What is FLOW?
a state of self-forgetfulness - play should be something a child feels rather than something a child does
Characteristics of FLOW
Extreme concentration, Control - Influencing the play - May be short or long-lasting & allows the brain some "quiet time"
Torrance's definition of FLOW
creativity is the ability to produce something novel, something w/ the stamp of uniqueness upon it - creativity is an infinite phenomenon a person can be creative in an endless number of ways
"Capital C" creativity
involves bringing into existence something genuinely new that receives social validation enough to be added to the culture
Example of "Capital C"
the invention of the light bulb
"small c" creativity
involves ideas or products that are new to the person but only to the person
Example of "small c"
a child's new use of blending finger-paint colors
Creativity is
a way of thinking, acting, or making something that is original for the individual & valued by that person or others
The Creative Process
first - discovering which involves using imagination, playing w/ ideas, & exploring second - process - involves using learned skills, evaluating, and testing
What are the 2 types of thinking that produce solutions to problems? (both used in creativity)
convergent & divergent thinking
Convergent Thinking
usually results in a single answer or solution to a question or problem
Divergent Thinking
opens things up & results in many answers to a single problem
EX of convergent thinking
asking a child how many fish are in the tank - one answer question
EX of divergent thinking
asking the child to tell you as many things possible about the aquarium
For young children, a critical criterion for creative potential is
originality
Process over product
phrase referring to the belief that the process that leads to originality (exploration & experimentation w/ materials) is more important than the end product
Importance of Creativity in Children
learning to feel good about themselves, learning to seek many answers to a problem, developing their potential to think, developing their individuality, developing new skills, experiencing the joy of being different
Importance of Creativity in Teachers
being able to provide for more & greater variety in the program, learning to recognize children for their unique skills, being able to develop closer relationships w/ children, having fewer behavior problems, using a minimum of standardized curricula & external evaluation
How was creativity used throughout history?
creation stories, cave paintings & myths
Characteristics of Creative Children
determination, curiosity, intuition, a willingness to take risks, a preference for complex ideas & a sense of humor
Less attractive qualities of creative children
faultfinding, self-satisfaction & apparent discontent
Name 5 things a teacher can do to help children develop a willingness to express creativity
help children accept change, help children realize that some problems have no easy answers, help children recognize that many problems have a number of possible answers, help children learn to judge & accept their own feelings, help children feel joy in their creative productions and working through problems, help children appreciate themselves for being different & reward children for being creative
hard thinking
referring to the left brain, which processes information in an analytical & sequential way
soft thinking
referring to the right side of the brain, looking first at the whole picture & then at the details processing information in an intuitive way
What are some road blocks to creativity
rewards, extrinsic motivation (working for anothers approval), expected external evaluation (knowing beforehand that a piece of work is going to be graded), peer pressure, surveillance, time limits, coloring books, inflexible schedule
self-efficiancy
refers to people's judgements about their capability to perform particular tasks. task related self-efficiancy increases the effort & persistence towards challenging tasks; therefore increasing the likelihood that they will be completed
Bandura's theory
the basic principle behind self-efficiancy theory is that individuals are more likely to engage in activities for which they have self efficiency & less likely to engage in those they do not
knowledge and skills are
necessary, a prerequisite for creativity & the base for creativity
curriculum vs creativity
curriculum is the guide to determine WHAT will be presented ("what happens") & creativity is the HOW curriculum is presented
emergent curriculum
based on the students interests & passions as well as the teachers. to plan this type of curriculum requires observation, documentation, creative brainstorming, flexibility & patience
curiosity
a direct link to creativity
integrated curriculum
a curriculum in which the artificial divisions among content areas are reduced. most often an integrated curriculum is designed around a unit of study, that is, centered around a specific theme or project
differentiated instruction
(a philosophy of teaching & learning) a way of thinking about teaching & learning. its aim is to maximize each child's growth by meeting each child where he or she is & helping the child progress from that point
left brain
analytical, logical, successive processer - this person prefers to learn step by step in a sequential format, beginning w/ details leading up to understanding a concept or acquiring a skill
right brain
holistic, global, simultaneous processer - this person prefers to to learn beginning w/ the general concept & then going on to specifics
skills developed in the left hemisphere
handwriting, symbols, language, reading, phonics, details & facts, talking & reciting, following directions, listening & auditory associations
school curriculum is based on what side of the brain
left
skills developed in right hemisphere
recognize & process nonverbal sounds, communicate using body language, judgements about relationships of body to space, recognize, draw deal w/ shapes & patterns, distinguish between colors & hues & visualize colors, singing, music, creative art
singing, music, creative art is usually in what brain hemisphere
right
promoting creativity through positive acceptance adults need to
value children's curiosity, exploration, & original behavior, allow children's individual learning pace, allow children to complete tasks at their own pace, allow children to figure out their own way to do things, keep atmosphere relaxed, encourage guessing & let creative activity be the reward
when working w/ older children during differentiated instruction it is important to
encourage creativity, give students extended time, unhurried time, provide students w/ an area to leave work, create a classroom atmosphere where mistakes are acceptable & introduce students to out-of-class experiences
one way to help children be creative is to get them to "make things better w/ their imagination" which means?
asking the children to change things to make them the way they would like them to be. EX: what would taste better if it were sweeter? what would be nicer if it was smaller? what would be more fun if it was faster?
what is a way that you can encourage a student to use their senses when doing an activity?
ask the students to close their eyes & guess what they hear or close their eyes & guess what has been placed in their hands
what are examples of divergent thinking questions?
how can you use water? what floats in water? how does water help us? what always stays underwater? (encourage openness & flexibility)
Other types of questions teachers can use to spark creativity are
"what-would happen if" & "in how many different ways"
art alone provides no evidence that
test scores will rise BUT art education is increasingly important as schools narrowly focus on curriculum
art is important for learning because it teaches
imagining, inventing & thinking
analytical
step-by-step sequential format, beginning w/ details leading up to understanding a concept or acquiring a skill
global/holistic
words used to describe the right brain tendency to approach learning in general concepts first
holistically
looking at things in an overall way
simultaneous processor
the right brain thinking approach to learning by beginning w/ the general concept & then go on to specifics
successive processor
the left brain thinking approach to learning step-by-step sequential format, beginning w/ details leading up to understanding a concept or acquiring a skill
tableaus
"frozen pictures" in which groups of students freeze or pose to act out a scene, a saying, a book title, & so on
aesthetics
appreciation for beauty & a feeling of wonder - begins w/ & ends w/ the senses
The Aesthetics Movement
began in early 1800s, the term aesthetics was developed by german philosopher Baumgarten, whose work Aesthetica was published in 1750
Baumgarten defined aesthetics in his book to be defined as
"science of the beautiful" or "philosophy of taste"
what word was used to be the opposite of aesthetica
philistine which meant "one lacking culture"
Why is Oscar Wilde important?
most influential figures of the whole movement who lectured & spread the word of the aesthetic movement
aesthetic experiences
doing things for the pure joy of it, does not need a practical purpose or reason, goal is a full, rich life for the child
multimedia artwork
walk in sculpture environments; mixes of live dance & films; & art exhibitions w/ drama, where actors move into the audience to engage it in the drama, are all ways adults are integrating the arts
aesthetic sense
helps children find beauty & wonder in their world & encourages children to speak freely about their own attitudes, feelings & ideas about art (an appreciation for art) EX: "i enjoy what i hear" or "i like what i see"
aesthetic learning
joining what one thinks w/ what one feels
sensory awareness
helps children focus on the variations & contrasts in the environment, uses all senses (not just sight), firsthand visual perceptions & asks questions to encourage personal response
art appreciation
learning to look at & create visual art
basic art elements
line, shape/form, color, space, pattern, texture
other art terms
foreground, middle & background, contrast, light, design
what are the art elements in action
color/hue, space, balance, composition
what are the 3 types of sensing & feeling
contact w/ the world (5 senses), what ppl feel within themselves & fantasy
3 resources for choosing & organizing aesthetic materials
beautiful "junk", hardware store & children
what is "visual noise"
the overuse of visual displays that distracts children from the materials
when choosing aesthetic decorations in your classroom you should avoid
cartoon characters, animal characters & stereotypical pictures
when choosing aesthetic decorations in your classroom you SHOULD
include artwork & artifacts from existing cultures, include posters w/ art images around the world, images should reflect the children in your classroom's ethnicities
good places to purchase aesthetic materials
NAEYC, pier 1 or world bazar or just make your own
kid culture
encompasses a broad range of media, including television, computer games, movies, books, comic books, advertising, entertainment, toys, games, & trading cards EX: sharkboy & lava girl
developmental level
major areas of growth: physical, social, emotional & intellectual
individual differences
children may be the same age but may be preforming at different levels in one or more areas of development
Developmentally Appropriate Practice
(DAP) a position of the National Association for the Education of Young Children defining & describing appropriate practice in early childhood programs
DAP- emergent curriculum
built on the strengths of the child, arises from play of the children & play of the teachers, the goal is to respond to every child's interests, open-ended & self-directed, focuses on the process of learning
5 steps to differentiated instruction
1 know the child 2 determine the learning goal 3 identify proof or evidence they understand what is being taught 4 plan the learning experience 5 reassess & adjust according to new needs & changes
process learning
learning in terms of its process rather than its product
Gardeners multiple intelligence theory
each of us possesses 8 "intelligences" or ways to be smart
bloom's taxonomy
common structure of categorizing questions & designing instruction
6 levels of bloom's taxonomy
knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation
it is important for teachers to tolerate mistakes because
when children do not have to worry about being perfect, they have more energy to be creative
strategies for a successful activity includes preparation
try the activity before hand, make sure all necessary equipment is available, think through the activity, modify the activity to meet the developmental needs of the children, briefly explain the activity so that the children know how to begin & proceed, after the children have started circulate among them
when planning a successful activity during the presentation of the activity it is important to
identify goals, possible learning, list materials, decide how to stimulate the children, anticipate questions, evaluate, consider follow-up and clean-up
main considerations in the arrangement of space & equipment in classroom
childrens age & developmental levels, supervision, flexibility, traffic flow, personal space, planning for & displaying childrens artwork
characteristics of appropriate equipment in classroom
simple in design, versatile, stimulating, large & easy to use, durable
qualities of play
practice play (just for fun) constructive (building structures) rough & tumble (laughing & pretending) dramatic (role playing) games w/ rules (governed by parameters)
onlooker play
might talk to players but not engage
solitary play
independent plays alone w/ no convo w/ others
parallel play
plays alone but shares toys & limited congo
associative play
still independent players but in a more communual game/action
cooperative play
common goal - similar interests - formal game w/ rules/parameters
how did piaget define play
play as assimilation - the child's efforts to make environmental stimuli match his or her own concepts
how did vygotsky define play
play actually facilitates cognitive development. play does not so much reflect thought as it does creative thought play usually develops in a natural sequence that evolves from a childs level of socialization
smilansky found that
dramatic play enhanced children's social skills. cooperative play marked by mutual involvement in a play activity
what are some reasons for violent play
violence in everyday life, feelings, media, toys & violence
motor development =
physical growth
1st pattern of development: large to small muscle
gross (large) motor skills to fine (small) motor skills
2nd pattern of development: cephalocaudal development
top to bottom - muscles develop from head down
3rd pattern of development: proxomodistal development
from center to outside - from trunk to extrimities - explains why a baby is able to roll over before pulling or sitting up
physical disproportions are common from birth to the age
6
large muscles develop
first
large (gross) muscle activities include
Group murals Tracing body shapes Easel painting Clay pounding Crayon rubbings
small (fine) muscle development includes
fingers, hands & wrists
Examples of small muscle activities
Painting Cuttings Pasting Clay modeling
4 stages for early writing success
set the stage for early writing success: whole arm, whole hand, pincher & pincher coordination
basic elements of the human brain (from least complex to most complex)
brain stem, midbrain, cerebellum, limbic system, cortex
the cerebral cortex contains
80% of the neurons in the brain
critical period of brain development for visual & auditory development
childs capacity for learning to see & hear - birth to 4 & 5 years of age
critical period of brain development for language development
prime time for language development & learning to talk is from birth to 10 yrs of age but first few years of life are critical (5 yrs of age to puberty)
critical period for physical & motor development
birth to 12 yrs of age
critical period for emotional & social development
birth to 12 yrs of age
4 main goals of early childhood art programs
Process not product Needs of children Originality and independence Creative thinking Individualized progress
what must you consider when planning activities for young preschoolers
they have limited interest spans, even the most interesting activites only hold their attention for 10 to 15 minutes so it is important to plan several activites or alternative activities
what must you consider when planning activities w/ special needs
open ended art activist - techniques: demonstration, task breakdown & hand over hand assistance
how to motivate children
helping them recall their experiences & record these in art medias - reading a familiar story or singing a song can stimulate art experiences
random manipulation
comparable to the early scribble stage - childs interest in the qualities of the material
modeling
refers to the manipulation & shaping of flexible materials - help children develop their sense of touch, adaptation to change, their concepts of form & proportion, & esp in older children, their sense of aesthetics
assemblage
creative activity that involves placing a number of 3 dimensional objects together to create a unified composition
what do children learn in dramatic play
language development & learning to listen & respond to other children & it is a natural source for many other types of learning
what is the difference between dramatic play & creative dramatics
dramatic play is free play of very young children in which they explore the universe, imitating the actions & traits of those around them & creative drama is generally used to describe the improvised drama of children age 6 & older