Written by It’s time to start thinking about my action plan! It has been an emotional journey that has led me to this question:
How might we allow students to experience more unstructured creative time?
I say it’s been emotional because I so desperately want my creative and passionate students to be able to explore all of their great ideas. Because they have tons of them. And in my mind, not enough time to explore.
Time. Time. This is the word that has me pause and wonder how much of a change I can make. I have no control over time. This is also a word my students have brought up countless times…”Ms Andrea, 5 more mins!”, “I just need a little bit more time!”, “Not yet!”. There is so much of a want, a need, for more time from myself and my students. I want to give my students as much unstructured creative time as I possibly can. But then I pause and think. How much of a change can I make when it really just comes down to time?
When I realize I can’t control time, or the lack thereof, I can control the quality of the time I spend with my students. I can make the time they have to create the best and most productive time possible. And if I provide my students will all of the tools and materials they need to bring their ideas to life, I can make that unstructured creative time all that more significant. Times like Art Club, Free Art Friday, and early finisher time.
So right now, I am going to continue to work on creating a Makerspace that allows students to create with both high and low-tech tools and materials that allow students to make their dreams a reality. If I can find a way to give my students more time to use this space, that would be my dream.
TIME! There never seems to be enough of it- especially when we talk about creativity. How do we provide creative time for those who need a bit longer to “warm up” or get going? What about the kid where their best idea comes 5 minutes before the bell? Creativity takes…. time! I love that your focus is on trying to make the most out of the time you have, looking for other avenues where you can provide a rich environment that can act as a place where students can come and continue the creative journey that they are on in another way. I hope we get to chat about this on Friday!
I TOTALLY feel you when it comes to the time thing, @ahughes. When I talk about reading with my students, it comes up in every conversation. Now when I book-talk, I take a moment to share the strategies our library staff use to make time for reading, from reading on your commute to listening to audiobooks while you do other things. Students seem to appreciate hearing about how we as adults manage our time.
Have you experimented at all with a flipped classroom approach? I find it useful for those occasions when I’m desperate for in-class time to practice skills or explore something together.
I’d love to hear more about your Makerspace! Look forward to chatting in a few days.
@ahughes,
Yes, I think for all teachers, TIME is that precious yet elusive educational resource. One way I’ve seen teachers “conserve” time is to link creative, student-driven projects to existing curriculum. Last year our Grade 6 Ss learned how to make quilts to give to a family our school sponsored. Several departments worked together to tie a number of cross-curricular learning outcomes to quilt-making. This way the curriculum provided a springboard for creativity in existing curricular time. Would love to hear more about the tools you are stocking your Makerspace with and some of the projects your students have created to date!