Changing Hats: Incorporating Transactional, Transformational and Complexivist Leadership Styles into 21st Century Classrooms

Are we underestimating the importance of creativity? Many times children are not encouraged at home to be creative, either because their parents restrict their ideas, fill their decisions with pessimism, or simply do not pay attention to this matter. However, creativity is a skill that makes the human being flexible and resourceful as well as helping them see problems differently and identify solutions more easily. Many times education will directly contradict creativity. It destroys the innovation of ideas, and stifles the imagination, while claiming it is “teaching.” Sometimes entering a classroom becomes the closest thing to entering a time machine since our teaching methods differ very little from those of ancient Rome over 2000 years ago. In Ted Talk “How Schools Kills Creativity” by Ken Robinson and the article “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood” by Leon Botstein, two different opinions about the current educational system are presented. While Robinson believes that the schooling system should work to promote creativity, Botstein says that the concept of a high and middle school is useless and should be abolished. However they both agree on reform. As a parent, I have always been concerned about my daughters’ education, and have always believed, like Robinson and Botstein, that our educational system needs a change.

Creativity is an abstract concept that is crucial as part of our advancements of mankind whether that be in the scientific fields with new inventions and research or in the artistic fields with new paintings and amazing portraits, but most people do not understand that the gift of creativity can be a crucial source of innovative ideas. As a result of the need of creativity, schools must include creativity as part of the daily curriculum that students learn. Students already spent seven hours a day at school, exposing them to a class that helps them efficiently and correctly use creativity would be beneficial to not only students but to all members of society. Places of education such as high schools must include classes in creativity in order to create

Although both Greene (1995) and Freire (1998) subscribed to an existential philosophy of the individual, they differed on how said individual’s potential could be attained. In order to implement change, the need for out of the box thinking is paramount for both Greene (1995) and Freire (1998). For the latter, reflection of one’s activities would cause them to restructure that which they already know, leading them to try novel approaches in accordance with the amount of reflection they do. For the former however, no amount of reflection can enable us to think outside the knowledge that has been constructed for us, unless it involves imagination. Without it, we are doomed to reify the discourse that already exists, be it the general dominant discourse, or the discourse, now standardized, that tells us how to reflect ‘critically.’ Because of this, we need to tap into the creative and imaginative potential that resides within every one of us, allowing ourselves to become more attuned to creativity, to different ways of thinking. Once that is accomplished, we will be better suited, as educators, to foster our students’ creativity, creating a curriculum that embraces divergent thinking. This will then enable the students to realize their unique and unbounded potential, unfettered by the constraints of the dominant discourse (Peay,

In the novel "What the Best College Students Do" by Ken Bain he states that learning is not only discovering new abilities, it is putting a creative twist into it (p. 4). He places Paul Baker (a professor that taught Integration of Abilities) in this story because he emphasizes what Bain is trying to convey (pp. 2-3). Baker states that "This is a class in discovering your own creative ability and all you will have to help you with your discovery is yourself and getting acquainted with the way you work" (p. 4). Everybody has different viewpoints because everyone has different backgrounds, therefore, creativity is not only a want it is a necessity. To deeply learn something, students needs to have a

The school must discipline creative thinking, as it will play a crucial role for the future. Bronson and Merryman report in their article that an

Education has tarnished the idea of an original thought and has caused us to “grow out of creativity.” An idea that I am now convinced is a possible reality due to the intellectual, thought-provoking argument made by Sir Ken Robinson that schools do restrain creativity. In Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” Robinson argues that schools do kill creativity by addressing his audience in a sophisticated yet playful tone that keeps the audience entertained and invested in what is being discussed. Robinson connects with the audience by telling jokes, using simple reasoning, facts, and personal stories that allows the audience to be emotionally moved by the argument. Robinson is able to open up the audience to a reasonable idea with only one reasonable solution, and it just so happens to be his. Obviously, a bit biased, Robinson steers clear of self-promotion by recalling stories of other’s accounts and relating to people as a professor instead of a person.

Furthermore, connections can be made between subjects to develop prior knowledge which pupils have gained with new information that teachers need children to acquire. Similarly, adopting a cross – curricular approach allows the recognition of several opinions and helps teachers ‘to build more knowledgeable, lasting and transferable understandings of the world’ (Barnes, 2015: 261). There are various strategies which can be used to teach thinking and learning effectively. These strategies can assist teachers in planning and delivering lessons which allow creative outcomes to be achieved. Further on in this assignment creative approaches will be shared to suggest how they may be used in the classroom alongside a variety of

This is not book about school reforms, but rather an exploration of how many peoples of all ages are learning by doing asking fresh question and working together to solve problems. It is a call to action to reconvene how we learn at all ages. Thomas and Brown help us understand the profound changes brought about by digital technology. We come to understand that 21st century is about embracing changes, drawing upon extensive experience of Thomas and Brown with digital technology, learning environment and new social structures such as massively multiplayer online gaming. This is a must read book for anyone interested in the future of education, but also for those who hopes to thrive in the twenty first century. Thomas and Brown make the

Dana Mortenson uses her experience and knowledge to challenge educators to think outside their box, and begin to look towards the classrooms of the future. Mortenson is the co-founder and executive director of World Savvy and is considered to be an expert in the field of global education. In addition, Mortenson was quoted in saying, “I care passionately about preparing the next generation for responsible, engaged global citizenship in a world that is increasingly interconnected and interdependent.” The article focuses on two main themes. One is that the next generation classrooms will have a high capacity for using technology. Looking at today’s classrooms, it looks as if technology is already making its way into the classrooms. More

Every day the world is changing and things are done differently. Technology has also affected the way students are taught and in which they learn. It has changed the classroom. Technology saves us time and allows us to access material in only minutes. “The Internet and online subscription databases, even as a supplement to the printed works in the library, allow students to see, and force them to consider or reject, points of view that they might never have encountered in decades past” (Gow 4).With all the time technology produces, it also has downsides and it also may have created a less intelligent society.

Richardson argues that with our ability to use technology to connect, create and share globally, the basic assumptions of schools are increasingly irrelevant. While focusing on the skills and dispositions of learning (and defining what we mean by "learning"), teachers' current role must change as they become more important than ever in preparing students for a world in rapid transition.

Techniques and skills need to be learnt, and cannot be replaced by the convenience of technology. In the primary years, students ought to be grounded with the basics. Once they miss this window, it requires them more to be trained later in life. I marvel at the speed of our technology advancement, but how I desire to see academic advancement in our next generation.

In the 21st Century, the school system must change in order for students to build the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in the future world that is changing rapidly. In an interview with the Deputy Superintendent of the Peace River School Division, Karen Penney, it was learned that the top leaders of school divisions do not necessarily agree that education needs major systemic change but have focused their efforts on smaller changes within schools, with teachers and school leaders. She does, however, recognize that a shift has to occur in how leaders manage schools and that the focus of education needs to be on skills rather than knowledge acquisition.

The complex social and historical foundations of education are rooted in the need to create a population of citizens capable of contributing to the continuing economic and political stability of our nation. First we were an agricultural society, then industrial, and now we are educating students for futures with that are yet unknown (explainvisualthinking, 2007). The new dynamic, created by the recent and rapid expansion of technology driven globalization has created the compelling need for technology infused education in our schools (Friedman, 2005). As an educational technology leader, I collaborate with other educators and families to create technology initiatives that will support educational technology in our schools.

Humans have been born with the ability to problem solve. We are always looking to make life better for our species- it is a fundamental priority in our folklore and politics. As the world presents new challenges to us everyday, problem solving becomes increasingly important and the stress of educating our next generation to tackle these problems rises. The challenges of uniting nations of different political interests to tackle problems together also impedes our progress of solving the new grand challenges for society. With these grand challenges in hand, educational institutions are always looking to improve education to catalyze the next generation of people to tackle these challenges and look to unite the world into tackling the same problems. Since Technology has introduced so many new literacies that the newer generations are using, Education is taking advantage of that and will more in the future. I think technology is enabling more people throughout the world to contribute to science & discovery which increases the diversity of problem solving and knowledge. The web provides a large amount of space for repositories that people from anywhere in the world can access- I believe this will catalyze our ability to tackle the grand challenges for this generation to overcome. Education has also begun to migrate to the web because it is more relevant, flexible, and accessible worldwide. Educational institutions have also realized that integrating these large repositories of