Students are referred to as “customers.”
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SNHU: How Paul LeBlanc's tiny school has become a giant of higher education. - 1 views
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t deploys data analytics for everything from anticipating future demand to figuring out which students are most likely to stumble.
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“Public institutions will not see increasing state funding and private colleges will not see ever-rising tuition.”
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tackle what colleges were doing poorly: graduating students. Half the students who enroll in post-secondary education never get a degree but still accumulate debt
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school spends millions to employ more than 160 “admissions counselors” who man the phones, especially on weekends, guiding prospective students into the right degree program
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vast majority are working adults, many with families, whose lives rarely align with an academic timetable.
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“College is designed in every way for that 20 percent—cost, time, scheduling, everything,” says LeBlanc. He set out to create an institution for the other 80 percent, one that was flexible and offered a seamless online experience
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low completion rate can be blamed partly on the fact that college is still designed for 18-year-olds who are signing up for an immersive, four-year experience replete with football games and beer-drinking. But those traditional students make up only 20 percent of the post-secondary population.
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online courses are created centrally and then farmed out to a small army of adjuncts hired for as little as $2,200 a class. Those adjuncts have scant leeway in crafting the learning experience.
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An instructor’s main job is to swoop in when a student is in trouble. Often, they don’t pick up the warning signs themselves. Instead, SNHU’s predictive analytics platform plays watchdog, sending up a red flag to an instructor when a student hasn’t logged on recently or has spent too much time on an assignment
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E-learning on the rise - 28 views
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E-learning is a growing trend at community colleges, according to survey results from the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) and Hewlett-Packard (HP).
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E-learning is already used at 47 percent of community colleges and is expected to increase to 55 percent within two years. The survey of 578 community college faculty was conducted by Eric Liguori, an assistant professor at California State University.
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The top five benefits of e-learning identified by respondents are: It increases access through location and time-flexible learning. More resources and information are available to students 24/7. Teachers can use a wide variety of tools and methods for teaching. It is a good supplement to face-to-face curriculum. It can lead to a richer learning experience if integrated correctly, freeing up class time for more engaging activities. This experience is often referred to as “flipping the classroom.”
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When asked about the barriers to adopting online learning, faculty cited such concerns as doubt about its capability and reliability, acceptance by students and teachers, and lack of resources, such as time and technical support.
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Twenty-three percent of respondents said the effectiveness of e-learning depends on the resources available, including the format and features of courses. For example, e-learning is best when teachers are adequately trained to use it, there is high-quality content and curriculum design, it’s used in conjunction with real-world situations and there is opportunity for student-teacher interactions, discussion boards and collaborative projects.
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“Our survey looked at how community college faculty members are using e-learning as a cost-effective means” to increase completion rates and ensure that “students walk away with credentials that are meaningful in the workplace and that they are prepared for the careers they hope to pursue, including, for many, the start of entrepreneurial endeavors,” said NACCE President and CEO Heather Van Sickle.
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Common Core Lesson Resource - 31 views
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"In a brave new world of learning, OER content is made free to use or share, and in some cases, to change and share again, made possible through licensing, so that both teachers and learners can share what they know. Browse and search OER Commons to find curriculum, and tag, rate, and review it for others."
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Open Educational Resources: Free-to-Use teaching & learning content from around the world
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ELA, Math, SS, Science, Art, etc. Create a free account, save lessons, upload lessons, etc. Searchable by subject or grade level.
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BBC News - Stephen Hawking warns artificial intelligence could end mankind - 22 views
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suggests the words he might want to use next.
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"More must be done by the internet companies to counter the threat, but the difficulty is to do this without sacrificing freedom and privacy."
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Charter School Study Finds High Teacher Pay Helps Students - WSJ - WSJ - 20 views
online.wsj.com/...-pay-helps-students-1414123264
charter school study finds teacher pay students wsj
shared by Matt Renwick on 03 Nov 14
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After four years at the charter school, eighth-graders showed average test score gains in math equal to an additional year and a half of school, compared with district students.
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the charter has a lean administrative staff and slightly larger classes—31 students compared with an average of about 26 or 27 in district schools—so it can pour resources into teacher pay and training.
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Teachers are observed by colleagues and get feedback weekly, and they have four weeks of full-day professional development each year.
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Days are long, with teachers at work from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and students attending from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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Many teachers don’t last. Of 43 hired during the four years studied, 47% didn’t return for a second year, in most cases because they weren’t asked back.
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Critics of charter schools say, among other complaints, that they drain money from regular public schools, skim talented students and nudge out disruptive ones.
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Bad News : CJR - 30 views
www.cjr.org/...bad_news.php
news tools howard_rheingold rheingold journalism facts factcheck bullshit
shared by Ed Webb on 15 Mar 10
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Students in Howard Rheingold’s journalism class at Stanford recently teamed up with NewsTrust, a nonprofit Web site that enables people to review and rate news articles for their level of quality, in a search for lousy journalism.
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the News Hunt is a way of getting young journalists to critically examine the work of professionals. For Rheingold, an influential writer and thinker about the online world and the man credited with coining the phrase “virtual community,” it’s all about teaching them “crap detection.”
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last year Rheingold wrote an important essay about the topic for the San Francisco Chronicle’s Web site
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What’s at stake is no less than the quality of the information available in our society, and our collective ability to evaluate its accuracy and value. “Are we going to have a world filled with people who pass along urban legends and hoaxes?” Rheingold said, “or are people going to educate themselves about these tools [for crap detection] so we will have collective intelligence instead of misinformation, spam, urban legends, and hoaxes?”
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I previously called fact-checking “one of the great American pastimes of the Internet age.” But, as Rheingold noted, the opposite is also true: the manufacture and promotion of bullshit is endemic. One couldn’t exist without the other. That makes Rheingold’s essay, his recent experiment with NewsTrust, and his wiki of online critical-thinking tools” essential reading for journalists. (He’s also writing a book about this topic.)
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I believe if we want kids to succeed online, the biggest danger is not porn or predators—the biggest danger is them not being able to distinguish truth from carefully manufactured misinformation or bullshit
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Education Week: School Leaders: Don't Let Your Teachers Lose Heart - 51 views
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Survey teachers. In the spring, as you consider programs for the following year (or years), send out a survey to teachers asking them to rate the areas where they need help. Pick your programs accordingly. You won't please everyone, but this is a chance to address your teachers' real concerns.
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Take something off the table. Teachers are being asked to do more without letting go of something else. Surprise your teachers before school next year and strike a program that was assessed to be ineffective. Your teachers will love you for easing their load.
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The World's Best Print Ads, 2012-13 | Adweek - 124 views
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Time, Wired and The New Yorker
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This campaign turned famous authors into headphones.
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School portraits are turned on their heads to remind the viewer that every child gets education
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elp us provide quality education to thousands of children in Chile because if we can change their education we can change their destiny."
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The drawings from the famous "Real Beauty Sketches" campaign, which won the Titanium Grand Prix this year. At left, a woman as described to a sketch artist by the woman. At right, the woman as described by a stranger.
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thumbs-up means nothing in this brutal campaign pleading for more tangible charity support than a like on Facebook.
25 Highly Rated (And Free!) Mac Apps For The Classroom - Edudemic - 122 views
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'Interactive Learning Spaces' at the center of Ball State U.'s faculty development prog... - 29 views
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The rooms are part of a larger faculty development program intended to promote active learning techniques and cut down on lecturing
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university is researching whether teaching at-risk students -- those withdrawing from or earning a D or F in a basic math course -- in the classrooms could improve academic outcomes and, eventually, graduation rates.
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Pavlechko described the two spaces as “intake classrooms” -- faculty members who work in the development program are required to teach in them for two semesters. By the end of this academic year, the classrooms will have hosted 68 faculty members representing 29 of the university’s 48 departments and more than 3,500 students.
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How do we set ourselves apart? In our case, by the development of these interactive learning space classrooms, we are demonstrating to everyone that we are committed to the concept of faculty development.”
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researchers found at-risk students who took the course in classrooms that promoted active learning (which included some rooms other than the renovated ones) were 2.8 times more likely to succeed -- that is, to earn a grade higher than a D -- than students in traditional classrooms.
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The company has surveyed hundreds of students and faculty members at the universities it has worked with, and says it has found a statistically significant correlation between classroom configuration and student engagement. The survey doesn't include any academic results.
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“We actually found a fairly moderate to strong correlation between what they think of these areas and if they think they have the ability to get a higher grade -- or their motivation to attend class and also their engagement in class,”
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“Perception-wise, students are telling us ‘I can do better when I’m in these spaces,’ ” Jones said. “Maybe that’s enough of a win?”
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Microsoft Word - BlockingSchedules.rtf - CAREI BlockingSchedules.pdf - 25 views
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Research examining student achievement in block-scheduled schools compared to traditional schools showed mixed and inconclusive results
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Most research about block scheduling and classroom instruction, as with research on school climate, used student, teacher, and parent questionnaires and surveys.
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The levels of engagement were much better in the first year under the block schedule, while in the second year the ratings were the same as under the traditional schedule.
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Students reported “thinking hard about ideas” and “having indepth discussion” significantly more often under block schedules.
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his may also be supported by Bexell (1998) who found teachers on block schedules using teaching strategies requiring more interaction than teachers on a traditional schedule
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It would seem that the small amount of change in the way teachers teach after switching to a block schedule would be disappointing to block scheduling advocates
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Important questions hover over these findings. What is an effective amount of teacher lecture? Or group work? Or individual work?
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One thing that is missing from the observation instrument used in this study is any judgment about the quality of a lecture, quality and depth of a discussion, or the complexity of group or individual work
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What's new for Diigo Chrome extension 2.1 - 102 views
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As you can see, this is a significant update that our team has worked really hard to deliver. We hope you like the changes, and would love some 5-star ratings from you! If you have specific ideas or feedback, please join us at our user forum. The changes include the following:
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50 Fabulous Web Tools for Group Projects | Rated Colleges - 141 views
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Using ePortfolios as a reflective teaching tool - Case study | LTTO Episodes | COFA Onl... - 131 views
online.cofa.unsw.edu.au/...ltto-episodes
eportfolios teaching teachingtools teaching&learning learningdesign fbl flexiblelearning phd
shared by trisha_poole on 03 Jun 11
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Tried to search for an ePortfolio platform for some time now..... sadly, can't fond one that's catered to University students. Anyone know of a good one? e.g. Open platform (web accessible? able to store Google docs) and not proprietary.
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Kevin - have you looked at Myportfolio? It uses an Open source software engine (Mahara) and the web-based option gives you a free account with 100 student accounts to try it out, but the annual subscription rates are very reasonable, as well you can install your own instance of Mahara on a Linux server and run it in-house if you wish.
graphite | The best apps, games, websites, and digital curricula rated for learning - 45 views
view.commonsensemedia-email.org/?j=fe9d16747762057c77&m=fea013707564077e77&ls=fe291377756c077d761373&l=fef615767d6d05&s=fe511d75726c007f7c16&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe4d17727d6c0c7e7c1d&utm_source=Whats_New_On_Graphite_2015_13&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly&r=0
graphite websites learning resources
shared by Jørgen Mortensen on 09 Nov 15
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Department of Psychology | JMU - 10 views
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If the new trend in textbooks is moving them to computer screens, the switch could have negative consequences as many suggest that people skim more, process more shallowly, and may retain less information when reading online, Daniel said.
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he readers’ goals are different: Individuals reading an e-book for enjoyment aren’t required to pass a comprehension-based test afterward. While they found that learning is possible from both formats, learning from e-textbooks takes longer and requires more effort to reach the same level of understanding, even in a controlled lab environment. At home, students report taking even more time to read e-textbooks as well as higher rates of muti-tasking (e.g., Facebook, electronic chat, texting, email, etc.) than do their peers using printed textbooks.
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In their preliminary findings, the scanning pattern produced when the student read a textbook showed consistent reading from line to line down the page. But the scanning pattern from reading on the screen was less intense.
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Daniel and Jakobsen argue that the information dense textbooks characteristic of natural and social science subjects are not a good fit for current e-textbooks, but there are exceptions for subjects like chemistry and math that include doing formulas and other activities. The liability, Daniel emphasizes, comes when math and chemistry teachers hope their students will learn the explanations, not just the formulas, “Students tend to skip the text and go straight to the formulas, especially if they are graded.”
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Formative and Summative Assessment in the Classroom - 5 views
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When a comprehensive assessment program at the classroom level balances student achievement information derived from both summative and formative assessment sources, a fuller picture of where a student is relative to established learning targets and standards emerges."> This is a cached version of http://www.nmsa.org/Publications/WebExclusive/Assessment/tabid/1120/Default.aspx. Diigo.com has no relation to the site.position:absolute;right:20px;top:5px;color
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The Creativity Crisis - Newsweek - 48 views
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there is one crucial difference between IQ and CQ scores. With intelligence, there is a phenomenon called the Flynn effect—each generation, scores go up about 10 points. Enriched environments are making kids smarter. With creativity, a reverse trend has just been identified and is being reported for the first time here: American creativity scores are falling.
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it’s left to the luck of the draw who becomes creative: there’s no concerted effort to nurture the creativity of all children
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Students are labeled as "creative" if they display a knack for art or music, and sometimes in writing, however, they are rarely recognized as creative in math or science where a lot of creativity is not only needed, but excellent for learning within those very two disciplines.
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This is precisely why creativity education is important. It is needed everywhere, not just in the arts. Those teaching outside of arts education need to start recognizing the importance of creative thinking as well.
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When faculty of a major Chinese university asked Plucker to identify trends in American education, he described our focus on standardized curriculum, rote memorization, and nationalized testing. “After my answer was translated, they just started laughing out loud,” Plucker says. “They said, ‘You’re racing toward our old model. But we’re racing toward your model, as fast as we can.’ ”
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The argument that we can’t teach creativity because kids already have too much to learn is a false trade-off. Creativity isn’t about freedom from concrete facts. Rather, fact-finding and deep research are vital stages in the creative process.
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When you try to solve a problem, you begin by concentrating on obvious facts and familiar solutions, to see if the answer lies there. This is a mostly left-brain stage of attack. If the answer doesn’t come, the right and left hemispheres of the brain activate together. Neural networks on the right side scan remote memories that could be vaguely relevant. A wide range of distant information that is normally tuned out becomes available to the left hemisphere, which searches for unseen patterns, alternative meanings, and high-level abstractions. Having glimpsed such a connection, the left brain must quickly lock in on it before it escapes. The attention system must radically reverse gears, going from defocused attention to extremely focused attention. In a flash, the brain pulls together these disparate shreds of thought and binds them into a new single idea that enters consciousness. This is the “aha!” moment of insight, often followed by a spark of pleasure as the brain recognizes the novelty of what it’s come up with. Now the brain must evaluate the idea it just generated. Is it worth pursuing? Creativity requires constant shifting, blender pulses of both divergent thinking and convergent thinking, to combine new information with old and forgotten ideas. Highly creative people are very good at marshaling their brains into bilateral mode, and the more creative they are, the more they dual-activate.
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those who diligently practice creative activities learn to recruit their brains’ creative networks quicker and better
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Creativity has always been prized in American society, but it’s never really been understood. While our creativity scores decline unchecked, the current national strategy for creativity consists of little more than praying for a Greek muse to drop by our houses. The problems we face now, and in the future, simply demand that we do more than just hope for inspiration to strike. Fortunately, the science can help: we know the steps to lead that elusive muse right to our doors.
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What’s common about successful programs is they alternate maximum divergent thinking with bouts of intense convergent thinking, through several stages. Real improvement doesn’t happen in a weekend workshop. But when applied to the everyday process of work or school, brain function improves.
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kids demonstrated the very definition of creativity: alternating between divergent and convergent thinking, they arrived at original and useful ideas. And they’d unwittingly mastered Ohio’s required fifth-grade curriculum—from understanding sound waves to per-unit cost calculations to the art of persuasive writing. “You never see our kids saying, ‘I’ll never use this so I don’t need to learn it,’ ” says school administrator Maryann Wolowiec. “Instead, kids ask, ‘Do we have to leave school now?’ ” Two weeks ago, when the school received its results on the state’s achievement test, principal Traci Buckner was moved to tears. The raw scores indicate that, in its first year, the school has already become one of the top three schools in Akron, despite having open enrollment by lottery and 42 percent of its students living in poverty.
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highly creative adults frequently grew up with hardship. Hardship by itself doesn’t lead to creativity, but it does force kids to become more flexible—and flexibility helps with creativity.
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When creative children have a supportive teacher—someone tolerant of unconventional answers, occasional disruptions, or detours of curiosity—they tend to excel. When they don’t, they tend to underperform and drop out of high school or don’t finish college at high rates. They’re quitting because they’re discouraged and bored, not because they’re dark, depressed, anxious, or neurotic. It’s a myth that creative people have these traits. (Those traits actually shut down creativity; they make people less open to experience and less interested in novelty.) Rather, creative people, for the most part, exhibit active moods and positive affect. They’re not particularly happy—contentment is a kind of complacency creative people rarely have. But they’re engaged, motivated, and open to the world.
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solutions emerge from a healthy marketplace of ideas, sustained by a populace constantly contributing original ideas and receptive to the ideas of others
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When scholars gave creativity tasks to both engineering majors and music majors, their scores laid down on an identical spectrum, with the same high averages and standard deviations. Inside their brains, the same thing was happening—ideas were being generated and evaluated on the fly.
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The lore of pop psychology is that creativity occurs on the right side of the brain. But we now know that if you tried to be creative using only the right side of your brain, it’d be like living with ideas perpetually at the tip of your tongue, just beyond reach
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those who diligently practice creative activities learn to recruit their brains’ creative networks quicker and better. A lifetime of consistent habits gradually changes the neurological pattern.
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The home-game version of this means no longer encouraging kids to spring straight ahead to the right answer
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“As a child, I never had an identity as a ‘creative person,’ ” Schwarzrock recalls. “But now that I know, it helps explain a lot of what I felt and went through.”
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In China there has been widespread education reform to extinguish the drill-and-kill teaching style. Instead, Chinese schools are also adopting a problem-based learning approach.
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there is one crucial difference between IQ and CQ scores. With intelligence, there is a phenomenon called the Flynn effect—each generation, scores go up about 10 points. Enriched environments are making kids smarter. With creativity, a reverse trend has just been identified and is being reported for the first time here: American creativity scores are falling.