no right brain left behind i n t e l l i g e n c e b r i e fUnderstanding the creativity crisis in Us schoolswww.rightbrainsare.us | facebook | twitter | linkedin | slideshare

2

Our planning team has worked hard to make you smart fast. We compiled some of the leading theories, thoughts and relevant resources related to the task at hand. Take advantage of this report to make your ideas better.

However, we know that the cumulative knowledge of the community in-volved in this challenge is much larger than that of our team. We there-fore encourage you to see this as a living document, constantly evolving. If there is anything noteworthy that we have missed, give us a Tweet or shoot us a note.

This challenge is not only a collaboration in concept. It’s collaboration in knowledge.

Good Luck – NRBLB team

3

“In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It is how we make our living… Maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to America’s success. But if we want to win the future – if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas – then we also have to win the race to educate our kids.”

– President Obama, State of the Union, 2011

t a b l e o f c o n t e n t sIssues at hand

Some Useful Tidbits

Inspiring and Insightful Quotes

Thought Leaders on Creativity

Resources

5

7

9

11

12

5

issUes at hand

Standardized testing established standards and measures...President George W. Bush established No Child Left Be-hind in 2001 with the belief that setting benchmarks and establishing measurable goals would be the most effec-tive way to create standards and measure skills among grade-school students. As a result, States were required to develop standards and assessments in basic skills in order to receive federal funding for their schools.

but it is not measuring the right things.Although standardized testing has its merits, it is inherent-ly a left-brain solution designed to solve a problem created by left-brain thinking.

“Standardized tests can’t measure initiative, creativ-ity, imagination, conceptual thinking, curiosity, effort, irony, judgment, commitment, nuance, good will, ethical reflection, or a host of other valuable dispositions and attributes.” – Bill Ayers

It is teaching our children the wrong lessons...The lessons that our children are learning from our system are also questionable. The emphasis on individual tests where group work is considered a serious offence leaves our children thinking that “only what you can do alone is of any value,” which does not prepare them for a world where team-work and collaboration are essential skills of survival. On top of that, the premium placed on memorizing facts contributes to a view of intelligence that confuses “being smart with knowing a lot of stuff.”

and it increases pressure on the people around them.The failure of this 20th century approach is not the fault of our teachers. Due to results being tied to funding, there is increased pressure to ensure that kids perform, thus forc-ing teachers to “teach to test.” This does not only affect teachers and students in the tested group (Grades 3-8), but others as well.

America should be building on our unique strengths and focusing our main efforts and resources not on the standardized testing and book-learning of the past, but on stimulating the passion and creativity of young people and honing our well-deserved reputation for ingenuity and entrepreneurship. If we do this – and do it right – our young people will flock back into our schools, and the America of the future will (continue to) remain the envy of the world.

6

“In my state, my second-grade students do not partici-pate in EOG Tests, but we are pressured to get students ready by using multiple choice activities. I feel that this is detrimental because they are being asked to perform in developmentally inappropriate ways. Aren’t we there to teach the students and not the test?” – Tonda Horne, Charlotte, NC

The current emphasis is flawed.

“Most reformers are focused on fixing the educational ‘system.’ But it’s not the ‘system’ that is most important to fix; it’s the education that the system provides.” – Marc Prensky

The difference between a human and a computer is the ability to take in multiple sets of information to discover the “relationships between the relationships.” The current focus on education does not create holistic human beings who are able to make meaning of information; it creates drones that have a one-track mind with a one-track pur-pose of regurgitating the same information that was taken in. Think about it, our children go to school, to memorize a set of information, to reproduce the same set of informa-tion during examination.

As Albert Einstein has put it in the most eloquent way, “it’s a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.”

The World has shifted, while we have not.Our culture has changed from an industrial nation to one based on innovation and creativity, but our education system is still built to produce factory workers, not knowl-edge workers. The focus is on ‘what to think,’ over ‘how to think’; ‘what is,’ over ‘what can be’.  As a result, kids aren’t taught how to build on knowledge gained, but only enough to master a standard test.  We are teaching them how to conform when we should be teaching them how to stand out.  We aren’t providing them with the tools in developing creative and original thought that’s needed to face today’s challenges. 

Creativity is the new advantage...Creativity is needed in all areas of business, government, economics and world diplomacy. A recent IBM poll of 1,500 CEO’s identified creativity as No.1 “competitive edge” of the future.

“Companies succeeding are those that create new markets to infiltrate, new products to proliferate, deploy uncon-ventional means, invent new methods of access (iTunes)” – David Burns. In a brave new world of endless possibilities, where inven-tion and innovative thought is rewarded, kids are not being equipped with the necessary skills needed to succeed. The expectations from professional communities are that people entering the workforce bring not only foundational skills, but also life experience that will present opportuni-ties to solve challenges in creative ways. However, nothing is being done about that and national creativity scores show that creativity is going down (see Torrance tests).

and something must be done.We can’t win the future with the education of the past. 20th century teachers are locked in 19th century school systems trying to teach for 21st century problems. Yes, we need to “out-educate.” But as any business school student or consultant will tell you, when there is competition it is far better to have a different, more clever strategy, than to work harder at doing the same thing others do.

It is sad for our children and America’s future that we are so focused on re-creating and fixing the past. Our children deserve a 21st century education that prepares them not just for the day they leave school, but for their future ca-reers and the rest of their lives. “The US may be waiting for the next wave of profitability, but if creativity continues to drop, the wait may be eter-nal as other countries contribute and capture the best and most useful intellectual properties of the future.” – Professor Kyung Hee Kim, specialist in educa-tion psychology.

Although there has been many studies on the topic of crea-tivity in education, little action has come of it. Even Presi-dent Obama has acknowledged that 21st century problems would require a new breed of innovative thinkers.

“Think about it, if everyone walked around thinking of themselves as creative, think of all the things that they would do that they aren’t doing now…things would re-ally change in the world. New things would happen.” – David Kelley, IDEO

7

s o M e U s e f U l t i d b i t s

Three Types of Learners There are three main types of learning styles: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Most people learn best through a combination of the three, but every individual is different. Auditory learners (Hear) learn best when they are listen-ing, visual learners (see) learn best by looking at graphics, while kinesthetic learners (touch) learn best through a “hands-on” experience.

Open LearningOpen learning is a teaching method that believes a stu-dents learn best in an unstructured manner where they are the ones that determine what to learn. The Manhattan Free School is based around this philosophy.

Active LearningActive learning is an umbrella term that refers to several modes of instruction that focuses the responsibility of learning on learners. Examples of ‘active learning’ activi-ties include class discussions, think-pair-share, learning cells, collaborative learning groups, class games, etc.

Project Based LearningProject Based Learning is an inquiry-based process for teaching and learning. Students focus on a complex ques-tion or problem, then answer the question or solve the problem through a collaborative process of investigation over an extended period of time. Projects are often used to investigate authentic issues and topics found outside of school. During the inquiry process, students learn content,

information, and facts necessary to draw conclusions about the questions. They also learn valuable skills and habits of mind during the process.

Problem Based LearningProblem based learning (PBL) is a student-centered instructional strategy in which students collaboratively solve problems and reflect on their experiences. One of the aims of PBL is the development of self-directed learn-ing skills (SDL). Some key characteristics of PDL include: learning is driven by challenging, open-ended, ill-defined, and ill-structured problems, students work in collaborative groups, and teachers taking on the role as ‘facilitators’ during learning. General criticisms include studies that show active problem solving is a less effective instructional strategy than studying worked examples.

Sudbury ModelThe Sudbury model democratic schools assert that there are many ways to study and learn. Their main argument is that learning is a process people do, not a process that is done to people. An example of their philosophy is dem-onstrated in the way they view reading – some children learn from being read to, memorizing the stories and then ultimately reading them, others learn from cereal boxes, game instructions, street signs, etc. They call their “teach-ers” advisers who help only when asked.

Biologically, our brains work to function holistically, marrying right-brain intuitive ideas with left-brain rational thought.

8

Learning by TeachingTo teach is to learn, however, learning by teaching shouldn’t be confused with presentations or lectures by students, as students not only convey a certain content, but also choose their own methods and didactic approach-es in teaching classmates about a subject matter. Advan-tages are that student work is more motivated, efficient, active, and intensive. General criticisms include: the intro-duction of the method requires substantial time as well as students and teachers having to work more than usual.

Montessori Method The Montessori method is an approach that arose out of the discovery of “the child’s true normal nature.” The method involves a curriculum of learning that comes from the child’s various individual interests at work. Supporting this inner plan of nature, the method provides a range of materials to stimulate the child’s interest through self-directed activity.

Waldorf Education Waldorf education is based upon a humanistic approach to learning. They believe that learning should be interdis-ciplinary – practical, artistic, and conceptual. They also emphasize the role of imagination in learning, developing thinking that includes a creative as well as an analytic component.

Two Kinds of MotivationIntrinsic motivation occurs when people are internally motivated to do something because it either brings them pleasure, they think it is important, or they feel that what they are learning is significant. It has also been shown that intrinsic motivation for education drops from grades 3-9 though the exact cause cannot be ascertained. It has also shown that contextualizing material that would otherwise be presented in an abstract manner increases the intrinsic motivation of these students.

Extrinsic motivation comes into play when a student is compelled to do something or act a certain way because of factors external to him or her (like money or good grades).

Goal-setting (Motivational) TheoryGoal-setting theory is based on the notion that individu-als sometimes have a drive to reach a clearly defined end state. Often, this end state is a reward in itself. Three fea-tures affect the goal’s efficiency: proximity, difficulty and

specificity. An ideal goal should present a situation where the time between the initiation of the behavior and the end state is close. This might explain why some children are more motivated to learn how to ride a bike than to master algebra.

Drive (Motivational) TheoryAccording to Dan Pink’s latest book Drive, there are three essential elements in driving motivation: Autonomy – the desire to direct our own lives, Mastery – the urge to get better and better at something that matters, and Purpose – the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves

Teaching Creativity It is imperative that teachers understand how to nurture creativity. A leader without the ability to think holistically will not be able to think on their toes, come up with crea-tive solutions to problems, or be able to envision change. Collaboration, project based learning, and other meth-ods that effectively engage children creatively have been proven to be the most effective educational practices.Small groups can establish an open, accepting atmosphere that may help to relieve societal pressure of conventions and encourage and reinforce more creative thinking.

Johnathan S. Feinstein came to these three conclusions, which help foster creativity. He states that creativity is fos-tered not only by solving problems in new ways, but also in defining the problem itself. When students come across ambiguous, challenging situations that require a decision, they should be encouraged to begin with examining what the problem truly is first.

Motivation – Creative insights do not come easily or imme-diately, they require energy and sustained effort. Students must be motivated to want to solve problems.

Postponing closure – Students must have a willingness to explore broad possibilities and allow time for processing and considering information. They must be taught to work past the “low hanging fruit”.

Ego strength – Originality is risky and failures are inevi-table. Willingness to risk and the ability to cope with and recover from failure are a necessity. Students must feel confident enough to be creative.

9

i n s P i r i n g & i n s i g h t f U l Q U o t e s

Additionally, not all creativity is alike; this makes measur-ing and assessing it very difficult. While intelligence and creativity often correlate, they are distinctly different. Generally, creativity can be identified as something that is original, high quality, and useful

Understanding Creativity “Artists give the world something they didn’t know they were needing” – Daniel Pink

“Creativity is the ability to generate new ideas by com-bining, changing, or reapplying existing ideas.”

“Whenever a person is faced with a problem for which he has no known or practiced solution, some degree of creativity is required.” – Paul E. Torrance

“Creativity is also an attitude: the ability to accept change and newness, a willingness to play with ideas and possibilities, a flexibility of outlook, the habit of enjoying the good, while looking for ways to improve it. We are socialized into accepting only a small number of permitted or normal things.” – Anon.

Creativity and Right Brain Thinking“The clever uses of science, technology, engineering, and math are survival tactics, but creativity is the weapon.” – David Burns

“Our culture worships attention but it is stifling creativity” - Jonah Lehrer of Wired

“If you can see things differently you can make a big dif-ference” – Edward de Bono

“We need kids to be more risk-taking, more entrepre-neurial. More than ever, we need the right brain to mix with the left.” – Patrick Bassett

“Centuries of educational training based mainly on left-brained analytical skills such as linear and logical think-ing have left many people deficient in essential whole-brain thinking practices including creativity, empathy, and design” – Simeon Hein

“The inadequacy of our thinking is the biggest barrier we face today. It’s bigger than climate change, it’s big-ger than our economic woes… all businesses should be asking provocative questions and seeking unlikely solu-tions. Thinking is our ultimate resource. If we want to raise the ability and potential of the workforce, we need to teach people how to think.” – Edward de Bono

Creativity is a very complex and hard to define due to the understanding that it is based less on concrete rationale and is more ethereal and abstract. However, many re-searchers and psychologists alike have studied creativity and what it exhibits in humans.

“People who employed creativity were the best at what they did. The best pilots were creative in their performance.” - Paul E. Torrance

10

What’s Holding Teachers Back

“Children are motivated to learn when they are in a pro-ject of some kind that catches fire within them… I think that classrooms should create a text book instead of just buying one. If you buy a textbook then you are buying static knowledge. But if you actually use the information technologies that surround us, a group of people can be on fire with a chapter on something really cool that they are putting together. - Head of a Private School in Albany, NY

“I think it is very difficult in many areas for teachers, to take risks and to try to do different things and to step out, because one, there might be a lack of support from administrators, people might not have your back. You might try something new, and if it doesn’t work well you might create more problems for yourself. Two, parents are not on your side.” – A 7th Grade Public School History Teacher, Princeton NJ

“Most of these creative practices take a small amount of class time, but the effect is engaged students who come back day after day anticipating something new and exciting.” – Joel Arquillos, Executive Director at 826LA

“Management is a fundamentally outdated technology designed to get people to comply, to get people to do as you want them to do, to get compliance…but to get people to be creative is when they are not managed, but when they operate on their own steam.” – Daniel Pink

“I think it (creativity) exists in enlightened classrooms of favorite teachers. There are plenty of people in the public schools who are creative teachers that get kids up and out of their seats and create an engaged classroom. But all of that is under pressure if standardized test-ing says the following 14 learning objectives have to be accomplished between now and then that can operate against a more freely operating type of education. The trick is to get the two of them to coexist. Otherwise the parents are going to be saying this isn’t going to help my kid’s test score so that they can get into college, so what is this project thing you are doing? I want them drill-ing so they’ll get a higher score on a test.” – Head of a Private School in Albany, NY.

“When you look at this daunting thing of how do we make people be more creative, a lot of times we feel constrained. We look at our organization we look at our schools and we say, ‘can I change my whole school system?’… Instead of asking can I change my whole school system ask yourself, can I do one thing tomorrow to make my day better, ‘and the answer is yes’.” – Daniel Pink

11

thoUght leaders o n c r e a t i v i t y

Howard GardnerMultiple Intelligences: We don’t all learn the same way: “The idea of multiple intelligences comes out of psychol-ogy. It’s a theory that was developed to document the fact that human beings have very different kinds of intellectual strengths and that these strengths are very, very important in how kids learn and how people represent things in their minds, and then how people use them in order to show what it is that they’ve understood.”

Sir Ken RobinsonCreativity is not and should not be relegated to the arts; “Another misconception is that creativity is confined to certain sorts of activities, like the arts or design. The truth is we can be creative at anything that involves the active use of our intelligence... Rather than investing in these misconceptions, companies and organizations should promote the creative capacities of all their people. And as a nation, America should invest in developing creativity in the education system as a whole, because for many people that’s where the problem starts.”

Jerome KaganCreativity and encouraging creative thought build self-confidence in all subject areas: “One strategy to mute their discouraging evaluation of self competence is to provide children with opportunities to be successful at some class-room task. Art, dance, film, and music are perfect candi-dates. An 8-year-old having difficulty learning to read at

grade level whose art work or performance with a musical instrument is far better than many of the children in the top 30 percent on reading or arithmetic will experience a sud-den boost of confidence that, in some cases, is generalized to the formal academic domains.”

Daniel PinkThe White-collar skills in the 20th century required linear, left-brain thinking that prepared workers for routine, assembly-line tasks. The skills for the 21st century require more right-brain skills of artistry, empathy, inventiveness and big picture thinking. The problem is that schools are stuck in the industrial age of education focusing on memorization, compliant thought and standardization. So how do we motivate people to do this right-brain thinking required to face problems of the 21st century, with the old model of reward and punishment? Pink found it requires subtle sophisticated forms of motivation.

David PogueThink of all those seemingly dumb YouTube videos you have watched of random people parody of social events and media. David Pogue recognizes these creative trends in technology. He argues that creativity is fueling the 21st century global economy. Innovation is the driver of sales in this technology age. Creativity is great for technology but technology is also great for creativity. The problem is that schools are so bureaucratic that they ban these creative tools that can help engage students.

12

r e s o U r c e sBooks:

Dan Pink – A Whole New Mindhttp://www.amazon.com/Whole-New-Mind-Right-Brainers-Future/dp/1594481717/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293984079&sr=8-1Argues that the future of global business belongs to the right-brainers.

Sir Ken Robinson – Out of our Mindshttp://www.amazon.com/Out-Our-Minds-Learning-Creative/dp/1841121258/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293984114&sr=1-1-fkmr0Argues that organizations are trying to fix a downstream problem that originates in schools and universities. Most people leave education with no idea what their real abili-ties are.

Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman – Nurture Shock, New Thinking about Childrenhttp://www.amazon.com/NurtureShock-New-Thinking-About-Children/dp/0446504130/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293984136&sr=1-1-fkmr0Author asserts that much of the thinking parents have had about children in the last few decades might be more harmful than helpful.

James C. Kaufman – The Cambridge Handbook of Creativityhttp://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Handbook-Creativity-Hand-books-Psychology/dp/0521730252/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1293984208&sr=1-1A comprehensive scholarly handbook on creativity from the most respected psychologists, researchers and educa-tors. Serves as both a thorough introduction to the field of creativity and an invaluable reference and current source of important information.

Mark A. Runco – Creativity: Theories and Themes: Re-search & Developmenthttp://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Theories-Research-Develop-ment-Practice/dp/0126024006/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1293984232&sr=1-1An integrative introduction to the theories and themes in research on creativity. Begins with a discussion of the theories of creativity (Person, Product, Process, Place), the general question of whether creativity is by nature or nurture, etc.

Robert J. Sternberg – Creativity: From Potential to Realiza-tionhttp://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Potential-Realization-Robert-Sternberg/dp/1591471206Argues that organizations are trying to fix a downstream problem that originates in schools and universities. Most people leave education with no idea what their real abili-ties are.

Articles:

Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman – The Creativity Crisishttp://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.htmlArgues that the future of global business belongs to the right-brainers

Kara Rogers – The Decline of Creativity in the U.S.http://www.vagazette.com/articles/2010/10/18/news/doc4cb-c4180af2cd345674832.txtArgues that organizations are trying to fix a downstream problem that originates in schools and universities. Most people leave education with no idea what their real abili-ties are.

Michael Bitz – Creativity in Crisis: The “Brain Drain” in American Schoolshttp://www.hepg.org/blog/18Author asserts that much of the thinking parents have had about children in the last few decades might be more harmful than helpful.

Marelisa – 75 Creativity Quoteshttp://abundance-blog.marelisa-online.com/2009/01/27/75-creativity-quotes/A comprehensive scholarly handbook on creativity from the most respected psychologists, researchers and educa-tors. Serves as both a thorough introduction to the field of creativity and an invaluable reference and current source of important information.

13

Diana Rhoten – We are not Waiting for Superman, We are Empowering Superheroeshttp://startl.org/2010/09/24/we-are-not-waiting-for-superman-we-are-empowering-superheroes/An integrative introduction to the theories and themes in research on creativity. Begins with a discussion of the theories of creativity (Person, Product, Process, Place), the general question of whether creativity is by nature or nurture, etc.

Edward Boches – Creativity is on the Decline, just when we need it mosthttp://edwardboches.com/creativity-is-on-the-decline-just-when-we-need-it-mostArgues that organizations are trying to fix a downstream problem that originates in schools and universities. Most people leave education with no idea what their real abili-ties are.

Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman – Forget Brainstorminghttp://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/12/forget-brainstorming.print.htmlArgues most commonly used techniques for spurring creativity don’t work and then offers seven suggests for in-spiring creativity in schools including being active, limiting screen time, having passions and cross-culture learning.

Jenny Anderson - Inventive New Private School Hits Old Hurdleshttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/education/01blueschool.htmlMembers from the famous Blue Man Group start a new school for kindergarten and first grades that follows a more holistic way of learning. Whose curriculum is determined by student interest and where social and emotional skills are given equal weight.

Scholastic - Do you feel pressure to “Teach to the Test?”http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/education/01blueschool.htmlSix teachers, nation-wide, reflect on standardized testing and give their view on the problems it has on teaching and student’s learning.

Alex Crevar - The Father of Creativityhttp://www.uga.edu/gm/301/FeatCreate.htmlA brief history and description of Paul E. Torrance, founder of the Torrance tests, and his view on education and the importance of creativity in the classroom.

Mark Caine - A Crisis of creativity: STEM Education and Breakthrough Technologyhttp://breakthroughgen.org/blog/2010/06/a_crisis_of_creativ-ity_tailori.shtmlA look into the problems of hyper-specialization in educa-tion and what the skills it takes to be great in your field.

Simeon Hein - A Whole New Mind: How Viewing will save today’s economyhttp://www.virtualviewing.org/neweconomyProfessor at UCLA talks about how our left-brained educa-tion is giving us skills that could be outsourced to other countries and instead we need to focus on right-brained approaches to learning, that favor design and innovative thought, if we want to experience economic growth.

Michel Martin Hosts - Leaders Tackle Challenges of Educa-tional Reformhttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130212968An interview with Randi Weigngarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, about the problems with ‘Waiting for Superman’, and the steps needed to take for education reform.

J. P Isenberg and M.R. Jalongo - Creativity and Educationhttp://www.education.com/reference/article/creativity-educa-tion/A well researched article expressing the concerns that teachers are unable to determine which students are crea-tive because of our poor understanding of what it means to be a creative student.

Steve Lackmeyer - Schools, Businesses king creativity, Okalahoma City forum experts say

http://stateofcreativity.com/schools-businesses-killing-creativity-oklahoma-city-forum-experts-sayA brief synopsis of the panel discussions between creativ-ity crisis experts at the Creativity World Forum 2010.

Jonah Lehrer of Wired - Are distractible people more crea-tivehttp://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/09/are-distractible-people-more-creative/Harvard and Toronto professors’ research show screening out ‘irrelevant’ material stifles creativity.  Creative people tend to have low latent inhibitions contribute to original thought.

Eileen Sweeney - Advanced Education Reform through Service Collaborationhttp://www.fastcompany.com/1673070/advance-education-reform-through-service-creativity-and-collaborationHow education systems need reform in order to inspire in-novation to solve tomorrow’s problems. STEM focused but offers examples of how corporations are helping.

Shahida Ariff - Kids’ creativity unleashed with high-tech toyshttp://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/press/singapore.htmMIT professor, Mitchel Resnick and his Media Lab, work on programming ordinary toys to be more interactive and work to promote exploration and experimentation that come natural to younger kids.

14

Interview by Yanky Fachler of Business Plus with Dr Edward de Bono - Thinking and Creating the True Driving Forces behind entrepreneurshiphttp://www.lostjobstartbusiness.com/blog/thinking-and-creativi-ty-the-true-driving-force-behind-entrepreneurship/Edward de Bono explains why it is urgent for us to teach creative, lateral thinking and change the conversation from “what is” to “what can be”.

James Daly Edutopia - Reshaping Learning from the Ground Uphttp://www.edutopia.org/future-schoolInterview with Alvin Toffler on how the school system should radically change from the ground up and everyone in the community should be involved in this change. He of-fers radical ideas and questions that we should be asking to create a much needed change in the education system that recognizes every child is different.

Robert Harris - Introduction to Creative Thinkinghttp://www.virtualsalt.com/crebook1.htmDiscusses the definition, the block. and characteristics of creativity.  Clearly defines what creative thinking consists of.

Interview with Kyung Hee Kim - The Decline of Creativity in the United Stateshttp://www.vagazette.com/articles/2010/10/18/news/doc4cb-c4180af2cd345674832.txtThe best articulate argument out there describing the ur-gency of this issue going beyond parents and teachers and placing responsibility on the US culture as a whole. 

No Right Brain Left Behind: Must Kids Prep for Test Taking?http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-07-13-right-brain_N.htmPatrick Bassett, President of the National Association of Independent Schools, is on a campaign to try incorporating right brain risk taking and entrepreneurial spirits into more schools.  This article sums up fairly well the issue many experts have laid out. 

Videos:

Davis Guggenheim – Waiting for “Superman”http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.html

TED 2006: Sir Ken Robinson – Schools Kill Creativityhttp://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_crea-tivity.html

TED 2010: Sir Ken Robinson – Bring on the Learning Revolutionhttp://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revo-lution.html

Newsweek – Forget Brainstorming Podcast (Starts 10mins in)http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/12/forget-brainstorming.html

Harvard Business Video: Dan Pink on how the 21st Century Brain Affects Creativityhttp://blip.tv/file/3713648?utm_source=player_embedded

TEDxBlue - True Grit: Can Perseverance be taught?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaeFnxSfSC4&feature=channelDr. Angela Lee Duckworth, U Penn professor, studies non-IQ competency and the ability to predict academic and profession success biased on “grit”, or students’ posses-sion of both determination and perseverance.

Ken Robinson Interview by Riz Kahn - Killing creativity: is the public education system failing us?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAt-3Yk2u80&feature=relatedMore texture to Ken Robinson theory on the creativity crisis. Talks about education for kids with disabilities hav-ing more creativity and how we confuse intelligence with intellectual ability.

John Taylor Gatto - State Controlled Consciousnesshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ogCc8ObiwQ&feature=relatedRetired teacher of 29 years, he is an activist critical of com-pulsory schooling. Doesn’t feel universal schooling can 

Edutopia - Dr Garner on Educationhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBknM7-AkAMPsychologist and father of The Multiple Intelligence theory, Gardner discusses the problems with standardized tests and not teaching from a child-centric fashion which recog-nizes that students have different ways in which they learn.

Stanford - David Kelley of IDEOhttp://kalwnews.org/audio/popup/13900IDEO designer talks about ‘design thinking’, the impor-tance of engaging students, and cultivating a project-based design thinking that allows every student to think of themselves as ‘creative’.

Joel Arquil of 826LA - Creativity in Education: There is Room for ithttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/joel-arquillos/creativity-in-educa-tion-t_b_748724.htmlGOOD forum that addresses the need to engage students so they feel comfortable to take creative risk.  

15

PRI’s The World: Science - Teachers’ Domain: Creativity in Chinese Educationhttp://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/wds10_aud_chedu/The Chinese administration in education are trying to transform the education system to favor more independ-ent, creative thought. They want to teach kids not just what to learn but how to learn and are designing entrance exams to Universities to test this. The initiative is China’s push to become not just a manufacturer of innovation but a contributor as well.

thanK yoUwww.rightbrainsare.us | facebook | twitter | linkedin | slideshare

Prepared by:brian chandra, @chandraaaaa | carolyn durkalski | Jason Potteiger, @jpotteiger | James colistra, @brandstrategeek | Jennifer small-Wojtwicz | Malika durrani | sloane hoepelman | stacey Kawahata, @stackwa | sylvia calos, @hellodreamworld | viktor venson, @whoisviktor