Application: Developing Creativity, Finding Humor, and Encouraging Alternative Solutions
Research indicates that virtually all people have the capacity to develop their creativity, especially when it is defined as the ability to respond to a need or a problem with innovative approaches and alternative solutions. Similarly, humor �liberates creativity and provokes such higher level thinking skills as anticipating, finding novel relationships, visual imaging, and making analogies� (Costa & Kallic, 2008, p. 35). As you can see, creativity and finding humor are mutually supportive habits of mind.
For this activity, complete the following steps:
1. Develop a task or assignment that is designed to develop creative thinking in your students. The task or assignment must 1) relate to meaningful learning in your curriculum, 2) meet the guidelines presented in the �Habits of Mind: Creativity, Wonderment� media segment, and 3) allow students to develop alternative strategies for approaching the task. As you develop the task, consider how the use of brainstorming and/or metaphors might be incorporated to further cultivate student creativity.
2. Asking students to �think outside the box� can sometimes be more intimidating than when you provide specific guidelines for completing an assignment. As you develop your learning activity, consider how you might help students find humor in situations that could be potentially frustrating or in unsuccessful attempts to develop alternative solutions for problems. Similarly, think about how humorous ideas might lead to creative solutions.
3. Implement your learning activity with a group of students. As students engage in the activity, look for opportunities to help students find humor in any confusion or frustration they may experience as they attempt to solve the problem or complete the activity. Take advantage of any humorous ideas that might spark a creative solution. Be explicit in your efforts to help students understand the connection between humor and creativity.
4. After you have conducted the activity, ask students to reflect on the learning task and how they used creativity and humor to complete the assignment. Have some of your students share their reflections with the group.
5. Submit your completed assignment. Include the following in your submission:
o A description of your creative thinking task or assignment
o An explanation of how it meets the guidelines for developing assignments that allow and encourage students to think creatively
o An explanation of how students approached this task in a variety of ways
o A description of how you attempted to help students find humor in confusion or frustration they may have experienced as they worked through the activity and/or how you utilized humorous ideas to lead students to a creative solution
o A summary of students� reflections on the learning task and insights you gained from students� reflections.
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