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CREATIVITY, CURIOSITY, AND
CRITICAL THINKING
COMBINED:LESSONS FROM THE STEAM LAB
Ms. Ann Scott HanksOcee Elementary SchoolNovember 13, 2015
LESSON EXAMPLES: MODEL INSTRUCTIONPlant A RainbowAnalyze Deer Jawbones
Did you know that the bright colors of flowers help attract insects and birds?
PLANTING A RAINBOW
A Kindergarten and First Grade STEAM Project
CHALLENGEYour group will
design and build a rainbow flower garden.
REQUIREMENTSAll flowers must be 3D.Flowers must include all plant parts: roots, stem, leaves, petals.
Each table must represent all of the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.
PARTS OF A FLOWER
COLORS OF THE RAINBOW
MATERIALSConstruction PaperPipe CleanersCraft SticksCotton BallsYarnTape
How are flowers the same and different from each other?
What happens to a deer’s teeth during
their life cycle? How is this the same as
and different from other animals?
BOTTOM LINE #1
guide on the side(coach)
vssage on the stage
BOTTOM LINE #1
minds-on(create)
vshands-on
(consume)
ACADEMICALLY CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT
integrate knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems
even when the “correct” answer is unclear
AN EDUCATED PERSONPast: know lots of factsPresent: problem-solve for the future
Why? access to information via the internet
EMPHASIZE 21ST-CENTURY SKILLS
WHAT IS CREATIVITY? Creativity is: What you do when confronted
with a problem for which you have no learned or practiced solution. It’s an ability, an attitude, and a process.
Can I teach you to “be creative”? Probably not. But I CAN teach you the steps and types of creative thinking.
Creativity is NOT limited to the fine arts. Creativity is what is used to design a science
experiment, to prove a math theorem, to write a lesson/presentation, build a company, etc.
USE CHILDREN’S NATURAL CURIOSITY
USE RIDDLES
USE MYSTERY OBJECTS
USE UNUSUAL OBJECTS
CONNECT TO CHILDMake it personal
Guided imageryPrior experiencePrior knowledge
USE QUESTIONS IN A DIFFERENT WAY
Open-ended, discussable, not “google-able” Give hints but not answers http://www.jetspost.com/eportfolio/pbl/
driving_questions.htm
(low-level question=one correct answer; high-level question=debatable, can have a conversation around it)
SOMETIMES, THE BEST “QUESTIONS” ARE NOT EVEN QUESTIONS THE ADULT
ASKS THE CHILDExample 1: Use questions in your conversation that you answer yourself
What math strategy would help me at the grocery store?
What would happen if there were too many owls in a habitat?
Example 2: Use statements to stimulate discussion Estimating is bad because the answer is always
wrong. Snakes are harmful.
If your child asks you a low-level thinking question, what could you do? re-phrase the question as a critical thinking
question before answering it answer the question and then explain why that
fact is important explain how to find the answer to the question ask how/why they thought of that question or
why they think that question is interesting/important
MAKE CONNECTIONSThis is the same as…This is opposite of…
USE THE CREATIVE ARTS“STUDY THE SCIENCE OF ART AND THE ART OF SCIENCE.”
(LEONARDO DA VINCI)How have artists shown scientific information? Was their depiction scientifically accurate? How did their style choice affect what you learned from the art? STEAM Lab Lesson Examples:
Paintings of trees
Paintings of birds
SUMMARIZE Reflections
What are the most important facts you learned? What learning skills did we use?
Relationships How are two things similar? Different?
Connected? Related? Variations
What are research questions about this topic? What don’t we know yet?
FRAMEWORK: “INQUIRY LEARNING”
starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios, rather than presenting established facts or portraying a smooth path to knowledge
is a process with a facilitator encourages the student to try to learn
even more
MINDSET
OCEE STEAM LAB http://oceesteamlab.weebly.com/
PROBLEM-SOLVING GAMEShttp://oceesteamlab.weebly.com/resources.html
SUGGESTED FOLLOW-UPSVISIBLE THINKING ROUTINEShttp://www.visiblethinkingpz.org/
MINDSEThttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8JycfeoVzg&feature=youtu.be
CREATIVE THINKING PRESENTATIONhttp://oceepta.org/how-to-teach-your-child-creative-thinking-at-home/
http://oceetag.weebly.com/ Learner’s Log (to write or discuss)Habits of Mind (for background info)Instruction (3 tabs: for background info)Enrichment (5 tabs: for activities)Enrichment/Summer Opportunities (for programs outside of school)
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS Education is the training of the mind to
__________________, not the memorizing of _________________.
The question “Why?” is not always a critical thinking question. It’s only a critical thinking question if you have not already told them the “correct” answer.
We want our activities to be “minds-on”, not just “hands-on”.
The adult should act as the “guide on the side” not the “sage on the stage”; we want students to “create” knowledge/meaning, not just “consume”.
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A question going AROUND in my mind.
In regard to creativity, curiosity and critical thinking combined, identify…