701 - 11/15 Post

 1.       Key ideas you noted from the C-Content speakers. 
 
John Seely Brown - A new culture of learning
·       Change is happening at an exponential rate and is accelerated by hyper-connectivity and closeness to cross-referenced data.
·       This level of hyper-connectivity and data availability warrants systemic thinking and structures shaped not only by skills; but by mindset
Howard Gardner - Five Minds for the Future
·       Recognition of the non-static nature of learning
·       Disciplinary, Synthesizing, Creating, Respectful, Ethical
·       Focus is on the utility of information, i.e., what you do with it and how you manipulate it, all while recognizing situational context, the unknown, and role within society
Sir Ken Robinson - Do Schools Kill Creativity?
·       Teaching and embracing how to be wrong
·       Intelligence is diverse, dynamic (out of many, one) and distinct (unique)
Dan Pink – The Surprising Science of Motivation
·       Cannot incentive performance with money
·       Mismatch between science knows and business does
·       Intrinsic motivation increases autonomy, mastery, and purpose
·       Move beyond carrots and sticks
 
2.       Then consider the list you created from the context of your classroom and your teaching practice. 
 
a.       What are your insights from this analysis?  Cannot necessarily claim they are insights as I am not generating anything novel. That said, it is hard to argue that our antiquated belief and value attributed to learning’s quantity is being bested by learning’s quality. Human’s value is no longer a story-telling repository, but rather a responsible synthesizer who considers that which a machine cannot, e.g., emotion, social values, ethics, etc.
b.       Are there common threads in your perceptions? Mindset rules! Although all the rave, growth mindset makes sense as new generations look to either buck the system that stifled their creativity through box checking exercises or the lure of a utopian promise land, or expand an educational experience that mobilized their senses through rich engagement.
c.       How do your findings fit in with the other topics in this class:  21st century teaching & learning, equity of opportunity for students, the brain, problem-based learning, etc.? It fits perfectly as it recognizes the non-innate potential within all students and our need to engage students in a manner that is genuine and meaningful.
 
3.       As an instructional leader, how might you apply Mobley's 6 insights to help your students (or your colleagues) to think creatively?
 
Outside of it being just pure genius, it is drastically liberating and intriguing to think what schools could be like if such insights were acted upon. The insights that resonate with me most are the self-knowledge and permission to be wrong. I know of no person who appreciates a hypocrite; nor can I think of trait more humbling and noble than the admission of being wrong.
1.       asking radically different questions in a non-linear way is the key to creativity
2.       becoming creative is an unlearning rather than a learning process
3.       we don’t learn to be creative, we must become creative people
4.       the fastest way to become creative is to hang around with creative people –regardless of how stupid they make us feel
5.       creativity is highly correlated with self-knowledge
6.       permission to be wrong