Sep 9, 2020
Four Ways to Promote Creativity in Your Remote Instruction
Celebrating National Arts in Education Week
This year’s National Arts in Education Week kicks off on Sunday, September 13. According to Americans for the Arts, during this annual week, “the field of arts education joins together in communities across the country to tell the story of the impact of the transformative power of the arts in education.”
Even in today’s unique environment, when more students than ever are attending school remotely, art education should remain a priority. Art cultivates human connection, highlights and celebrates different cultures, aids mental health, and can easily be integrated into any lesson — whether remote or in person.
To help celebrate National Arts in Education Week, we have curated several of our blogs that can help you promote creativity in your classroom, whatever it looks today. See below for our best tips and tricks:
1) Technology Is Your Friend
In today’s distance learning environment, teachers have more to juggle than ever before. With such little time to spare, it can be easy to say that making time for creativity in a remote classroom is the last thought on a busy teacher’s mind. However, the technology that teachers are already using to facilitate their remote instruction can easily be leveraged to create an engaging, online art studio. Here this guest blogger’s ideas on how technology can be used to promote creativity.
2) Personalize the Experience
In this article, guest blogger and art teacher Jason Blair discusses how the pandemic has demonstrated that creativity spawns in the bleakest of times. But how do teachers create a positive environment for creativity to thrive? As curators of learning experiences, the teacher needs to create the conditions for creative minds to make connections and situate learning into more personal contexts. Check out the blog below for more.
3) Make Your Classroom a Safe Space for Everyone
Today’s challenging environment have compelled educators, in a way that many have not previously done, to engage in conversations to determine how, and with what resources, they can counter systemic racism, and build their classrooms (both in person, remote, or blended) into anti-racist environments where students are engaging with history and the present world in ways that are authentic, reflective, and honest. Hear how this guest blogger is shaping her classroom into an exclusive space.
4) Harness Your Own Creativity
While many children may not be able to go to school, teaching and learning have never stopped, and teachable moments are endless. To celebrate the idea that school can be anywhere, and that learning happens everywhere, we asked educators of all kinds to illustrate their unique approaches to remote learning! See how these teachers are motivating their students by showcasing their own creativity. We hope these ideas inspire you!
