New Directions for Academic Creativity

New Directions for Academic Creativity: Developing an Integrated Learning Space

Dr. Russell Carpenter, DirectorTrenia Napier, Research Coordinator

Noel Studio for Academic CreativityEastern Kentucky University

A Presentation for the Kentucky Conference on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 26 May 2010

Creativity and Play

CREATIVITY? What’s Your Definition?

30 circles

21-st Century Literacies

The Noel Studio for Academic Creativity

Thinking and Communicating

Understanding foundations of communication

Seeing connections between communication and information

Utilizing fundamentals of critical and creative thinking

Developing research strategies, organizing and refining ideas, delivering high-quality products

Honing teamwork skills in order to effectively communicate in group situations

What Does this Mean for New Academic Spaces?

• Integration▫ Writing ▫ Speaking▫ Research

• Space▫ Open▫ Flexible▫ Mobile

• Technological Sophistication▫ High-and low-tech ▫ Mobile communication

tech▫ Touch-screen tech

• Access▫ Presentation practice

areas ▫ Invention space▫ Cross-trained consultants

Strategies for Integrating Creativity and Critical Thinking• Create a risk-free and supportive environment

for learning• Explore multimodal composition (video, digital

pieces, websites)• Engage students in collaboration through

teamwork• Allow time for “serious play” (convergent and

divergent thinking) • Encourage active participation (building,

working with manipulatives) through engaging multiple learning styles

SLOs 1) Determine the information need

2) Explore and gather ideas and information3) Evaluate the appropriateness of information based on audience, currency, accuracy, authority, and scope4) Organize information, concepts, and ideas strategically5) Evaluate communication options in message production and delivery

NOTE: Refer to Noel Studio SLOs Handout

Determine the information need•Respond to photographs or

advertisements

•Use manipulatives (such as play dough) to have students create

•Use questions to identify purpose and information need with own communication piece

Explore and gather ideas and information

•Brainstorm for synonyms

•Use clustering for discovery

Evaluate the appropriateness of information based on audience, currency, accuracy, authority, and scope

•Compare appropriate and deceiving (inappropriate) websites

•Use student’s own communication piece to discuss information

Organize information, concepts, and ideas strategically

•Highlight thesis and supporting points (use color to make connections)

•Create visual storyboard

Evaluate communication options in message production and delivery

•Identify alternative modes, media, medium

•Perform media analysis

•Perform fragmented reading

Let’s Hear Some of Your Outcomes! Methods?

What Does this Suggest About Academic Creativity? Meddling is a repositioning of teacher and

student as co-directors and co-editors of their social world. As a learning partnership, meddling has powerful implications for what “content” is considered worthy of engagement, how the value of the learning product is to be assessed and who the rightful assessor is to be.

- McWilliam, The Creative Workforce 88

What Does this Say About Teaching? Our best teachers will be those who understand how to make “not knowing” useful, who can throw away the blueprint, template, the map and help their students make a new kind of sense.

- McWilliam, The Creative Workforce, 100

New Directions

•Create time and space for serious play•Promote convergent and divergent

thinking•Think with your hands•Role play •Expand notions of text, communication,

and composition

Questions?