creativity presentation 2013

The Journalism Lab:Brewing Creative Minds

Sheila Jones, CJEFor

JEA National ConventionSan Francisco, CA

April 2013

CREATIVITY Suddenly, creativity is …

BIG finally

Why should we care?In a 1968 study. George Land gave 1,600five-year-olds NASA’s creativity test used to select innovative scientists and engineers.

The results:Among the 5-year-olds: 98 percentRetested at 10-yrs-old: 30 percentRetested at 15-yrs-old: 12 percentSame test to 280,000 adults: 2 percent

Conclusion:Non-creative behavior is learned.

Linda Naiman, “Orchestrating Collaboration at Work,” creativityatwork.com

[Image: Taylorswiftquotes.net]

Is creativity music? Lyrics? Poetry? Art? Dance? What about science? Math?

Colorado students display creativity in real science solutions

Students in Creative Engineering at Skyline High School in Longmont, CO, go beyond hypothetical problems to work on an adaptive technology project to aida local 10-year-old girl with a debilitativejoint condition.

The Denver Post

Intel Corporation

Sara Volz, a Colorado Springs senior atCheyenne Mountain High School won $100,000 in the 2013 Intel Science TalentSearch. Her project involves increasingThe oil content of algae to create aneconomical source of biofuel.

#1 - What makes creativity work? Myths vs. Reality

#2 – Because journalism creates opportunities for

creativity to occur, we can de-‘myth’-ify it in the

journalism lab.

1st

Some background

The business world values creativity

Creativity is at the foundation of innovation and is vital for our country’s growth and development. Creativity fuels all areas of our country’s economy and prosperity.

Stephan TurnipseedPresident, LEGO Education

August Turak, wrote in Forbes’ magazine that IBM’s success depended on teaching its executive leaders to think creatively….

In business we all know we must do a better job at “getting outside the box” but very few of us do anything about it….We don’t learn to be creative. We must become creative people.

Society wants more than just the practical.

They want the aesthetic as well.Beauty. Art. Emotion. Luxury.

So says Apple: “Fashion meets Function.”

orDesigner Michael Kors

$80

+[Images: Apple.com, MichaeKors.com, hardwaresphere.com]

Voices are emerging…. Sir Ken RobinsonOut of Our Minds:Learning to be Creative

Daniel PinkA Whole New Mind:How Right-brainers will Rule the World

Jonah LehrerImagine:How Creativity Works

Images: SirKenRobinson.com, DanielPink.com, JonahLehrer.com, Amazon.com

Donald J. Treffinger, Ph.D.with Patricia Schoonover and Edwin SelbyEducating for Creativity & Innovation.

But in the classroom?

Teach to theTest

ACTSAT

State Assessments

Mercedes Benz ad that plays with Daniel Pink’s idea of training the “whole mind” .

Tony WagnerHarvard Graduate School of Education

Identified 21st Century Learning Skills

[Image: TonyWagner.com]

A Difference in Opinion

Add together…Journalism lab = Creativity Lab

Yet nurturing the creative culture

involves some myth-busting

Myth: Creativity can’t be controlled.It’s “magical, mysterious, mystical.”

Reality:Creativity can be managed using tools and processes.

Preparation• Research• Curiosity• Focusing

the problem

Incubation• Let ideas stew

• 90% of good work is good

thinking

Insight• The “Aha!”

moment• Inspiration

occurs

Evaluation• Judging quality

• Deciding whether to

continue

Elaboration• Translating thoughts into

actions or product

Creativity is a process that can be managed—creative problem solving.

Creativity is Persistence in Process

Not just finding the answers,but figuring out the right questions

The Kipling Method5W’s and 1 H

Who?What?Where?When?Why?How?

Prepare Incubate Insight Evaluate Elaborate

Myth: Creativity erupts spontaneously

Reality:Sometimes it does. More frequently it evolves from a synthesis of experiences – what Pink calls “symphony,” as illustrated with the next few concepts.

Creativity is Conceptual BlendingThe overlap between two seemingly unrelated ideas. Creativity invokes expertise in one field to create something in a new field.

The Wright Brothers’ bicycle expertise became the foundation for the byplane.

Johannes Gutenberg’s expertise with…

Winepress Printing Press

Journalism Application?

Another way to look at this concept is

METAPHOR

SYMBOLISMand/or

Creativity is also problem-solving

• Daydreaming3M EngineerArthur Fry

3M gives engineers 15% oftheir time to daydream. They call it bootlegging time.

Google, long considered oneof the most creative companies does the same.They call it innovation time.

• Triggering Which would you rather take?a. True or false testb. Multiple choice testc. Short answer testd. Essay test

Creating a clip file

Sources for clip files:• Magazines• Newspapers• NewsPageDesigner.org • Newseum.org/todaysfrontpages• Pinterest

• Priming A phenomenon that occurs when the activation of one word or image allows a person to react more quickly to related words or images—power of suggestion.

Journalism apps for priming

Pull color out of a photo and carry it through the page. It not only can inspire your design, but guide your reader as well.

Repeat shapes andimages

After generating ideas, focusing ideas into a plan

Focus Sheets• Finding your focus • Putting thoughts into action

Focus sheet availableunder “Journalism” on jonesclassesonline.weebly.com

Myth: Creativity is easy, quick, and error-free

Reality:It is perfectly OK to fail. Growth emerges from failure and the experience of failure. The trick is to fail, but fail better each time. This is where persistence kicks in.

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. – Alfred Einstein

FirstAttemptInLearning

Myth: Creativity is a solitary effort

Reality:The Power of Q is significant. “Q” is group creativity. “When the right mixture of people come together and when they collaborate in the right way, what happens can often feel like magic.” – Jonah Lehrer, Imagine

Collaboration

Low QFew connections

Strangers

High QMany connections

Close friends, family

Medium QMix of strangers +

close Friends

Sweet Spot⏏

Based on study of Brian Uzzi,, Northwestern

University. From Imagine by Jonah Lehrer, p. 143.

“People have a tendency to want to only work with their friends. It feels so much more comfortable. But that’s exactly the wrong thing to do. If you really want to make something great then you’re going to need to seek out some new people too.” – Brian Uzzi, Northwestern University

Imitate Pixar: Arrange lab for collaboration. Run into each other.Have lunch meetings. Play games. Celebrate. Alienus Non Diutius.

Imitate Pixar: Critique and DebateStudies and business practices show that debate and criticism do not inhibit ideas, but stimulate them.

Friday Slideshows: Friday before publication week.

“If we don’t fix something that can be fixed, it’s everybody’s fault.” – Lee Unkrich, Pixar director

Plussing: Each criticism should include a +. Focus not on the mistake, but on how to fix it.

“We just want to screw up as quickly as possible. We want to fail fast. And then we want to fix it. Together.”

– Lee Unkrich, Pixar director

So, what does this all mean?

Preparation• Research• Curiosity• Focusing

the problem

Incubation• Let ideas stew

• 90% of good work is good

thinking

Insight• The “Aha!”

moment• Inspiration

occurs

Evaluation• Judging quality

• Deciding whether to

continue

Elaboration• Translating thoughts into

actions or product

#1: You’re more likely to be creative if you go through all the steps of a agreed upon process.

Tony WagnerHarvard Graduate School of Education[Image: TonyWagner.com]

Each of these occursin the journalism lab.

#2: Creativity is the sumof the 21st Century Skills

#3: To increase creativity, engage both left brain and right brain.

Curiosity &Imagination

Creativity

Problem Solving Adaptability

Collaboration

Initiative

Access &Analyze

Information

Journalism Creativity: Putting it all togetherfor the 21st Century

References“Creative Tools.” n.d. Web. http://Creatingminds.org

Lehrer, Jonah. Imagine: How Creativity Works. New York, Houghton-Mifflin. 2012. Print.

Naiman, Linda. “How do you unwrap creativity?” The Creativity at Work Blog. 3 March, 2012. Web. <www.creativityatwork.com/wpcaw/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/3-components-of-creativity>.

Pink, Daniel. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future. New York, Riverhead. 2006. Print.

Treffinger, Donald, Patricia Schoonover, and Edwin Selby. Educating for Creativity and Innovation. Waco, Texas, Prufrock Press. 2013. Print.

Turak, August. “Can Creativity Be Taught?” Forbes 22/5/2011.Web. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/augustturak/2011/05/22/can-creativity-be-taught/>.

Wagner, Tony. The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need--and What We Can Do About It. New York, Basic Books. 2008. Print.

“What does Creativity Mean to You, Your Boss, Your Clients? Creativity Land. 2010. Web. <http://www.creativityland.ca/2010/what-does-creativity-mean-to-you-your-boss-your-clients/>.

The Journalism Lab:The Creativity Lab

Sheila Jonestosheilajones@msn.com