Creating a Climate of Creativity
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Cultivating Creativity for Learning...The ven diagram (LEFT) clearly illustrates how I approach teaching students in the performing arts. Whether we are working on dance technique and choreography or some other aspect involving their creativity, it is so important to create a classroom context within which all students feel comfortable and able to succeed. In performing arts, this "climate" is even more important, since performance implicitly demands vulnerability, and a certain brand of openness about oneself. Students must not only be provided with the appropriate instructional resources and support, but they must also feel safe enough to take bold risks which allow them to truly connect with their performance and the audience. |
Creativity Development in Education The illustration of creativity development in life (RIGHT) shows how many students often experience a decline in personal creativity during their high school years because it is not "valued" or cultivated as much as it was in earlier years.
Sir Ken Robinson discussed this at length and with considerable clarity in his TED Talk regarding why and how it is so important that education supports the development of creativity: CLICK HERE to see his talk. Yet, the creative mind has great capacity to be of use in all spheres of learning and in all career paths throughout adolescence and adulthood!! Involvement in the performing arts allows students to gain confidence and to re-connect with their creative mind in powerful ways. Engaging in the performing arts curriculum develops skills which help students to be more successful in other work or school situations. WCSPA students are encouraged to explore all aspects of design and performance, providing them with many opportunities to discover new talents and areas of personal interest. |
Creativity Development in Life
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Enhancing Personal CreativityAmong those who were first to theorize about the topic of creativity development was Mihaly Csikssentmihalyi. An excerpt from his writings on Enhancing Personal Creativity is embedded below in the RIGHT COLUMN. In this essay, he describes a specific series of exercises that can be used to discover and develop your own personal creativity.
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The Importance of Creative Thinking - "Sparks of Genius"
Many authors have written about the creative process and what stimulates the creative mind or artistic impulse. Most recently, educators have been talking extensively about the implications for teaching and learning and the development of student creativity.
Authors Robert Scott Root-Bernstein and Michele Root-Bernstein wrote a fantastic book which synthesizes the theoretical work of many who have tried to explain the psychology of creativity. Their summary of past and present research indicates that all highly creative people use the same thinking skills, regardless of their artistic domain (listed, RIGHT). |
The 13 Tools for ThinkingAccording to Root-Bernstein, the Tools for Thinking are the key to unlocking personal creativity. The thirteen tools are:
To see a preview of "Sparks of Genius: The Thirteen Thinking Tools of the World's Most Creative People" on Google Books, CLICK HERE. To find out more about my thoughts on Creativity in Teaching and Learning, please visit the pages showing my work from CEP 818, Creativity in Teaching and Learning. |
Performance & Authentic Assessment The foundation of WCSPA's intensive curricular structure is based on our commitment to providing students with authentic opportunities to express themselves through performance. Research has shown that when engaging in these types of assessments, the most superior depth and breadth of knowledge are explored through an immediate and continual application of mastery.
The "Qualities of Authentic Performance" developed by The Coalition of Essential Schools (http://www.essentialschools.org/) indicates more detail about how these assessments can be best utilized for the benefit of student growth and learning in any discipline. (see embedded document, Right column) |
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