Solutions for Digital Learner–Centered Classrooms
Inspiring Creativity and Innovation in K–12
Douglas Reeves
Copyright © 2015 by Solution Tree Press
Materials appearing here are copyrighted. With one exception, all rights are reserved. Readers may reproduce only those pages marked “Reproducible.” Otherwise, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission of the publisher.
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Printed in the United States of America
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Reeves, Douglas B., 1953-
Inspiring creativity and innovation in K-12 / Douglas B. Reeves.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-936765-30-0 (perfect bound) 1. Creative thinking--Study and teaching--United States. 2. Creative ability--Study and teaching--United States. 3. Creative thinking in children--United States. I. Title.
LB1590.5.R44 2015
370.15’70951249--dc23
2015008897
Solution Tree Jeffrey C. Jones, CEO Edmund M. Ackerman, President
Solution Tree Press President: Douglas M. Rife Associate Acquisitions Editor: Kari Gillesse Editorial Director: Lesley Bolton Managing Production Editor: Caroline Weiss Senior Production Editor: Christine Hood Proofreader: Elisabeth Abrams Text and Cover Designer: Rian Anderson Compositor: Rachel Smith
For Amy
Acknowledgments
One of the most important lessons in the study of creativity is that the myth of the lone genius is a particularly destructive one, leading us to believe that real creative endeavors are solitary. Work that acknowledges the assistance of others is, in one of the worst epithets that can be hurled in the academic community, merely “derivative.” Writers not only have muses but also those who provide intellectual and emotional support that are essential to the production of every book.
Lauren Kruczkowski provided vital assistance in collecting an international sample of creativity rubrics and helped with their analysis. In addition, Lauren processed a decade of results on PLCs and helped to synthesize the data and render a complex and disparate sea of reports into a comprehensible set of data. In both cases, her efforts led to original research that is published for the first time in these pages. Brooks Reeves offered helpful comments on early drafts of the chapters and, in the course of vigorous discussions, helped to frame my thinking on this subject.
Readers can thank Christine Hood and her colleagues at Solution Tree Press for proving Stephen King’s dictum that to write is human, to edit, divine. The book is shorter and more accessible because of their efforts. Douglas Rife, the president of Solution Tree Press, had the vision for a series of brief and focused books that bring complex topics to readers in a user-friendly format. Jeff Jones, the CEO of Solution Tree, leads an organization whose mission is to advance the work of its authors. Every author can only hope for the sort of supportive and intellectually challenging environment that Solution Tree provides.
The reference section is woefully insufficient to acknowledge my debt to the authors on whose research and wisdom I depend. I must nevertheless single out for special appreciation Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Richard DuFour, Howard Gardner, John Hattie, and Grant Wiggins.
Although I am grateful for the people listed in the foregoing paragraphs, the inevitable errors and omissions are mine alone.
Douglas Reeves
Boston, Massachusetts
Visit go.solution-tree.com/technology to download the reproducibles in this book.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Why Creativity Is Vital
Chapter 2: Building a Creative Culture
Rigorous Decision-Making System
Culture That Nurtures Creativity
Leadership Team That Models and Supports Creativity
Creative Environment Rubric
Chapter 3: How Educators and Leaders Discourage Creativity
Practices That Undermine Creativity
Rarely Give Students Unfettered Rein
Offer Creative Work to Students as a Reward
Focus on Individual Rather Than Group Work
Use Brainstorming as the Best Way to Generate New Ideas
Demand That Student Work Is Right the First Time
Insist That Creative Work Is Immune From Evaluation and Criticism
Avoid Assessment of Creativity
Attitudes and Beliefs That Undermine Creativity
Creativity Is a Natural Talent or Gift
Real Creative Work Is Distinctly Original
Creativity Cannot Happen Without Inspiration
Left-Brain and Right-Brain Differences Heavily Influence Creativity
Creative Inspiration Is Like Lightning
Standards of Evidence
Personal Beliefs