creativityfluency Quickstart Guide

About This SeriesThese guides are designed by the Global Digital Citizen Foundation to help you gain a better understanding of the 21st Century Fluencies and how they work. They’ll aid you in your quest to discover how you can utilize, communicate, and facilitate the Fluencies within your classroom environments, and within the context of the required curriculum.

This volume covers Creativity Fluency. The tools it contains include:

• The skills developed by each stage of the Fluency and why they’re important

• The Fluency Snapshot Tool for this Fluency • 6 project-based learning scenarios to use in your

classes—primary, middle, and senior. (These scenarios can be adapted for all grades and subjects.)

We hope these handbooks will help you with the development of the Fluencies as you work to infuse them into your students' learning experiences.

This involves distinguishing the elements and the criteria of the desired outcome. It’s about figuring out what you need to create and what limitations or restrictions you face.

In this next stage, the adventure begins by stimulating your creativity with rich sensory input. This involves any action, encounter, or lively conversation that fires your imagination.

Interpolate means to find a structured pattern within known information. This is all about “connecting the dots” in the search for clear patterns and higher level abstractions within the sensory input.

This is the ultimate synthesis between the previous stages of Inspire and Interpolate. The unification of these stages results in the birth of your idea—your “Aha!” moment.

With our new creative idea now a reality, we ask ourselves questions about the effectiveness and feasibility of the new idea, and if it can be accomplished within an existing timeframe and budget.

creativityfluency

Creativity Fluency is the process by which artistic proficiency adds meaning through design, art, and storytelling. It is about using innovative design to add value to the function of a product though the form. The process of Creativity Fluency is defined by the 5Is.

Interpolate

Imagine

Inspect

Inspire

Identify

Understanding the problem Gives the problem the proper context Makes searching for data/information easier and more focused Eliminates the dangers of “flying blind” Leads to hearing unique perspectives from others

Identifying key words Helps you identify and verbalize the desired outcome You can better understand the purpose of your quest for an idea by using keywords Helps you narrow down your search for inspirational elements

Forming keyword questions Asking good questions promotes critical thinking and a deeper understanding of your creative wishes You discover surprising things about an idea you didn't know before It guides you in exploring the keywords for sources of inspiration

IDENTIFY SkillsThis involves distinguishing the elements and the criteria of the desired outcome. It’s about figuring out what you need to create and what limitations or restrictions you face.

Brainstorming and lateral thinking Brainstorming lets you examine your desired outcome from multiple angles and viewpoints Lateral thinking is an indirect and creative approach that helps you turn problems into opportunities Generating ideas and opinions is an important part of the creative process

Understanding ethical issues Develops thinking habits based on empathy and compassion Urges us to consider the far-reaching effects of a problem or issue Guides us towards creating solutions that are ethical in nature Lets us empathize with other professional, creative, or cultural viewpoints

Listening deeply, viewing wisely, and speaking critically These are habits of mind that develop exceptional communication skills Encourages consideration of an idea from various viewpoints, and guards against bias Leads to working towards creating something that benefits everyone Incorporates a broad understanding of human nature and behaviour

IDENTIFY SkillsThis involves distinguishing the elements and the criteria of the desired outcome. It’s about figuring out what you need to create and what limitations or restrictions you face.

Sharing personal knowledge and experience Lets you share expertise and experience that can be valuable to the success of your creative idea With this kind of sharing, everybody teaches and everybody learns Develops communication and a willingness to be open without fear of judgement or ridicule in a supportive environment Lets us empathize with other professional, creative, or cultural viewpoints

IDENTIFY SkillsThis involves distinguishing the elements and the criteria of the desired outcome. It’s about figuring out what you need to create and what limitations or restrictions you face.

Moving beyond what is known You invite in new experiences to enrich your mind Introduces you to new ideas, opinions, and perceptions Teaches you to never be afraid of what you don’t know You can discover hidden talents and abilities you didn’t know you had

Using familiar and unfamiliar sources You can learn new abilities in seeking inspiration that can aid you on other projects and challenges Having a list of familiar sources provides a sense of comfort, and allows you to prepare for the unfamiliar with confidence Broadens your awareness of new media and how it appeals to different people in different ways

Seeing new possibilities You begin to see more than one outcome and solution Helps you to see current outcomes from different perspectives As you discover more and more possible journeys, you become more invested in the process of solidifying your idea Conditions you to constantly strive for a vision and never give up

In this next stage, the adventure begins with stimulating your creativity through rich sensory input. This involves any action, encounter, or lively conversation that fires your imagination.

INSPIRE Skills

Playing with ideas Play and playfulness are at the very heart of creativity Encourages you to be as fearless with ideas as when you were a child Has a positive effect on the emotions and keeps the brain healthy Helps to form new neural connections Teaches you to be fearless and limitless with your creative process

Experimenting and imagining Imagining is an expression of our true inner desires and hopes for the intended outcome Experimenting with ideas and mediums is in tandem with creative play, which opens up new paths for learning and discovering Gives you a chance to predict both the successful and the potentially flawed outcomesIn this next stage, the adventure

begins with stimulating your creativity through rich sensory input. This involves any action, encounter, or lively conversation that fires your imagination.

INSPIRE Skills

Pattern recognition Allows us to predict what could happen next or what might be revealed next in a logical progression Trains you to use your senses and compare new experiences with previous ones to see how new experiences can be used Helps us to make decisions intelligently

Interpolate is all about finding structured patterns within known information. You “connect the dots” in a search for clear patterns and higher level abstractions within the sensory input.

INTERPOLATE Skills

Identifying connections/relationships Allows you to make connections to prior experiences and apply them to new ideas Recognizing connections in different concepts and ideas helps us determine what made them effective Helps to structure thought processes for gaining further inspiration and developing new ideas

Combining opposing concepts/elements Forms new ideas, experiences, and possibilities Engages critical thinking skills by putting together unrelated elements or concepts harmoniously Personal success is often fuelled by integrating opposing ideas for the purpose of forming new and better ones

Thinking laterally about existing knowledge Lateral thinking is an indirect and creative approach that helps you discover unique solutions and possibilities Trains you to see the familiar in a new way, which can spark creative ideas Frees you from limited thinking, and allows you to work in a mental space in which there is always a solution or answer

Interpolate is all about finding structured patterns within known information. You “connect the dots” in a search for clear patterns and higher level abstractions within the sensory input.

INTERPOLATE Skills

Forming mental images/sensations/concepts With this skill, you create with elements that are not perceived through your sight, hearing, or other senses Exercises your imagination and pushes your creative potential Encourages you to move beyond the restrictions of your senses while still drawing on your personal experiences with them

Giving meaning to experiences Involves recalling past experiences and articulating them in your creation Makes the idea or concept you’re working with personally valuable Lets you put both your heart and spirit into what you create as well as your mind Your enthusiasm for the creative process affects others in a positive way

Constructing with creative mediums Puts you in a “director’s chair” so you can create and synthesize your vision freely Allows you to work with different creative mediums (storytelling, art and graphical design, music, poetry, video, etc.) Shows you the creative results of your efforts, and helps you to develop a sense of accomplishment and responsibility

This is the ultimate synthesis between the previous stages of Inspire and Interpolate. Here, the unification of these past stages results in the birth of your idea— your “Aha!” moment.

IMAGINE Skills

Examining the product and the process Lets you recognize how your idea actually addresses the challenge Leads you to re-examine some of the steps you took to determine where you could have made better choices Gives you insight into the importance of the creative process, and also demonstrates how any creation starts with an idea

Comparing/contrasting with the original purpose Allows you to see if your idea answers the questions that led you to begin the creative process Gives rise to new concepts and ideas to apply to the same challenge or to other similar challenges Reminds you why the product and process are relevant and meaningful With our new creative idea now

a reality, we ask questions about the effectiveness and feasibility of the new idea, and if it can be accomplished within an existing timeframe and budget.

INSPECT Skills

Internalizing and applying the new idea Utilizing new learning is the only way to make it stick—the more you practice this process, the more unconscious or "fluent" it becomes Gives you a chance to see how the new idea can be applied to similar situations and circumstances Allows you to consider the time and budgetary implications of the idea

Re-examining/revising the idea Gives you a fresh look at how an idea could be improved or enhanced Shows that Creativity Fluency, like other fluencies, is a cyclical process Revising an idea lets you discover the limits of its potential and then to exceed them Gives birth to new creative ideas and concepts

With our new creative idea now a reality, we ask questions about the effectiveness and feasibility of the new idea, and if it can be accomplished within an existing timeframe and budget.

INSPECT Skills

This tool is designed to help you evaluate the level of proficiency that you or your students have with Creativity Fluency.

There are 10 statements for you to consider. As you move through the statements, chose a value you feel represents how well the individual or group has demonstrated that characteristic. Better still, have your students assess themselves and discuss the outcome.

You now have a baseline, and you can analyze the results to decide where focus and improvement may be needed.

Fluency Snapshot

PRIM

ARY

SCHO

OL

SCEN

ARIO

S Exploring the unknown is very exciting, and solving the problem becomes an incredible reward. Do you have what it takes to create a mystery? Let’s find out! Create a mystery story to train new detectives in solving crimes. Act out your tales using props for the new detectives in training (the rest of the class). Once the stories are created, challenge the rest of the observing “detectives” to solve them using clues, evidence, observations, and a detailed timeline summarizing the crime and its participants. Now the game is afoot!

Magic Mystery Essential Question: How can we use art and storytelling to help solve mysteries?

Subjects: Language Arts, Arts, Scientific Reasoning, Design

A heavy storm recently struck your city, and ravaged a prominent stained glass window in a landmark church. Rather than build a replica of the broken window, the church council has called for artists to submit design templates for a brand new window. You have a good design sense and a talent for creating geometric patterns. Why not try your hand at creating a design? Work in pairs or groups to create the most remarkable stained glass draft you can think of, using the tools of mathematics and fun research. Then present your design to the council and show them your amazing work! Create a light-infused work of art!

The Light Painters Essential Question: How can you combine your knowledge of math, art and design to help resolve a problem?

Subjects: Geography, Science, Language Arts, Technology

MID

DLE

SCHO

OL

SCEN

ARIO

SThe water cycle is food for the Earth and all its inhabitants, from the smallest organism to the largest mammal alive. If you had the chance, how would you both entertain and educate younger kids about this amazing process? Bring the magic of Earth’s water cycle to a younger audience. You get to explain how the water cycle works and why it’s important to life on our planet in a creative and engaging animated cartoon, comic storyboard, or original live skit designed for a children’s educational science program.

FUNderwater! Essential Question: How would you explain the stages of the water cycle using illustration and animation techniques?

Subjects: Science, Graphic Arts, Design, Environmental Studies, Language Arts

A successful designer is one who has an innate sense of style and a solid mathematical foundation. Could you succeed in the design industry? This is a great way to find out! Select a messy or uninspiring space to redesign, and build a scale model to display your vision. Plan the new design and build a diorama that displays the major lengths, widths, and heights of the space to scale. Then put your design mojo to work! You can create a video or slideshow that captures the design process along with “before” shots of the chosen space and “after” shots of your scale model. Design your perfect space!

Design Star Essential Question: How can interior designers use math to bring their visions to life?

Subjects: Math, Language Arts, Design, Art, Technology

SENI

OR

SCHO

OL

SCEN

ARIO

SDocumentaries demonstrate an intimate knowledge about a particular subject, something that the creator cares very deeply about. Think about the documentaries you’ve seen on TV that you really enjoyed. What about them gave you that “WOW!” reaction? Working in groups, pick a topic of interest to yourselves and create a full-fledged documentary on this amazing subject. Demonstrate your expertise about the steps involved in research and production, and get to know more about how documentaries are designed to be both informative and compelling!

Mock Doc Essential Question: What goes on behind the scenes when making a documentary about an important topic?

Subjects: Language Arts, Design, Media, Technology, Filmmaking

There is always something that we are not comfortable talking about. How would you express yourself and get people to listen using more than just normal speech? Are you a singer/songwriter? Are you a dancer? An artist or a poet? Time to let it shine! Draw on special talents and abilities you have (and that others may not know about) to express yourself about an issue that concerns you. Use something more than just simple words to bring your ideas and feelings out into the most powerful and creative means of self-expression. Let yourself be heard without fear.

Break the Silence Essential Question: How can we express ourselves about important issues in ways other than simply verbalizing them?

Subjects: Language Arts, Design, Theatre, Dance, Visual Arts, Self-Expression

You know about Solution Fluency, and you’re ready to continue making meaningful change at the classroom level. Now it’s time for you to take your understanding of the 21st Century Fluencies to new heights.

The 21st Century Fluencies Institute These dynamic sessions engage lateral thinking and foster creativity. We begin with an in-depth look at the 21st Century Fluencies, and move on to scenario development. We’ll spend time working in teams connecting the standards to relevant real-world events and situations. And the learning doesn’t stop there.

You’ll retain access to our webinars, online resources, and have exclusive opportunities for further training. Contact us today and book a 21st Century Fluency Institute, and usher in some true professional transformation!

Please feel free to print or distribute this publication electronically as long as you do not modify it in any way or charge for it.

Move from professional developmentinto professional transformation.

globaldigitalcitizen.org

globaldigitalcitizen.org

Meet your new best friend in the classroom. The Solution Fluency Activity Planner is an exciting collaborative tool for creating and exploring lesson plans that engage, inspire, and enable today’s modern students.  

• Access thousands of inquiry and PBL units • Create your own custom lesson plans • Align with your curricular standards • Collaborate with a global network of educators

Start Planning for Free!