Creativity and Teaching

Creativity and Teaching Research

  • Trans-disciplinary learning in a middle school classroom: A project at Arlington School District, IL (an informal collaboration between Chris Fahnoe, Director Instructional Technology & Doctoral Candidiate, MSU and Punya Mishra)
  • Dissertation: Creativity and Creative Avocations among Accomplished Teachers: Thinking Skills that Cross Disciplines: Danah Henriksen

This study builds on a framework from a study by Root-Bernstein (1995, 2003), which suggested that very successful people in the sciences are also highly creative in other endeavors, and that they employ similar kinds of creative thinking skills across disciplines. This is a kind of “trans-disciplinary creativity”, which include habits of mind that seem to fall into essential categories of creative thinking skills. Specifically, this qualitative study will focus on individuals who have received the “Teacher of the Year” at the state level. As teachers who have been noted as effective in the classroom, this study will interview them with regard to their creativity in teaching, as well as their creative pursuits and interests, and how these connect. It will also investigate the idea of trans-disciplinary thinking skills among these successful, creative teachers. Interview data will be supplemented by any relevant teaching artifacts, examples or products gathered in the process, as well as data obtained through public documentation (Teacher of the Year applications, articles, etc).

Creativity in Teaching Practice

There are quite a few initiatives currently underway as a part of the Master’s in Educational Technology MAET program at the College of Education. These include

  • Redesign of the Year 3 curriculum to emphasize creativity and innovation (Leigh Graves Wolf)
  • A web database of technology related creativity activities developed by the MAET program: explore. create. share. Creative Play with Educational Technology
  • Sparks of Creativity is a collaborative wiki developed by students in CEP818: Creativity in Teaching and Learning in the Fall of 2010. This wiki is currently being revised Sparks of Creativity wiki

Creativity Resources

The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented

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