intelligence of my conferences? My commitment to the kids? My sensitivity to written language?
"What?" I asked.
He answered, "You're so damned organized."
"What are you smiling about?" I asked.
"I'm smiling at you," he said. "You know what makes you such a good writing teacher?"
Oh God, I thought. Here it comes: validation from one of the world's most famous writing teachers. In a split second I flipped through the best possibilities. Was he going to remark on the piercing intelligence of my conferences? My commitment to the kids? My sensitivity to written language?
"What?" I asked.
He answered, "You're so damned organized."
Nancie Atwell, In The Middle
I have finally realized that the most creative environments in our society are not the kaleidoscopic environments in which everything is always changing and complex.
They are, instead, the predictable and consistent ones: the scholar's library, the researcher's laboratory, the artist's studio. Each of these environments is deliberately kept predictable and simple because because the work are so unpredictable and complex.
They are, instead, the predictable and consistent ones: the scholar's library, the researcher's laboratory, the artist's studio. Each of these environments is deliberately kept predictable and simple because because the work are so unpredictable and complex.
Lucy Calkins, The Art of Teaching Writing
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
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