Part 3: Training Divergent Thinking with Creative Writing Games

Part 5: Making it Useful

Podcast 5 focuses on making these games and exercises useful. Once you have developed a creative space, divergent skills, and used these to play creative textual games, the question often arises of how to integrate this into other projects and activities. Podcast 5 answers that question, focusing on the drafting stage of projects. Some of the practical techniques include brainstorming, remediating ideas, freewriting, and juxtaposition. Article on using the games in a Norwegian high school: https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/ecgbl/article/view/1385 [https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/ecgbl/article/view/1385] Dylan Thomas Dominoes, an advanced game using some of these concepts: http://www8.uis.no/fag/DigitalGamesForReadingLiterature/www/docs/ [http://www8.uis.no/fag/DigitalGamesForReadingLiterature/www/docs/] Metaphor Mapping, an interface for exploring texts using these ideas: https://www.allencjones.com/metaphor-mapping.html [https://www.allencjones.com/metaphor-mapping.html] You can find a transcription here (pdf, opens in new tab) [https://podcast.uis.no/media/Teaching_Creativity/transcription/Part_5_Making_it_Useful.pdf]

Part 4: Understanding and Building Divergent Reading Games

The previous podcast focused on creative writing games for building both divergent thinking and student engagement in writing and collaboration. Podcast 4 focuses on creative reading games for building divergent thinking. These games help move us toward more directed (convergent) thinking and critical reading. This is key as it allows us to more successfully integrate these skills into our tool kit. Games included in this podcast: Erasure/Blackout, New Ending, Replacement Poem, Double-Replacement Poem, Story Dice, and The Metaphor Game. Article on using the games in a Norwegian high school: https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/ecgbl/article/view/1385 [https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/ecgbl/article/view/1385] Dylan Thomas Dominoes, an advanced game using some of these concepts: http://www8.uis.no/fag/DigitalGamesForReadingLiterature/www/docs/ [http://www8.uis.no/fag/DigitalGamesForReadingLiterature/www/docs/] Metaphor Mapping, an interface for exploring texts using these ideas: https://www.allencjones.com/metaphor-mapping.html [https://www.allencjones.com/metaphor-mapping.html] You can find a transcription here (p [https://podcast.uis.no/media/Teaching_Creativity/transcription/Part_4_Understanding_and_Building_Divergent_Reading.pdf]d [https://podcast.uis.no/media/Teaching_Creativity/transcription/Part_4_Understanding_and_Building_Divergent_Reading.pdf]f, opens in new tab) [https://podcast.uis.no/media/Teaching_Creativity/transcription/Part_4_Understanding_and_Building_Divergent_Reading.pdf]

Part 3: Training Divergent Thinking with Creative Writing Games

This podcast introduces fun creative writing activities that help develop divergent thinking (creative mind) skills while building collaboration, developing students’ identity as writers, and undoing the myth of genius (only geniuses are truly creative) that gets in the way of creativity, especially in writing. These short activities can also be used as divergent practice while seeming like little more than “fun” creativity, as they more gamified and can be learned easily. Both freewriting and these short games can be a way to develop divergent thinking skills over time before taking on the more significant project of divergent reading games presented in Podcast 4. The games in this podcast include: Nonsense Paragraph, Surrealist Q & A, Conditionals, Problem/Solution with Word Bomb, and Exquisite Corpse. Article on using the games in a Norwegian high school: https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/ecgbl/article/view/1385 [https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/ecgbl/article/view/1385] Dylan Thomas Dominoes, an advanced game using some of these concepts: http://www8.uis.no/fag/DigitalGamesForReadingLiterature/www/docs/ [http://www8.uis.no/fag/DigitalGamesForReadingLiterature/www/docs/] Metaphor Mapping, an interface for exploring texts using these ideas: https://www.allencjones.com/metaphor-mapping.html [https://www.allencjones.com/metaphor-mapping.html] You can find a transcription here (pdf, opens in new tab) [https://podcast.uis.no/media/Teaching_Creativity/transcription/Part_3_Creative_Writing_Games.pdf]

Part 2: Training Creative Thinking with Freewriting

The second podcast introduces the often misunderstood technique of freewriting as a practical tool for teaching and learning divergent thinking. The podcast introduces a series of freewriting exercises that help us to navigate the movement between divergent and convergent thinking. Games included in this podcast: Open Freewriting, Blind Freewriting, Word Bomb, and Catch Phrase. Article on using the games in a Norwegian high school: https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/ecgbl/article/view/1385 [https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/ecgbl/article/view/1385] Dylan Thomas Dominoes, an advanced game using some of these concepts: http://www8.uis.no/fag/DigitalGamesForReadingLiterature/www/docs/ [http://www8.uis.no/fag/DigitalGamesForReadingLiterature/www/docs/] Metaphor Mapping, an interface for exploring texts using these ideas: https://www.allencjones.com/metaphor-mapping.html [https://www.allencjones.com/metaphor-mapping.html] You can find a transcription here (pdf, opens in new tab) [https://podcast.uis.no/media/Teaching_Creativity/transcription/Part_2_Creative_Thinking_Skills_with_Freewriting.pdf]

Part 1: Understanding Creativity

This is an introduction to teaching creativity for use by teachers, students, and anyone interested in understanding how creativity works and how to develop it through writing games. This first podcast discusses reasons to teach creativity, introduces a simple but useful definition for creativity focusing on divergent thinking, and finally discusses some challenges when teaching and using creativity, particularly the challenge of building a judgment free zone, the key to all creative work. Article on using the games in a Norwegian high school: https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/ecgbl/article/view/1385 [https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/ecgbl/article/view/1385] Dylan Thomas Dominoes, an advanced game using some of these concepts: http://www8.uis.no/fag/DigitalGamesForReadingLiterature/www/docs/ [http://www8.uis.no/fag/DigitalGamesForReadingLiterature/www/docs/] Metaphor Mapping, an interface for exploring texts using these ideas: https://www.allencjones.com/metaphor-mapping.html [https://www.allencjones.com/metaphor-mapping.html] You can find a transcription here (pdf, opens in new tab) [https://podcast.uis.no/media/Teaching_Creativity/transcription/Part_1_A_Understanding_and_Teaching_Creativity_Master.pdf]