Mirah J. Dow

Cultivating Creativity and Imagination in Children and Youth: Librarians’ Effective Use of First Principles of Instruction

A conversation while looking through a with wit with polished edges. . . . . .

useful to your job

We will talk about cultivating creativity.

What do we know about children and youth in today’s schools?

Creativity?

Cultivating creativity through first principles of instruction and authentic engagement: EXAMPLE QUESTIONS BY YOUTH

Look out for “blind” spots

Upcoming annual event at Emporia State University - You’re Invited!

t o d a y ‘ s s t u d e n t s

• Many students have electronic devices. All students need sophisticated skills for using devices in academic work (problem-solving).

• Communication styles and skills have changed. There are huge gaps to fill.

• When teaching and learning is meaningful to students, students have more motivation and positive energy for doing assignments and projects. Students want to ask and answer their own questions.

• Students needs skills for learning in a group (ideally small groups). Teachers and librarians cannot teach one student at a time

• Students have no time to waste. There are many challenges facing them - - in their personal lives and world.

major challenges facing society

prevention and treatment of illness and disease

maintaining clean food and water

sufficient energy

global environmental change

need for civil discourse and ethical decision-making

~~~~~~~

Today’s children and youth are likely to face these problems throughout their lifetime.

Creativity is relevant to making moral and ethical decisions.

creativity imagination

What does research tell us?

America needs information and technology literate and involved citizens.

imag·i·na·tion is related to images

First imagination, then comes creativity . . . . .

Images are related to what psychologists and brain scientists refer to as the brain’s “mental workspace,” a neutral network that coordinates activity across several regions in the brain and consciously manipulates symbols, images, ideas, and theories.

Tse, Peter U., et al. 2005.

cre·a·tiv·i·ty is imagination applied

Imagination, creativity, and innovation exist along a continuum (Liu and Noppe-Brandon, 2009).

“If imagination is the capacity to conceive of what is not, then creativity, in turn is imagination applied: doing something, or making something with the initial conception” (p. 21).

for children and youth to be successful . . . .

“Librarians must lead the way to improving school environments using effective, theory-based design of problem-based instruction that includes acquisition of knowledge and information literacy skills” (p. 8).

We must participate in inquiry to answer students’ questions.

Dow, M. J. (Ed.). (2013). School libraries matter: Views

from the research. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, p.8.

Kansas Summer Institute for School Librarians

theory base:First Principles of Instruction (Merrill, 2007, p. 63)

Learning is promoted when• learners are engaged in solving real-world problems.

• existing knowledge is activated as a new foundation of knowledge.

• new knowledge is demonstrated to the learner.

• knowledge is applied by the learner.

• new knowledge is integrated into the learner’s world.

Four-phase Cycle of Instruction (Merrill, 2007, p. 63)

Activation of relevant prior knowledge

Demonstration of new knowledge to be learned

Application of the new knowledge to specific situations

Integration of new knowledge and skills into students’ daily activities

INFOGRAMFirst Principles of

Instruction used by teachers and school

library media specialists

Dow, M. J., (2013). Effective use of first principles of instruction. School Library Monthly,29(8), 8-10.

Please feel free to share and use this model.

Who should work together?

Librarian

AND

Music TeacherArt TeacherReading TeacherMath TeacherScience TeacherSocial Science TeachersOthers

theory base:

authentic engagement leads to creativity

• Student motivation – the degree to which a student wants to learn - - is an important consideration for educators (Pascarella and Terenzini, 1991; Barkley, 2010; Deci et al., 2010).

• The best way to motivate people is to support their autonomy (Deci and Flaste, 1995).

• Autonomous motivation is “the inner endorsement of one’s actions, and it reflects the desire to have one’s interest and preferences determine one’s actions” (Reeve, 2006).

• An effective way to increase student motivation is to allow students to be self-determining in the classroom. Educators can facilitate authenticity by allowing students to develop research questions that interest them (Kilipfel, 2014).

When students identify real-world problems, what are they likely to say? EXAMPLE QUESTIONS- 1

Early Education – Lower Elementary

What does “frozen” mean in real life?

Are all families like mine?

Upper Elementary

When I try to fly a paper plane, it crashes. Why?

When I play outside in the cold, my body heats up and causes me to sweat. My clothes stick to me. Wet clothes keep me cold.

When students identify real-world problems, what are they likely to say? EXAMPLE QUESTIONS - 2

Middle School

My brother has a disability. He does not like to eat. He is unhappy and cries a lot. I wonder if he cries because he is hungry?

Grass does not grow well under tree limbs. This hurts my summer lawn-mowing job.

When students identify real-world problems, what are they likely to say? EXAMPLE QUESTIONS - 4

Middle School

About 120 amphibian species, including frogs, have disappeared since 1980 (the year my parents were born). What could happen without frogs in the food chain?

Sometimes I see raw meat on the grocery store shelves that is past the sell-by date and offered for a reduced price. Is this safe to eat?

When students identify real-world problems, what are they likely to say? EXAMPLE QUESTIONS - 3

Middle School

My grandmother served us cookies made with colored cereal. I broke out in a red rash. She gave me Benadryl®. Is that safe?

My family does lots of laundry. It is expensive to wash clothes. I wonder if cold water detergent would clean the clothes and reduce the cost of soap and use of gas to heat the water?

When students identify real-world problems, what are they likely to say? EXAMPLE QUESTIONS - 5

High School

We have a car, but gasoline is too expensive to purchase. What are best and worst cars when it comes to fuel efficiency?

When I grow up, how will I be able to afford a place to live? What is sustainable and affordable housing?

What impact do humans have on the earth’s climate?

Why the angry divide between Washington D. C. lawmakers?

student work examples (6)

Children and youth learn more when answering their own questions.

All Grade Levels │ All Ability Levels │ All Content Areas

School libraries are academic libraries. Public libraries are for all people.

Humanities, study of human culture

MusicChildren Learn More When Learning Answers Their Own Questions• What is “blues”?• What’s that sound I hear in the

song?

Guy Davis (musician, composer, actor, director, and writer) helped children set their song ideas to music and to write poetry based on the style of blues music lyrics. Set children’s words to music.

Children write poetry. Research and Inquiry.

Humanities, study of human culture

LanguageChildren Learn More When Answering Their Own Questions• Are all families like mine?• What is a younger sister?• What is "Do-Re-Mi“?• What is “frozen”? • What is “controlled”?Using music and motions, children learn language skills by assigning the notes of a scale to a particular syllable.

Children memorize faster using their fine and gross motor in correlation to other tasks such as singing. Organized use of fine and gross motor skills helps children stay on task. Research and Inquiry.

Read and Discuss. Listen and View. Sing with Action.

Humanities, study of human culture

Painting

Children Learn More When Answering Their Own Questions• Are you a real person or painted from an artist's imagination?• Was your dress made for you?

Teach using books, painting, and note taking materials. Teach that artwork is more than a picture.

Play a question game. Each child asks one question; then, repeat until each child has asked three questions.

Research and Inquiry.What do you see?

Does this make you happy or sad?

Natural Science and Mathematics research and inquiry

CONSUMMER SCIENCE, experiment

Three coldwater detergents were selected for this investigation because they were 1) referenced in existing studies; 2) three different prices, and 3) available in the local region.

The research question for this study 6th grade experimental study is:

Does higher priced cold water detergent clean clothes better than lower priced cold water detergents?

Research on the Go!

http://researchonthego.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=1

6th Grade Question: How

much hot water does it take to wash dirty clothes for a family

each week?

Incorporated English Language Arts, Science, Mathematics,

Research and Inquiry

Pro

du

ctSc

ore

s

Time Spent

FIGURE 1.Product Comparison

7th Grade Question:Is over-the-counter Benadryl® a dangerous drug? I took it when I had hives after I ate

cookies made from colored cereal.

ZOOLOGY BIOLOGY MATHEMATICS RESEARCH & INQUIRY

blind spots

Allowing students to ask their own questions frightens me.

How can educators make time for this kind of instruction?

How will librarians and teachers work together to share responsibilities for best use of first principles of instruction and authentic engagement?

How can we allow students to be creative when they must be preparing for standardized tests?

Your invitation to the 20th annual Institute

2015 Kansas Summer Institute for School LibrariansEmporia State University

June 10-11 9:00 AM until 4:30 PM

Conference Theme: Transforming School Library Services to Children and Youthhttp://www.emporia.edu/slim/programs/schoollibrarymedialicensure.html

Registration form: http://www.emporia.edu/slim/documents/forms/2015-ksi-registration-form.pdf

Questions? Contact Mirah Dow mdow@emporia.edu

Kansas http://www.imls.gov/news/2015_lb21_nlg_march_announcement.aspx

Emporia State University - Emporia, KSGrant Program: Librarians for the 21st CenturyCategory: Research in Early Careers DevelopmentAward Amount: $496,277; Matching Amount: $135,005

Contact: Dr. Mirah Dow(620)341-5734; mdow@emporia.edu

The Emporia State University School of Library and Information Management is collaborating with other ESU leadership departments including the Department of Physical Sciences, The Teachers College, and Information Technology to broaden library and information science education through formal integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) into the Master of Library Science curriculum. The project involves co-teaching between school librarians and classroom science teachers. ESU will create a new certificate, the Information, Technology, and Scientific Literacy Certificate; new interdisciplinary curriculum; and new learning opportunities for a total of 50 undergraduate and graduate college students.

references

Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSS), 2010.

Deci, E. L., & Flaste, R. (1995). Why we do what we do: Understanding self-motivation. New York, NY: Penguin.

Deci, E. L., Jang, H., & Reeves, J. Engaging students in learning activities: It is not autonomy support or structure but autonomy support and structure. Journal ofEducational Psychology, 102 (3), 588-600.

Dow, M. J. (2014). Creating a STEM-literate society. Knowledge Quest, 42(5), 14-18.

Dow, M. J. (Ed.). (2013). School libraries matter: Views from the research. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Dow, M. J., (2013). Effective use of first principles of instruction. School Library Monthly, 29(8), 8-10.

Klipfel, K. M. (2014). Authentic engagement. Reference Services review, 42(2), 229-245.

Liu, E., & Noppe-Brandon, S. (2009). Imagination First: Unlocking the power of possibility. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Merrill, M. D. (2007). First principles of instruction: A synthesis. In Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology. 2nd ed. by R. A. Reiser and J. V. Dempsey. Person Education.

Reeve, J. Teachers as facilitators: What autonomy-supportive teachers do and why their students benefit, The Elementary School Journal, 106(3), 225-236.

Tse, Peter U., et al. 2005. Visibility, Visual Awareness, and Visual Masking of Simple Unattended Targets Are Confined to Areas in the Occipital Cortex Beyond HumaV1/V2. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102 (47): 17178–83.

2015 Oregon Library Conference

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