Exploring The Seven Cognitive Tools To Promote Creativity through the Use of the Elements of Fantasy

Are classrooms today stifling creativity? Are we allowing choice in our classrooms to show the creativity of our students? There are many times as teachers we give students an assignment and tell them exactly what to do and how to do it. By doing this, we don't allow for the creativity and uniqueness of each student. Giving students opportunity and choice to think outside of the box will allow them to explore and connect with the content. As educators it is so important that we build creativity into the foundation of learning. We must initiate a higher standard of learning by providing opportunities to extend the creativity of each student. This can be accomplished by introducing the seven cognitive tools of perceiving, patterning, abstracting, embodied thinking, modeling, playing, and synthesizing into our curriculum. Providing these tools in our instruction can begin a pathway for students to become more creative in the future and gain a deeper understanding of the content. Lets examine how these tools can enhance our students learning specifically through the content of the elements of fantasy genre. Perceiving is the first cognitive tool that is essential to build into the curriculum. Perceiving provides a new look at the images from different perspectives for the viewer to gain deeper insight and understanding of the image/objects of study. Using our senses to form images provides opportunity for students to gain more meaning from a topic rather than just seeing it "at face value". We must model and practice perceiving skills with our students often to build a foundation of gaining meaning of a particular topic on all levels. Providing a multi-sensory approach allows the student to gain awareness and build a higher level of understanding. We are able to provide different representations of an image to reach all learners. As we attune to all of our senses, we are awakened to a brand new perspective on something that once seemed ordinary. One particular example of applying the tool of perceiving to the

fantasy genre would be to create an audio example of the elements of fantasy. What kind of sounds do we hear when thinking of magic or good versus evil? Writing all of the things that come to mind on the elements of fantasy of a particular story and using sounds to represent these elements, provides the opportunity to represent the images of the elements of fantasy in another way. We could also use the use images to represent the elements of fantasy. For example, we could represent the magic potion through a colorful pot of water sparkled with glitter. (Figure A)

(Figure A) Perceiving content from different perspectives provide a greater understanding of the material. Patterning represents another cognitive tool that builds upon our creativity as learners. As lifelong learners we tend to rely on patterns to extend meaning and applications throughout all subject areas. Patterns allow us to predict and connect with our prior knowledge of a given topic. We become to rely on finding patterns in areas to gain understanding. Finding patterns in the topic area of fantasy as something that can be recognized easily, such as the use of magical characters and objects, the ability to fly, as well as good versus evil. Finding these patterns and re-patterning them provides a creative outlet to extend meaning of the elements in the story. One example would be to change the special powers of a good character or superhero. This would, in turn, make things go wrong instead of right. Finding that pattern of special powers and re-patterning the story provides creative insight to demonstrate comprehension of the elements of fantasy in the story. (Figure B)

(Figure B)

Patterns form a foundation that allows us to build, apply, and extend our knowledge. Abstraction is a cognitive tool that is also essential towards building creativity. Abstracting is such a fascinating tool because it is something that we are asked to do on a daily basis as elementary teachers. In every subject matter we are to take a complex topic and strip it down to the bare essentials in order for students to begin to understand the basic concepts. It is beneficial to be careful to focus on one main detail or element at a time. Abstracting can be demonstrated through the use of the elements of fantasy by a black and white representation of a character that represents the good and evil of that character. Abstraction could also be represented through the use of a poem going from good to evil by simple phrases. (Figure C)

(Figure C)

As the poem goes to opposite ends, we also see this happening with good and evil. It is a goal to find the center, or "balance" to maintain equality.

Embodied thinking is a tool that combines movement and balance of the body to connect with the mind. When we allow our body to connect with our mind, we are more fluid with a clearer understanding of the task. We allow objects such as a paintbrush or piano keys to become mere extensions of ourselves when our minds and bodies connect to a particular task. Students often choose to use their imagination to embody themselves as a character in a fantasy story, whether it is as sweet as a princess or as powerful and determined as a sorcerer. They will use empathy to feel and act like the characters they are portraying. Role-playing sparks creativity and imagination. Connecting our bodies and minds to the characters and elements allow us to gain a deeper understanding and perspective of the story. We can use the tool of embodied thinking in the elements of fantasy by students posing as characters of the story to represent an element in the story.

(Figure D) This picture shares the element of magic and the determination of the character to change something in the story. (Figure D)

We can also use the cognitive tool of modeling in our classroom to enrich the creativity of a student. We come across models in all shapes and sizes, as well as many forms. The use of modeling can display the physical properties or functions of an object, idea, or concept in an accessible form. Modeling is an essential tool that allows us to gain a deeper understanding of something that we might not be able to see or easily experience otherwise. Models are shared in many disciplines to creatively provide a representation of an idea or concept to others. One of the things we do very often in the elementary grades is the use of modeling. Teachers can use modeling to provide a simplified representation of a complex topic. It provides a tangible example of the learning that is taking place. When using the tool of modeling to teach the elements of fantasy, students can create a story cube. The story cube is a model for discussion of the story elements. (Figure E)

(Figure E) This story cube can be very effective in generating discussion as well as including examples from all elements. Each student will be able to roll the cube and participate in the conversation about the particular element of the story. Modeling the elements of the story through the use of the story cube provides a physical representation to extend knowledge meaning of the fantasy genre.

The use of play is a cognitive tool that allows us to be creative and display our knowledge in a way that is engaging and meaningful. As

classroom teachers, it is essential to provide time for students to "play" with their learning. It allows the opportunity assess what concepts they are grasping in their own way. All students learn differently. Therefore, it is important to provide opportunities for students to explore and play with the content to gain further understanding based upon their own strengths. Auditory learners might create a song that shares the concepts that help them learn. Kinesthetic learners would rather act out the concept or idea to share their knowledge. It is important to provide opportunity to extend all modalities in learning by the use of play. When studying the elements of fantasy, the idea of play with fantasy happens naturally. Children love to act out and play their favorite parts from fantasy stories. Whether it is a fairy princess getting a magical dress from her fairy godmother, a knight fighting dragons, or an evil sorcerer creating potions- they are all "playing" with the fantasy genre. Playing with fantasy is so much fun because you have the opportunity to place yourself into the story. Students also love the chance to experiment by creating "magical" potions for a story. Demonstrating knowledge through play is very powerful! Providing play time to demonstrate the elements of fantasy can be shared simply through the use of a puppet show, (Figure F) or acting out particular scenes from a story.

(Figure F)

The last cognitive tool, synthesis, places all of these tools together to gain a multimodality effect towards a deeper understanding at the content. Providing a trans-disciplinary approach,

seeing the content through many lenses, provides a richer view of the material. Everything we feel and the knowledge that we have gained from the six previous cognitive tools allows us to synthesize the material in a uniform way. In essence, it is placing all of the pieces in the puzzle together to make a complete picture. All of the pieces are cognitive tools working together to form one cohesive picture- a synthesis of information. This would be an excellent tool for reflection at the end of the elements of fantasy to share all of the previous tools and how it has formed one cohesive idea on the understanding of the elements of fantasy. This can be represented in a scrapbook or storybook. The ending of the story is just as important as the beginning. Creating one final display using these tools provides an enriching and sustaining picture of all that one has learned and felt on the curriculum material. Providing these even cognitive tools in our curriculum will spark the creativity and learning potential in each student. Lets ignite the passion and enthusiasm towards learning by providing a wider perspective of our curriculum. Creativity allows the students to explore, connect, create and see things differently to gain a deeper understanding. As educators we must motivate and stimulate learners to be creative thinkers. By using these tools we can build an enriching opportunity for the extension of learning that is taking place in our classrooms.