"Instead of focusing on a single subject, creative thinkers seem to unconsciously contemplate many pieces of information and trains of thought at the same time."(Gnezda 2011)
Does this mean that through VTS some students are not only developing thinking skills but also becoming more creative thinkers? I like to think so.
I do think that VTS within this unit lead to a greater level of creativity in the students work. And I don't say that arbitrarily but rather looking at one class who is doing VTS and another class who isn't. It wasn't that there was a huge difference in the quality of the work because my non vts class had some great pieces. But overall as a whole the level of work and certainly understanding was higher in my VTS class.
This sounds like a great action research topic for next year, Lindsay! Of course, it would be hard to withhold VTS from a "control group." There's a great artilce on Combinatorial Creativity at this address http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/ideas/2012/06/combinatorial-creativity-and-the-myth-of-originality/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120610-Weekender&utm_source=smithsoniantopic
ReplyDeleteIt certainly makes the case for enriching curricula with a variety of experiences, even if at the time they don't seem that applicable to the curricula at hand, so that kids have a wealth of knowledge & experience to draw from as they make creative choices in the future. With your curriculum this semester you've certainly given them a great store of visual art experiences to draw from. Way to go!