Fostering creativity through the active learning model Kanban2C

Abstract

To many instructors, the cultivation of creative and reflective thinking contradicts a main aim of most university classes, the transmission of knowledge. The roots of this imagined opposition, thinking versus knowledge-transmission, is old. In the modern era, it originated early in the twentieth century when progressives, wanting to foster thinking skills, broke ranks with traditional instructors focused on the transmission of knowledge. Imagining creative thinking and knowledge acquisition as opposites, however, diminishes the importance of both. Knowledge is central to understanding contexts with potential value, while creative thinking skills are necessary to producing originality within (and thus enhancing) those contexts. Creativity requires both: originality and value.This session has two aims. The first is for participants to understand the main elements of creative thinking. Grounded in research, the theoretical half of the session will cross disciplinary boundaries, as creativity in any discipline rests on the same elements of thinking. The second aim is for participants to experience an active learning model called Kanban2C (Kanban-to-Creativity), which fosters elements of creative thinking. Grounded in practice, this flexible instructional model – suitable for use in many disciplines – demonstrates how elements of creative thinking can develop in content-specific (knowledge-transmission) contexts. This session will be interactive and include several different hands-on creativity exercises to explore key elements of creativity. Then, participants will experience Kanban2C: work cooperatively, move around, think creatively, and, in the process, learn how to foster creativity while transmitting knowledge. Afterwards, participants will brainstorm ways to apply Kanban2C to their academic discipline.