More Creativity Links!

Courtesy of Melinda Walker, a student in CRS 594 Creative Teaching & Learning Course:

http://dschool.stanford.edu/k12/classes.php
The Standford d-school (the d is short for design) has branched out to reach K-12 students around the world. Stanford university professors and graduate students, along with local and national businesses, foundations, and orginazitions work together to empower teachers and students with training and support in design thinking. While their focus is mainly the underprivledged, they have also partnered with the Nueva School for the gifted and talented. Classes and training are mentioned, however they may only be for Stanford students.

http://www.ahc-oakland.org/index.html
The mission statement of the Attitudinal Healing Connection is “to eliminate violence by offering creative and educational programs that transform the human spirit and build peaceful, loving, communities for all humanity.” While this organization’s main focus is to to put an end to violence through emotinal healing, they have chosen to do this by providing safe opportunities for creative expression. Their ArtEsteem program for kids teaches them to visualize, design, and create themselves as a super hero and then write about their positive powers. They also offer a leadership institute that includes training in problem solving and identifying personal assets. AHC is located in Oakland, CA, one of the most violent places in America due to the high percentage of drugs, gangs, poverty, and high school drop out rates.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/about/structured_learning/
Learning through exploration is the goal of the Exploratorium. Although their hands-on interactive exhibits my range from water to your weight on other planets, the Exploratorium wants everyone to leave knowing “the world is an understandable place and that learning to understand it is satisfying and a lot of fun.” They strive to “create a culture of learning through innovative environments, programs, and tools that help people nurture their curiosity about the world around them.” The Exploratorium excells at heightening anticipation, making it a very popular field trip with both students and teachers.

http://zeum.com/about/index.html
Zeum is a hands-on multimedia and technology arts museum for kids. Their goal is to nuture the 3 C’s of the 21st century (creativity, collaboration, and communication) in order to “inspire new ideas and innovative solutions.” Everyone leaves Zeum having created something new. Their website provides information about their exhibits and activities, as well as educational programming.

http://www.myglobalschool.org/strategic-learning
The mission statement of the Global School of Silicon Valley states it is "committed to providing each student an exemplary American educational experience, while focusing on Holistic Development, Creativity and Entrepreneurship, and nurturing them into men and women who are Global citizens committed to the spirit of Excellence". The principal elaborates a bit by stating the school will encourage “initiative, self-discipline, critical thinking, and creative problem-solving.” This school is part of a 22 school international network of eight countries. By collaborating with others from around the world, the global school aims to increase cross-cultural learning for teachers and students, share and develop best practices, and formulate consistent educational policies.¬¬¬