Brainstorming ideas is something we have all done. When I am teaching and my students are going to write for me, I tell them to brainstorm some ideas using a graphic organizer. In my classroom, brainstorming sometimes turns into, “I am ignoring the assignment,” for those not interested in doing it in the first place. Then I start pushing for everyone to go quickly and get this done. After reading Chapters 7 and 8 of LAUNCH, I begin to ponder if I am rushing my students through this process too quickly. Also, I am hyperactive and want to go at a fast pace, so I constantly struggle with giving my kids the answer to the question I have asked because I need to keep the pace and move. I loved the idea from Chapter 7 of beginning the brainstorming session in isolation. If you can’t talk to your neighbor about the latest gossip then possibly we will write down a few things. Then maybe when we move into a think, pair, share group and their buddy will like their idea and encourage them. I will try this in the upcoming weeks and see how it works for me.
Once we have moved to the think, pair and share, I watch the room to see how the group dynamics will work. It amazes me how often I see one students in a group doing all the work. The social dynamics are real. My challenges as a teacher is to try to manage the groups but allow the students to interact with each other and learn how to handle working with other people. Learning flexibility and strong communications skills is a lifelong skills everyone needs. It is hard to sit back and not control the situation but allow the students to work it out together the way they will have to in the real world. I do keep a very close eye on any group I feel may have a strong reaction because I do want to be there to help if needed. Once the creative juices are flowing, I can count that at least a couple of kids will tell me they are not creative and don’t know what to do. I try to share with them that I too, often feel like I am not creative. At this point I try to pull something out of my head that have had done that was creative and praise them for it. I love that our art teacher believe everyone is an artist, each person is just on different proficiency levels. We all drew things as a child, and if we were lucky enough, our art made the refrigerator. Then we get older and start comparing ourselves to our neighbors. Do we stack up or not? It doesn’t matter, we should try creative things that make us happy. I think we have to just encourage our students to try and see. Hopefully, over time the students will see the value in creating and focus serious time and energy into being creative. Work Cited Spencer, J., & Juliani, A. J. (2016). LAUNCH: Using design thinking to boost creativity and bring out the maker in every student. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting.
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AuthorMy name is Lisa and I teach English Language Arts at Forsyth, MO. Archives
May 2017
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