Make, Learn, Succeed - Paperback

by Mark Gura (Author)

Learn how to establish an instructional practice that encourages and supports the development of student creativity -- a critical skill for today and the future.

Can creativity be taught? Backed by research, this book proposes that it can, and argues for the importance of nurturing creativity in students -- a task that is much more complex than simply adding a new class to your course load. While curriculum need not be scrapped and rewritten wholesale, it does need to be tweaked and refined with creativity as a new focus. At the same time, schools need to be transformed into environments that encourage students to evolve and develop as creative individuals.

We are living and learning in a period of rapid and profound change in which innovation and creativity are increasingly important. With this in mind, it's clear that educators must teach in a way that fosters creativity, to help cultivate reflective creators who understand the mental processes behind their creativity and how they can be applied to other situations, problems and challenges -- beyond the context of the arts.

Today's educators face innumerable challenges in establishing an instructional practice that supports student creativity while also meeting curricular goals and academic standards. This book addresses these challenges, illustrating how to foster creativity in your students by:

• Establishing a creativity-friendly learning environment.
  Weaving maker, STEAM, robotics and gaming into instruction.
• Encouraging motivation, entrepreneurship, curiosity and play.
• Using technology tools and resources to support student creativity.

With rich examples and ready-to-implement activities, this book demonstrates how to establish a creativity-inspiring learning environment and an instructional practice that encourages curiosity and play -- and to help students grow into the people we need now and in the future.

Audience: K-12 classroom teachers

Author Biography

Mark Gura has been an educator for more than three decades. He works with Touro College, Fordham University, and other organizations to promote the use of technology to provide highly motivating, relevant activities for students. Gura's books include Visual Arts Units for All Levels and Getting Started with LEGO Robotics.