Creative Thinking And Arts-Based Learning Assignment

Abstract

This interview assignment explores chapter one from the text Creative Thinking and Arts-Based Learning: Preschool through Fourth Grade, Seventh Edition by authors Joan Packer Isenberg and Mary Renck Jalongo. For this assignment, I will interview an early childhood educator. The purpose of the interview is to increase perception into how teachers view characteristics of creative children. I interviewed a third-grade teacher, Mrs. Morgan, at my former elementary school for this assignment. Using my textbook, I will take some time to reflect on the responses given by the childhood educator. I will record the questions I asked and the responses given by the teacher. I will also explain if something the teacher said surprised me. Overall,

Creative thought depends equally on divergent thinking and convergent thinking (Isenberg and Jalongo, 2018). Divergent thinking is creating countless different thoughts, and convergent thinking is choosing concepts that are worthy of additional growth. A creative child is a very unique child. They have a tendency to fantasize a whole heap and will seem to be out of task occasionally.

I had the pleasure to conduct an interview with a childhood educator. I interviewed a third-grade teacher, Mrs. Morgan, at my former elementary school for this assignment. I let the teacher know that I am interested in her ideas in general, and that I am not asking her to give confidential information about any specific child. With that begin said, it broke the ice and made her feel more comfortable about the situation. I started the interview with the question, “What are your experiences with creative children in your classroom?” Mrs. Morgan said, “In my classroom I have had several experiences with creative children. Every year we take the students to plant flowers in the front of the school to keep the campus clean and pretty. I always have at least three students who are very curious about the earthworms found in the soil and dirt. Another experience in my classroom

One respond that surprised me was when Mrs. Morgan said, “Creative children avoid any activity that include being in a group. They dislike group projects. Sometimes they like the idea of peers, but they would rather work alone.” According to authors Isenberg and Jalongo (2018), children are encouraged to share ideas, not only with teachers but also with one another. Therefore, it is important for children to give and receive supportive feedback, not only from adults but also from peers (Isenberg and Jalongo, 2018). That shocked me because I thought creative children loved working with peers on projects. Most importantly, I learned something new and beneficial from Mrs.