OHLER Book Thoughts

I’ve felt that most of the information I’ve read thus far in our DST class book has been interested.  A lot of the questions we have all probably thought about have been brought up - such as costs, time and how to go about implementing DTS into the classroom.

One area that especially drew to my attention was in Ch. 2 under the title “Creativity and Originality.”  The quote that said something like “creativity seems to be at the odds with the world of standardized testing and getting the right answer” made me think about this one struggle when it comes to implementing creativity into the classroom.  The book also stated that teachers can see evidence of creativity skills in students that apply to the real world (with DTS), but are not being addressed in school.  This made me think of a video I just recently saw in my “Creativity in the Classroom” class by Ken Robinson entitled “RSA ANIMATE:  CHANGING EDUCATIONAL PARADIGMS” (very good clip to watch from YouTube!)  Many subject areas (Math, Science, etc.) have to deal with standardized testing.  This creates a barrier to spending the time a teacher may need to start implementing DTS into the classroom.  Although we know that the time may be well worth it in the end, these teachers have a constant focus on getting their students to pass tests and the curriculum they are teaching may already be jam packed.  School personnel and administration may not be completely accepting of this time needed - especially with the “No Child Left Behind” act - which makes schools more responsible for the success of the students.  Although all subjects have standards they must follow, the content areas with state tests will have the most struggle with trying new classroom techniques. 

Back to the Ken Robinson video which can relate to the standardization issue, Robinson explains that the current education system is designed and conceived for a different age (the intellectual culture of the enlightenment and industrial revolution).  An increase in ADHD is partly due to an overstimulating nation with children not being able to focus because schools are filled with “boring stuff.”  Also the clip states that ADHD increases with standardized testing and that children learn better in groups than separately.  A solution to the education systems many problems is to go in the opposite direction of standardization.  I think that standardization doesn’t easily allow for the implementation of creativity in students and the acceptance of DTS in many of the classrooms.  A major struggle will be to convince others that DTS can only help the learning system if done in the right manner (example from the book: time spent versus benefits derived).  

One more resource in case anyone is interested...there is another youtube clip by Ken Robinson called “Do Schools Kill Creativity” that is also great!