Thursday, April 30, 2015

GUEST BLOG POST: The Power Of The Imaginative Mind — Sir Kenneth Robinson

Sir Kenneth Robinson




Editor’s Note: The next steps in laying the foundations for building competencies in creativity and innovation is to tackle the power of imagination, critical thinking and creative thinking. The power of the imagination is crucial; unfortunately it is only recently that scholars and teachers have begun to discover this vitality.
One of the most educative material I have used to share the lesson on power of the imaginative mind was a 2-part presentation by Sir Professor Kenneth Robinson how we can educate ourselves and our children to have many good ideas. He spoke on The Power of the Imaginative Mind.  
Sir Kenneth Robinson's remarks were recorded on April 10, 2008, at the Apple Education Leadership Summit, a gathering in San Francisco, USA of more than 100 school superintendents from around the world. Robinson is the author of Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative.
I do not need to endorse Sir Robinson, listen to him and it would be an enlightening time for you.
Just as an aside, find the comments about the presentation Professor Howard Esbin made after listening:
Thank you for sharing Sir Ken Robinson's erudite and engaging presentation.
The faculty of imagination is largely associated with artistic expression. As a result, its cultivation is left primarily to arts education, which problematically is unavailable in most schools. Despite all constraints, students continue to ply their imaginations in myriad ways - directly and artistically through media such as poems, stories, graphic comics, music, painting, photography and video, and indirectly through activities like volunteering, special science or enterprise projects, and sports. A US study from the National School Boards Association shows that 96% of adolescents with online access create new content online, primarily outside school.
As recently as 2004, Harvard University's Project Zero noted: "There should be room in assessment to reward imagination and creativity and care taken not to inhibit it." Part of the challenge is that cultivating and assessing imagination requires a different frame of reference, language, and tools than those used for reason. As yet, there are no widely used protocols in place to include or value imagination in assessments, consequently, the rich student effort, described above, goes largely unrecognized.
This failure is exacerbated further because school conditions students to think in terms of 'right' answers and 'wrong' ones. However, to be imaginative is to ask 'what if?' and 'why not?' It is to picture and express what doesn't fully exist. Students, afraid of being wrong or sounding foolish, become stifled. Most, therefore, graduate with a diminished faith in their own capacity and little understanding of its true worth. These attitudes reflect the West's historical bias against imagination, in favour of reason.
The zeitgeist is shifting. Imagination is seen increasingly as intrinsic to all endeavors. In 1964, the philosopher Henri Corbin wrote, "The most astounding information of modern science regarding the physical universe remains inferior to [the imagination]." It appears that the more we learn, the subtler the line becomes between what is real and what is imaginary. For example, the founder of Second Life, which has 1.7 million players, observes that the creation of an avatar is a 'gateway' experience between the "real" world and the world of imagination.
Because the creative process is so intense, the players' online characters are strongly identified with. Not surprisingly, virtual economies are now generating significant financial profit in what gamers call the First World. The ability to imagine alternative selves in simulated virtual worlds, no matter how fantastical, ultimately helps stretch understanding of who we are and what reality is. There's also a growing interdisciplinary body of research and practice regarding the use of such imaginative activity in health science, sports psychology, social psychology, organizational management, community development, and the military. --- Howard B. Esbin, PhD
Sir Ken Robinson On The Power Of The Imaginative Mind (Part One)

The internationally renowned innovation consultant calls for transformation, not just reformation, of public education.
TO PLAY PART ONE, CLICK HERE

Sir Ken Robinson On The Power Of The Imaginative Mind (Part Two)


The creativity guru shares his vision for a new way of educating children.
TO PLAY PART TWO, CLICK HERE  
ALL THE VIDEOS ARE COPYRIGHT OWNED BY EDUTOPIA.ORG. THERE USE IS GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGED.

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