Vol. III No. 6 * May/June, 1998
links were valid through August 1998
Dee Dickinson: From the Observation Deck of The Building
When we recognize that the human brain and all of our intelligences can continue
to develop throughout the lifespan, we need to continue exploring what environments,
strategies, and tools facilitate that development. In a recent article called
Thinking Like a Genius, author Michael Michalko examines the possibility that
even creative genius can be learned -- and is not dependent on I.Q. He notes
that most people think reproductively, that is on the basis of past learning
experiences. In contrast, creative geniuses think productively. When confronted
with a problem, they ask, "How many ways can I look at it?'" "How can I rethink
the way I see it?, and "How many different ways can I solve it?"
Needless to say, during the school years students must gain knowledge of
the past and present and master basic skills; productive thinking should
be one of those basics. This is the kind of thinking required to pass the
new assessments in reading and math developed by Washington State's
Commission on Student Learning as well as other commissions nationwide.
It is the kind of thinking required in today's rapidly changing and
complex society and in most workplaces.
Michalko suggests eight strategies (see article) that have been common to
the thinking styles of creative thinkers in science, art and industry throughout
history. These strategies can be learned. In studies of great thinkers, subjects
testified that their most influential teachers taught and encouraged them to
develop effective ways to think rather than what to think. We are currently
working on an expanded area on higher order thinking skills soon to appear in
the Tool Room.
Throughout the Building you will find well-researched and documented
methods that make it possible for students at every age and ability level
to become more successful at learning and to develop their capacities as
fully as possible. The spectrum of methods is broad and includes some of
the most ancient processes such as the Socratic method and teaching and
learning through the arts, as well as recent innovations such as new
technologies and different uses of time.
On the same subject, Merle Chait Price shares
her impression of the recent Teaching for Intelligence Conference held
in New York, April 21 - 26, 1998.
Fortunately our Building is not cast in concrete, but can be continually
remodeled and is always under construction. We invite our users to send
along information about their own and others' successful experiences in
teaching and learning. We seek exemplary models, and also are looking for
teachers interested in piloting and reporting on their implementation of
curriculum such as the Environmental Education Curriculum. We hope you
will become an active participant in our learning community.
Recent additions to the Building are a new office--that of the National Inventive
Thinking Association sponsored by the U.S. Patent Office -- a new floor devoted
to Inclusion of Students With Special
Needs sponsored by the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction -- an expanded Grounds
and Gardens area by our President Micki McKisson Evans who has developed a
new environmental education curriculum -- and our first on-line course entitled
School to Work Assessment for All Students and taught by Cinda Johnson and Pat
Brown on the faculty of the University of Washington. These new offerings have
a common denominator. The link is learning--that also connects all the other areas
of the Building.
Thinking
Like a Genius: Eight strategies used by the super creative, from Aristotle
and Leonardo to Einstein and Edison by Michael Michalko
Report on the Teaching for Intelligence Conference
held in New York, April 21 - 26, 1998 by Merle Chait Price
Field Trips and Research
Projects for Kids with Learning Disabilities Arnold L. Stark 
Inclusion at the Preschool
Level: An Ecological Systems Analysis , Samuel L. Odom, Charles A. Peck,
Marci Hanson, Paula J. Beckman, Ann P. Kaiser, Joan Lieber, William H. Brown,
Eva M. Horn, Ilene S. Schwartz Including Children with
Autism in Inclusive Preschools: Strategies that Work Ilene S. Schwartz,
Felix F. Billingsley, and Bonnie M. McBride
You are encouraged to attend all three days of the conference with a team from your school. You'll leave with your mind full of ideas, your arms full of useful books and materials, and your whole being filled with energy to apply what you have learned.
About the KEYS to School
Success
Kazakstan's New Research
Information Centre for Civic Education
Book Reviews in this Issue:
We asked the folks at The Giraffe Project to let us share stories about some of the heroes they've discovered quietly sticking their necks out to make the world a better place. This month we're starting this new feature by sharing the story of Will Fitzhugh and The Concord Review, an online journal showcasing the work of students who go the extra mile to produce work of quality and scholarship.
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