I’ve been doing a lot of reading and research lately on creativity and critical thinking. If you’re an educator, you’ve probably spent (or are spending) a lot of time and resources learning the “shifts” toward the Common Core standards, deeper learning, and applied learning strategies. In the sea of great resources, one stands out that, to me, begins to go deeper into how to teach creativity and critical thinking. Written by Tony Wagner, Innovation Education Fellow at the Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard, Creating Innovators gives real-life models of what an innovator is and dares to challenge those of us in education to think differently about how we teach creative and critical-thinking skills.
Tonight’s chat is based around some of the questions that the book raises:
1. What motivates the digital generation?
2. What skills are you teaching students that build critical thinking and creativity?
3. How are you assessing students skills? Do students have time in class to work on application?
4. If you could “re-imagine” your school, what would it look like?
Transcript for the chat posted here.
Think. Innovate. Educate. 
Hi. I’m a big fan of your posts Wanda. Thanks. I have been pretty inspired by the ideas of constructionism (learning theory). This theory promotes the idea that students don’t truly understand or learn until they connect new ideas into their inner network of experience. This theory also promotes the values and ideas from project based learning and the makers movement.
This line of thinking has been formed by the book InventToLearn.com .
As an engineer, I get really excited about promoting this line of thinking since we know that the future of research and innovation relies on critical thinking, systems thinking, curiosity, and creativity. Facts are important. We, however, need citizens who can be creative and innovate.
To be honest though, my wife(who is a biology teacher) struggles with this line of thinking. Why? Biology is very fact and memory oriented. I’m very interested in the communities ideas regarding bringing innovation and project based learning into a biology classroom in higher education.
Thanks so much for your comments!