Final Glossary

Creativity is finding new ways to fail and, in that failure, being inspired to continue.

Creativity is taking a risk in trying something new or developing something novel – whether it’s something that influences a major change or some small everyday adjustment (Starko, 2015). Being creative allows us to better understand the past as we work to change the future. In working to build and create, there is an inherent component of failure and risk taking. Creative thinking requires the acceptance of failure in order to be successful (Mueller et al., 2012)

Accounting for failure in the creative thinking process dismantles barriers and expectations. It allows learners to explore without inhibitions or worries. Understanding that, in order to be successful, one must understand how to fail and learn from that failure, builds a capacity for flexibility and adaptability. Thus, it further supports that creativity enhances flexible thinking. 

Adding failure as a necessary part of creativity, along with markers of creativity such as “purposeful, unique and significant” ( Gini Newman, G. & Case, R. 2015 p. 51) only further enhances the fact that creativity, ultimately, “involves effort to make something work, to make something better, more meaningful, or more beautiful.” (Starko 2015 p. 13).

Simply put, understanding that when you strive to create, it may not work, so you try and try again with new ideas, new perspectives and new techniques until you have created something that does work. Failure, and more critically the acceptance of failure, builds motivation and inspiration. It empowers creativity.

Reflection:

To be frank, as I have taken a several courses on creativity within the context of education, this definition is borne out of three terms of discourse on creativity. My definition remains the same, and if not, now, further bolstered by taking this course.  In particular, as we consider the importance of the learning environments we are called upon to facilitate- that is, an environment steeped in novel approaches to teaching and layering in reality or real world concerns, building creativity really means building a safe space to fail.

Innovation is renovation

The intention behind renovations is to improve upon an existing skeleton, to modernize, enhance, alter, and/or bolster. Renovations take time, thoughtful planning and often, coordinated efforts between skills and understanding.

Innovation embodies the same intentions as renovation. Innovation requires commitment and resilience to create enhanced and improved products, services, and/or experiences (Mueller et al., 2012) . While, innovation is relatively low risk, generative, and expands upon existing framework, it can still generate an everlasting impact.

Innovation allows us to mold and merge creative and critical thinking skills and energy into a practical and applied process. It requires dedication, thorough and systematic approaches, and assessment to ensure what’s being improved upon meets thresholds and expectations. (Chandra et al., 2021)

Reflection:

Again, I stand by my original definition – Innovation is renovation. A fellow classmate had asked if innovation be reached through trial and error, and if so, then does this not go against the renovation metaphor – and I say it doesn’t, for, who has ever experienced a renovation that went perfectly right the very first time?

Often a renovation requires critical thinking, flexibility and problem solving, despite the thoughtful planning- something inevitably arises that requires a new approach. Being able to be adaptive is the outcome of blending nonformal and formal learning, something highlighted in Unbound Learning Venues and Work Design Conducive to Learning in the Digitalized World of Work by Thomas Schröder and Peter Dehnbostel

Renovation, like innovation, requires trial and error, it requires creativity and the application of layered knowledge and experiential understanding.

Learning is change in action.  

New Definition: Learning is embodied change in action.

Learning is the act of being open to novel observations, skills, perspectives and attitudes. Importantly, learning is being willing to synthesize the aforementioned and produce a new understanding and even dissent, if needed.

Learning is active – it requires motivation, engagement, and action from the learner. (Sirney, 2019). Importantly, learning is embodied, it is not only the mind that learns but the body along with it. “Cognition is embodied […] you think with your body, not only with your brain” (Taylor & Marienau, 2016, p. 72).

Therefore, the act of learning inherently incites full body change.  It demands a change in the learner. The act of learning goes from non-knowledge to knowledge; from ignorance to understanding; from problem to solution (Harel & Koichu, 2010).  While the processes and products of learning is varied, the active state of learning remains constant across the variety of disciplines, approaches and motivations: no matter what you are learning, you will have changed in that process.

Reflection:

Learning how the adult brain considers and synthesizes new information changed my approach to learning. Learning isn’t just the synthesization of data for your brain to remember, but rather skills are built in your body as much as they are built in your mind. If learning is active, it is active in all ways learners are active – they are present with their whole bodies and not just their mind. In this way, learning is both more universal and more unique – it is considering every person’s unique background while building more universal learning strategies that allow anyone to integrate learning.

Teaching is cultivating space for learning.

New Definition: Teaching is building community.

Aside from providing a space for learning and skill development and the deepening of understanding, ultimately, teaching is building a community.  It is recognizing the complex and ever moving “Theatre of Knowing” (Taylor & Marienau, 2016, p. 79). which exists both in the learning space and in the real world. It is building a community of learners who come together and integrate learning in meaningful ways to the world around them.

Dismantling the traditional and static Western lens of teaching, which was seen as a “behavior with the intent to facilitate learning in another” (Eshchar & Fragaszy, 2015, p. 2). This perspective is authoritative and singular. It builds power in inappropriate ways.

The view that teaching is simply a behaviour does not account for all the factors required in facilitating teaching – the physical space, the social contract and a mutual understanding of why everyone is in the space, interpersonal relationships, the cultural and community implications, the various approaches, techniques, strategies and skills, and a strong current knowledge of what is being taught.

Limiting the concept of teaching to a traditional Western classroom, limits the ability of understanding where and when and how teaching can take place. Teaching is less so a set of prescribed behaviours but rather, it is building a community in which many approaches to teaching, learning and communication are layered to build understanding, new skills and community-based problem solving.

Reflection:

Through the exploration of innovative teaching and learning strategies, focusing on adult learners, and the understanding that teaching really lives within a more philosophical context, I’ve come to realize that my goal as a teacher/educator is not to just provide a learning environment that encourages community but rather to build a community itself.

Teaching itself cannot be a neutral clinical act, but rather it is a continual effort of community and sharing.

The Moon above Earth as seen from the International Space Station.

References

Barron, A. B., Hebets, E. A., Cleland, T. A., Fitzpatrick, C. L., Hauber, M. E., & Stevens, J. R. (2015). Embracing multiple definitions of learning. Trends in Neurosciences, 38(7), 405-407. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2015.04.008

Bourn, D. (2021). Pedagogy of hope: global learning and the future of education [Article]. International Journal of Development Education & Global Learning, 13(2), 65-78. https://doi.org/10.14324/IJDEGL.13.2.01

Chandra, P., Tomitsch, M., & Large, M. (2021). Innovation education programs: a review of definitions, pedagogy, frameworks and evaluation measures [Innovation education programs: a review]. European Journal of Innovation Management, 24(4), 1268-1291.

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-02-2020-0043

Eshchar, Y., & Fragaszy, D. (2015). What is teaching? A clear, integrative, operational definition for teaching is still needed. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 38, e39, Article e39. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X14000661

Estabrooks, L. B., & Couch, S. R. (2018). Failure as an active agent in the development of creative and inventive mindsets. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 30, 103–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2018.02.015

Gini Newman, G. & Case, R. (2015). “Critical, creative, and collaborative dimensions of thinking, pp. 45-60, Creating Thinking Classrooms: Leading Educational Change for a 21st Century World. Vancouver, BC: The Critical Thinking Consortium.

Harel, G., & Koichu, B. (2010). An operational definition of learning. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 29(3), 115-124. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmathb.2010.06.002

Mueller, J. S., Melwani, S., & Goncalo, J. A. (2012). The Bias Against Creativity: Why People Desire but Reject Creative Ideas. Psychological Science, 23(1), 13-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611421018

Sirney, C. (2019). What is Learning? Berkeley Extension. https://voices.berkeley.edu/instructors/what-learning

Taylor, K., & Marienau, C. (2016). Facilitating learning with the adult brain in mind : a conceptual and practical guide (First ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Warner, C. K. (2016, 2016 Spring-Summer). Contested definitions of excellent teaching: an analysis of the discourse of quality. Journal of Thought, 50(1-2), 20+. https://link-gale-com.proxy.queensu.ca/apps/doc/A459985359/AONE?u=queensulaw&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=e9e24d32