NESA Presentation 3

 Keynote Leading for Creativity With new 2014 research, Douglas Reeves provides a compelling case for what leaders must do – and what they must avoid – to nurture creativity among students and teachers. “Nearly everyone claims to value creativity as an essential 21st Century skill,” Reeves contends. “But policies and practices in curriculum, assessment, and the evaluation of teachers and administrators often systematically undermine these intentions.” This practical keynote address includes a multi-­‐disciplinary approach to the subject of creativity, including the latest research and ideas from neuroscience, education, psychology, and philosophy. The latest book by Dr. Reeves and coauthor Brooks Reeves on this subject is The Seven Virtues of Creativity, to be published in early 2015. The Presenter: Dr. Douglas Reeves has addressed audiences around the globe on educational leadership and effective teaching. The author of more than 80 articles and 30 books, he was twice named to the Harvard University Distinguished Authors Series. Doug was named the Brock International Laureate for his contributions to educational research and received the Contribution to the Field Award from the National Staff Development Council. Doug’s volunteer work includes helping doctoral students complete their dissertation (see FinishTheDissertation.org) and providing one-­‐to-­‐one writing coaching for veterans suffering from post-­‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their collected work will appear in 2016 in the SNAFU Review, which Doug edits and publishes. He lives with his family in downtown Boston. Leading(for(Crea-vity(((
Douglas(B.(Reeves,(Ph.(D.(
ChangeLeaders.com(
Dreeves@(ChangeLeaders.com(
1.781.710.9633(
(
Overview'
•  Learning'Objec/ves'
•  Brief'Review'of'2013'Leadership'
Research'
•  New'evidence'from'2014'
•  New'tools'for'assessing'crea/vity'
2 Learning(Objec-ves(
1)  Understand(the(value(of(crea-vity(for(students(and(
adults(
2)  Iden-fy(the(gap(between(what(we(value(and(how(we(
assess(
3)  Apply(the(knowing;doing(gap(to(your(own(specific(
educa-onal(role(
4)  Plan'and'Execute'specific(ac-ons(and(tools(that(you(
can(use(to(enhance(crea-vity(for(students,(teachers,(
administrators,(and(governing(board(members.(
Applying(the(research(
•  Workshop(on(“Assessing(Crea,vity”(will(apply(the(
meta5rubric(used(in(today’s(research(to(three(
anonymous(crea:vity(rubrics.((You(are(welcome(to(
apply(this(meta5rubric(to(crea:vity(rubrics(within(your(
schools.(
•  Workshop(on(“Crea,vity(in(a(Standards3Based(
World”(includes(the(development(of(a(standards5
based(performance(assessment(for(students,(
teachers,(administrators,(or(board(members(that(best(
meets(the(dimensions(of(crea:vity(assessment.(
3 Fundamental*Research*Findings*
•  Crea3vity*is*essen3al*for*society*and*
the*planet*
•  Crea3vity*is*valued*by*businesses,*
schools*and*governents*
•  Unfortunately*.*.*.**
Enormous(gap(between(inten1ons(and(
reality(
•  Student(grading(systems(deliberately(undermine(the(
essen1als(of(crea1vity(–(trial,(error,(feedback,(and(
improvement.((The(“average”(punishes(every(
experimental(error.(((
•  Teacher(evalua1on(systems(undermine(experimental(
approaches(to(teaching,(learning,(and(engagement(
because(they(punish(failure.(((
•  Zero(errors(=((zero(learning(
4 Crea%vity*is*systema%cally*devalued*
•  The*most*crea%ve*students*were*the*least*popular*
with*students*and*teachers;*the*least*crea%ve*
students*were*the*most*popular*(Skidmore,*2012)*
•  Crea%vity*is*some%mes*associated*with*anxiety,*an%A
social*behavior,*and*substance*abuse.***
•  The*“good*girl”*effect*–*we*effec%vely*undermine*the*
crea%vity*of*half*the*planet.*(Reeves*&*Reeves,*2015)*
Levels&of&evidence&
•  1)&&Personal&beliefs&
•  2)&&Personal&experiences&
•  3)&&Collec8ve&experiences&
•  4)&&Systema8c&comparisons&
•  5)&Preponderance&of&evidence&
5 More%Bad%News%
•  Emula0ng%crea0vity%(such%as%Google’s%20%%of%
free%0me)%is%incredibly%difficult%when%people%
already%have%fullD0me%jobs.%%%
•  Evalua0on%systems%punish%the%errors%that%are%
an%inherent%part%of%crea0vity%and%riskDtaking%
How$to$Assess$Crea,vity?$
•  Torrance$Tests$of$Crea,ve$Thinking$–$the$
most$widely$used$crea,vity$test$in$the$world$
•  40$languages$
•  Systema,c$assessment$of$validity$–$the$
rela,onship$$between$student$scores$and$
later$adult$crea,ve$produc,on,$over$four$
decades$
$
6 Crea%vity*is*Declining*for*Individuals*
•  Crea%vity*among*students*has*declined*significantly*
in*the*past*20*years.*
•  Biggest*decline*is*in*“crea%ve*elabora%on”*–*the*
ability*to*develop*and*elaborate*upon*ideas*with*
detailed*and*reflec%ve*thinking*
•  *(Source:))Kyung)Hee)Kim,)College)of)William)&)
Mary,)a9er)analysis)of)almost)300,000)
American)adults)and)children)based)on)the)The)
Torrance)Tests)of)CreaCng)Thinking)(TTCT),)
October)2010.))
Crea%vity*is*Declining*for*
Organiza%ons*
•  Fewer*than*half*of*companies*surveyed*said*
their*corporate*culture*robustly*supports*their*
innova%on*strategy*
•  But*most*organiza%ons**make*decisions*based*
on*avoiding*mistakes*rather*than*embracing*
risk*and*innova%on.*
•  (Source:))Booz)&)Co.,)Global)Innova7on)1,000,)
2013,)Innocen7ve.))
7 “Crea&vity+is+not+just+the+way+that+
the+great+geniuses+of+the+past+
have+used+to+enrich+and+give+
meaning+to+our+culture,+but+it+is+an+
obliga&on+we+all+have+to+enrich+
and+give+meaning+to+our+own+lives+
and+the+lives+of+our+community.”+++
Reeves%&%Reeves,%The+Seven+Virtues+of+Crea&vity+
(Solu,on%Tree,%2015)%
Please&stop&and&process&
What%is%your%personal,%
professional,%and%moral%obliga6on%
to%encourage%crea6vity?%
8 A"Working"Defini-on"of"Crea-vity"
•  The$process$of$experimenta*on,evalua*on,-and-follow-through$
which$leads$to$a$significant$
discovery,-insight,-or-contribu*on.•  Note-what-it-doesn’t-say:--original,novel,-superstar-.-.-."
The False Dichotomy Between
“Big C” and “Little c ” creativity
•  Big$C:$
•  Li=le$c:$
– The$creator$as$
– Insights$that$are$
rock$star,$or$at$
func:onal,$oAen$
least$a$Nobel$Prize$
based$on$previous$
winner$
major$insights.$
– Social,$ar:s:c,$or$
scien:fic$
recogni:on$
9 Assessing'crea+vity'assessments'
•  100+'crea+vity'assessments,'including'K812'
and'college,'evaluated'on'88dimension'scale,'
with'four'points'on'each,'for'>3,200'data'
points'
•  >95%'inter8rater'reliability'
•  Maximum'score'of'32'(Level'4'on'all'eight'
dimensions)'
•  The'results'.'.'.''
Overall'rubric'scores'
80'
70'
Elementary'
60'
50'
Secondary'
40'
30'
K712'
20'
10'
0'
25732'
17724'
'9716'
''179'
10 Strengths)and)weaknesses)
STRENGTHS:)
•  Mul8disciplinary)
orienta8on)
•  Product)
requirements)
WEAKNESSES:)
•  Research)basis)
•  Collabora8on)
•  Trial)and)error)
A"few"research"footnotes"
•  Posi0vely"biased"sample"–"these"were"publicly"
available"and"willingly"shared.""Don’t"be"
disappointed"if"your"ini0al"results"are"lower."
•  Don’t"try"this"alone.""Checks"for"inter@rater"
reliability"are"essen0al"for"meaningful"results"
•  Use"this"meta@rubric"as"a"star0ng"point"–"not"the"
ending"point.""When"there"is"disagreement"in"
applying"a"rubric,"the"rule"is,"“The"enemy"is"not"
one"another;"the"enemy"is"ambiguity.”""Rework"
the"rubric"un0l"you"achieve"80%"agreement."
11 Suppor&ng)curiosity)
•  Confidence)in)the)value)of)failure)–)including)
public)displays)of)“I)used)to)think).).).)but)now)I)
think.).).)(Elmore))
•  Replacing)supreme)selfDregard)with)rigorous)selfD
examina&on)
•  Social)media)as)an)echoDchamber)
•  Ques&on)assump&ons)
•  Make)guesses)before)heading)to)Google)
•  Beware)of)punishing)curiosity)
The$“Good$Girl”$effect$–$
Na3onal$Honor$Society$
Membership$
70$
60$
50$
40$
30$
20$
10$
0$
Women$
Men$
Kristof,$Nicholas,$New$York$Times$3I27I10$
12 From%2014%Interviews%with%Successful%
girls%and%women%
•  “There&were&many&,mes&I&knew&that&a&colleague&was&wrong,&
but&I&didn’t&speak&up&because&it&was&inappropriate&to&
challenge&someone&else.”&
–  Helen&–&Ivy&League&graduate&&
•  “The&playground&hasn’t&been&updated&for&six&years&and&some&
of&it&is&dangerous.&&I’d&like&to&write&a&story&for&the&school&
newspaper,&but&I&don’t&want&to&cri,cize&the&teachers&or&school&
leaders.”&
–  Jessica&–&excep,onal&student&
Reeves%&%Reeves,%The&Seven&Virtues&of&Crea,vity&
(Solu>on%Tree,%2015)%
Versa&lity:,,Applying,new,perspec&ves,
•  The,“ab$ini'o”$fallacy,
•  Examples:,,From,plane,geometry,to,
mul&dimensional,sta&s&cal,modeling,
•  Building,blocks,vs.,plagiarism,
13 Please&stop&and&process:&
•  Iden0fy&two&or&three&of&your&greatest&insights&
as&an&educa0onal&leader&
•  Iden0fy&at&least&one&source&for&your&insight&
•  Synergy&–&“the&produc0on&by&two&or&more&
agents,&substances,&etc.,&of&a&combined&effect&
greater&than&the&sum&of&their&separate&
effects.”&(O.E.D.)&
There%is%no%contradic.on%
between%crea.vity%and%academic%
discipline.%
In#fact,#disciplinary#knowledge#is#essen5al#
for#crea5vity.#
14 Who$said$this?$
•  “Crea&on)is)unlikely)to)emerge)in)the)absence)of)
some)disciplinary)mastery)and,)perhaps,)some)
capacity)to)synthesize;)it's)not)possible)to)think)
outside)the)box)unless)you)have)a)box.”)))
•  Hint%#1:%%The%author%of%“Five%Minds%for%the%
Future”%
•  Hint%#2:%%The%most%influen;al%thinker%about%
mul;ple%intelligences%
•  Hint%#3:%%Name%rhymes%with%“Howard%Gardner”%
The$elements$of$discipline$
•  Focus$
•  “Beginner’s$Mind”$
•  Deliberate$prac<ce$
•  Incremental$prac<ce$
•  Recording$progress$
– From$the$basketball$court$to$Cogni<ve$
Behavioral$Therapy$
15 What%do%the%best%orchestras,%
hockey%teams,%choruses,%pianists,%
and%school%administrators%have%in%
common?%
Talk%to%Prac+ce%ra+o%is%remarkably%
consistent%for%professional%Prac+ce%
%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
Symphony%
40%
Chorus%
30%
Hockey%
20%
10%
0%
Talk%
Prac+ce%
16 90%
Talk%to%Prac+ce%ra+o%is%remarkably%
consistent%for%amateur%Prac+ce%
%
80%
70%
60%
50%
Symphony%
40%
Chorus%
30%
Hockey%
20%
10%
0%
Talk%
Prac+ce%
Professional+Prac-ce+and+the+
“What+the+Heck+?”+effect+
“If$I$miss$a$prac,ce$day,$then$I$might$
as$well$give$up.”$
$
But$what$does$the$evidence$say?$
17 Performance*with*daily*prac3ce*
140*
135*
130*
125*
120*
115*
110*
105*
100*
0*
5*
10*
15*
20*
25*
30*
35*
Miss$two$days$of$prac/ce$
135.00$
130.00$
From$100$to$130$
125.00$
120.00$
115.00$
110.00$
105.00$
100.00$
0$
5$
10$
15$
20$
25$
30$
35$
18 Miss$Every$third$day$of$prac2ce$
$
120$
118$
116$
From$100$to$118$
114$
112$
110$
108$
106$
104$
102$
100$
98$
0$
5$
10$
15$
20$
25$
30$
35$
Stop%and%process:%%Enhancing%crea2vity%
with%discipline%
•  Measure%crea2vity%goals%9%number%of%ideas%
generated,%number%of%experiments%conducted,%or%
other%meaningful%metric.%
•  How%can%you%prac2ce%ac2vi2es%related%to%the%goal?%%
For%example,%for%at%least%one%of%the%next%three%Board%
decisions,%consider%mutually%exclusive%alterna2ve%
with%“construc2ve%conten2on.”%%%
•  What%is%the%recovery%plan%–%if%and%when%–%you%miss%
goals?%
19 Some%Prac*cal%steps%for%crea*ve%
collabora*on%
•  Give%everyone%two%veto%votes%–%make%vetoing%
a%scarce%but%reliable%resources%
•  Spli;ng%the%cake%
•  “Yes.%.%.%And?”%
•  Challenging%the%illusion%of%collabora*on%in%the%
classroom%
Encouraging*experimenta0on*
•  If*you*already*know*the*answer,*then*it’s*not*an*experiment*
•  Disconfirming*hypotheses*is*as*important*–*o?en*more*
important*–*than*confirming*hypotheses*
•  Experiment*with*games:*
–  Rock,*paper,*scissors.*.*.*Water*
–  Replace*the*Monopoly*B&O*Railroad*with*the*TGV*
•  Experiment*with*media*–*every*adver0sing*and*poli0cal*claim*
is*a*hypothesis*to*be*tested*
*
20 Assessing'tenacity'
•  How'has'your'governing'board'agenda'changed'in'the'past'20'
years?'
•  What'is'the'ra:o'of'board'and'cabinet'level':me'from'
presenta:ons'to'delibera:on?''How'has'that'ra:o'changed?'
•  How'have'“class'rules”'changed'in'the'last'20'years?'
•  How'does'your'evalua:on'system'reward'tenacity'–'
perseverance'in'the'face'of'failure?'
•  What'happened'with'a'recent'failure'in'your'school?''Was'it'
rewarded'or'punished?'
Encouraging*crea,ve*tenacity*
•  Culture*of*mul,ple*a5empts*before*a*final*
product*is*accepted*
•  Require*construc,ve*conten,on,*debate,*and*
dissent*
•  Ban*the*use*of*the*average*for*evalua,ons*of*
students,*teachers,*and*administrators*
•  Celebrate*the*right*kind*of*failure*
21 Guaranteed)ways)to)insure)zero)
crea1ve)opportuni1es)for)students)
•  Have%them%drop%out%of%school%because%they%
lack%sufficient%literacy%skills%to%survive%high%
school.%
•  Have%them%repeat%courses,%so%that%they%
have%no%room%in%their%schedules%for%visual%
and%performing%arts.%
How$We$Discourage$Crea0vy$Among$
Teachers$
•  Discourage$taking$risks$and$failure.$
•  Punish$feedback$and$dissent.$
•  Use$the$“average”$in$mul0ple$
teacher$observa0ons.$
22 How$We$Discourage$Crea0vity$Among$
Leaders$
•  Annual$(or$end$of$contract)$performance$
reviews$
•  Strategic$plans$that$elevate$execu0on$over$
crea0vity$
•  Micromanagement$
•  Unclear$job$descrip0ons$
How$We$Discourage$Crea0vity$Among$
Policy$Makers$and$Board$Members$
•  Standardized$agendas$
•  One$administra0ve$recommenda0on$
submiAed$for$upDorDdown$votes$
•  A$culture$of$congeniality$over$discussion$and$
debate$
•  Discussion$and$debate$is$more$than$cri0cism$
and$contradic0on.$
23 You$cannot$expect$cri.cal$
thinking$in$the$classroom$or$
faculty$room$if$there$is$not$
cri.cal$thinking$in$the$board$
room.$
For$a$complete$set$of$crea.vity$
resources,$please$e4mail:$
Dreeves@ChangeLeaders.com$
24 Creativity Meta-Rubric
Dimension
Research Basis
Multidisciplinary
Perspective
Source Material
Clarity of
Guidelines
Developing (1)
The rubric is
based on intuition
or hunches and
has little basis in
research as
evidenced by the
promotion of
practices1 that are
contrary to
research.
The rubric
focuses narrowly
on subjects and
ideas from a
single discipline,
and explicitly
punishes or
dissuades
students from
using sources or
media from other
disciplines.
The rubric
expects students
to be completely
original and
punishes the use
of outside
materials for
inspiration or use.
The Rubric
contains language
that is
ambiguous, so
that the difference
between the
levels of the
rubric is unclear
to students and
inconsistently
applied.
Progressing (2)
The rubric includes
some elements
based in research
and some other
elements that are
not based on
research.
Proficient (3)
The rubric reflects
current research on
creativity.
Exemplary (4)
The rubric
reflects the latest
and best research
on creativity,
with clear
citations.
The rubric allows
students to explore
projects in an
individual
interdisciplinary
approach, but does
not evaluate or note
that approach.
The rubric
encourages and
rewards an
interdisciplinary
perspective.
There is clear
evidence that
students, through
an iterative
process expand
the scope of their
work to include
ideas and
perspectives from
an array of media
and disciplines.
The rubric allows
for students to
consider outside
sources, but makes
no special note of
the process.
The rubric
encourages the use
of a variety of
digital, print, and
personal sources.
The rubric
encourages the
both the use and
accreditation of
outside sources.
The rubric is
expressed in
language that is not
accessible to
students so even if
it is clear to the
teacher, it is rarely
used as a feedback
tool.
The rubric
guidelines
encourage teachers
to clearly outline
what is expected
and the methods
by which the
students will be
evaluated.
The guidelines
dictate that
evaluation should
be made clear to
students in a way
that fosters
continued
performance
improvement,
with the
expectation of
failure.
25 Dimension
Product
Developing (1)
The product
requirements are
ambiguous (or
absent) and
differences
among
performance
levels are not
clear.
The process
requirements are
ambiguous and
differences
among
performance
levels are not
clear.
Progressing(2)
Although a work
product is required,
there is not
objective feedback
that leads to
improved product
development.
Proficient(3)
The rubric requires
the creation of a
work product, with
objective
evaluation of the
product based on
the rubric.
Exemplary(4)
The rubric
requires a work
product that can
be objectively
evaluated, with
the feedback on
the product used
for improvement.
Process
requirements are
inconsistent and
students have
difficulty using the
rubric to improve
their creative
processes.
The rubric has
clear process
requirements and
students can
differentiate
performance levels
based on the
rubric.
Collaboration
The rubric
requires that
students work in
complete
isolation without
the aid or
feedback of other
students or
teachers.
The rubric requires
a portion of the
project to be group
based, and sets up
clear guidelines as
to how group
collaboration
should be utilized.
Practice and Error
The rubric
promotes “oneshot” attempts at
performance.
The ideal
submission is
error-free.
The rubric allows
for collaborative or
group work, but has
no guidelines for
evaluating the
process of
collaboration itself
and which party
was responsible for
what.
The rubric allows
for re-drafting work
products that are
not acceptable on
the first attempt.
The rubric
evaluates not
only the end
product, but also
evaluates the
students through
every step of the
process, to
examine the
method as well.
The rubric sets
guidelines on
how
collaboration
should be
utilized, with also
the expectation
of citation
individual
participation.
The rubric
requires multiple
drafts and there is
clear evidence
that students
learn from their
mistakes. The
ideal work is
never “errorfree” but full of
learning that
resulted from
errors.
Process
The rubric requires
multiple drafts of
work products
with students using
the rubric to
improve
performance
26 27