I have always believed that the scientific process–-generating questions, making observations, proposing solutions, and drawing conclusions–-is a creative process. To me, these scientific processes and creativity require the same skills–-the ability to use new information to generate ideas and alternatives and make connections in order to solve problems and answer questions. Over time (I have been a science teacher for many years), I became increasingly frustrated that students seemed to lack these skills, unable to come up with more than one or two observations about a science topic that had the potential to generate dozens of scientific research questions. So I decided to ask them a question: If creativity is the ability to generate new ideas, on a scale of 1-5, where 1 is low creativity and 5 is high creativity, how creative are you? Less than 20 percent of my students responded with a 3 or better. It was eye-opening, and I wasn’t sure why so many students seemed to lack what I believed was a fundamental scientific skill. I finally surmised that the issue for my students wasn’t a lack of creativity, but in their inability to access and practice the creative response. I wondered if there was a way to use the diverse nature of educational technology applications to help students (and teachers) reach their potential as creative thinkers.
And so it begins. How can my wonder become something useful for educators? The challenge lies in analyzing the characteristics of digital tools to determine their usefulness in terms of generating creative processes and positive learning outcomes. Analyzing their usefulness requires thought about how to leverage the nature of the digital application itself. Online digital tools and resources are inherently multimodal; that is, they use a variety of methods for sharing information with students–-visual information, written and spoken words, maps, animations, interactive processes, sounds and even music. When choosing the right tool or resource to use in the classroom, teachers need to be thinking in terms of integrating these specific attributes of the chosen technology in a way that makes it possible for students to generate new ideas and solve problems, rather than using technology simply because it is available. Models for integrating technology in the classroom are out there–-SAMR, TIM, PICRAT. What is missing from these models is consideration of how the multimodal nature of digital tools and resources can and should influence how the technology is integrated into the curriculum in order to increase creative responses and improve student outcomes.
Intentionality is the key. That is, choosing ways to deliver content should not be haphazard, but should be based on purposeful consideration of how delivery methods can positively impact student learning. Most districts now provide every student with a digital device, and are ramping up access to online applications for learning, including learning management systems, content platforms, and platforms for creating digital products. However, with increased access to digital tools and applications comes the need for structure in how to use them effectively. My intention is to design a system that streamlines the planning process to help teachers integrate specific attributes of technology into their coursework in a purposeful way to ensure that students generate creative responses to achieve specific goals.
Educators today are constantly faced with finding ways to navigate remote learning and engage students who have been disaffected with learning by the intrusion of a socially-isolating pandemic and a sudden immersion into remote education, while at the same time ensuring that those same students are accountable for being present and learning what they are supposed to learn. My hope is that, through research, I can develop a method to help instructors at all levels to tackle these challenges with confidence and successfully develop online learning experiences for their students that result in creative responses and positive student outcomes.
I start a new job in a new district next week. Our first professional development activities will involve working with an initiative promoted by the Michigan Department of Education to write and assess student learning outcomes, a process every educator has been required to learn as part of their teacher training process, but also a process that tends to get lost amidst the plethora of responsibilities in a teacher's day. While I completely agree that the process is important, especially in light of knowledge and skills gaps that students today are experiencing, I also know that the topic will bring about great eye rolling from the teacher audience. So here's my next wonder: How can I move assessment of student learning outcomes from data collection to creative inspiration?
So, onward and upward!