Artists Collect Ideas

Developing Creative Habits

Ideas are either a strength or a stumbling block for many of my students. Some have almost too many but others get stuck for days trying to find inspiration. I use themes and media Explorations to support students with ideation. It helps, but I’ve realized that it’s not enough.

I need to do more ( or at least work differently), I realized when I started planning for my second semester classes. I need to teach students how to find an idea as a creative habit so they can move from relying on suggestions I provide to confidentiality taking charge of finding their own.

How exactly I will do this is still a work in progress, but I have some ideas to start with.

• I’ll teach ideation as a creative habit through classroom discussion and sharing. These discussions will happen often so students can learn from each other.

• Students will take part in idea generation ideas, like creating a list of 100 ideas with their table groups during the first week of class.

• I made an idea center, where I’ll post monthly challenges like Februllage, a “free idea” envelope that students maintain and other supports.

Will this work? I want to know for sure, so I asked about ideation on my student survey. I’ll compare responses from the beginning of the year to responses at the end. I’m excited to see how this develops over the semester!