Learning Experience Design Model: Bridge the Gap between Tradition and Innovation

Designing lessons focused on creative development requires a shift from traditional lesson and unit plans.   Sometimes we want to change but just don’t know where to start; it is often easier to fall back on what we already know.  As I develop my own program centered around creativity and higher level thinking, I often wonder how to best to share what I have learned in a way that people...

Curricular Obligations in the Creative Classroom

or How Do You Uncover 400 Years of History in 10 Months? By Erin Quinn One of the biggest struggles for a creative teacher is balancing the demands of packed curriculums with the desire to provide time and space for student creativity. I teach grade 7 Language Arts and Social Studies. Language Arts is no problem - it lends itself quite well to creative pursuits. But the grade 7 Social Studies...

Habits of Mind Meet Creative Development

By Sandra McNeil Photo from here. For several years our school has centered student learning, engagement and assessment around the Habits of Mind. These 16 habits which include “persisting”, “taking responsible risks”, “creating, imagining, innovating” “ remaining open to continuous learning” and “managing impulsivity” to name a few, function as a cornerstone of our program. They have become...

Creativity... It's in the Design

Why is Creative Confidence Important? By Trina Penner Photo credit I teach grade 9-12 in the Fine Arts (Drama, Technical Theatre, Dance). I’ve always felt comfortable within this world professionally and personally. I need you to know that this is both a comfort and a stress. When folks know that I am an “artsy”, they automatically assume that I am able to create on the spot. This is not how...

Drama 20: Implementing the Learning Design Model in High School

By Trina Penner        A note about Collective Theatre: Mrs. Penner describes Collective Theatre as a salad.  You add a variety of ingredients to contribute to the deliciousness of the salad.  Each ingredient added represents a scene in Collective Theatre. The salad is the end result which is the production. Ingredients are strung together by the theme or topic....

Planning a Year Long Project

By Stephanie Bartlett Looking Closely:  Our Year Long Project  During the summer, I read Role Reversal by Mark Barnes.  I loved the idea of a year long project that covers many curriculum outcomes and is based on student interests.  The idea that you can have something to just pull out when a subsitute comes and the students know exactly what to do and love doing it?...

Genius Hour in Kindergarten

Genius Hour In French Immersion Kindergarten By Stephanie Bartlett It is easy to read about Genius Hour and assume it is geared for middle school.  Having taught my Kindergarten students through the lens of creative development for the majority of the year, I wanted to give Genius Hour a try.  At the beginning of last June, I decided to devote most of our time to experimenting with...

Games in Things

By Erin Quinn As mentioned in our Recipe section, creating a safe culture in your classroom is important for future creative work. I teach an option class for grade 7s called Creative Problem Solving. It’s a course that’s locally developed by my school board, and focuses on the creative process as a method of solving real life problems. I’m very excited for the opportunities this course is going...

Creativity in a French Immersion Kindergarten Classroom

By Stephanie Bartlett What? “What is your plan?” “Before we build that fort, maybe we should draw a plan.” “Today I am going to build another prototype of my butterfly house.” -Conversations from Mme Stephanie’s Kindergarten classroom. Creativity is a word that we hear so often these days and yet so many of us are intimidated or just don’t know where to start.  Some are interested, but...

Introducing Genius Hour in Grade 7

By Erin Quinn Genius Hour is an idea that’s catching like wildfire lately in the field of education. Genius Hour goes by many names - 20% time, Innovation Week, Fed Ex Days, Passion Projects - but all these monikers essentially mean the same thing: passion-based, self-directed learning. Students choose what they want to learn about, investigate, and create something to show for their learning....

Creativity: Delving Into The Unknown and Coming Out On Top

By Stephanie Bartlett The beginning of my creative journey last year was full of surprises. I didn’t expect to jump off a cliff into the unknown territory of redesigning education and throwing out traditional methods. I didn’t expect to form a close group of creativity pals who text daily to constantly push each other to keep forging ahead with our work. I didn’t expect to be so passionate...