An informal learning community for educators worldwide. Our passion for learning and connected learning experiences help us to improve our teaching practices. #txeduchat features guest moderators every week.
Alex, currently enjoying chocolate and coffee. Sometimes I do chocolate and wine, or when it's cold hot chocolate, or even just as a snack in the afternoon. Like creativity, chocolate is a great addition to just about everything. #TxEduChat
A1 Creativity, to me, is at the eye of the beholder. The ability to add something an idea to make it their own. A little flair or color, whatever works! #txeduchat
A1: Creativity is finding ways to express yourself in your work. Ss can show their depth of knowledge on a subject while being able to create something that shows their true talents #TxEduChat
A1 Creating something new or using something in a new way. New ideas...thinking about something in a way that is different, unique, or from a new perspective #txeduchat
Anyone else have inconsistent results with @DiscoveryEd videos streaming? We’ve checked everything from our end. No other streaming issues with other sources. No where near close to bandwidth consumption. @YouTube, @Vimeo, etc. work fine. #SCed#NCed#GAed#txeduchat#tned#fled
#txeduchat Yes! There is no “right” answer, just your answer and how you made the connection. I think teachers miss this in students when they focus on only one answer.
A1 Creativity, to me, is at the eye of the beholder. The ability to add something an idea to make it their own. A little flair or color, whatever works! #txeduchat
A1 Hey everyone, Rebecca from Ottawa Canada. Creativity to me means the ability to think of new and original ideas. Thinking outside the box. #txeduchat
A1: Howdy #txeduchat family from Barbara, school counselor in Friendswood ISD. I think that creativity happens when passion and imagination meet. It's SUCH a blast to create something new, to adapt or dovetail something, to make it different, to fit your needs.
Anyone else have inconsistent results with @DiscoveryEd videos streaming? We’ve checked everything from our end. No other streaming issues with other sources. No where near close to bandwidth consumption. @YouTube, @Vimeo, etc. work fine. #SCed#NCed#GAed#txeduchat#tned#fled
A1 💕 this! If 30 people were told to make 30 pizzas and to be creative when doing it we would have 30 different types of pizzas! Creativity looks different for all of us doesn't it? We need to remember that when we ask our students to be creative!#txeduchat
A1: Nneka sneaking in late! In the Matrix, there is a scene where a kid reminds Neo "there is no spoon." For me, creativity is the reminder that "there is no box." #txeduchat
A2: I've been out of the classroom for 8 years but I once taught a first grade math lesson without speaking a word--it was powerful and the kids LOVED it! #txeduchat
#txeduchat Exactly! When a teacher only thinks “colorful” for creative, then that messy, uncolorful paper with incredible ideas can be overlooked. (Okay...that’s personal. My GT son is crazy creative but not in pretty ways.)
A1 💕 this! If 30 people were told to make 30 pizzas and to be creative when doing it we would have 30 different types of pizzas! Creativity looks different for all of us doesn't it? We need to remember that when we ask our students to be creative!#txeduchat
A2: My creativity w/standards has always shown in science & social stud because I can create experiences for Ss...cooking, building, blending in art #txeduchat
A1: Nneka sneaking in late! In the Matrix, there is a scene where a kid reminds Neo "there is no spoon." For me, creativity is the reminder that "there is no box." #txeduchat
A2 Tough question! I teach resource science to three students and was able to provide materials to allow my students to make a food chain with materials of their choosing. It’s really cool to see their creativity. #txeduchat
A2: Taught contractions using “contraction surgery”—transformed our class into a hospital and made our students into doctors. #TXEduchat#TLAPhttps://t.co/vs0oKxw90O
A2: Getting students to practice their communication skills using puppets brings out some incredible opportunities for creative play. Here, they are practicing their refusal skills when the wolf offers them drugs. https://t.co/eyMV8pw75q#txeduchat
Q2 We attack all of our curriculum by looking at current issues that they are interested in and then find ways to connect the expectations to what they are passionate about. #txeduchat
Many years ago my Ss were reading The Hunger Games and they made videos profiling why they thought individual characters would or would not survive. It lead to really deep convos about plot, themes, setting, and character development #TxEduChat
A2: Had students create an environmental friendly project and implement it. No restrictions allowed students to follow their passion. Their different solutions to a common problem was amazing. #txeduchat
#txeduchat A2: Did a parts of speech lesson with a baggie of random objects. Kids had to decide which object for which POS. They had to explain rationale to class. They were so mad when I told them they were all right!
Even simple experiences like making instant pudding provide so many opportunities...reading directions, math measurement, science states of matter #txeduchat
#txeduchat A2: This may seem strange, but I taught a range of foldables and had my kinetic kids choose whichever one they liked best for notes. Taught my daughter & this was something she asked me to do. Hadkids create their own graphic organizers, too. Better than mine.
A2 my favorite lesson for biology was letting Ss pick what interested them, letting them research it, & determining a way to teach it to us. I was blown away by the amount of information packed into their presentations, all because they were interested in the topic! #txeduchat
A2 my kids published a book this month available for purchase on https://t.co/HWfeQo2VUA. The book is entitled Chopped Sticks and is an assortment of writings about the Asian culture. A student designed our cover - this is her art! #txeduchat
A3. We should encourage and measure growth. It is a life skill that connects with adaptability, problem solving, and perseverance. The ability to think creatively & find creative solutions is invaluable in today’s marketplace. #TXEduchat
A3: I would say the evaluation in the workplace begins at an interview. I would be looking to hire the most creative applicant who can bring a diverse bag of talents to my company. That’s what we need to prepare our Ss for #TxEduChat
A2: I have to also give props to my team. One of the most amazing lessons I observed this year was @ygoteach having kids code @Sphero balls to follow plot diagrams for ELA #HowWeSTEAM#txeduchat
A3 when we complete what I’d call creative assignments, I’m careful to not score based on creativity, but on evidence of learning of the content !! Sometimes I need to look very closely beyond the smudges to see the “correctness” - #txeduchat
A3: In some ways, it’s already being evaluated in classrooms and the workplace. However, I’m not convinced it should be built into state accountability systems. #txeduchat
A3: I think it might be a bit too subjective to try to assess creativity. Whose standards would the evaluation be based upon? It might backfire and squash creativity? #txeduchat
A3: I believe creativity is up there with the "soft" skills and should be taken into account as to how creativity adds to the good of the team...creativity is a valuable talent that is often times underappreciated. Evaluated? No. #txeduchat
A3 Yes on both counts. If not evaluated in the classroom, students are likely to lose a sense of it's value. Face it, students will gravitate towards what is measured or evaluated. #TxEduChat
A3 Yes on both counts. If not evaluated in the classroom, students are likely to lose a sense of it's value. Face it, students will gravitate towards what is measured or evaluated. #TxEduChat
A3: I don't believe creativity should be judged because it's hard to quantify, but it is easy to nurture. And, it's a necessary skill. Therefore, let's focus on growing creativity by fostering it without fear. #TXEduchat
A3 I don't think creativity should be evaluated.Classrooms and the workplace should embrace risk taking. Failure should be applauded, celebrated and reflected on. This is the only way to get ppl to be creative. Too many Ss are afraid of failure because of evaluation. #txeduchat
A3 - Maybe this is where "badging" and/or "gamification" can support Ss. Evaluation assumes there is a right and wrong - and in creativity it is not black and white #txeduchat
A3 In the workplace, for the more fulfilling, and usually highly compensated, positions, creativity is absolutely essential. There needs to be a culture that provides feedback that fosters creativity and novel approaches. #TxEduChat
A3 "creativity" is subjective. Sometimes simple is best sometimes complex is not good at all! Instead look for effort what was learned what was achieved what was accomplished time on task work ethic problem-solving ability and thinking out of the box. #txeduchat
A3: We don’t “grade” creativity, but we assess Ss on their ability to tap into their creativity and problem solve. The skill level isn’t as important as the mindset of finding ways to be creative in everything they do #TXEduchat
A3 Creativity as a whole to what someone brings to the table could be very evidence over time. However, grading just Creativity alone could be seen as subjective. #txeduchat
A3 In the workplace, for the more fulfilling, and usually highly compensated, positions, creativity is absolutely essential. There needs to be a culture that provides feedback that fosters creativity and novel approaches. #TxEduChat
A3 Not only is creativity hard to evaluate, but I think we risk squashing it if we try. Instead, what about creating space for creativity and then celebrating it when it happens? #txeduchat
I think most people are creative to a certain extent, and when encouraged can be more so. We need to be careful not to teach and exam it out of them. #TxEduChat
A4: I think a way to foster creativity with students and in the workplace is to turn over ownership and control. Set an expected outcome and provide the tools and supplies needed to get there but sit back and watch what transpires. #txeduchat
Agreed! Yet we have not valued it's importance as another life skill...Sometimes I don't think we even recognize it because of how we lookore for uniformity #txeduchat
A4: We need more open ended activities with less right or wrong way to get there...huge proponent of @IDODI and the development of challenge solutions that allow for creativity and problem solving #txeduchat
A4: I think we can promote creativity by modeling it. The more fun they see, the more fun they'll want to have. I know that I'm inspired and ignited when I see, feel, experience something uber creative! #txeduchat
A3) celebrated, yes. But evaluated? As David Levinson said, Standardization is the enemy of innovation. This has always been a struggle in arts education. #txeduchat
Looking at the creative, fun teaching ideas on #txeduchat tonight. These beautiful teachers make me hope Texas and the USA will finally break free of corporate intrusion and drop the phony public education policy AKA test-based accountability. https://t.co/04sGtDGUnC
A4 Watch and listen to what others bring in their work and to the table. We all see the world differently. See what others around you see and move forward together. #txeduchat
A4 creating a safe place to fail. To model it ourselves. To coach and support Ss in their ability to think outside the box. Challenge our Ss. Teach perseverance and grit. Expect more from them then their ability to take a test. #txeduchat
A4: I think all Ts are creative in their own ways. What we lack sometimes is the sharing of that creativity. Take pictures, tweet, observe your colleagues, and find ways to share the greatness in your classroom w/ others #TXEduchat
#txeduchat Mom opinion coming next. My kid has horrific handwriting and he hates to draw. On rubrics, he lost points for “creativity.” His words were awesome & original & yeah....very quirky, but he is so creative. Won 1st in State PSIA in Ready Writing w/ crazy story.
A3 Creativity as a whole to what someone brings to the table could be very evidence over time. However, grading just Creativity alone could be seen as subjective. #txeduchat
A4 Lead by Example-Be Creative-Believe in it, listen to feedback, adjust, try again-fail forward leading to success, help others follow, encourage others to take a chance. I've been trail blazing for 1yr. finally my failures are paying off and others are asking how... #txeduchat
A4: Two initiatives that were successful for us this year were themed weeks where Ts developed lessons based on a main topic (star wars, kites, and lacrosse). We also had T-led meetings where they shared activities based on Dweck's Mindset #txeduchat
A4 allowance and acceptance! When i express a fondness for thinking a different way - or celebrating attacking problems in a unique way - more students want to try to be “different”! #txeduchat
“Sit back and watch” So hard to do...so powerful when we do it! Not in the sense of disengaging, but rather in the sense of putting the control and responsibility in the hands of the learners. #txeduchat
A4: I think a way to foster creativity with students and in the workplace is to turn over ownership and control. Set an expected outcome and provide the tools and supplies needed to get there but sit back and watch what transpires. #txeduchat
A3. Creativity itself is difficult to authentically assess. We can however, assess the learning process and have students self assess their progress. Teacher provides feedback for creativity along the way. #TXEduchat
A4: Alternate between having creativity projects for staff members and then for students to create and display. Vary the projects between digital and non-digital. #txeduchat#StudentChoice
Yes! Every lesson isn’t going to be perfect, and it’s important for Ss to know that. We’ll never continue to improve if we don’t keep trying though #TXEduchat
A4 creating a safe place to fail. To model it ourselves. To coach and support Ss in their ability to think outside the box. Challenge our Ss. Teach perseverance and grit. Expect more from them then their ability to take a test. #txeduchat
A4 Switch things up, be open to change, accept diversity, survey students and colleagues, ask questions, include everyone in decision-making, brainstorm, provide choices, individualize, personalize, share ideas! #txeduchat
#txeduchat Yes! In an 5th grade Resource classroom last week with a phenomenally creative crew of kids who couldn’t stop making connections as they folded paper on lines of symmetry. I wanted to hug them all, but I’m not sure teacher was noticing their creativity...
A4: I think we can promote creativity by modeling it. The more fun they see, the more fun they'll want to have. I know that I'm inspired and ignited when I see, feel, experience something uber creative! #txeduchat
A4 I think we can always encourage it's use without having to grade it...Then we can measure how Ss and our instruction grows in that area...Just ask "how can we be more creative" #txeduchat
Don't EVEN get me started :-)...I've found, however, that the best way to encourage change is to try my best to "be the change." It is the hard slough, but it's worth it. #txeduchat
Truth! Too many times creativity is ties to “art”. Creativity is also ideas and thinking (and other things). Personally, I can’t draw, but I have super creative ideas on using literature in the classroom! #TXEduchat
A4: How do we promote creativity? Listen to others! Listen to your Ss. Give them a voice in their learning. As far as colleagues, listen & appreciate their ideas. Our own ideas aren’t always the best—and may be good—but someone else may make it better! #TxEduChat@Ms_Morgan15
A4 Facilitate learning around open ended challenges that allow for a variety of solutions. Allow learners to work in their area of strength and interest. Support and facilitate the learning...but don’t do it for them! #txeduchat
#txeduchat Sorry. Still upsets me that my kid has been told by teachers that he isn’t creative just because he didn’t “create” their vision. I’ll stop now. Stepping down from soap box....
#txeduchat Mom opinion coming next. My kid has horrific handwriting and he hates to draw. On rubrics, he lost points for “creativity.” His words were awesome & original & yeah....very quirky, but he is so creative. Won 1st in State PSIA in Ready Writing w/ crazy story.
A3 Creativity as a whole to what someone brings to the table could be very evidence over time. However, grading just Creativity alone could be seen as subjective. #txeduchat
A4 Practice it, demonstrate it to colleagues and students. Be very careful when you encounter the unexpected - did they see something you just missed? #TxEduChat
A4: Two initiatives that were successful for us this year were themed weeks where Ts developed lessons based on a main topic (star wars, kites, and lacrosse). We also had T-led meetings where they shared activities based on Dweck's Mindset #txeduchat
A4: Listening. Considering the response because it might be an answer to a different question. Model and encourage failure and how to learn from it. #TXEduchat
Absolutely - see my opening comments. Creativity meshes with just about everything. Anyone who sees it as the province of a single discipline or subject area, is, well, not being very creative. #TxEduChat
A5: When I'm feeling especially creative, I make a progressive bulletin board, something that can morph and grow. They're usually core-values related with some literary or other curricular reference. #txeduchat
A5 when I am feeling creative I feel as though I create an opportunity... An opportunity to grow an opportunity to learn and opportunity to try new things an opportunity to be better at something than I was before I tried! #txeduchat
A5. Anything & Everything! - but mainly "connections". I even make and sell decorative crosses-there is a story behind every one - they are all unique #txeduchat
A5 I feel the most creative after reflecting on something. In my classroom I look at what we have done and try and make it better by getting Ss feedback and doing professional learning and then I create. I can get lost in it and create new ways of doing things. #txeduchat
Sketchnoting has always intrigued me, and scared me a bit. I worry I would get too focused on one part and miss what I’m trying to learn. I need to just sit down and do it one day to see if it’s for me. #TXEduchat
Thank you! The #kindness map marked all of the places around the nation from where cards of empathy and encouragement came after our community flooded in hurricane Harvey. 27 states, two countries and one territory! Supernatural kindness. #txeduchat
A5: When I’m feeling creative, I like to create great lessons for Ss and Ts. I also find if I am tackling a big project, if I can wait, then I am better able to ‘storyboard’ the project in to small tasks and a timeline. #TXEduchat
A5 more recently I have started a blog where I have been able to express everything that is going on in my head, it has been a great creative outlet. I am not the best writer but I find it very therapeutic to get my ideas out of my head. https://t.co/x27BqBnnkU#txeduchat
Some people do more writing than sketching, some do more sketching than writing. You make it your own! Make it meaningful. I would much rather look back over my #sketchnotes than my handwritten notes! #txeduchat
A7: The @KidsForPeace#kindness team came to our school and made this Playful Hearts Tree as a #mindfulness spot for us. So creative! The colorful, cardboard hearts had uplifting, positive words that blew in the wind to bless us. #txeduchat
A6 I watched a 9th grade civics class use @PEEPSBrand to create dioramas about the three branches of government. I especially loved one that used an actual tree for the branches! #txeduchat
An assignment where Ss write reflections on countries responding to the Cuban Missile Crisis. As a class they build an interactive website to show all the reflections. The creativity was off the charts! Second year this T has done it, & it continues to improve & amaze #txeduchat
A4 Identify student interests or ask for student feedback on lessons. We learn the most from our students and their passions! Understanding student interests build teacher-student connections. Teacher understanding of students allows for creative activity development #txeduchat
Ugh...If you need soap, detergent, washing powder, whatever type of boxes you need...keep stepping up for kiddos ('cause some Ts need to step back and let their Ss shine). #txeduchat
#txeduchat A6: Cheating. Saw this last year. Romeo & Juliet taught as CSI unit. Students had to choose a character/suspect that they investigated as guilty for their murders. Interviews. Case studies. Justifications. Text evidence. Chalk outlines on floor in painters tape.
A6 Started a Student Tech Leadership Team...Had about 30 Ss show interest...Just getting off the ground but big things coming...Working on getting them GCE level 1 #txeduchat
Sad to have to leave #txeduchat early tonight. It’s my kids bedtime! I have learned a lot and grew my PLN! Let me know if we’re needed for summer staff development!
A7 I think literacy - including numerical literacy - is really essential for any quality of life. While creativity is clearly valuable, I think it doesn't quite raise to this level of importance. #TxEduChat
