Education Commons^™

A Digital Qualitative Ethnographic Study Of Preservice Teachers’ Perspectives And Experiences Of Teaching From To-Be Teachers, Mohamed Abdullahi Ali

Journal of Research Initiatives

This digital ethnographic study aimed to understand how and why college students decide to be teachers while many trained teachers leave the profession every year in the United States. A purposive sampling technique enabled 30 prospective teachers in a college of education to participate in this study. The research questions that guided the study were: 1) How and why did preservice teachers choose teaching as a career? 2) How did preservice teachers' perception of the drawbacks of teaching and the opportunities to support them in becoming teachers influence their decisions? The conceptual framework to understand the phenomena came from educational …

Creative Learning With Music And Mathematics: Reflections On Interdisciplinary Collaborations, Graham Johnson, Alesia M. Moldavan

The STEAM Journal

Culturally responsive content, accessible and inclusive tools, and meaningful interdisciplinary tasks can aid in developing equitable and creative learning environments. Music and mathematics are ideal disciplines for interdisciplinary creative learning. In this article, we reflect on our experiences engaging in interdisciplinary music and mathematics tasks with preservice teachers. In particular, we highlight specific efforts taken to design and implement a creative music and mathematics workshop for use in a mathematics methods course. Guided by these experiences, we offer examples of tools and practices that have helped preservice teachers collaborate, engage in inquiry, improvise, develop empathy, and take intellectual and social …

Arts-Based Interdisciplinary Music And Mathematics Tasks: Exploring Conceptualizations Of Equitable Creative Learning In Teacher Education, Alesia Mickle Moldavan, Graham Johnson

Georgia Educational Researcher

Preservice teachers need opportunities in teacher education courses to explore arts-based interdisciplinary learning that can inspire connections between communities of practice and allow learners to integrate concepts and imagine creative possibilities. This study reports on preservice teachers engaged in a workshop on arts-based interdisciplinary music and mathematics tasks. Data included surveys, task-related artifacts, and participant observations to examine how preservice teachers conceptualize and engage in such tasks. Three resonating themes were identified, revealing that preservice teachers generally thought (a) music and mathematics are more engaging and relatable in interdisciplinary contexts than when taught alone, (b) interdisciplinary music and mathematics tasks …

Writing Workshop And Creativity Despite Standardization: An Exploration Of Elementary Teachers' Practices, Darcie Kress, Matt Townsley

Journal of Research Initiatives

The focus on formulaic approaches to writing in today’s classrooms can be problematic, for it may inadvertently cause the quality of students’ writing to decline. The National Writing Project (NWP) provides teachers with professional development to learn how to effectively incorporate evidence-based practices into their writing instruction. The aim of this study was to explore the practices of three elementary teachers who received professional development training from the NWP. The researchers investigated how these teachers navigated the tension between creativity in a workshop approach and accountability for teaching the Common Core writing standards. Findings suggest participants navigated the standardization of …

A Study Of Problem Posing As A Means To Help Mathematics Teachers Foster Creativity, Deborah Moore-Russo, Amanda A. Simmons, Michael J.D. Tulino

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Research suggests that mathematical creativity often results from extended periods of mathematical activity and reflection based on the use of deep and flexible content knowledge [14, 15]. This implies that instruction can influence creativity. However, for teaching to foster creativity in mathematics, there should be purposefully designed instructional tasks. It is doubtful that routine, mechanical exercises would foster creativity. Moreover, mathematical creativity may neither be explicitly promoted, nor fully appreciated, by students when a learning space involves only problem solving, even if the problems are challenging and engaging. For students to get an authentic sense of mathematics and to develop …

Working 'Failure' Into Your Learning Design, Nilanjana Saxena Ms.

The Emerging Learning Design Journal

The world is grappling with education failing to meet industry demands for skills. We’re constantly striving to design for learning that is able to meet with the emerging societal and Industrial needs. Against this background what should the learning design strategy be?

Of particular relevance is Productive Failure (PF) a deeper learning design strategy, which runs counter to a traditional Direct Instruction methodology and demonstrates the affordances of experiencing and learning from failure. This brief elaborates on PF, select use cases and applications as well as key design features in operationalising PF.

The Demise Of Creativity In Tomorrow's Teachers, Elizabeth Alexis Bloom 4345947, Kjersti Vanslyke-Briggs

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

In the last several years a good deal of public discourse was devoted to describing the effects that more than two decades of education reforms, the last iteration of which was known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), has had on teaching and learning. It is widely argued that coupling teacher evaluations with students' test scores, enforced standardization, and over-reliance on testing for measuring achievement results in a deadened curriculum hyper-focused on math and ELA achievement, divorced from lived experience, the arts, sciences, and history (Ravitch, 2013). The specific focus of this study was to examine the consequences of …

Editorial: Arts Integration Allows Students The Opportunity To Be Original, Ksenia S. Zhbanova, Audrey C. Rule

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This editorial explores the other six articles in this issue 2 of volume 3 of the Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions to examine how originality is displayed and supported by art projects. Originality, is a quality or a characteristic of an idea, approach or product. Originality can be defined as newness or novelty. To be classified as original, an idea must be new. It does not have to have a utilitarian value, which is a requirement for an idea to be categorized as creative. Helping students develop originality is important because it allows the freedom to make any …

Creating Steam With Design Thinking: Beyond Stem And Arts Integration, Danah Henriksen

The STEAM Journal

This article suggests the value in a broad view of STEAM beyond arts-integration, as well as the potential of design thinking for STEAM. Despite much interest in STEAM it is often challenging for many teachers to integrate into their teaching of school subject matter. I suggest that as an interdisciplinary crossroads, design thinking provides a natural bridge between the arts, sciences, and other subjects. In this it can offer guiding flexible structure and in-road for teachers to design STEAM-based lessons, and to incorporate as an integrated aspect of students’ STEAM learning. I discuss an example of an elementary Spanish teacher, …

Intention, Questions, And Creative Expression: An Antidiscriminatory Diversity Statement, Hannah S. Bright

Scholarship and Engagement in Education

Supporting education that reflects diversity involves maintaining awareness of one’s personal positionality, creating safe and inclusive learning communities, and using creativity and choice to empower and honor student voice and individual development. When working in educational settings, teachers may involve students in selecting relevant materials, and follow their lead in creating critical dialogue about salient factors of identity.

Fifth Graders’ Creativity In Inventions With And Without Creative Articulation Instruction, Darcie K. Kress, Audrey C. Rule

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Industry and authors of 21^st Century Skill Frameworks are calling for student proficiency in creativity, problem-solving, innovation, collaboration, and communication skills. This project involved 13 fifth grade gifted students in inventing products for a specified audience with a set of given materials, time limit, and topic constraints. The complex, challenging project supports Next Generation Science Engineering Process Standard 3-5-ETS1-2 and applies concepts of plant and animal adaptations. The study had a counterbalanced, repeated measures design in which student made an initial invention during the pretest, then participated in two trials with one in the control condition and the other …

Challenging Elementary Learners With Programmable Robots During Free Play And Direct Instruction, Kimberly S. Mccoy-Parker, Lindsey N. Paull, Audrey C. Rule, Sarah E. Montgomery

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Computer programming skills are important to many current careers; teaching robot coding to elementary students can start a positive foundation for technological careers, develop problem-solving skills, and growth mindsets. This study, through a repeated measures design involving students in two classrooms at two widelyseparated grade levels (first graders aged 6-7 years and fifth graders aged 10-11 years), determined if allowing students to challenge themselves with coding exercises in the experimental condition resulted in greater learning and more positive attitudes than a more structured set of exercises provided by the teacher in the control condition. Background instruction in coding and using …

Sixth Graders Investigate Models And Designs Through Teacher-Directed And Student-Centered Inquiry Lessons: Effects On Performance And Attitudes, Benjamin D. Olsen, Audrey C. Rule

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Science inquiry has been found to be effective with students from diverse backgrounds and varied academic abilities. This study compared student learning, enjoyment, motivation, perceived understanding, and creativity during a science unit on Models and Designs for 38 sixth grade students (20 male, 18 female; 1 Black, 1 Hispanic and 36 White). The unit began with a very teacher-centered approach, then became increasingly student-centered, employing more inquiry with each lesson set to determine the effects of student-centered instruction on performance and attitudes. Pretest-posttest data with specific questions tied to each lesson set were collected, as well as repeated measures attitude …

Fostering Creative Ecologies In Australasian Secondary Schools, Leon R. De Bruin, Anne Harris

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study investigates and compares elements of creativity in secondary schools and classrooms in Australia and Singapore. Statistical analysis and qualitative investigation of teacher, student and leadership perceptions of the emergence, fostering and absence of creativity in school learning environments is explored. This large-scale international study (n=717) reveals the impact of teacher behaviours, teaching environments and school leadership approaches that promote and impede the enhancement of creative, critical, and innovative thinking, organisation, and curriculum structures. Implications for Australian schools and teaching urge for secondary education to challenge current, practices, pedagogies and environments, arguing for school-based strategies and considerations that enhance …

Using Creativity From Art And Engineering To Engage Students In Science, Mason Albert Kuhn, Scott Greenhalgh, Mark Mcdermott

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

STEAM education, referring to integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics, is a contemporary buzzword that is popular in many schools. In particular, many elementary school teachers who have been tasked to incorporate STEM teaching, because of the requirements of the Next Generation Science Standards, attempt to apply the arts in their science curriculum because they feel more comfortable using instructional approaches that incorporate creative activities such as crafts, drawing, and model construction than the core practices of STEM disciplines. Teachers can use the creative arts activities in two ways to enhance the STEM learning environment: 1) Using creative processes …

The Influence Of Creativity Inhibitors And Collectivist Dynamics, Anthony Abidemi Olalere

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study examines the mediating influence of creativity inhibitors on collectivist dynamics and faculty creativity in higher education organizations. Complexity theory was employed to frame how collectivist dynamic (Complexity Interaction) and creativity inhibitor foster faculty creativity in higher education. The Partial Least Square of Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze data using the PLS algorithm, and mediating effect to assess the predictive accuracy on creativity among 73 tenure and tenure-track faculty members in a south east research-based university in the United States. The result showed that creativity inhibitors have positive influence on the interaction between complexity interaction (collectivist) …

Digital Storytelling As Poetic Reflection In Occupational Therapy Education: An Empirical Study, Lisebet S. Skarpaas, Grete Jamissen, Cecilie Krüger, Vigdis Holmberg, Pip Hardy

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Stories are powerful aids to reflection. Thus, the use of stories may be a pathway to enhanced reflective practice and clinical reasoning skills. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether and how digital storytelling can contribute to occupational therapy (OT) students’ learning through reflections on experiences from placement education. A cohort of OT students (n = 57) participated in a 2-day workshop to create digital stories. Data were generated through a questionnaire with a response rate of 100% of students who completed the workshop (n = 34). Quantitative analysis methods were used to reveal a level of agreement …

Creativity From Two Perspectives: Prospective Mathematics Teachers And Mathematician, Gönül Yazgan-Sağ, Elçin Emre-Akdoğan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Although creativity plays a critical role in mathematics, it remains underestimated in the context of a mathematics classroom. This study aims to explore the views and differences creativity displays in prospective teachers and one of their lecturers with respect to the characteristics and practices of creative teachers and the characteristics of creative students. We collected data through interviews with four prospective mathematics teachers and one mathematics lecturer. The study results revealed that their perspectives on creativity varied greatly and were mostly influenced by the characteristics of their diverse backgrounds and teaching practices. The views of the prospective mathematics teachers with …

Generating Cultural Capital? Impacts Of Artists-In-Residence On Teacher Professional Learning, Mary Ann Hunter, William Baker, Di Nailon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The introduction of the Australian Arts Curriculum and the rise of a twenty-first century creativity agenda in education signal an opportunity for teacher educators to re-examine the outcomes and potential of arts-based initiatives on teacher professional learning. This study re-visits the outcomes of the Australian Artist-in-Residence program in this context and analyses a subset of data collected for its evaluation. The study reveals that while teachers perceive an improvement in creative capital, it is important to consider questions about the capacity for such programs to generate long term changes in practice. The study illustrates how some States and Territories embedded …

Creativity And The Reggio Emilia Approach, Duna Alkhudhair

The William & Mary Educational Review

The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education was developed in the city of Reggio Emilia after the Second World War under the leadership of Loris Malaguzzi. Today, Reggio Emilia schools stand as exemplars for the development of young children’s creativity. This paper provides an overview of the Reggio Emilia approach and examines how it aligns with current research findings related to the development of creativity in young children.

Musings From A Year Of Ste[A]M...How It Looks Walking Down The Path, Ruth Catchen

The STEAM Journal

This is a follow up article to one in the inaugural issue which describes the beginnings of implementing a STE[a]M curriculum in a school with a high at-risk student population. This article discusses the outcomes and the future after a year of STE[a]M.

The Weaving Of A Tapestry: A Metaphor For Teacher Education Curriculum Development, Susan E. Simon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teacher educators rightfully dream of delivering inspiring programs to benefit future teachers and the students they will in turn inspire. However, in the current teacher education environment in Australia, the artisan’s craft of weaving rich texture and producing a masterpiece is potentially over-shadowed by the educational administrator’s continual focus on the mapping of professional standards to produce an accreditation-worthy product. Responding to increased accountability, teacher educators at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, embarked on re-developing programs utilising a process akin to tapestry weaving. This metaphor enriched contributors’ understanding of the complex process of teacher education program …

Chaos Of Textures Or ‘Tapisserie’? A Model For Creative Teacher Education Curriculum Design, Sue E. Simon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A tapestry or ‘tapisserie’ methodology, inspired by Denzin and Lincoln’s ‘bricolage’ methodology (2000), emerged during the complex task of re-developing teacher education programs at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. ‘Tapisserie’ methodology highlights the pivotal task of determining stable ‘warp threads’ prior to the subsequent interweaving of myriad ‘weft threads’. In our context, the core values of the education team were deemed to be the crucial ‘warp threads’ which would provide structure and navigation through numerous ‘weft threads’. The resultant model assisted teacher educators’ understanding of this complex process within a rigorous accreditation environment. It aims to preserve …

Attitudes Of Teachers Toward Teaching Creative Strategies, Kirsten Limpert, Stuart Ervay

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Given the recent national emphasis on standards and the use of high stakes tests, American teachers may not have positive attitudes toward teaching creative strategies. It is possible for them to conclude that they will be held accountable primarily for how well students perform on summative tests that are based either on state standards or the new national Core Standards being adopted by many states. With so much emphasis on standards, they may not be acquainted with the New Bloom’s Taxonomy that places creating at the top of learning hierarchy, nor are they likely to be aware of why that …

The Management Of Creativity: Redux, Susan Madsen

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The immediate problem facing the authors was replacing someone with the background and stature of Joseph Abboud with an individual or, as it eventually worked out, four individuals with differing creative backgrounds and levels of success that would be of benefit to the students (in the spring 2006 semester the course was offered to undergraduate business students) enrolled in the course. Replacing Abboud proved to be not as difficult as the authors originally imagined. Within a period of three weeks, four individuals with diverse backgrounds in film, music, sports entertainment, and entrepreneurship were identified and agreed to take part in …

“The Management Of Creativity”, Managing The Creative Mind: A Business Elective, Peter A. Maresco, John Gerlach

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The immediate problem facing the authors was replacing someone with the background and stature of Joseph Abboud with an individual or, as it eventually worked out, four individuals with differing creative backgrounds and levels of success that would be of benefit to the students (in the spring 2006 semester the course was offered to undergraduate business students) enrolled in the course. Replacing Abboud proved to be not as difficult as the authors originally imagined. Within a period of three weeks, four individuals with diverse backgrounds in film, music, sports entertainment, and entrepreneurship were identified and agreed to take part in …

Wisdom, Intelligence, And Creativity Synthesized., Susan Daniels

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

Wisdom, as explored by Sternberg is the application of successful intelligence and creativity. For thirty years, Dr. Sternberg has been a vocal critic of narrow conceptions of intelligence. In this recent work, he argues that a more comprehensive view of intelligence must go beyond the psychometrically based, IQ-driven views predominant in the last century.