Creativity in Schools: A Dead Valley or Dormant Desert?

Schools as of late are riddled with criticism in that they are not meeting expectations for the money that states pour into them and by the international ruler. The U.S. is falling behind.  But is it? Do we have the tools within the nation to be great once again but fail to discover them? 

In the video below Malcolm London (2013) delivers a poem he wrote in which he describes the "training ground" that his public school has become. 

Malcolm presents some good points in that he sees the value in having a degree versus not and that school does instill a sense of seeking the American Dream, yet public education fails young people. It promotes a dream that no longer favors the young; an unattainable dream. Public education, then, becomes a "training ground" for capitalism and teaches the lessons of stepping on or over others to get ahead (London, 2013).  

This is a very powerful message that is lost in the noise of education critics. Education is failing our youth because it does not allow them to develop the skills to create their own future. The U.S. has a valley full of vibrant thinkers and doers waiting to emerge, yet it cannot as the conditions of this valley promote only dry death.  

How then can the U.S. bring life to the valley of education?  Sir Ken Robinson brings an interesting perspective on creativity, and how it is killed in the schools.  He is no longer a professor, though he lectures to groups in a manner aimed at persuading them to no longer churn out the one-sided thinkers of the public education system, but rather grow and nurture the youthful minds of tomorrow.  

Sir Robinson (2006) made a very interesting couple of statements about children and

learning. First he said, "if [kids] don't know, they'll have a go."  In other words, children are not afraid of being wrong, but rather our system creates for them an environment of shame and embarrassment for being wrong.  To this notion he makes a second point, "if you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original."  This is the message today's youth really needs drilled-and-killed into their minds.  Without failure there is not growth or innovation. Thomas Edison failed nearly 10,000 times before he got the light bulb correct. Yet, he did not see this as failure, but only as ab opportunity to try again. This lack of failure is causing children to grow up not knowing how to face it and move past it, to learn from it rather than dwell on it. As children, parents tell their children not to touch the stove, few listen, most others touch the stove. A painful failure, yet none of those who touched the stove ever did it again. 

Below is a TEDTalk of Sir Robinson's (2006) in which he describes how schools are killing creativity.  

He brings up a valuable point in that teachers and parents need to embrace differences rather than medicate them (Robinson, 2006).  If students continue to be medicated as they are, then the world may lose out on some the best creators of the time.  The cookie cutter method of the current school system is killing   any sense of creativity or innovation that students may have within them. Keeping the valley floor dry and bare.

Sir Robinson (2010) encourages education to move from an industrial model with its assembly line and compartmentalized system to one that is more organic.  A system that lives and adapts to eh surroundings, the needs of the learner.  Despite being a former professor, he insists that the system cannot continue to do as it has in the past and gain new results for an ever changing future.  degrees, as even Malcolm Lincoln (2013) pointed out, are nice to have but are no guarantee of success.  All too often the system persuades people to think that they are not smart because they are not academically gifted (Robinson, 2010).  The system needs to change.

In a speech given at an RSA conference in 2010, Sir Robinson describes what is illustrated

above - the changing paradigm of education.  It is built on the foundations of what has already been discussed, a need to change the way in which we educate children.  In an animated fashion, RSA aids Robinson in explaining that the US needs to brake away from a dated model, built on dated ideals,and created by people who could not fathom who is educated today. Instead the country must redefine an allow for creativity. In this speech he discusses "divergent thinking" as an "essential capacity for creativity" (Robinson, 2010).  The curious thing about divergent thinking is that in the U.S. it occurs most frequently with kindergartners and diminishes as children age and become more educated (Robinson, 2010). The school system as it stands churns out standardized thinkers rather than divergent thinkers. 

The time has come that education cease to be the butt of jokes and the point of contempt in American society. When the school houses on the prairie no longer suited the needs of tycoons and industrialists  the nation transformed how it educated its youth. The U.S. has moved beyond such a developmental point and moved into the digital age. Time has come, yet again, to transform how the youth are educated.  Let creativity thrive and be nourished so that the dry desert valley may thrive once again.

"Death Valley, not dead, but asleep; waiting for the right conditions for growth" (Robinson, 2010).
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Resources

Cognitive Media. (2010). RSA animate: Sir Ken Robinson - changing education paradigms [poster]. 

[Death Valley flowers] Retrieved June 20, 1013 from http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=327424&page=3

[Edison's light bulb] Retrieved June 20, 2013 from www.strongbrains.com 

[Kindergartner with books] Retrieved June 20, 2013 from http://www.tlnt.com/2012/04/25/when-it-comes-to-interviewing-are-you-as-smart-as-a-kindergartner/

London, Malcolm. (2010). High school training ground [Online video]. TEDTalks. Retrieved June 20, 2013. 

Robinson, Ken. (2006). Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity [Online video]. TEDTalks. Retrieved June 20, 2013.

Robinson, Ken. (2010). Chaning Paradigms [Online video]. Retrieved June 20, 2013.

Virtual Classrooms - Revolutionizing Education

Reports on the issue of the virtual classroom being better for students than the face-to-face traditional setting are torn. For example, Moe, Cuban, and Chubb (2009, p.2) argue that virtual schools allow for “curricula, teaching methods, and schedules [to be] customized to meet the learning styles and life situations of individual students.” Other reports argue that the students who found success with virtual learning had “above-average or exceptional academic backgrounds and were college bound” (Kozma, Zucker & Espinoza, 1998).  

In favor of virtual classrooms are those who argue that the digital age allows for cutting costs, personalized learning and that it is the way of the future. Students can access more information than a traditional classroom teacher could present. If students are behind they can research gaps in knowledge to catch up.

On the other side of the coin are those who argue that the "individualized" education does not extend to students with special needs or learning disparities. Reiterating that the only students who showed true growth were higher level learners (Kozma, Zucker & Espinoza, 1998). If students are behind they may lack the motivation or know how to find the knowledge they are missing. Teachers are certainly the tool to aid with addressing gaps in knowledge at the elementary and secondary levels. 

The obvious place for virtual learning may not be the high school classroom, though it may aid Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate students, but rather the college and university level. Virtual classrooms could be the way to address the economic downturn and the  rising costs of higher education. 

Universities could still charge the same amount for a class and load it with unlimited number of students, without losing the small classroom feel.  Virtual classrooms offer the ability to broaden course offerings and to train graduates in twenty-first century skills and technology.  

For students, virtual learning could mean fewer fees as universities are able to open up "classrooms" to more students the costs could shrink if not stay stagnate. More importantly, online classes offer flexibility in scheduling allowing students who would otherwise have to tend to work, children, or both to actively engage in college courses. 

Daphne Koller issues the following plea to top universities to open up learning via virtual classrooms in the Fall of 2012 on Ted Talks.  Her argument is for universities to offer courses for free. While some universities may not agree with this point, the bones of her argument are inspirational and certainly attainable. 

In this video, Koller presents a true opportunity to revolutionize education.  Though the reports are divided about which is better - virtual or face-to-face - they all agree that the advanced learner or the learner who is intrinsically motivated will thrive in the virtual world of education.  Koller delivers a logical and cost savvy method of bringing education to all who care to learn.  Kozma, Zucker, and Espinoza (1998) would support the claim in that only those who wish to learn are likely to access college level materials via the Internet.

Taking Koller's message forward, universities could partner up with credit offerings. Allow students to take the course and the instructor they wish to study under rather than whoever their particular university offers. It offers the opportunity to have the best educating the most. Also, to open the doors to education to people around the world regardless of their income. If they can gain access to a computer then they can gain access to an education in a field of their choosing.

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References

Koala Fight Media. [World surrounded by computers digital image]. Retrieved from http://news.onlineschools.org/2012/05/the-online-learning-revolution-steams-through-michigan/

Koller, Daphne. (2012). What we're learning from online learning. TEDTalks. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/U6FvJ6jMGHU.

Kozma, R. B., Zucker, A. A., & Espinoza, C. (1998, October). An evaluation of the virtual high school after one year of operation. SRI International, 4-ii. Retrieved May 25, 2013, from http://thevhscollaborative.org/sites/default/files/public/Evaluation%20after%20yr% 201.pdf

Moe, T., Cuban, L., & Chubb, J. (2009). Virtual schools. Education Next, 9(1). Retrieved May 25, 2013, from http://educationnext.org/virtual-schools/

[Students on computers photograph]. Retrieved from http://mrslundquist.edublogs.org/2010/09/30/great-job-to-the-online-learners/

Flipped Classroom

There is no doubt that the classroom with sit-and-get format accompanied with pencils and paper is dying.  Virtual learning is rising to take its place.  Reports on the actual effectiveness of strictly online learning are mixed and vary depending upon the supporter of the research. However, the hybrid form of combining face-to-face support and the internet, appears to show students are moving forward.  


So how does one make their classroom a hybrid. One method is called the flipped classroom model. This model has students mastering material on their own utilizing instructional videos, paired with teacher supported tasks in class. The tasks are what most know as "homework," activities designed to enhance and enrich the content being taught. The fully flipped classroom is not always the easiest to do but once a teacher has created a course, he/she merely makes minor edits or adjustments year-to-year or as needed.  There are really many ways to flip a classroom, though Graham Johnson in his video, describes what a flipped classroom is not.

So why do the flipped classroom, especially if its going to be a lot of work up front? Phi Delta

Kappan published an article in October 2012 about 10 reasons to flip a classroom:

1. Students move at their own pace.
   
2. Doing "homework" in class gives teachers better insight into student difficulties and learning styles.
3. Teachers can customize and update curriculum, and provide it to students 24/7.
4. Students have access to multiple teachers' expertise.
5. Teachers flip professional development by watching each other's videos and learning from each other.
6. Classroom time can be used more effectively and creatively.
7. Parents have a window into the coursework.
8. Student achievement is increasing, so is interest and engagement in higher-level math.
9. Learning theory supports the new approaches.
10. The use of technology is flexible and appropriate for 21st-century learning.

The final point, number 11, on their top 10 is that students enjoy it.  

Students, once taught how to manage time, seek information on their own, and to self-start will enjoy the flipped classroom.  This is not an easy transition for many students. Phi Delta Kappan point out that students can find more successes in mastering the material as they do not have to ask that "embarrassing" question and they can watch a lesson as many times as they wish in order to master the content. Also, if the material presented by their own teacher is just not making sense they have the resources of the internet and other flipped teachers to pull from.

Below is a video by Andrew Steinman which shows a brief how-to on the flipped classroom model. It explains not only what to do but what technology is available to make a flipped classroom  possible. 

When all is said and done, just remember the basics - put your content online, support your students' practice in the classroom, and have fun with it!
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References
Fulton, K. P. (2012, October). 10 reasons to flip. Phi Delta Kapan, 34(2), 20-24. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
Johnson, G. (2012). The flipped classroom is not. [Online video]. Retrieved June 4, 2013, from YouTube.
Phi Delta Kappan [magazine cover art]. (2013). Retrieved June 4, 2013.
Steinman, A. (2012). Introduction to flipped classroom model [Online video]. Retrieved June 4, 2013, from YouTube.