Sebastian+Kasiuk

skasiuk@fcaq.k12.ec

**Assignment 1: Scavenger Hunt**
The scavenger hunt was great. I learned a lot about myself in the sense that I never thought of myself as someone who is very creative. Most recently, I have been trying many new things with keeping creativity in mind. I challenged some of my blocks that sometimes do have control over the way I think. I let my emotional block be nonexistent. I was not afraid to be wrong and I shared my thoughts openly with my group members. My perceptual and my intellectual blocks were the most fun to overcome because getting rid of these blocks allowed me to think deeper and to look closer at objects and areas that I would normally not even think twice about. I really enjoyed some of the moments throughout the scavenger hunt because they generated some great discussion which led to laughter and understanding. Throughout the assignment we found many of the objects were right in front of us. However, we had to think creatively to see them.

Someone doing an ordinary thing in a creative way: I noticed a mother and her two kids painting a wall. The kids were using the brushes but they were definitely not painting, instead they were playing with the tools. Three examples of flexibility: Here we chose glass bottles that were used for protection from intruders, we also noticed a bamboo stick that was used as a lamp, and finally we spotted someone drying their underwear using a flag pole. So a flag pole is apparently used to raise the flag and also dry your clothes. An art form in an unlikely setting: There was a statue that was vandalized with art, but the statue itself was already an artistic representation. I was not expecting art on art. An inanimate object communicating in an original way: A group of Cacti, when looking at them creatively, looked almost like a city. Find a problem that has been solved in an original way: Ecua roofing as I like to call it. Many Ecuadorians have some great solutions with very little material available. (Roof with bricks on top to hold it down from the wind) Something that Shakespeare would write about: We walked to a graveyard and we thought, Shakespeare would definitely write about death. A problem that needs to be solved: One of the biggest problems in Quito is the electrical wiring. It´s going to take years until Quito residence have that under control. A basis for Mozart's composition: Mozart used 3/4 time, we noticed a blanket with that type of patterning. It´s awesome noticing that patterns are everywhere and that they integrate into other forms of thought. Something that your favorite singer would sing about: When we saw the picture of Tammy and Nash kissing, it was a dead give away. Love is in the air. Interview someone creating about the why, how, what, and when of the project: We interviewed a sweet old lady that has opened up an original restaurant with her daughter. They do everything naturally using only fresh produce and friendly packaging (environmental) === GREAT DISCUSSION. I AM PLEASED THAT YOU OVERCAME YOUR BLOCKS AND PARTICIPATED FULLY IN THE PROCESS. YOU HINTED AT THE BARRON AND EISNER LIST OF TRAITS OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS. MORE DIRECT DISCUSSION OF THEM WOULD ENHANCE YOUR FINE REFLECTION, ===

Lesson #1
Grade level: 4

Discipline: Language Arts

Unit: Creative Writing

Strategy: Morphological Matrix

Objectives:

-To form a writing piece that creates a story that is original with value and meaning

-The ability to use problem solving and brainstorming strategies to develop character, plot, setting, problem and solution.

-To show different styles of writing.

Strategy: -The morphological matrix will be integrated to provide the students a basis for creative brainstorming. It is a tool for students to generate a plan to play with multiple scenarios.

This lesson will be broken up into five days allowing an organized schedule of 40 minutes for each subject:

-(Day1)First introduce the concept of the morphological matrix. Create an example with the class using a story, movie, television show, etc., that is familiar with that group. Make a story board based on the matrix.

-(Day 2) Divide the class into cluster grouping (3-4 groups). Ask each group to create their own morphological model. Allow the students to brainstorm together and fill their morphological charts. Make sure that as a teacher you don’t comment on any of the brainstorming activities (ex. Do not compliment anyone, and if so make sure you use the same word for all of them).

-(Day 3) Ask the students to now create their own stories from their morphological matrix that they composed as a group using the story board.

-(Day 4) Ask students to review and edit their stories and publish final products.

-(Day 5) Create a rubric as a class and ask students to exchange their final work amongst their group members and allow themselves to comment on their peers work.

Assessment/Follow up:

The final assessment will comprise of both teacher and peer rubric results. Create a rubric as a class and ask students to exchange their final work amongst their group members. Allow them to comment on their peers work. Each student will share their final stories with classmates. I will use this lesson at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year to introduce creative writing.

I want my students to recognize that creativity is something I encourage and commend. ONCE THEY KNOW YOUR VALUES AND YOU PROVIDE ENCOURAGEMENT IT WILL BECOME A WAY OF LIFE FOR THEM.

Lesson #2
Grade level: 4

Discipline: Science

Unit: Natural Disasters

Strategy: Brainstorming

Objectives:

-Begin to form a concrete understanding of what types of natural disasters exist -Understand the basic principles of how natural disasters occur -Learn to collaborate with others in a group setting -Develop a natural curiosity towards the power of nature and its natural processes I LIKE THIS OBJECTIVE--

Strategy:

In this lesson it is necessary to encourage a wide variety of ideas, plans, and processes that the students will create and discover in groups. It is important for the students to be in groups because this activity thrives off of collaborating ideas.

This lesson is a one-day warm-up introduction to the beginning of a natural disasters unit. (This lesson is a 45-minute lesson. However, judgment of time should be flexible depending on the circumstances)

-(Step 1) Divide the class into groups of 4 or 5. Equip them with a chart piece of paper and a marker. All answers to questions are to be written down on the chart paper.

-(Step 2) Present 10 objects to the class (can be anything found inside a classroom). Ask the students what these objects could be used for incase of a natural disaster emergency that will leave them stranded on their own. Let them know they will need to survive off these objects for six months. Also, in their situation they are lucky to know they have water and wild animals. (Allow for 10 minutes)

-(Step 3) Ask students to write down the natural disasters they know about and what cause them to form. This part does not even have to be real. Allow for imagination and creativity. (Example: spaghetti hurricanes caused by too much tomato juice poured into our oceans) No answer is a wrong answer. (10 minutes)

-(Step 4) Allow time for the students to create a skit to present their ideas and disasters. Make them act-out how things would pan out on their island. (10 minutes)

-(Step 5) Have the students present their results.

Assessment/Follow up: This will be assessed into three categories: Group participation, oral speech (volume, clarity, and expression), and creative originality.

I will use this lesson at the beginning of my natural disasters unit in the 2012-2013 school year. SUPER. THIS IS A CREATIVE WAY TO INTRODUCE THEM TO YOUR UNIT. I LOVE IT!!!!!!

Assignment 3: Class Participation and Reflection
1. Pre Assignment

**__ Why is studying Creativity important? __** The five main points that I found compelling in the two articles provided are:

To begin with **¨Creativity is as important as literacy. Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value/meaning. ¨** This is how Dr. Ken Robinson has defined creativity in the educational spectrum. He mentions that while we develop into adults we out grow our creativity, and this has become a problem. This is true. Creativity took us to the moon and made our dreams come true. When we stop being creative, we stop progressing to the next level. We are a species that cannot be stagnant. I believe that to insure the existence of humanity and its predecessors we need to always be prepared for adaptation and rapid change in a universe that is totally unpredictable. If we do not teach our students to be creative, then we are sending them into a future that demands creativity to survive. Not allowing creativity is the same as killing dreams. POWERFUL!!!

** Focusing on project based learning, which helps students with creative learning. ** I agree with this statement because I myself can see the benefits of project-based learning that takes on an encouraging style to be creative. It allows students to be more flexible and to have more control in their learning. Projects also allow for multiple answers. It gives students the chance to express their knowledge in many ways. What I might think is the right answer is completely irrelevant to another. Project based work allows for creative ideas that are completely new and self discovered. EXACTLY

** The multiplicity of skill sets that are being practiced, trained, and discovered in open-ended projects. ** I believe that the world we live in today is a rapidly morphing environment. Projects allow for change and adaptation to problems and obstacles that a student may experience while in the process of completion. There are so many skills that are applied to project based work, in which most are used in everyday life. (Examples: social skills, teamwork, creative writing, sharing of ideas and opinions, etc.) YES, THEY ARE THE SKILLS NEEDED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE.

During Ken Robinson´s talk I enjoyed his reference that, **¨…what you wanted to learn about in school, you could never become in the real world…¨** I find this statement to be still popular amongst many adults, teachers, and parents. Our job as 21st century teachers is to change this industrial way of thinking. Creativity is one of humanities many unfulfilled potentials, it is important that we learn to discover how to unleash its wonder. I agree with Dr. Robinson that our curriculums need to become more adaptive to the new age of learning. FINE POINT

A final point and what I think is the most important, Dr. Robinson introduced an intriguing truth, **¨ If your not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original. ¨** I deeply agree with this statement and I have tried to live by something similar to that my entire life. I think that some of the biggest lessons in life are best understood and become most meaningful by being wrong. Our students sometimes feel overly uncomfortable of being wrong. My response to that is being wrong is great and natural, as long as you learn from it. Being wrong gives us humility and appreciation, understanding and clarity, which at times we forget we need. ¨We need to fall so we can learn how to pick ourselves back up (Batman). ¨ L OVE YOUR CITATION! ** Nurturing Creativity ** In my classroom I encourage creativity through freedom of choice. For example, I ask my students to find any material that is at their disposal and use it to create something of their choice, anything that they think is cool. I usually will give them 10 minutes to create. The result is that sometimes you get some really cool designs, ideas, and objects that students are proud of. For example one of my students taught us how to make phenomenal paper airplanes. Another way I encourage creativity is through my students’ projects. Once a year I allow them to present something that is totally open to what they might find interesting. It has nothing to do with the curriculum and it is totally up to them. What and how they want to present is their choice.

Finally one of the things I have found most interesting is students who hate coloring; they hate adding it to title pages, pictures, and designs. However, they love to shade and draw with just a pencil. I allow them to express themselves in a way that they find creative and I accept them for their opinions. YOU ARE A TRUE FACILITATOR OF CREATIVE PRODUCTIVITY. BRAVO!!! ** Three Skills I want to learn ** -I want to learn how to better inspire and encourage creativity. -I want to integrate creativity throughout my total teaching practice. -I want to learn about some of the main experts, whether they be people, boards, or schools that are the leading examples of creativity in the education sector. I HOPE THIS COURSE GAVE YOU LOTS OF IDEAS TO INTEGRATE INTO YOUR CREATIVITY TOOLKIT. I ALSO HOPE YOU WERE INSPIRED BY THE DISCUSSIONS, TED TALKS AND READINGS.

2.Creativity Definition: GREAT DEFINITION SHOWING THE MULTI-FACETED CONSTRUCT CALLED CREATIVITY. BUT LET'S MAKE SURE THE CUP CAKES ALL HAVE DIFFERENT FILLINGS!!! **__BLOCK BUSTING ACTIVITIES / MONDAY__**

3. Consider Joshua in his box. What constitutes your box? In short talk about your blocks to creativity: include environmental blocks. conclude with what you learned about yourself when participating in the activities in class.

When I think of my creativity blocks, I feel like I have to continue breaking down some of the walls that have developed because of my environment, culture, perception, and most important my emotional response. I believe that my emotional blocks will always be the most challenging because of the fear of being wrong. ¨Being wrong¨ is something that has been instilled in us since we were little kids and it is very difficult to take that kind of risk with many people still thinking in the past. I have challenged myself that I will take more risks and I want to be wrong. I truly believe that being wrong and breaking through emotional blocks is an important aspect of future education and how education needs to allow for ¨real¨ discovery where it is okay to be wrong, it´s actually encouraged. From participating in class I have found that I am actually more creative than I once thought. With some of the ideas and tools you have shown me I will continue to nourish my creativity through my students. I THINK YOU HAVE ENDLESS POTENTIAL AS YOU ALREADY DO GREAT THINGS WITH YOUR OWN STUDENTS.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmvIX85I1EM&feature=player_embedded

**Matt Cutts: Try Something New For 30 Days**
-This was a great Ted talk. To me, it relates to deconstructing some of the creative blocks society has instilled in us. -It mentioned build great social skills, like self-confidence and empowerment. -I agreed with Matt´s comment that small changes are sustainable changes. Big changes are fun but their probably not going to stick (for example not eating sugar). -30 days is the right amount of time to try anything. It gives you the perfect amount of time to see if you are willing to change for the rest of your life. -Matt Cutts basically showed us how easy it is to make time for change, no excuses. SO WHAT WILL YOU TRY?

Shaffi Mather: A New Way To Fight Corruption
-Shaffi is a global hero that values dignity and honor over equity and money. -He has introduced an old idea of an ambulance service in a better more sophisticated way. He has a successful system now blooming in India. -He talks about fighting corruption and bribery in the system. He finally is giving real people a real chance to fight against popular evils. -I really liked the way he supported his ambulance system financially. It was a simple technique of rich pay more, poor pay least. The victim involved in the accident is totally free of charge, which is how it should be. Many of us don´t plan on being in an accident. In my opinion, I totally support free universal care. It´s bad enough someone maybe seriously injured or sick, we don´t need to charge them for it. -Shaffi has spread his knowledge to his neighboring country Pakistan, showing that he also cares about all people and is willing to make healthy connections. I THINK HE IS QUITE THE ENTREPRENEUR. GREAT IDEAS

Thomas Suarez: Technology Matters To Our Students
- I was really impressed with this TED talk not because of Thomas´ age but because of his knowledge. - Thomas demonstrates and mentions that many students actually know more than teachers when it come to technology. -Technology is the future of our world. If we don´t develop the skills and abilities to teach through technology we are not doing our students any favors. I really like it when kids take a stand for their own education and exploration. It proves that are students are intelligent people that are ready for higher responsibilities then some of us fear to place on them. -Thomas is an extremely talented individual that has already shown a lot of promise. -It get´s me thinking, I would like to encourage an app development club at my school with my students. When we give our students the support and tools they need, more often than not, they will amaze us. To me, that is a step worth taking. GREAT IDEA. I HOPE YOU GO WITH IT.

Tim Hardford: Trial and Error and the God Complex
-Tim´s main point, and what I think is one of the most important concepts in our rapidly evolving world is ¨trial and error.¨ -We simply have not deeply realized that all things around us, all great ideas and performances are a result of trial and error. -Being wrong is something that not only should be encouraged and commended but it is something that needs to be reversed in our education system. We need to allow for the freedom of being wrong. -Tim talks about the ¨God Complex¨ and how it is something that needs to be broken down. There is no one solution fits all. The God complex develops a narrow pathway of thinking, instead of allowing for more open ideas. It focuses very stubbornly, that the person who has inherited the God complex is absolutely right and that they know the solution to the problem. In reality, it requires multiple tries to discover or create something that is truly above the rest. Look at evolution for example, it took millions of years through trial and error to create the species we are today. -I strongly agree with Tim´s point, that we need an educational system which provides questions with answer that don´t have one right solution. That is beautiful education. I SEE YOU HAVE PICKED UP THE THEME OF THE BENEFITS OF BEING WRONG.

Isaac Mizrahi: Fashion and creativity
-I really enjoyed Isaac´s talk because he spoke about the interest in creativity. -When he is asked to do a particular piece of fashion work, he not only does the job but he researches the whole topic of where, who, what, why, how and when. -He mentions he researches not because he has to, but because he wants to in order to help him with his creative piece. - I really found it interesting when he talked about women and color and how it is extremely difficult to create images that can stand the test of time. ¨How do you recreate something so beautiful with it still being your own?¨ -Isaac mentions the importance of taking risks and how without risks you will never know how creative you can become. Sometimes you have to close your eyes and just go for it.

I SEE YOU WERE SEDUCED BY THESE TED TALKS. IT IS AMAZING TO ME THAT CREATIVE PEOPLE ARE EVERYWHERE MAKING A DIFFERENCE ACROSS SO MANY DOMAINS.

**5. MATH PROBLEM**

Sebastian Brent Erick Nash Devin Freddy

THIS IS A GREAT PROBLEM. YOU GUYS OUTDID YOURSELF--CREATIVITY WAS RUNNING RAMPID. CONGRATS.

Assignment 4: Creativity Socratic Seminar
Question 1: In Issac Mizrahi's TED talk he explains a time when he explored a topic off of pure interest. Not because he had to but because he wanted to. I myself think this is one of the coolest forms of learning because it is self-driven. When is a time you have done something with your students based off of pure interest? Do we as teachers bring down some of the blocks brought up in class, and take a chance on purely creative experiences?

Question 2: The article on Martha Graham spoke about Martha's polymathic mind (meaning she was talented in more than just a kinaesthetic way) and her ability to express knowledge from one form to another. With so many of the challenges in the education system, how can we as teachers encourage creative expression in our students and still see a clear understanding of the criteria? What would a rubric look like for creative expression? Should a student get marked on creativity and originality? How soon can we see these changes in our education system?

THESE ARE EXCELLENT QUESTIONS AND BOTH WERE RELATED TO YOUR READINGS. FINE IDEAS TO PONDER.