Creativity Finale

I have enjoyed taking this Creativity Course this semester and I feel that my views toward creativity have changed from where I began.  In August, I viewed creativity as something that was present in many people, and largely viewed it from the aesthetic viewpoint as being related to the arts.  I now understand that it is much more than that and includes problem solving and simply a different way of thinking about things.  


The most difficult assignment for me was actually the first activity, which was SCAMPER.  I tend to over-analyze sometimes, and I think that I did in this situation when developing my initial probortunity.  Each idea I thought of did not seem "right" and so I spent most of the week thinking just about how to begin.  When I finally had my probortunity and attempted to apply the SCAMPER technique to it, I felt that it did not fit into the model as precisely as I would have liked.  After completing this activity, I realized that the goal was not to make my probortunity conform to the technique itself; the idea was to apply the questions from the SCAMPER technique, however they would work, and go from this point.  


Essentially, what I learned from that experience, and from this Creativity course is that we should not, as teachers, be trying to make every thing /idea /student in our classrooms conform to specific ideals or rules.  In the last article we read,  K. Kim suggested that teachers commonly teach students to conform to the way they instruct in their classroom and seldom allow students freedom to choose freely.  As an advocate of creative children, I believe that teachers, parents, and other students should defer judgement and allow ample time and space for creative ideas to develop.  Of course there do need to be rules and boundaries so that students are learning every day.  However, students that are allowed choice and ownership of their learning will likely be more involved and active and will therefore learn "better" or perhaps even learn more.  My goal is that when I become a classroom teacher, I take the time and extra effort to develop lessons that allow for creativity; and I hope in reaching out to children with creative potential, I can help them to achieve their goals.

Quick Reflection of being "Creative"

I have enjoyed the creative activities we have done in this class, and genuinely believe that my views and ideas surrounding creativity have changed in light of reading from our book and the articles.  Many times throughout my life people, especially my parents, have complimented or admired things I have done by saying "my, you are so creative".  Always, I have taken this as a compliment, and have continued to participate in things or produce items that can be labeled as "creative".  I am pleased that I now have a deeper understanding of the word "creative"; it is not only a word that represents art or music, but it is a way of thinking.  As I completed each activity, I was required to ask myself questions that I do not normally ask when finding answers to a problem.  It is not always easy to think critically about a situation, and this is exactly what the new standards in education are requiring our students to do.  I know that by participating in this class and completing these assignments, I have learned different methods of thinking critically, and will be able to better help my students to problem solve and become critical thinkers.

The Tortoise and the Hare, rethought with Six Hats

White Hat: (fact finding)

·         The hare makes fun of the tortoise for being slow.

·         The hare challenges the tortoise to a race.

·         The fox was the judge of the race.

·         The fox set the distance for the race.

·         The hare started running the race fast, and then took a nap.

·         The tortoise walked slowly and steadily through the race course.

·         The tortoise won the race.

Red Hat: (emotion of the situation)

·         When the hare made fun of tortoise, the tortoise was unhappy.

·         Upon challenging the tortoise to a race, the tortoise knew that the hare was arrogant and would make mistakes because of this.

·         While running the race, the hare was so conceited and confident of himself that he took a nap to further prove his point that he was faster than tortoise.

·         In the end, the tortoise was pleased with himself for winning the race and the hare was disappointed that he made a stupid mistake and lost.

Black Hat: (the negatives)

·         It was careless of hare to lie down and take a nap during a race. 

·         When the hare challenged the tortoise to this race, he should have planned to use his time efficiently and used a strategy to win. 

·         On the other hand, tortoise did not have a strategy to win.  He counted solely on the hare’s arrogance to cause him to lose.

Yellow Hat: (the positives)

·         At the time of the challenge, the hare knew that he was a faster runner than the tortoise.

·         When the fox was selected to judge, both the hare and tortoise trusted him to be an unbiased witness to the event.

Green Hat: (creative and new ideas)

·         The tortoise could have declined the race initially knowing that he typically walked at a slower pace than the hare.

·         The tortoise could have swayed the decision of the judge in the case that the hare did complete the race first.

·         The hare could have swayed the decision of the judge.

·         As seen in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, the tortoise could have gotten other tortoises to participate in the race ensuring a win.  Or, as in the same cartoon, the tortoise could have placed a jet engine in his shell to make himself faster.

·         Also as seen in the Bugs Bunny cartoon, the hare could have taken short cuts through the woods during the race to catch up after his nap.

Blue Hat: (the big picture and ending thoughts)

·         Ultimately there is a moral to this story.  This moral, or lesson, is that we should not be boastful and arrogant or we will not get ahead in life.  If any of these new ideas were implemented the story would change as well as the moral.  If the moral is the basis and reason for this story to exist, I am not sure that it is ok to alter it, thus changing the meaning.

·         However, there could be alternate lessons or morals learned if the story were different.  If one is persistent, he or she will win.  Or, life is not always fair. 

Davis p. 203, #5

Ways to change or improve upon a product....

Object:  Travel scrapbook paper carry case- a plastic case with a handle that has 10 folders inside that open "accordion style"

Ideas for improvement:
Put to other uses- It could be used to store pictures if it were a smaller size.  It could also hold stickers.

Adapt- At Staples/Office Depot/other office supply stores, there are file folders like this that are a size that hold standard 8x11 papers.  It suggests a method of paper storage that is collapsible so papers are sorted, but don't take up lots of room.

Modify- If the bottom were mobile and not stationary, it could hold more things. If the outside material were different (hard plastic) it would make it easier to close.

Magnify- If the above modification (mobile bottom) happened, a clasp/tie on the sides would help to maintain the initial goal to keep things tightly together to save space.  More slots could be added on the inside for more types of paper.  Canvas could be used instead of flimsy plastic to make it more durable.

Minify- On the other hand, there could be no slots for paper.  There could be inserts of chipboard that were folders to hold papers to keep them flat.  Or, again, if it were a smaller size overall, it would have different applications for holding pictures or stickers.

Substitute- Instead of having a travel case for scrapbook paper, I could have shelves that were stationary on a bookcase.  Or, if canvas over a different type of plastic were used for the outside, it would be easier to close and open.  Perhaps a different type of clasp- one that had a loop around a button instead of having to put the plastic piece through the hole and turn it.

Rearrange- It would make a different type of case if the openings for the paper were on the side instead of the top.  It could have two sides to it, back to back to store twice as much paper.

Reverse- Instead of having the accordion folders inside, the top could be taken off, exposing the paper and allowing it to be accessed easier.  There is a small pocket inside the back- it could be put on the outside so its contents can be reached.

Combine- A case could be created that had larger files for large paper in the back, and smaller files for pictures in the front, allowing storage for both paper and pictures.  The bottom could be made mobile and instead of fixed accordion files there could be assorted sizes of chipboard files or cardstock files to hold different sized materials.

Rationale
I use this carrying case for my scrapbook paper to keep it flat and to sort it to easily find what I need.  I like the fact that this case is good for traveling, however, the type of hard plastic that the outside is made of is difficult to maneuver.  This type of plastic is not very malleable making it difficult to move when looking at the paper inside; it is also difficult to close the clasp because of the type of plastic used on the outside case.  This case does provide ample space for different types of paper and I would like to find a smaller case of similar design for storage of my photos so that I may sort them as I work on scrapbooks and can easily find what I need as I work.