Valeria+Izquierdo

email address: vizquierdo@fcaq.k12.ec

Working on the Scavenger Hunt was really fun and that´s why in our presentation we used crazy wigs and glasses because I think that part of being creative is to have fun, when we started to have fun, we could be more creative and find different things easily. We took some risks too, like driving like crazy to get pictures or talking to people on the streets, but I personally think that I overcame some big obstacles I had in my life and tried to stop worrying and just had fun! GOOD FOR YOU.
 * Personal Reflection:**

- Someone doing an ordinary thing in a creative way: we found a lady selling gum on the streets carrying her baby on the back, we see this everyday but we don’t think about it as a creative way to find a solution to a work problem.

- Three examples of flexibility: we found great art in an Art Gallery: a tree to use as jewelry hanger and real skulls painted in different colors! On the streets we found flexibility too when we saw a different way to advertize car alarms.

- An inanimate object communicating in an original way: we see graffitist everyday on the streets and we don´t see them as a way to communicate, after today, I think I am going to notice more the art and the message behind them.

- Find a problem that has been solved in an original way: This was one of my favorites! A man watering plants using a Tonka Truck and a rope!

- Find something that Shakespeare would write about: We think that the Guapulo Church could inspire Shakespeare to write because it has lots of history and it is beautiful.

- Find a problem that needs to be solved. The traffic in Quito, we complain about it, but there are many different creative ways to solve it, like this tunnel.

- Find a basis for Mozart's composition: On this picture we thought that Mozart could be inspired because of the beautiful view and mountains we have in Ecuador!

- Find something that your favorite singer would sing about: I think that anybody´s favorite singer would love to write about friendship.

- Interview: We interviewed a street juggler, it was a little risky, but not because he was going to do any harm on us, but because of all the taboos we have in our society. And after speaking to him, we could understand that his motivation to be creative is the need he has to earn money.

ASSIGNMENT 2 : Application of Creative Strategies
Valeria Izquierdo

María Teresa Romero

María Inés Carrion


 * Lesson #1**


 * Discipline:** Language Arts

Reading


 * Strategy:** Morphological Matrix


 * Objectives:**


 * Identify main characters in a story.
 * Combining characters from different stories, for children to create new stories.
 * Identify problems and solutions in different stories.


 * Description of the Strategy:**

- After listening to several stories, children will fill in the following morphological matrix chart, using the information they can recall from the stories they heard.


 * Hero || Villain || Problem || Solution ||

- They will combine the characters of the different stories and the problems to create a new story.

- They will change the solutions, creating their own new solutions.

- Working in small groups children will create their own books.


 * Implementing the Activity:**

When working on identifying the different parts of a story, children will listen to the following stories:

- Goldilocks and the Three Bears

- The three little pigs

- Little Red Riding Hood

- Snow White and the seven dwarfs

After listening to the stories children will then identify and brainstorm who are the heroes, villains, problem and solution of each story.

Then children will work in small groups to combine the characters and the problems of these stories to come up with new ones.

Children will decide what their solution to the problem will be. They have to come up with new solutions.

Each group will decide how to present their book: dramatizing, picture book, puppets, etc.


 * Assessment/Follow-up:**

In the assessment, we will observe children explaining to their classmates why they came up with that solution and if they are able to recall the story they heard as well as the story they came up with.

We would assess the use of this strategy by the students through discussions about the ideas they brainstormed for each category and about the combinations they created using the matrix.

I L OVE THIS ACTIVITY AND IT WILL BE FUN TO EXPLORE IT WITH THE KIDS. MAKE SURE YOU MODEL AN EXAMPLE SO THEY KNOW THEY HAVE PERMISSION TO CHANGE THE STORY. I HAD FIRST GRADERS TO A PLAY ABOUT SNOW WHITE AND THE 7 DWARFS MEET GOLDILOCKS AND THE 3 BEARS. LOTS OF FUN WRITING THAT ONE WITH THE CHILDREN.
 * Lesson # 2**


 * Discipline:** Science

Properties of Solids and liquids


 * Strategy:** Brainstorming and Imagery


 * Objectives:**


 * Identify the properties of solids and liquids.
 * Create a space craft that can land on both a solid and liquid planet.
 * Experiment with material that has different properties and attributes.
 * Understand s basic concepts about structure and properties of matter.
 * Knows that different objects are made up of many different observable properties.


 * Description of the Strategy:**

Children will learn how to prepare Oblix, which is a special substance that has different properties and attributes.

They will brainstorm the different properties that this substance has. What are the differences between solids and liquids.


 * Implementing the Activity:**

Children will learn how to make Oblix, which is a special substance that can be a solid as well as a liquid.

Children will experiment with this substance. They will touch it, feel it and manipulate it.

After children will brainstorm in group, what are the properties of solids and liquids, what are the similitaries and the differences.

Then children will be asked to imagine that the Planet Earth was made of this type of substance and create a spacecraft that will be able to land on both a solid or liquid surface.

Children will work in small groups, using different recyclable material to create their own spacecraft. GREAT FUN IN A DISCOVERY/INVENTION CENTER


 * Assessment/Follow-up:**

In the assessment, we will observe children explaining to their classmates why they came up with that type of spacecraft and why they think it will be able to land on this type of a planet.

We would assess the use of this strategy by the students, through discussions about the ideas they came up with. Then we would simulate a landing on the Planet with that surface and see if it works. AGAIN, STELLAR ACTIVITY THAT COMBINES LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND STANDARDS WITH CREATIVITY.

**1. Pre Assignment**

 * Write a summary of five main points you find compelling from these articles. **

- To be creative it requires merging: divergent thinking (generating many unique ideas) and convergent thinking (combine ideas into the best results). Combine new and old information. Creative people alternate between divergent and convergent thinking.

- Creativity has declined in the last years because of the many hours kids spend in front of TV on videogames instead of engaging in creative activities. Another fact is the lack of creativity development in schools and how schools are focused on standardized curriculum where memorization and nationalized tests are too important.

- Treffinger´s creative problem-solving method is the highest success in increasing children´s creativity. Here, children have to follow the steps of fact finding, problem finding, idea finding, and plan of action and create.

- Parents and teachers of creative children encourage uniqueness, but provide stability. They are responsive to kid´s needs, but challenge them to develop skills. Creativity flourishes in the space between anxiety and boredom with clear rules and when kids are bored they seek change. Teachers that support creativity are tolerant of unconventional answers, occasional disruptions, or detours of curiosity.

- As teachers we have to develop children´s creative capacities and let them user their imagination and questioning, letting them make mistakes and come up with original responses. FINE POINTS THAT HAVE IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR CLASSROOM CONSIDERATIONS.


 * Discuss how you nurture creativity in your students currently. Provide concrete examples. **

Reading. Through reading comprehension strategies, children are able to make connections, visualize, infer, etc. They make connections with their own reality, make questions about the stories and create different endings for the stories. BUT BE CAREFUL TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE BALANCING THE OBJECTIVES THAT CALL FOR CONVERGENT AND DIVERGENT THIKNING. OFTEN WE ARE LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT ANSWER IN READING COMPREHENSION.

Free Play: Kids can play freely in the classroom using block to create and role playing.

Science: Children can use their creativity while they follow the steps of the scientific method: question, observation, hypothesis, experiment, analyze, conclusion. THIS IS NOT CREATIVE THINKING AT ALL. THERE ARE SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS AIMED AT ONE RIGHT ANSWER. DON'T CONFUSE ALL HANDS ON AND EXPERIENTIAL ACTIVITIES WITH OPEN-ENDED DIVERGEENT THINKING ACTIVITIES. I HOPE THIS GETS CLEARER DURING THE COURSE.


 * Finally list three understandings or skills you would like to learn in this course on Creativity. **

- I would like to learn and understand how to creativity assessment works.

- Another skill I would like to learn is how to apply creativity to help children cope with problems, help them solve problems using creativity without having their teachers of parents get involved.

- I would like to learn how to apply Treffinger´s creative problem-solving method in the kinder classroom. I DO HOPE YOU GOT THESE ANSWERED DURING CLASS ACTIVITIES, READINGS, AND DISCUSSIONS.

2. Group Definitiion of Creativity
Creativity is the combination of characteristics that overcome difficultioes in a unique way, using various processes,based on strong motivation and reasoning. I DO LIKE THE FEATURES YOU INCLUDED IN YOUR DEFINITION. YOUR VISUAL ENHANCED THE WORDS.

3. Block Busting Activities
While watching the video "Josha in a Box" I could see that he had this big block in his mid that wasn´t letting him get out of his box. He was so determined to go out one way and he was trying it so hard that he didn´t notice the little hole there was on the other side. I think that when stopped thinking about getting out that way, he found another way .DID HE STOP TO THINK OR DID THE DISCOVERY COME QUITE BY ACCIDENT? When he finally got out, he wanted another challenge, so he became the box to focus on a new way to get out. This video made me realize that I have lots of blocks to creativity in my life that don´t let me face my problems and find new ways to overcome them. My perceptual blocksm, my mind doesn´t let me think outside of the box when I´m in trouble and i keep thinking and thinking about the same problem instead of finding a creative way and stop limiting my possibilities. My cultural blocks come from a society that limit us and sometimes I have to stop worrying about the taboos and habits this society has on me. All this made me realize the enviroment is a big bock too that constantly stops me from solving my problems in a creative way and to come up with more creative tools to use in my work and my life too. The class participatiion is being hard for me because this enviromental blocks have made me insecure about mysef and I wish I could take more risks. YOU WILL AS YOU GET MORE COMFORTABLE WITH WHO YOU ARE.

**4. Ted Talk Analysis**




This Ted Talk video about Rober Lang and Origami is a great way to use your creativity with origami to find different uses to it. It can even save lifes! I LOVE YOUR ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE TED TALK. VERY CREATIVE AND OUT OF THE BOX THINKING. SEE YOU CAN DO IT !!

5. Math Problem
Masato is a tourist guide on his spare time. He receives a call from some tourists. They need a guide for three groups of twenty three tourists that come from different countries. They wish to visit Masai. How many tourists does he need to guide in a week to earn 126$. He charges 13 $ per hour. Since it is a large group he usually offers a 10% discount. Finally he needs to know how much he will earn in shillings. The currency change at the moment is 85,23 shillings are equal to 1$.

Group: Maria Ines Carrion Gabriela Larrea 2 Paulina Lucero Valeria Izquierdo Maria Tereesa Romero Soledad Robalino Gabriela Bustamente Maria Elena Cobo Maria del Carmen Elsitdie VERY ELABORATE AND UNIQUE PROBLEM. USING CREATIVITY IN MATH MAKDES IT MORE COMPREHENSIBLE. DO YOU AGREE?

__Assignment 4: Creativity Socratic Seminar__
1. According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, do you neccesarily need a higher IQ to be a creative person?

2. How can we overcome our mental blocks?

I THINK YOUR FIRST QUESTION IS LIMITED IN ITS POTENTIAL TO STIMULATE DISCUSSION BUT IT IS A GOOD CHECK POINT. I LIKE THE 2ND QUESTION BUT HOW DOES IT REALTE TO YOUR TED TALK? YOU haven't shown any summaries of your two reading/viewing options.