creativity presentation 2013
TRANSCRIPT
The Journalism Lab:Brewing Creative Minds
Sheila Jones, CJEFor
JEA National ConventionSan Francisco, CA
April 2013
CREATIVITY Suddenly, creativity is …
BIG finally
Why should we care?In a 1968 study. George Land gave 1,600five-year-olds NASA’s creativity test used to select innovative scientists and engineers.
The results:Among the 5-year-olds: 98 percentRetested at 10-yrs-old: 30 percentRetested at 15-yrs-old: 12 percentSame test to 280,000 adults: 2 percent
Conclusion:Non-creative behavior is learned.
Linda Naiman, “Orchestrating Collaboration at Work,” creativityatwork.com
[Image: Taylorswiftquotes.net]
Is creativity music? Lyrics? Poetry? Art? Dance? What about science? Math?
Colorado students display creativity in real science solutions
Students in Creative Engineering at Skyline High School in Longmont, CO, go beyond hypothetical problems to work on an adaptive technology project to aida local 10-year-old girl with a debilitativejoint condition.
The Denver Post
Intel Corporation
Sara Volz, a Colorado Springs senior atCheyenne Mountain High School won $100,000 in the 2013 Intel Science TalentSearch. Her project involves increasingThe oil content of algae to create aneconomical source of biofuel.
#1 - What makes creativity work? Myths vs. Reality
#2 – Because journalism creates opportunities for
creativity to occur, we can de-‘myth’-ify it in the
journalism lab.
1st
Some background
The business world values creativity
Creativity is at the foundation of innovation and is vital for our country’s growth and development. Creativity fuels all areas of our country’s economy and prosperity.
Stephan TurnipseedPresident, LEGO Education
August Turak, wrote in Forbes’ magazine that IBM’s success depended on teaching its executive leaders to think creatively….
In business we all know we must do a better job at “getting outside the box” but very few of us do anything about it….We don’t learn to be creative. We must become creative people.
Society wants more than just the practical.
They want the aesthetic as well.Beauty. Art. Emotion. Luxury.
So says Apple: “Fashion meets Function.”
orDesigner Michael Kors
$80
+[Images: Apple.com, MichaeKors.com, hardwaresphere.com]
Voices are emerging…. Sir Ken RobinsonOut of Our Minds:Learning to be Creative
Daniel PinkA Whole New Mind:How Right-brainers will Rule the World
Jonah LehrerImagine:How Creativity Works
Images: SirKenRobinson.com, DanielPink.com, JonahLehrer.com, Amazon.com
Donald J. Treffinger, Ph.D.with Patricia Schoonover and Edwin SelbyEducating for Creativity & Innovation.
But in the classroom?
Teach to theTest
ACTSAT
State Assessments
Mercedes Benz ad that plays with Daniel Pink’s idea of training the “whole mind” .
Tony WagnerHarvard Graduate School of Education
Identified 21st Century Learning Skills
[Image: TonyWagner.com]
A Difference in Opinion
Add together…Journalism lab = Creativity Lab
Yet nurturing the creative culture
involves some myth-busting
Myth: Creativity can’t be controlled.It’s “magical, mysterious, mystical.”
Reality:Creativity can be managed using tools and processes.
Preparation• Research• Curiosity• Focusing
the problem
Incubation• Let ideas stew
• 90% of good work is good
thinking
Insight• The “Aha!”
moment• Inspiration
occurs
Evaluation• Judging quality
• Deciding whether to
continue
Elaboration• Translating thoughts into
actions or product
Creativity is a process that can be managed—creative problem solving.
Creativity is Persistence in Process
Not just finding the answers,but figuring out the right questions
The Kipling Method5W’s and 1 H
Who?What?Where?When?Why?How?
Prepare Incubate Insight Evaluate Elaborate
Myth: Creativity erupts spontaneously
Reality:Sometimes it does. More frequently it evolves from a synthesis of experiences – what Pink calls “symphony,” as illustrated with the next few concepts.
Creativity is Conceptual BlendingThe overlap between two seemingly unrelated ideas. Creativity invokes expertise in one field to create something in a new field.
The Wright Brothers’ bicycle expertise became the foundation for the byplane.
Johannes Gutenberg’s expertise with…
Winepress Printing Press
Journalism Application?
Another way to look at this concept is
METAPHOR
SYMBOLISMand/or
Creativity is also problem-solving
• Daydreaming3M EngineerArthur Fry
3M gives engineers 15% oftheir time to daydream. They call it bootlegging time.
Google, long considered oneof the most creative companies does the same.They call it innovation time.
• Triggering Which would you rather take?a. True or false testb. Multiple choice testc. Short answer testd. Essay test
Creating a clip file
Sources for clip files:• Magazines• Newspapers• NewsPageDesigner.org • Newseum.org/todaysfrontpages• Pinterest
• Priming A phenomenon that occurs when the activation of one word or image allows a person to react more quickly to related words or images—power of suggestion.
Journalism apps for priming
Pull color out of a photo and carry it through the page. It not only can inspire your design, but guide your reader as well.
Repeat shapes andimages
After generating ideas, focusing ideas into a plan
Focus Sheets• Finding your focus • Putting thoughts into action
Focus sheet availableunder “Journalism” on jonesclassesonline.weebly.com
Myth: Creativity is easy, quick, and error-free
Reality:It is perfectly OK to fail. Growth emerges from failure and the experience of failure. The trick is to fail, but fail better each time. This is where persistence kicks in.
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. – Alfred Einstein
FirstAttemptInLearning
Myth: Creativity is a solitary effort
Reality:The Power of Q is significant. “Q” is group creativity. “When the right mixture of people come together and when they collaborate in the right way, what happens can often feel like magic.” – Jonah Lehrer, Imagine
Collaboration
Low QFew connections
Strangers
High QMany connections
Close friends, family
Medium QMix of strangers +
close Friends
Sweet Spot⏏
Based on study of Brian Uzzi,, Northwestern
University. From Imagine by Jonah Lehrer, p. 143.
“People have a tendency to want to only work with their friends. It feels so much more comfortable. But that’s exactly the wrong thing to do. If you really want to make something great then you’re going to need to seek out some new people too.” – Brian Uzzi, Northwestern University
Imitate Pixar: Arrange lab for collaboration. Run into each other.Have lunch meetings. Play games. Celebrate. Alienus Non Diutius.
Imitate Pixar: Critique and DebateStudies and business practices show that debate and criticism do not inhibit ideas, but stimulate them.
Friday Slideshows: Friday before publication week.
“If we don’t fix something that can be fixed, it’s everybody’s fault.” – Lee Unkrich, Pixar director
Plussing: Each criticism should include a +. Focus not on the mistake, but on how to fix it.
“We just want to screw up as quickly as possible. We want to fail fast. And then we want to fix it. Together.”
– Lee Unkrich, Pixar director
So, what does this all mean?
Preparation• Research• Curiosity• Focusing
the problem
Incubation• Let ideas stew
• 90% of good work is good
thinking
Insight• The “Aha!”
moment• Inspiration
occurs
Evaluation• Judging quality
• Deciding whether to
continue
Elaboration• Translating thoughts into
actions or product
#1: You’re more likely to be creative if you go through all the steps of a agreed upon process.
Tony WagnerHarvard Graduate School of Education[Image: TonyWagner.com]
Each of these occursin the journalism lab.
#2: Creativity is the sumof the 21st Century Skills
#3: To increase creativity, engage both left brain and right brain.
Curiosity &Imagination
Creativity
Problem Solving Adaptability
Collaboration
Initiative
Access &Analyze
Information
Journalism Creativity: Putting it all togetherfor the 21st Century
References“Creative Tools.” n.d. Web. http://Creatingminds.org
Lehrer, Jonah. Imagine: How Creativity Works. New York, Houghton-Mifflin. 2012. Print.
Naiman, Linda. “How do you unwrap creativity?” The Creativity at Work Blog. 3 March, 2012. Web. <www.creativityatwork.com/wpcaw/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/3-components-of-creativity>.
Pink, Daniel. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future. New York, Riverhead. 2006. Print.
Treffinger, Donald, Patricia Schoonover, and Edwin Selby. Educating for Creativity and Innovation. Waco, Texas, Prufrock Press. 2013. Print.
Turak, August. “Can Creativity Be Taught?” Forbes 22/5/2011.Web. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/augustturak/2011/05/22/can-creativity-be-taught/>.
Wagner, Tony. The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need--and What We Can Do About It. New York, Basic Books. 2008. Print.
“What does Creativity Mean to You, Your Boss, Your Clients? Creativity Land. 2010. Web. <http://www.creativityland.ca/2010/what-does-creativity-mean-to-you-your-boss-your-clients/>.
The Journalism Lab:The Creativity Lab
Sheila [email protected]