"Reflect on your own creativity and how you might tap into your own creative and joyful spaces. How much fun will you have as you teach? What creative talents can you bring to your teaching? What happens when you consider teaching from an “outside of the box” perspective?"
Creativity and Innovative Teaching Strategies
One of the passages in the reading assignment from our book this week spoke to me. It talked about using things we see in everyday life as jumping point for discussion in the classroom (Herrman, J., 2016). Creativity and innovative teaching strategies in the classroom can be used to stimulate the student’s creative juices. Current events such as disease outbreaks and movies that we see may help us to create analogies for discussion points we are trying to make in the classroom (Herrman, J., 2016). I am an avid reader and I tend to go on bunny trails of subjects. I have read all the Florence Nightingale, Jane Austin, Edith Wharton, Charles Dickens, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series as well as countless personal survival stories from slavery in this country and the horrific holocaust. I enjoy literary fiction and books that have a magical human healing element such as “The Secret Life of Bees.” There is so much to be learned in literature about the human spirit, humanity and the will to survive, how we take care of ourselves and how we show caring by reaching out to others which is a fundamental concept in nursing, noted by some as the essences of nursing. Stories of human triumph and selflessness of people occur every day and throughout history and can be used to uphold values in nursing.
Creativity and innovation in the classroom is important to inspire nursing students to find perseverance in themselves and build connections in education that will stay with them for life for deep learning as they go into the noble career of Nursing. I would love to share elements of literature outside of nursing that are seemingly unrelated to support concepts in nursing, and inspire the student to solve problems and create new meaning by delving into multiple intelligences (Innovation Excellence). I think that using literature in the classroom could ignite some lively discussion. I have just begun to read and watch movies with the classroom in mind. I look forward to the fun I will have finding new creative and innovative ways of discovery using literature to inspire reflection and creativity for my students.
References
Herrman, J.W. (2016). Creative teaching strategies for the nurse educator (2nd ed.) Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.
Innovation Excellence. Promoting Creativity in the Classroom. Retrieved 8/21/15 from: www.innovationexcellence.com
Herrman, J.W. (2016). Creative teaching strategies for the nurse educator (2nd ed.) Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.
Innovation Excellence. Promoting Creativity in the Classroom. Retrieved 8/21/15 from: www.innovationexcellence.com