Infusing Creativity into Your College Course
Do you think it is important to infuse creative thinking skills into a college course?
Imagine you are sitting in a college class. The professor walks in, turns on her presentation, and lectures for 90 minutes. You take copious notes, study hard, take a test to prove you know the content, and likely forget most of the information by the second semester.
Now enter a different college class. A class where the professor encourages students to ask questions, instead of find answers. You take time to debate important concepts, share in rich dialogue with your fellow students, and create a project that demonstrates your depth and breadth of understanding. You are learning this content, but you are also learning how to think- both creatively and critically.
Which college course would you prefer?
I have been helping educators who teach all different ages weave creative thinking skills into their content for the last 15 years. It can be done with simple strategies, and without adding any more time to your lesson.
The work I have done with “weaving” resulted in two books aimed at K-12 educators (Weaving Creativity into Every Strand of Your Curriculum and 20 Lessons to Weave Creativity into Your Classroom with Lola Schnapp). While these books have received excellent feedback, the thing I have heard over and over is, why don’t you have this for college professors?
So, I enter a new chapter (or actually a new book!) in my life. My dear friend and colleague, Dr. John Cabra and I have begun writing, “Infusing Creative Thinking into Your College Course”. The goal of this book is to provide simple strategies and techniques to infuse creative thinking skills into university courses- regardless of the content.
Also, we are looking for contributors to add ideas and short stories to the book. If you teach in higher education and are interested in learning more, please contact me directly!
What are your thoughts on university courses? Do you think they should be more engaging and interactive?
Dr. Cyndi Burnett
My Bio
Dr. Cyndi Burnett is the Director of Possibilities for Creativity and Education. Like her creativity-focused curriculum for students and teachers, Cyndi embraces the creative lifestyle that she teaches. You will often find her trying on new ideas, exploring resources to stretch her thinking, and being an advocate for playfulness and humor. Although she loves to research and write about creativity, Cyndi is a firm believer in field service. She has 20 years of teaching experience as an academic at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at SUNY Buffalo State where she instructed classes in creative-thinking and creative problem-solving.
Cyndi is the co-author of the books Infusing Creative Thinking into Higher Education, Weaving Creativity into Every Strand of Your Curriculum, 20 Lessons for Weaving Creativity into your Curriculum, and My Sandwich Is a Spaceship: Creative Thinking for Parents and Young Children.