The New Media Consortium is a world-wide expert community concerned with educational technology. Their role is to help our all sorts of educational institutions to incorporate and improve innovative technologies. The ‘NMC Horizon Report Preview’ provides summaries of trends, challenges, and important developments in educational technology (NMC Horizon Report Preview 2015 K-12 Edition, 2015). Six key trends are identified and presented depending on their lasting impact. For example, experts see the need of rethinking how our school work as a long lasting impact over the next 5 years and longer (NMC Horizon Report Preview 2015 K-12 Edition, 2015). Project- and challenge-based learning requires school structures, which are less traditional, provide more flexibility and focus on student-centred and authentic learning and independent study. Although I agree, that students should be in the focus when it comes to learning, I believe that independent study does not necessarily always lead to enhanced learning outcomes. There are researches, agreeing with that, such as Professor John Hattie’s meta-analysis, where he found that the number one factor that helps adolescents with learning is the teacher and the feedback provided by the teacher (Hattie, 2016). Related to a changed school environment is the key trend of shifting the student’s role from a consumer to a creator. Predicting a mid-term impact of three to five years this trend involves enhancing student creativity, and
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
Each day school children learn valuable skills and lessons from their teachers as well as through interactions with their peers. Although school, undoubtedly,
As children continue their education, they are forced to suppress their creativity and strictly follow uniform ideas that have been used throughout generations. This concept leaves children no room for exploration despite its effectiveness in schools. Students need to learn that it is acceptable to solve problems using different methods. They must break free from the confines and uniform traditions of society; they must think for themselves. Countless novels and movies revolve around the idea of being unique and the importance of defying normality; however, its portrayal in real life is counterintuitive. The question remains: how can we depict a concept so universal without knowing how to first hand use it ourselves? Students need to learn that being unique is the first step to successes, and that creativity helps form a world of endless
The beauty of creativity is that it is abstract, yet ubiquitous: in art, music or how one decides to compose an essay. However, creativity has recently been declining among the human population. According to an article, named, “The Creativity Crisis,” by Newsweek.com in July 2010, authors, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, state, “the Torrance Test … indicates that the public’s “creativity quotient” has steadily crept downward since 1990” (Prompt 1). Bronson and Merryman report that the test, which evaluates one’s creativity, had been dispensed to myriads of people across the globe, and have concluded that creativity has been slowly diminishing. Kyung Hee Kim, professor at the College of William and Mary, also comments that this is most prevalent and grave among students from kindergarten through sixth grade (Prompt 1). Consequently, society, or in this case, the world fears that current students and future generations will not be nourished with the creativity required to thrive as individuals, affecting the world as a whole. Ultimately, this poses the question whether a creative thinking class, which solely focuses on the education of creativity, should be taught in the school. This school should impose a creative thinking class, due to the fact creativity is a vital element for the future and is the solution to the creative crisis.
The present is always changing into a better future. There have been many jobs in the past that do not even exist now due to the presence of technology. Nowadays, technology has become a major part of our lives and created a huge change in this world, and gives an opportunity for children to enhance their creativity and adapt to change quickly. In Cathy Davidson’s article, “Project Classroom Makeover”, Davidson discusses how vital the process of unlearning is to students and present education system. Unlearning discourages students from learning in a fashion that has all the pre-set directions, and gives independence to students so that they can explore with creativity. The process of unlearning is quite beneficial as it gives an opportunity for contemporary America to enhance creativity, embrace change, and become more independant.
Creativity is all about the 21st century skills and the future students. One form of creativity they will use is brainstorming. It includes elaborating, analyzing refining, and evaluating ideas to improve and maximize creative efforts (Syrett, 2002). Creativity involves originality, and working with peers to come up with ideas. It will allow you to fail and work on what went wrong and recreate it. They will have the tools that are needed to be creative. Creativity is an important aspect for every student to
Every teacher encounters the challenge of getting students engaged in work in the classroom. While some students enthusiastically walk into a classroom each day, others need motivation and inspiration to focus in school. This issue is significant for school leaders because the role of the school is to provide a place for students to engage and interact with knowledge. If students are not
At a local level and as an educator and parent, I see no indication that schooling is preparing students for innovation and creativity. Even when influenced by constructivist or universal design ideas, school tasks - starting in elementary school, up until CEGEP- are generally highly structured, predictable and offered in cookie cutter format. There is little room for creativity and few subjects are regularly offered, such as music or visual arts, that support creativity and out of the box thinking to allow for a more well-rounded approach to education as suggested in the discussion forum (Hector,
Elementary students have been considered sponges such that they should be open to learning and have some kind of mindset that school is considered good. However, over the years ' the demographics have changed such that number of students have increased along with diversity, poverty schools, and types of educational needs. This change the idea of education being good to other issues on campus such as healthcare, and physical and intellectual development which can multiply over the years. Students are overlooked as key participants in teaching learning initiatives and leads to the belief that it is the teacher’s sole responsibility for better outcomes. As students become aware of their individual educational importance they should begin to take more value and
The main goal of this project is to encourage students to break away from more traditional education. In these scenarios, the teacher is the center of the classroom and the students play a relatively small role in instruction. They simply sit, absorb information, and repeat it on summative assessments. Over the course of a school year, students end up going “a mile wide and an inch deep.” That is, they very rarely have the opportunity to dig deep into topics. Consequently, the information covered is often quickly forgotten. By putting students in charge of their education, I hope that students go “a mile deep and an inch wide.”
A smart man said “Creativity is as important as literacy and we should treat it with the same standing.” (Ken Robinson-“Do schools kill creativity?”). There are multiple studies on how creativity helps improve a student’s mind. Project based learning is a huge creative booster for students. A math teacher from California uses projects to do math instead of using the text book. From doing this, she’s had more students pass her class then from when she was teaching straight from the text books. Instead of having standardized tests, using more creative techniques for students to enjoy the learning they’ve done and for them to show the higher officials what the students are learning. Creativity is the process of turning real world problems into an understanding by extending the minds cognitive processes. In Alabama, kindergartners are studying different ways to be creative.
Research has demonstrated that motivated students demonstrate higher degrees of academic performance and are more likely to graduate from high school (Froiland & Oros, 2014; Niehaus, Rudasill, & Rakes, 2012). The idea that engaged, inspired students are more successful students is a driving force behind Personalized Learning initiatives, practices by which students realize their full potential through learning experiences that take into account their unique strengths, needs, interests and goals. Personalized Learning empowers and motivates students through greater choice and increased feelings of competence (Deci, 1971). Furthermore, an investment by school staff in each student’s personal learning growth fosters feelings of school connectedness, another strong indicator for achievement (CDC, 2009).
Although creativity is not seen as salient in America, it is critical to the stability of progress and resolution of problems; therefore, adults must provide children with more opportunities to innovate.
When it comes to education, “we need to promote the benefits of consistent participation on improving academic performance, whether that is as a relief from stress during exams or through developing essential skills like goal setting, and learning how to thrive under pressure, it will enable these children to develop into ‘well rounded’