Creativity in the Classroom: Schools of Curious Delight

by Alane Jordan Starko

Most books about creativity for teachers are either scholarly texts that focus on primary research or books of "creative lesson plans" with no associated research or theory. Creativity in the Schools of Curious Delight, Second Edition is designed to help teachers link research and theory regarding creativity to the everyday activities of classroom teaching. Its mission is to provide enough theory and enough examples of applications to enable teachers to use the information in their everyday grouping arrangements, lesson plans, assessment activities, and grading schemes.

Ideal for courses dealing with teacher creativity, teaching gifted and talented students, and for critical thinking courses, this text
* Research and Theory --Part I includes information on theories of creativity, characteristics of creative individuals, talent development, motivation, and creativity.
* Application --Part II includes strategies designed to explicitly teach creative thinking, ways to weave creative thinking into content area instruction, and ways to organize basic classroom activities, such as grouping, assessment, and grading to be supportive of students' creativity.
* Pedagogy --Each chapter includes reflection and journaling activities and boxed lesson ideas.

This edition includes a new section on problem finding, the most recent revisions to the Creative Problem Solving model, recent research on the links between creativity and intrinsic motivation, and numerous lessons developed by practicing teachers.

Genres: Education, Teaching

Paperback

First published August 1, 1994

Reviews

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The journey through literature about gifted education has been replete with scholarly articles, research textbooks, and pedagogical material; however, Creativity in the Classroom has become my favorite! As a teacher, I am responsible for igniting the fire of learning, encouraging students to seek knowledge and test their ideas. Starko's fantastic read has found its way into my heart, and I will consult it many times over as I continue to educate those in the gifted program.

[Michelle Korenfeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book convinced me that it is possible to complement classical learning with creative thinking development methods. It gave me a wide understanding of creativity, while offering tools and ideas for fostering creative thought. Many offer ideas for creative teaching. This book is about teaching for creativity. This is what we need to give our children.

[Kurt Thonnings · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some good parts,but way too much history and research mumbo-jumbo and not enough practical ideas for the classroom that could make a difference

[Peaches · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, it is dated in some ways, like how Starko discusses gender, but I do like how Starko culminated a great deal of research into accessible material, provided examples, and listed things for readers. The most interesting parts for me were cognitive and personality characteristics of creative people. Like I said, it is dated. For instance, Starko uses Odyssey of the Mind as an example, which doesn't exist at least in name as that anymore, but as someone who was in OM (and got to go to world finals at Disney!) I liked reading about it again. When I was 12, I didn't understand what an innovative experience it was and it's one of my fondest memories from that period of my life.

[Leah Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an elementary Art and Gifted & Talented teacher, I loved this book! I found it insightful and chalk-full of information. Some chapter are stodgy, but overall a wonderful read that I will pull from for years to come!

[Katrina Glaser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be the best and most useful book for teachers that are trying to liven up a classroom. It's so practical!

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dig through these pages to find great classroom activities that spur higher-level thinking in every child.

[Susan Striepe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insightful!