Creativity and the Learning Experience
One of the characteristics that differentiates us from non-human animals in this world is our creative spirit. And it is that very spirit, that creative energy that propels us forward as a species to conquer new worlds – in virtually every endeavor we undertake.
Creativity is the act of bringing something into existence that is genuinely new, original, and of value either personally (of significance only to the individual or organization) or culturally (adds significantly to a domain of culture as recognized by experts).
. enGuage 21st Century Skills – Literacy in the Digital Age (http://www.ncrel.org/engauge/skills/invent4.htm)
Without going into too much detail about the cognitive process and structures involved in creative thinking, I think it’s appropriate to mention here one of the factors essential to the development of creativity: motivation.
Also noteworthy is the fact that intrinsic motivation is more likely to produce creative results and an inner passion to solve a problem can lead to solutions for more creativity.
In designing an instructional strategy for a yearbook project I have this year, I found it most useful to read about the six strategies that can influence motivation—challenge, freedom, resources, work-group features, supervisory encouragement, and organizational support. These are already mostly in place, and will contribute to the success of the project. What I also hope to implement, to further this process, are the
Six C’s of Motivation:
. choice
. challenge
. control
. collaboration
. constructing meaning
. consequences
All of these concepts and strategies lead to “ownership” of the project, which leads to a final product that is measured in terms of success.
posted by Kent @ 8:49 AM
6 Comments:
I think creativity is indeed a very special characteristic that differentiates us from non-human animals. It is one thing that makes teaching particularly exciting and rewarding. Students take the information you are presenting, introducing to them, and take their own background schema and turn it into something new, unique and very much their own. Learning outcomes are necessary goals, but when students can take the information and 'creatively' take it to another level they are demonstrating metacognition.
I was considering taking one of the elements of the 6 C's to explore myself...when i teach my career class i am always wondering what I could do to instill motivation...I appreciate the 6 C's and the structure it adds to this concept.
I was considering taking one of the elements of the 6 C's to explore myself...when i teach my career class i am always wondering what I could do to instill motivation...I appreciate the 6 C's and some structure to this concept!
I think especially with your yearbook project, this creativity is indeed going to provide motivation to your students. In response to your 801 post, I mentioned that one idea for "gaining attention" is to perhaps show them really cool examples of how you can manipulate photos in Photoshop. Perhaps take examples from photographers (there was just an exhibit at the MOMA).
I agree with your final point that ownership is key. But this leads me back to my post (which is buried way below Dr. Foreman's assignment post) regarding individualism in a constructivist setting. How does the one feel like s/he owns the project when you work with a team? Yes, you can say "my team did this, and I feel proud," but each individual contributor also needs to feel like s/he did something special, right?
Ever thought the web could be the dog that ate your homework? I posted to several of these posts with Lawrence in the library on Wednesday when we both showed up to class that wasn't there. Ha Ha Ha. They are now gone. Dr. Foreman the web ate my homework.
Good luck with your yearbook. I think the six C’s of motivation is a good model but control might be the biggest issue.
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