Welcome to Seminar: Activity Portfolio Ideas are like seeds, apparently insignificant when first held in the hand. Once firmly planted, they can grow and flower into almost anything at all, a cornstalk, or a giant redwood, or a flight across the ocean. Whatever a man imagines, he can achieve. --Charles Lindbergh It will be helpful to have your course books nearby. Feel free to chat with each other. We will begin class at 9:00PM ET!

Agenda Questions Final Project Integrating Creativity into the Curriculum Wrap up

Questions?

Final Project How is your Final Project coming along? Any ideas you want to share?

Integrating Creativity into the Curriculum Loris Malaguzzi who founded and directed the Reggio Emilia municipal early childhood programs believed that creativity should be a characteristic of our way of thinking, knowing and making choices. – It should emanate from many different experiences, in conjunction with a well- supported progression of personal resources that includes a sense of freedom to risk making a mistake or stepping off into the unknown.

Integrating Creativity into the Curriculum Loris Malaguzzi believes that creativity expresses itself by… “Creativity seems to express itself through cognitive, affective and imaginative processes. These come together and support the skills for predicting and arriving at unexpected solutions.” The most favorable situation for creativity seems to be inter- personal exchange, with negotiation of conflicts and comparisons of ideas and actions being the decisive elements. Creativity seems to find its power when adults are less tied to prescriptive teaching methods, but instead become observers and interpreters of problematic situations. Creativity seems to be favored or disfavored according to the expectations of teachers, schools, families, and communities as well as society at large, according to the ways children perceive those expectations.

Integrating Creativity into the Curriculum Creativity becomes visible when adults try to be more attentive to the cognitive processes of children than to the results they achieve in various fields of doing and understanding. The more teachers are convinced that intellectual and expressive activities have both multiplying and unifying possibilities; the more creativity favors friendly exchanges with imagination and fantasy. Malaguzzi concludes by saying…”Creativity requires that the school of knowing finds connections with the school of expressing, opening the doors (that is our slogan) to the hundred languages of children.”

Integrating Creativity into the Curriculum Process vs Product Look at the list of assessments on pages in your text. How do you think creative processes and products should be assessed? Justify your choice.

Integrating Creativity into the Curriculum Describe at least three different ways the classroom environment can inspire children to be creative.

Integrating Creativity into the Curriculum Consider the nine beliefs of the Reggio Emilia schools. Found on page 319 of your text.

Integrating Creativity into the Curriculum Now look over the NAEYC Standards: rviewStandards.pdf

Integrating Creativity into the Curriculum Explain how Loris Malaguzzi's nine beliefs that guide the Reggio Emilia schools relate to the development of creativity. Which one(s) of these do you think are the most developmentally appropriate as described by the NAEYC standards and why?

Wrap-Up Thank you for a wonderful term! Don’t forget to fill out your course surveys. Best of luck in the future!

References Isbell, R.T. and Raines, S. C. (2007). Creativity and the Arts with Young Children. Thomson Delmar Learning. Wardle, F. (2008). Art Across the Curriculum. Retrieved January 4, 2009, from od/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=406 od/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=406