So my original idea was to have students get into groups of 3 or 4 to teach a certain area on Cellular Respiration to the class. They will make a short 5-7 minute video to present and the presentation must be interactive.... I think this is where creativity may play a role.
Students need to think outside of the box to make some sort of interaction with their audience. This may include having the audience manipulate cut-outs on their desk (e.g. the process of mitosis) as the presentation occurs, creating a dance or routine for the audience to mimic, etc... Students will need to CREATE a video with a CREATIVE interactive portion to get full credit. I think creativity and innovation is definitely worth it for my project. Any teacher must be creative in their teaching to grasp students' interest, so for this project, the "student teachers" will do just that - create! That's where a lot of the learning takes place! :)
My colleagues and I had a conversation today about students who are able to think outside of the box and create a product to showcase their thinking. I am excited that you are providing your students with this opportunity. It definitely addresses the higher order/critical thinking skills along with creativity. Your students will enjoy creating a dance or routine to involve other learners. That is an awesome idea for this age group. I look forward to seeing what your "student teachers" develop. Exciting and a great way to assist the students in understanding the concept!!! They will always remember this.
ReplyDeleteTeaching is a very interesting calling... No one really gets into the field without a real desire to be one of the "good teachers." And, to be quite honest, at some schools those types of teachers are hard to find.
ReplyDeleteIf a teacher wants to be considered one of the best, by colleagues and students, he or she has to embrace a sense of creativity- both in his/her planning and in the implementation of projects. Creativity should always be expected in our students.
I read an article in Newsweek not long ago about how creativity is missing in today's school children... But it is vital for a thriving economy and nation. Without creativity there would be no inventors and innovators- no folks out there like Steve Jobs.
Science teachers have to foster creativity and helps us grow more innovators.
Glad you are working on that in your science classroom.
Lara, I think your project certainly requires students to be creative and innovative. I also agree with you in that teachers' creativity has a great impact on students' own creativity!
ReplyDeleteBeing creative is EXHAUSTING. There, I said it. I feel better!
ReplyDeleteMy hat is off to the teachers who can be creative in every single class. I strive to be as creative as possible, but I'm not where I know I could be. Planning activities that allow for creativity take time, and unfortunately there is not a lot of planning time allotted during the day. (We had a professional day yesterday, and we spent 6 of our 7 hours on campus yesterday doing PLUs. I need PLUs like I need a hole in the head, and spent a lot of time thinking about what I COULD be doing in my classroom.) I strive to improve every year, and now that I'm in a bit of a routine, I can add in fun ideas more often.
I also second what Linda said above about how creativity allows us to reach our students' higher levels of thinking. I whole-heartedly agree. Sitting quietly in their seats doing worksheets is neither creative NOR requiring them to utilize their thinking skills.