Creativity+with+Mrs.Simon

=** 21st Century Course Project Innovative and Creative Ruth Simon July 2013 **=

In this 21st Century world, we as teachers seek to create learning environments that motivate our students to think, problem solve, create, and to take ownership of their own learning. We want them to take risks, step out of the box, and make personal connections with what they are learning. As we strive to push them toward higher-levels of thinking and being able to express themselves, we are always looking for new ways to reach students with varying learning styles. For many of our students the arts are a great way for them to make those awesome connections and be excited about learning.

As music teachers, we promote 21st Century learning in numerous ways. We help students develop strong communication skills through singing, playing, speaking, and dance. Student collaboration, adaptability and willingness to take risks play a strong role in our preparation for performances. A lot of creativity is involved as students work on dances, smaller ensembles, and skits.

The ecosystem element I would like to focus on is innovation and creativity. Music is a great place to give students opportunities to tap into their creativity. As students are given freedom to explore and create on their own, it fosters excitement for learning and can motivate even struggling students to want to learn. Research shows that when we are excited and enjoying what we are learning, this activates the parts of the brain that process higher-level thinking skills and memory.

I have several ideas of how I would like to further implement this in my music room. Small groups of 2 - 4 students working together to:
 * Create an accompaniment for a song we sing/play in class using classroom instruments
 * Improvise using pentatonic scale
 * Create sound effects for characters/actions in a book we have read in class
 * Write a theme song for a story using a familiar tune
 * Create movements or a dance for a song we sing in class
 * Garageband Project

I would also like to use more technology in the creative process.
 * Have students video tape their classroom performances
 * Produce a trailer or commercial using imovie. (Here's a link to my first imovie) [|imovie]
 * Have students experiment with GarageBand on ipads to create a song project https://docs.google.com/a/d303.org/forms/d/1L32xLwn0FZtMGnEgvcmYTxrmVokihem8ZLzsRO2WVEo/edit?usp=sharing

Artifacts Garage Band Directions

QR Code Garageband Follow Up