Beyond right or wrong: Challenges of including creative design activities in the classroom
ARTICLE
Karen Brennan, Harvard University, United States
Journal of Technology and Teacher Education Volume 23, Number 3, ISSN 1059-7069 Publisher: Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education, Waynesville, NC USA
Abstract
In this article, we explore challenges encountered by K-12 educators in establishing classroom cultures that support creative learning activities with the Scratch programming language. Providing opportunities for students to understand and to build capacities for creative work was described by many of the teachers that we interviewed as a central aspiration of learning and education. But creative learning is an iterative process that necessarily involves moments of getting stuck, not knowing, being wrong, and failing — moments that conflict with how learning is enacted in many school settings. The analysis is organized into three thematic clusters that elaborate this conflict: teacher vs. self, teacher vs. student, and teacher vs. culture. Teacher vs. self explores the role of teacher identity and psychology in supporting creative activities in the classroom. Teacher vs. student discusses unanticipated resistance from young learners encountering creative activities in school settings. Teacher vs. culture describes how expectations from beyond the classroom setting can constrain creative activities within the classroom, including the role of parents, administrators, and policy.
Citation
Brennan, K. (2015). Beyond right or wrong: Challenges of including creative design activities in the classroom. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 23(3), 279-299. Waynesville, NC USA: Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education. Retrieved March 27, 2023 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/151249/.
© 2015 Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education
Keywords
References
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Teachers’ Engagement with New Literacies as Support for Implementing Technology in the English/Language Arts Classroom
Melody Zoch, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, United States; Joy Myers, James Madison University, United States; Joy Myers, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, United States
Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education Vol. 17, No. 1 (March 2017) pp. 25–52
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