Learning Creative Learning Syllabus
This is the archive for the Learning Creative Learning course offered in the spring 2013 by the MIT Media Lab and P2PU.
All videos are available on our YouTube channel [Note: Open in a new tab or window using right-click (Ctrl+click on Mac).]
February 11: Creative Learning (Session 1)
Readings:
* Mitchel Resnick (2007). All I Really Need to Know (About Creative Thinking) I Learned (By Studying How Children Learn) in Kindergarten. ACM Creativity & Cognition conference.
February 19, 2013: Interest-Based Learning (Session 2)
Panelists: Joi Ito, Mimi Ito
Readings in Preparation for Session 2:
* Seymour Papert (1980): Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas (Foreword: The Gears of My Childhood)
* Joi Ito blog posts: Formal vs Informal Education, Reading the Dictionary, Dubai and Learning about the Unknowable
* Joi Ito (2012). Keynote to Open Educational Resources meeting (video), Hewlett Foundation.
* Mimi Ito et al. (2009): Selections from Learning and Living with New Media. Executive Summary (xiii-xx), Conceptual Framework (19-72), Conclusion and Implications (73-83). MacArthur Foundation.
In preparation, please read the suggested readings (above), and share with your group about:
* What did you find most interesting or surprising in the readings?
* What did you disagree with or have questions about?
Please keep your postings short (just two or three paragraphs).
Activity (Hashtag #lcl-gears):
Read Seymour Papert’s essay on the “Gears of My Childhood” and write about an object from your childhood that interested and influenced you (and share with your group). For inspiration, you can find more childhood-object stories in Additional Resources (below).
Also, we encourage you to try out the Marshmallow Challenge, as described in the first-session video, and discuss your experiences with others in your group. Afterwards, watch the TED talk about the Marshmallow Challenge, to learn about the experiences of others, from kindergarteners to business-school students. (Note that we decided to organize the challenge slightly differently than the one in the TED talk. What do you see as the advantages of each approach?)
Additional Resources:
* Mimi Ito et al. (2013). Connected Learning: An Agenda for Research and Design, MacArthur Foundation.
* MacArthur Foundation (2012): The Essence of Connected Learning (video).
* Wired Magazine (2012). Open university: Joi Ito plans a radical reinvention of MIT's Media Lab.
* Sherry Turkle (2007). Evocative Objects: Things We Think With (Introduction, and selected essays - Cello, Knots, Stars). MIT Press.
* Sherry Turkle (2008). Falling for science: Objects in Mind (Blocks, Steps, Venus Paradis Coloring Set). MIT Press.
* Sayamindu Dasgupta (2010). Kites; Ricarose Roque (2010). Pencils
February 25: Constructionism and Making (Session 3)
Panelist: Leah Buechley, Dale Dougherty
Readings in Preparation for Session 3:
* Seymour Papert (1980): Mindstorms (Chapter 1: Computers and Computer Cultures)
* Seymour Papert (1994): The Children’s Machine (Chapter 7: Instructionism versus Constructionism)
* Dale Dougherty: The Maker Mindset and Learning by Making
* Dale Dougherty (2011): The Heart of Maker Faire (video)
* Leah Buechley (2012): NSF Cyberlearning Summit Talk on Art, Craft, and Electronics (video)
* Mitchel Resnick et al. (2009): Scratch: Programming for All. Communications of the ACM.
In preparation, please read the suggested readings (above) and discuss with your group:
* What ideas in the readings interested or resonated with you?
* How could you apply these ideas to help others learn in your own work, family, or community?
Activity
For this week's activity, create an Scratch project about things you like to do, then share it using the links below. If you are new to Scratch, first follow the 4 steps listed under New to Scratch?
Things I Like To Do Activity
1) Create a Scratch project about things you like to do.
2) Share your project on the Scratch website.
3) Add the project to the LCL: What We Like To Do gallery
New to Scratch?
1) For an overview, watch the Scratch Intro Video on the Scratch home page.
2) Follow the steps for Getting Started with Scratch. You can access helpful resources on the Support page, including Scratch in multiple languages.
3) Download and install the Scratch software.
4) Sign up for a Scratch account so you can share and download projects.
Additional Resources
* Leah Buechley, High-Low Tech, research group website
* The Maker Education Initiative website
* Mitchel Resnick (2012). Let’s Teach Kids to Code (TED Talk video).
* Seymour Papert (1980). Mindstorms (Introduction: Computers for Children, Chapter 2: Mathophobia: The Fear of Learning, Chapter 3: Turtle Geometry: A Mathematics Made for Learning).
March 4: Powerful Ideas (Session 4)
Panelists: Alan Kay, Brian Silverman
Readings:
* Alan Kay (1995): Powerful Ideas Need Love Too! [Note: Open in a new tab or window to view the whole document]
* Seymour Papert (2000): What’s The Big Idea? Toward a Pedagogy of Idea Power
* Mitchel Resnick & Brian Silverman (2005): Some Reflections on Designing Construction Kits for Kids. Interaction Design and Children conference.
Reflections:
Papert described powerful ideas as general (applicable across domains), intelligible (easy to grasp), and personal (rooted in experience). Share an example of a powerful idea from your own experience. What people, materials, or environments supported your learning experience? How might you help others understand and appreciate this powerful idea?
Activity:
Create a project with TurtleArt, and reflect on any “powerful ideas” you engaged with in the process. (For more background, see TurtleArt paper below.)
Additional Resources:
* Paula Bonta, Artemis Papert, & Brian Silverman (2010). Turtle, Art, TurtleArt. Constructionism 2010 conference.
* Arvind Gupta (2010). Turning trash into toys for learning (TED talk). See also free books and videos from Arvind Gupta.
March 11: Open Learning (Session 5)
Panelists: Mako Hill, Philipp Schmidt
Readings in Preparation for Session 5:
* John Seely Brown and Richard Adler (2008): Minds on Fire. Educause Review.
* Ivan Illich: Deschooling Society (Chapter 6: Learning Webs)
* Eric Steven Raymond, The Cathedral and the Bazaar (essay) [Note: Open in a new window or tab]
* (Update: Added) The GNU Manifesto
* (Update: Added) The Free Universal Encyclopedia and Learning Resource
In preparation, please read the suggested readings (above) and discuss with your groups:
* What ideas in the readings interested or resonated with you?
* Describe an experience where you helped someone learn something--and you learned something in the process.
Activity:
Teach & Learn = Ask & Answer
1) Go to stackexchange.com/sites and choose a site that you find interesting
2) Post (at least) one question and answer someone else’s question (at least one)
3) Reflect: What aspects of the experience contribute to a sense of a learning community? What aspects limit a sense of community?
Learning match (extra activity)
1) Offer to teach something & sign-up to learn something from someone else - Post it here
March 18: Social Creativity (Session 6)
Panelists: Gerhard Fischer, Andres Monroy-Hernandez
Readings in Preparation for Session 6:
* Gerhard Fischer (2011): Understanding, Fostering, and Supporting Cultures of Participation. Interactions.
* Andrés Monroy-Hernández (2009): Designing a Website for Creative Learning
* Andrés Monroy-Hernández (2012): Designing for Remixing (excerpts -- Chapters 4 and 7)
Activity:
Remixing in Scratch
(1) Log on to Scratch. (If you’re to Scratch, go to New to Scratch?)
(2) Explore projects in the Scratch website and find a project you would like to remix.
(3) Download the project and modify it in Scratch.
(4) Click the “Share” button to share your remix.
(5) In your project notes, explain what you changed and give credit.
(6) Add your project to the [LCL] Remix Gallery.
March 25: No class
April 1: Learning in Communities (Session 7)
Panelists: Geetha Narayanan, Natalie Rusk
Readings in Preparation for Session 7:
* Natalie Rusk, Mitchel Resnick, & Stina Cooke (2009): Origins and Guiding Principles of the Computer Clubhouse, in The Computer Clubhouse: Constructionism and Creativity in Youth Communities.
- En Español from Eduteka.org: Origen y Principios Guía del Club Juvenil de Informática
* Geetha Narayanan (2007): A Dangerous but Powerful Idea
Activity:
Find out about and visit a creative learning space in your local area.
By "creative learning space," we're thinking of a place in which people are creating projects --and learning from each other as part of the process.
Here are some questions you may want to note when visiting. You could focus on one or two, and share back to the group. If you are already an active participant, share your experience.
Additional Resources:
* Henry Jenkins (2011): What Samba Schools Can Teach Us about Participatory Culture (blog post)
* Roger Malina (2013). Towards a “Cloud Curriculum” in Art and Science., The STEAM Journal.
* Seymour Papert (1980). Mindstorms (Chapter 8: Images of the Learning Society)
April 8: Motivation and Persistence (Session 8)
Panelists: Avi Kaplan, Ricarose Roque, Natalie Rusk
Readings in Preparation for Session 8:
* Carol Dweck (2000): Self-Theories (Chapters 1-3)
* Daniel Pink (2009): Drive video clip and Motivation 3.0 interview (author of Drive)
* Paul Tough (2012): This American Life radio program (author of How Children Succeed)
* Edited by Natalie Rusk (2013): Notes on Motivation: Designing Environments to Support a Learning Goal Orientation
Activity: Tell about something you’ve worked on that you felt was meaningful and motivating. Explain what made you feel motivated. If you were designing a learning experience or environment, what would you do to help others feel motivated and engaged?
Additional Resources:
* Mitch Resnick (2012): Still a Badge Skeptic. HASTAC blog
* Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown (2011): Sam’s Story from A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change
* Alfie Kohn (2012): Is failure useful? (blog in response to How Children Succeed and related work)
* Alfie Kohn (1999): Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes (Chapter 1, Chapter 3).
April 15: No class (work on diving-deeper projects)
April 22: No class (work on diving-deeper projects)
April 29: Tinkering (Session 9)
Panelists: Karen Wilkinson, Mike Petrich, Eric Rosenbaum
Readings in Preparation for Session 9:
* Mike Petrich, Karen Wilkinson, and Bronwyn Bevan (2013): It Looks Like Fun, But Are They Learning?, in Design, Make, Play
* Mitchel Resnick & Eric Rosenbaum (2013): Designing for Tinkerability, in Design, Make, Play.
Activity: Option 1: Explore physical+digital tinkering with MaKey MaKey (if you have one). Option 2: Try out some of the examples from Arvind Gupta (such as spinning toys). Option 3: Try out some of the activities from the Tinkering Studio at the Exploratorium.
Additional Resources:
* Luigi Anzivino and Karen Wilkinson (2012): Tinkering by Design: Thoughtful Design Leads to Breakthroughs in Thinking
* Sherry Turkle & Seymour Papert (1990). Epistemological Pluralism. Signs (journal article).
May 6: Supporting Creative Learning (Session 10)
Panelists: Karen Brennan, Amon Millner
Readings in Preparation for Session 10:
* Karen Brennan (2012): ScratchEd: Developing support for educators as designers, in Designing with teachers: Participatory professional development in education.
* Amon Millner (2012): Computer as Chalk: Supporting Youth as Designers of Tangible User Interfaces. Constructionism 2012 conference.
Activity: Create a tutorial (using any media) to help someone learn to do something that you explored in the class (such as Scratch)
Additional Resources:
* Karen Brennan (2012): Best of Both Worlds: Issues of Structure and Agency in Computational Creation, In and Out of School, PhD dissertation.
* Amon Millner (2010): Computers as Chalk: Cultivating and Sustaining Communities of Youth as Designers of Tangible User Interfaces. PhD dissertation (recommended: Chapter 6).
May 13: Reflections (Session 11)