‘This book combats the stagnation of creativity in an era of increased accountability through standardized testing. It is an exceptionally well written, comprehensive book that will appeal to a variety of readers.’
—Beth Madison, Principal
George Middle School, Portland, OR
Discover how thinking and acting creatively can influence both teaching and learning!
Creativity is a vital part of living for everyone—and for teachers and students, it′s a requirement for success in the 21st century. Built on that core belief, this inspiring book provides teachers with a step-by-step plan for accessing their own creative resources and cultivating a more creative teaching practice.
Offering a breakdown of the creative process as it applies to both lesson building and delivery, the author provides a range of applications, examples, and strategies across multiple content areas and grade levels. This practical resource helps teachers and administrators:
- Gain confidence in their own ability to teach from their strengths and to elicit students′ strengths and creativity
- Access their ability to think and act more creatively in the classroom
- Enhance learning by engaging, motivating, and inspiring students with an array of research-based, creative teaching strategies
- Learn how to identify creativity that furthers educational goals
- Discover how the power of technology can help facilitate creative thinking
Use creativity to transform your teaching practices and prepare your students for the challenges of today and tomorrow!
Table of Content
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Prologue #1: An Elementary Teacher Speaks Out About Creativity
1. What Teachers and Students Have to Say About Creativity: An Introduction
41 Creative Ideas
Teachers Voice Their Creative Blocks
Jump Starting Student Creativity: Making Mind Maps
This Is Not the ‘Crayola Curriculum’
Student Blocks to Creativity
A Past Student′s E-mail on Creativity
Prologue #2: Before We Begin . . . Get Out Your Notebook!
2. What Is, What Isn′t Creativity?
An Overview of Preconceptions
Worshipping at the Altar of Right Answers
Making Mistakes
Specific Methods of Creative Behavior
Prologue #3: 20 Keys to a More Creative Classroom
3. Memoir of a Creative Career (Abridged)
My First Creative Teacher
A First-Year Teacher
My Home Teaching Days
Back to the Traditional Classroom
Early Years at Francis Howell School District
Teaching Skills as Well as Content
My Repeaters on Grammar Patrol
Prologue #4: The Creative Teacher′s Bill of Rights
4. What′s Going On?
Side Effects of the Mandated Testing Phenomenon
The Whole Child, The Whole Teacher
Teaching the Whole Brain
The Necessity of Teacher Empowerment
Needs of the 21st Century, Glaringly Visible
Dropouts and High Achievers
Prologue #5: Affirmations: One Way to Rewire You for the Creativity You′ll Need for the 21st Century
5. Links Between Creativity and Research-Based Instruction
Brain Research: A Gold Mine for Creative Strategies
Novelty
Meaning and Choice
Challenge Without Threat
Visualization
Emotions and Bodies
Prologue #6: Letter From Arthur Costa
6. Transformational Journey: From the Inside Out
The Saturday/Sunday Kings and Queens
You, the Saturday/Sunday King or Queen
Transformational Stages
Our Hero′s Journey: Moving Toward Ownership
Your Questions: The Main Tool of Transformers
Creative Thinking Versus Critical Thinking
Thinking in Metaphor
More Powerful Metaphors
Frames, Narratives, Scripts: How We Think
Prologue #7: The Administrator′s Creativity Checklist
7. The Administrator′s Role in Providing a Creative Environment
Metaphor and School Transformation, by Linda Henke
An Informal Ethnographic Study
School Culture
School as Factory
The Search for New Metaphors
Reframing Beliefs at MRH
Prologue #8: Leslie Wilson′s Thinking Patterns That Help Create New Ideas
8. What Can We Do to Strengthen Our Creative Muscles?
For Ourselves?the Gift of Surprise
Mindfulness, Awareness, and All That Good Stuff
Begin With Fostering Creative Courage
Let′s Look at Fear for a Moment
Respecting the Need to Make Time for Yourself
How to Help Your Fellow Teachers
Prologue #9: Our Tiny Digital Natives
9. Technology and the Creative Classroom
Swimming in a Technological Environment, by John Ross
Connecting Technology and Creativity: National Trends
Promoting Student Creativity With Technology
Becoming a More Creative Teacher With Technology
Prologue #10: Rules for Lady Teachers in 1915
10. Transforming Teaching Through Creativity for the 21st Century
The Last Time
A Look at Possible Future Transformation
The Past as of 1970
What Does the Public Think We Should Be Doing?
Welcome to Our Brave New Right-Brained World
Every Teacher a Creative Teacher
References
Index
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