\nI feel that this video provides a unique look at the architecture of education, in a way that is not formally addressed. It questions play and imagination. I think, if anything these thought processes are important to keep in mind when generating ideas. Children and their creative imagination place no value in judgement. They are thus more apt to create free flowing ideas and unique ideas. Children are not expected to be bound creatively by the limitations of practically. Or, as Adora points out in her example of the children that created glass art in a public exhibit; their designs were not influenced by the difficulty of actually creating the subject yet professionals now go to this exhibit to use these exhibits as inspiration for their own work. This example highlights the uniqueness of the child imagination. Something that I think is definaley lost in higher ed.
\nI had a teacher in entrepreneurship who encouraged such thought. It was clearly difficult to do correctly, because it made her lectures sometimes appear aloof and near laughable. Her attempt to apply imagination to real world context was hard to do. This teacher urged us to disregard all practicality when thinking of business ideas or marketing campaigns. This first year class is based on this theme of creative invent-ism. It ends as a senior with an in depth analysis of the market and 5 year financial forecast of one specific business. During this process this teacher encourage a looseness of creative thought that is generally associated with children. The objective was to not be bound by obstacles but to remain creative, resourceful and imaginative in the face of challenge while still being able to apply the solution through an effective business strategy.
\nIn regards to UDL and our consultations I feel that this video falls right in with the faculty implementing more engagement and student expression. It may not be easy for a more traditional lecturer to embed multiple means of expression into their course or their assignments because it is not a customary thing to do, it may not even be practical. But at the same time it is like giving all of your students one color crayon to complete an assignment. As a child you get a whole box of crayons with 64 DIFFERENT colors. The analogy that many people take for granted make when it comes to creativity, childhood, and education is that; as we get older, our colors are taken away from us. UDL principles and its applications, when done correctly are akin to bringing these colors back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Adora is 12 years old – video is from ted.com.
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