The Creativity Post

The concept of being “consciously upbeat” certainly sounds like a positive way to embrace the day. It involves taking stock of what has happened, is happening, or is likely to happen–and trying to make the most of it. It’s a deliberate choice, an intentional way of thinking and acting. And, although at first blush it seems to be a relatively easy notion, it can be difficult to put into practice! This is true for parents, AND for kids.

The art of sculpting, particularly with clay, is a deeply intuitive and iterative process that serves as a profound metaphor for the complex realm of problem-solving, where both processes involve taking raw materials - whether tangible or intangible substances - and shaping them into something meaningful and functional. The artistry inherent in problem-solving can be appreciated, recognizing that it is not merely a technical endeavor, but a creative pursuit as well.

“Next-levelling” involves advancing—pushing forward, upward, outward, or onward. It requires effort, and initiative. It’s important at the outset of a new academic year or school term, but it’s equally important as a school year ramps up and gets into full swing. Whether kids’ pursuits have to do with creative endeavors, educational programs, interests (such as sports, art, music, technology, trucks), or something else altogether—there’s always room for growth.

Over my 40-plus year career as an academic clinician working with highly able (i.e., gifted and talented; high ability) children and youth, I have observed with keen interest and even fascination the maturing development of the related fields of gifted education, expertise, and talent development. In my opinion, there now are a few critically important, irrefutable facts that those who work with high ability children can agree upon.

Parents often think that intelligent kids learn quickly, with very few errors and little or no difficulty. Many parents feel that speed and ease are, in fact, proof of being smart. And, most parents praise their children for these attributes. For example, they might say something like this: “Julie, you’re a math whiz. You never even make a mistake!” “Sammy, you learn things SO fast! You’re a superstar!” These parents are proud of their children’s abilities.

Having assessed students’ mindset skills across the country and analyzing the data over the last four years, there is a concerning trend emerging across America’s campuses. Utilizing the MindVue Profile, a psychometric assessment used to assess levels of motivation, grit, resilience, and numerous other non-cognitive factors related to a variety of performance and positive life outcomes, there has been an ongoing trend developing among college students.

WHAT IS DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT? Dynamic assessment determines where a person is at in their learning journey, and how to build from there. It’s a collaborative process that’s responsive to children’s diverse ways of learning. Dynamic assessment is cyclical in nature. It’s an informal means of determining a child’s learning needs —> teaching to optimal levels —> and assessing learning outcomes... Then determining learning needs —> teaching to optimal levels —> and assessing outcomes….

Effortless, enjoyable productivity is a state of consciousness prized and sought after by people in business, the arts, research, education and anyone else who wants to produce a stream of creative ideas and products. That’s flow, or the sense of being “in the zone.” A new neuroimaging study from Drexel University’s Creativity Research Lab is the first to reveal how the brain gets to the creative flow state. The study isolated flow-related brain activity during a creative task: jazz improvisation.

This study was originally published in Perspectives on Psychological Science (Open Access) Abstract Much discussion about large language models and language-and-vision models has focused on whether these models are intelligent agents. We present an alternative perspective. First, we argue that these artificial intelligence (AI) models are cultural technologies that enhance cultural transmission and are efficient and powerful imitation engines.

Certain traits are universally recognized to be linked: empathy and kindness, discipline and hard work, gratitude and contentment, and so on. But other pairs of essential relationships need to be more widely recognized.