Curiosity
Cliff
We
have this image of what a genius is- a person who has these amazing ideas, all
the time. The individuals brilliant and insightful, day and night. A person for
whom things come easily - that have minds more advanced somehow. But, this is
not necessarily the case. Yes, they have ingenuity, wisdom and confidence- but
they also get distracted, discouraged and overwhelmed like the rest of us. What
they have mastered is the ability to take their curiosity, imagination and
creativity and hone in on solutions, innovations and unfold a new strategy
never even considered. In other words, not necessarily inventing something new,
but looking at things in a unique way.
We
all have curiosity, imagination, creativity and problem-solving skills. Curiosity
is the cliffs edge, imagination the turbulent waters below, creativity the
leap- do you dive, jump or slowly climb down the precipice? You have a choice,
do you make a splash quickly, or take the long way around, dipping into the
current slowly? We are constantly longing for this view, both anticipatory and
exciting, but on occasion we doubt ourselves and begin to dwell inside a cave:
dark, dank and isolated- where we feel defeated and overwhelmed. So many people
surround the cave, however. They too are gazing upon the blue waters, waiting
to take the plunge. All we need to do is turn around.
Combinatory
Play
Where do
we get the determination and motivation to pivot? There are times when we
simply get bogged down with new ideas. The ‘ether’ I call it, is bombarding us
with visions and speculations, we are simply trying to make sense of. We must
find a way to separate ourselves from them, distance ourselves from the noise.
Albert Einstein used a technique he called, combinatory play. Combinatory
play is the “act of opening up one mental channel by dabbling in another.” In
other words, it is taking two unrelated things and putting them together to
generate new ideas. Einstein would
play violin to overcome a challenging equation. The simple act of walking away
from the blackboard and doing something else, playing music, helped the numbers
fall into place. This strategy does not set apart geniuses from the masses, but
rather, it is a technique any creative person will tell you is invaluable. So
how can we use this strategy in our classrooms, to help our students find their
cliff?
First, we
need to see our learning environment not as a testing ground, where
demographics and data scramble the focus. We must see our classrooms as
launching points, the cliff above the sprawling ocean, of ingenuity and
self-advocacy. We must see the strategies we implement as benefitting all, not
just the majority. If a new drug, tested by pharmaceutical companies gets a 57%
success rate, they call this ready for market. What about the other 43%? If the
techniques are not elevating everyone, preparing them for the dive of
knowledge, then we need to find alternatives that will. Looking at the vastness
of the sea may intimidate many students, but if we model the jump, leap
ourselves, they will follow.
Classroom
Dabble
This
dabble in something that may not be content related, might put some teachers on
the defensive. “That is just playing around,” many will say. However, if we
implement these, quick bursts, students will get more creative and innovative.
Purposeful distractions are not a bad thing. If we redirect after a set time
and monitor the process, we can create these moments of regeneration of
imagination, that are meaningful, purposeful and fruitful. They will be
beneficial, rejuvenating and they will provide a moment to spark new ideas.
Combinatory
play can be integrated in many ways: Create a makerspace, to design and tinker but
also to just play for a bit with Lego or Play-doh. Use a whiteboard, chalkboard
or even table tops to design a class graffiti wall, a place where students can
write poetry, draw cartoons, or even just graffiti. Even a mingle menagerie,
interactive group activity, works great for combinatory play. An example, let
students participate in a scavenger hunt for clues about an on-going puzzle or
class problem. The distraction of the hunt, gets them out of their heads
temporarily, letting the solution, to the current class challenge present
itself.
I like to
make sure combinatory play is not simply a time to talk, but an active, tactile
experience- this is when my students focus is redirected, when they let go of
what is stunting their thinking. Then, after a brief discussion, they go back
to the daily activity, with a clear perspective. This seems like a brain break,
but often brain breaks are content related, they are think-pair-share or just a
shift of perspective, while combinatory play, is stepping away from content,
for the connections, to be able to form in a more organic, natural way. This lifts
the fog and allows the sunlight to reach the glimmer of blue, the shimmer of
the waves that beckons us up the hillside, lures us out of the cave, and brings
us to the edge. The next step, that choice is up to them.
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