Danah Henriksen

Fail Again, Fail Better: Embracing Failure as a Paradigm for Creative Learning in the Arts

United States educational policy, unfortunately, has created a platform where successes are celebrated and failures are punished—in line with the culturally popular but problematic catchphrase “failure is not an option” (Giroux & Schmidt, 2004; Weinzimmer & McConoughey, 2012). Policy oft en builds a negative view toward failure, preventing opportunities for teachers and students to fail. Th is is compounded by other factors that heighten fear of failure. Beyond this, there remains the fact that failure lies rooted in an area of the psyche, which makes risk-taking a natural aversion. Psychology tells us that in our evolutionary past, survival was dependent on minimizing loss of what you have. To risk or explore unnecessarily and lose (even a little) was dangerous—building risk-aversion into human psychology (Nicholson, 1998). Yet human ingenuity and discovery have always indulged curiosity, and curiosity requires being open to failure. When circumstances are safe enough, this is oft en what people do. Konner (2010) has described this behavior of learning in children where they learn about their world through playful trail and error—but only when they know they are safe. “All of old. Nothing else ever. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” —Samuel Beckett (O’Connell, 2014) Embracing Failure as a Paradigm for Creative Learning in the Arts

The educational landscape of the digital age: Communication practices pushing (us) forward

This paper identifies trends in the emerging models of knowledge production available in our society. We suggest it is crucial not only to be aware of these emerging models but also to be open to opportunities and possibilities that may still develop. We consider how people may express different levels of solidarity and commitment to these trends and models in their information consumption and distribution processes. We discuss how educators are now engaging in profound pedagogical renewal by expressing deeper levels of solidarity and commitment to knowledge production and educational projects through professional and personal interactions. These interactions are producing pedagogical models that allow both teachers and learners to become knowledgeable while simultaneously breaking away from domain conventions. These bottom-up pedagogies foster creativity, collaboration and the use of new digital tools. They are driven by learner interests and, as such, have the potential to bring the joy back into the learning process. Finally, we argue that emerging models of knowledge construction mediated by ICT provide new cultural landscapes and ecologies of learning that disrupt traditional inscriptions of individual identities and racial-cultural affinities.ResumenEn este artículo, se identificarán algunos modelos y tendencias emergentes en la producción de conocimiento. Se hará hincapié especialmente en cómo los individuos implicados en los procesos de consumo y de distribución de la información expresan diferentes niveles de solidaridad y de compromiso, y se sugerirá que es crucial que las personas no solo conozcan estos procesos, sino que también estén abiertas a otros modelos, oportunidades y posibilidades que, dadas las condiciones sociotecnológicas y comunicativas actuales, aún deben desarrollarse. Se abordará con especial interés el ámbito de la educación, puesto que se entiende que los educadores están participando de forma comprometida en una profunda renovación pedagógica a través de proyectos compartidos cimentados en interacciones profesionalesy personales facilitadas porlas redes. Estas interacciones favorecen la emergencia de modelos pedagógicos que permiten a profesores y a alumnos convertirse en expertos al mismo tiempo que rompen con muchas convenciones epistemológicas clásicas. Estas pedagogías generadas de abajo arriba no solo fomentan la creatividad y la colaboración, y se sustentan en el uso de nuevas herramientas digitales, sino que las promueven e impulsan los intereses del alumnado, y por ello, tienen el potential suficiente para devolverle la alegría al proceso de aprendizaje. Por último, se argumentará que los modelos emergentes en la construcción del conocimiento a través de las TIC ofrecen nuevos paisajes culturales y ecologías de aprendizaje que trastocan las inscripciones tradicionales de las identidades individuales y las afinidades raciales y culturales.

E-Leadership and Teacher Development Using ICT

In this chapter, we develop a definition of e-leadership that extends from the business sector to encompass educational contexts. We describe schools as complex ecologies and dynamic organizations that require a change in both traditional forms of leadership and more recent ICT use. We use the RAT (Replace, Amplify, Transform) framework to explain the varying degrees to which ICT has been used in business and education and relate this model to the research in e-leadership. It is through the purposeful, transformational use of ICT and the meaningful development of multiple kinds of knowledge that those in charge of teacher education and growth can use ICT to develop a new kind of teacher leader.

El panorama educativo de la era digital: Prácticas comunicativas que (nos) impulsan hacia adelante

This paper identifies trends in the emerging models of knowledge production available in our society. We suggest it is crucial not only to be aware of these emerging models but also to be open to opportunities and possibilities that may still develop. We consider how people may express different levels of solidarity and commitment to these trends and models in their information consumption and distribution processes. We discuss how educators are now engaging in profound pedagogical renewal by expressing deeper levels of solidarity and commitment to knowledge production and educational projects through professional and personal interactions. These interactions are producing pedagogical models that allow both teachers and learners to become knowledgeable while simultaneously breaking away from domain conventions. These bottom-up pedagogies foster creativity, collaboration and the use of new digital tools. They are driven by learner interests and, as such, have the potential to bring the joy back into the learning process. Finally, we argue that emerging models of knowledge construction mediated by ICT provide new cultural landscapes and ecologies of learning that disrupt traditional inscriptions of individual identities and racial-cultural affinities.ResumenEn este artículo, se identificarán algunos modelos y tendencias emergentes en la producción de conocimiento. Se hará hincapié especialmente en cómo los individuos implicados en los procesos de consumo y de distribución de la información expresan diferentes niveles de solidaridad y de compromiso, y se sugerirá que es crucial que las personas no solo conozcan estos procesos, sino que también estén abiertas a otros modelos, oportunidades y posibilidades que, dadas las condiciones sociotecnológicas y comunicativas actuales, aún deben desarrollarse. Se abordará con especial interés el ámbito de la educación, puesto que se entiende que los educadores están participando de forma comprometida en una profunda renovación pedagógica a través de proyectos compartidos cimentados en interacciones profesionalesy personales facilitadas porlas redes. Estas interacciones favorecen la emergencia de modelos pedagógicos que permiten a profesores y a alumnos convertirse en expertos al mismo tiempo que rompen con muchas convenciones epistemológicas clásicas. Estas pedagogías generadas de abajo arriba no solo fomentan la creatividad y la colaboración, y se sustentan en el uso de nuevas herramientas digitales, sino que las promueven e impulsan los intereses del alumnado, y por ello, tienen el potential suficiente para devolverle la alegría al proceso de aprendizaje. Por último, se argumentará que los modelos emergentes en la construcción del conocimiento a través de las TIC ofrecen nuevos paisajes culturales y ecologías de aprendizaje que trastocan las inscripciones tradicionales de las identidades individuales y las afinidades raciales y culturales.

The End of the Beginning: An Epilogue

This final chapter serves as the epilogue, as both a summary and a synthesis of the chapters in the book. We begin by providing an informal historical overview of the current impact of TPACK as a theoretical framework in terms of the quantifiable reach of the theory as well as the rapidity and breadth of its acceptance. We then provide an overview of each chapter that includes, first, how they are grouped thematically and, then, its core ideas. For Chaps. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, we identify and summarize a few key takeaways and points of interest. Following this overview, we identify three crosscutting themes: the importance of the idea of learning by design for the development of TPACK; an emphasis on the evaluation and measurement of TPACK; and, finally, the important role that communities of practice play in TPACK development. We note how learning by design is relevant because several of the studies here involved educators working through the design process (creating software applications, lessons, and other teaching artifacts) to extend it into the arena of TPACK research. Evaluation/measurement is important as well because the work in this book seek to develop rubrics that would allow teacher educators to evaluate different facets of TPACK. Communities of practice were also relevant because, rather than looking at teachers in isolation, the work in this book represents settings that support partnership/teamwork between preservice and in-service teachers (as well as educational researchers, teacher educators, and others). Finally, after considering these points, we offer a note of both positive points and constructive critique regarding this book’s potential contributions to the internationalization of TPACK research.

Creativity and Technology in Education: An International Perspective

In this article, we consider the benefits and challenges of enacting creativity in the K-12 context and examine educational policy with regard to twenty-first century learning and technology. Creativity is widely considered to be a key construct for twenty-first century education. In this article, we review the literature on creativity relevant to education and technology to reveal some of the complex considerations that need to be addressed within educational policy. We then review how creativity emerges, or fails to emerge, in six national education policy contexts: Australia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Slovakia, and the U.S. We also locate the connections, or lack of, between creativity and technology within those contexts. While the discussion is limited to these nations, the implications strongly point to the need for a coherent and coordinated approach to creating greater clarity with regards to the rhetoric and reality of how creativity and technology are currently enacted in educational policy.

Design thinking and the practicing teacher: addressing problems of practice in teacher education

ABSTRACT Design thinking has been receiving increased scholarly and popular interest in education; yet, teachers are often uncertain about what it means to implement this in their educational settings. Design thinking, nonetheless, offers a framework to address the challenging problems of practice educators face. In this article, we examine a graduate-level teacher education course, at a Midwestern US university, which uses the Stanford Design Thinking Model. Educators in the course found that exposure to and practice of the design thinking model allowed them to creatively solve problems of practice relevant to their context. In particular, educators reported three main takeaways from the experience: (1) valuing empathy, (2) becoming open to uncertainty, and (3) seeing teaching as design. We discuss implications and challenges for scholarship and practice.

Playing with Ideas for Creativity and Learning: Play as a Transdisciplinary Habit of Mind

“Playing” is most often considered a pastime of those who have yet to reach an age that requires two digits, or perhaps the lucky few who have found themselves athletically inclined enough to make a career in sport. The “just for fun” view of play often precludes it from immediate association with schools (with the exception of recess), learning, or as a particularly productive habit of mind. Rather than isolating it from these kinds of endeavors, however, play can offer a critical service in the creative process for both old and young alike (Conklin, 2014; Mishra, Koehler, & Henriksen, 2011; Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 1999). In fact, play is not only an aspect of life that brings joy, fun and meaning—core elements unto themselves, but is foundational to the way that we learn and develop throughout life.

Revisited and Remixed

This chapter explores the idea of creativity as “variations on a theme” and grounds this in actual cases of creative practice. Specifically, we seek to explain how combinatorial creativity can lead to uniquely novel output where it is difficult to see any traces of the influence it was derived from? We ground this discussion by digging deeper into specific examples taken from the world of puzzle and game design. Essentially, we argue that spotting more complex and less-obvious variables (and seeing how they can be reconfigured) is more amenable to people with a wider diversity of experiences and depth of knowledge across different disciplines. This supplies a person with a richer repository of inspiration and the potential to see more prospects than people with narrower foundations.

On Being (In)Disciplined

Research has shown that there is a fundamental contradiction at the heart of the creative process—in that creativity requires both deep disciplinary knowledge and the ability to break disciplinary boundaries. Transdisciplinary thinking, we argue, offers a set of meta-level skills that help people transfer information creatively from one domain to another. A transdisciplinary approach towards creativity has significant implications for how we incorporate creativity in classroom contexts. We introduce the notion of (in)disciplined learning as a way to address the problem of generic, content-neutral approaches to incorporating creativity in educational contexts. Educators need to understand that creativity happens in a discipline or context; while acknowledging that, at the same time it is “indisciplined,” i.e., cuts across disciplinary boundaries through divergent thinking and imagination.