While college instructors often focus on a variety of approaches for presenting course content (e.g., active learning techniques) and the assessment of student learning, there are comparatively fewer opportunities to reflect on how to engage with and cultivate students’ creativity, regardless of subject area. This 10 - 15 minute presentation would focus on how students use “concept maps” to visualize, contextualize, and discuss connections between themes in a course’s content. The presentation will review some of the prior research on concept mapping, tactile modes of learning, and provide an opportunity to practice some of the techniques as related to the attendee’s own course or teaching goals. In addition to this single presentation, the broader panel would focus on how instructors from different disciplines seek to validate and develop students’ creative capacities (either in tandem with more traditional assessment goals or in place of them).
Objectives - By the end of this panel session, attendees will be able to:
- Understand the importance of highlighting how they are recognizing and cultivating students' creativity in the context of other course learning goals
- Apply several techniques and approaches to course learning goals in order to develop creativity-centered learning activities or assessments