Ostendorf ELED 510 Creativity Reflection: Final Exam Integrating the arts into my teaching has allowed me to appreciate

a childs experiences and realize that exposure to the arts is essential to self-expression and creative cognition. My classroom will include the range of arts and creative expressions of visual arts, drama, music, dance, and poetry. A belief about integrated arts that I will not abandon is that music is a powerful tool for learning (Isbell & Shirley, 2012). It helps us learn as we use it to make us happy, enjoy movement, to promote energy, to relax, and to focus. As I have seen in my practicum classroom, music, establishes a positive learning environment, creates a desired atmosphere, energizes learning activities, increases attention, and provides inspiration (Isbell & Shirley, 2012). I plan to use music to learn information by having my class learn and preform short songs. Background music will also be used in my

classroom to provide a welcoming atmosphere and an energized learning environment. A second belief about integrated arts that I will not abandon is that visual arts encourage speaking and listening skills. Art is particularly powerful when it allows students to communicate learning when they cannot express it through writing. Having students create models of things allows them to clarify their thoughts, ideas, and feelings by drawing and labeling. By creating visual art, students can integrate and retain what they are learning in all areas when they have opportunities to create relevant artifacts; they can go deeper into units of study. The third belief about integrated arts I will not abandon is the vital use of movement in all lessons. I will create opportunities for students to preform in order to promote self-confidence and accomplishment. I will make sure that

Ostendorf movement is allowed in the classroom and that if I am giving a mini-lecture to include

time for movement brain-breaks. I also will encourage role playing as students are able to better understand a story or character if they are physically acting it out. For example, I may use pictures and retell a story orally while they physically act it out. A strategy that incorporates all three beliefs described above is the use of interpretive dance. As shown in our ELED 510 class interpretive dance allows for movement, music, and visual art. I think that this will be a powerful learning tool in my classroom. These beliefs will foster creativity in the class, which will in turn better my students overall: When people are creative, they often find out what they are good at, and it is when people find out what they are good at that they become better at everything else (Sir Kenneth Robinson, Something I could not live without in my classroom is color. If everything was black and white the classroom would be uninviting, dull, and uninspiring. A classroom without color is a classroom without life, a thing of the past. To ensure that color is present in my classroom I will have decorated the walls with inspiring, colorful posters. I will print assignments on colorful paper. I will make sure that students have plenty of colorful materials to work with when doing in-class projects. I will set an example in my models of work by having them colored and detailed. The atmosphere of my classroom is something that is extremely important to me. I want to make sure that it is an exciting, motivating, stimulating, and overall fun place to be. This type of environment makes students want to learn. Teachers need support in order to be creative (Isbell & Shirley, 2012). We must stock our classrooms with materials to promote creativity in the classroom; such as, oil pastels,

Ostendorf paints, construction paper, scissors, glue, etc. To keep a positive, creative, and energetic attitude we must surround ourselves and be supported by positive people. When creating art projects in the classroom we need to keep an open mind and be flexible. We need to

accept multiple interpretations of products, not ones that look just like our own. We need to understand that time will always be an issue, whether you are doing something creative or not. We need to learn to not freak out when we see a mess because a lot of the time with visual art projects messes will be created. We need to show our kids creations off to the school by putting them up around and outside of the classroom. In order to ensure that the supports I need are present I will make sure to forever continue my creative journey. I will make sure to habitually include creativity into my life and share the things I have done with others. I will collect supplies and materials throughout the years, as well as models my students have done. I will choose the people I am close with wisely to make sure I am surrounding myself with positive people. I will remind myself to keep an open mind in all aspects of my life. I will try different time management strategies and will integrate the arts within math, science, and social studies (in the interest of time). I will be organized and label where things should go in the classroom to cut down on the mess that some projects may produce. Finally, I will rotate students work around my classroom every other week and make sure to frequently change my bulletin boards. On the last day of school, my integrated arts approach will have been successful if my students feel a little bit more creative than when they first came into my class. By reflecting and the opportunity for multiple art projects my students will have the practice

Ostendorf and experience needed to enhance their creativity skills. In the words of Theresa Amabile, everyone is capable of being creative (Amabile, 1996).

Ostendorf Resources Amabile, T. (1996). Creativity in context: update to the social psychology of creativity. Westview Press: Boston, MA. Sir Kenneth Robinson. (2006, Feb.) How schools kill creativity [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html. Isbell, R., Shirley, R. (2012). Creativity and the arts with young children. ThomsonDelmar Learning.