I am a firm believer that creativity fuels innovation. The problem though is the the majority of schools all over the world work as hard as they can to get learners to conform to a curriculum and standards while preparing them to perform at a level on standardized tests. This is as uncreative as it gets. In the age of misguided reform the challenge becomes transforming institutions of learning and steering away from irrelevant pedagogical techniques in a way that not only meets the needs of society, but most importantly that of our students.
At New Milford we have taken a big step in placing creativity at the forefront with the creation of our Academies at NMHS as well as the introduction of new courses such as Digital Journalism, Digital Photography, Business Practice Firm, Engineering, and Biotechnology. Teachers are also beginning to embrace a variety of Web 2.0 tools and integrate them in a way that allow students to unleash their creativity (see this Glogster example). The PLC I am a part of with the rest of my administrative team focuses on a classroom walk-through process targeting student-centered instruction. This is a small snapshot of what we are doing to promote creativity.
I am hoping the video above can become a catalyst for a more detailed discussion on the following: How can we nurture creativity in educational contexts? What has to be done to transform schools in a way that embraces creative instructional strategies and thought amongst learners?
