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Module Specifications..

Current Academic Year 2023 - 2024

Please note that this information is subject to change.

Module Title Fostering Creativity and Innovation
Module Code HD595
School 76
Module Co-ordinatorSemester 1: Irene White
Semester 2: Irene White
Autumn: Irene White
Module TeachersIrene White
NFQ level 9 Credit Rating 5
Pre-requisite None
Co-requisite None
Compatibles None
Incompatibles None
None
Description

This module places an explicit focus on the role of the teacher in fostering creativity and innovation in the post-primary classroom. The module's multidisciplinary approach enables students to explore and experience a range of creative, collaborative and playful approaches to fostering creativity in teaching and learning. Delivered through a combination of lectures and workshops, the module introduces students to a range of tools and strategies from the fields of Digital Media, Drama and Linguistic Responsiveness and enables them as teachers to make effective use of these strategies in their professional practice. The module aims to foster a creative mindset among student teachers and to develop their capacity to foster a creative mindset among their pupils. It is designed to enhance student teachers’ professional creativity and to enable them to design learning experiences that promote the creativity and agency of all learners. Drawing on theories from the field of creativity in education, the module examines concepts and perceptions of creativity, principles and characteristics of creative learning environments, and pedagogical approaches that foster creativity and encourage student voice and agency. Student teachers will reflect on their own perceptions and understandings of creativity and critically reflect on the theoretical underpinnings of strategies explored in the module. The module will enable student teachers to draw on their own personal and professional creativity, develop their pedagogical expertise, grow their identities as educators and recognise themselves as creative professionals with a capacity to enhance their own creative potential and that of their pupils. The module will also provide student teachers with an opportunity to advance their communicative, digital and interpersonal skills.

Learning Outcomes

1. Critically reflect on theories and practices relating to creativity and innovation in education and consider their application in post-primary education in Ireland
2. Identify the principles and conditions underpinning creative learning environments and recognise opportunities for promoting creativity in the post-primary classroom
3. Construct a creative learning environment which recognises the diverse linguistic and cultural heritage of learners and uses practices and processes that encourage student voice and agency
4. Experiment with and explore a range of digital media, drama and linguistically responsive teaching and learning strategies to develop their own creative mindset and foster a creative mindset among their pupils
5. Enhance professional practice by demonstrating creativity and innovation in the development of learning experiences and supportive learning environments for diverse learners
6. Participate in and collaborate on a range of creative tasks and communicate outputs using visual, narrative and digital media which demonstrate constructive, respectful and collegiate professional relationships



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Lecture14Input, reflection
Workshop5Practical skills, collaborative activity
Group work28Collaborative lesson design and subject based collegial activities
Assignment Completion28Research and reflection
Independent Study50Reading, application and reflection
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Creativity
Concepts and perceptions of creativity. Principles and characteristics of creative learning environments. Pedagogical approaches that foster creativity and innovation.

Theory and Practice
Engagement with relevant learning artefacts (e.g. curricular resources, digital and sensory stimuli, academic literature, policy documents etc.) to understand the relationship between theory and practice.

Drama Strategies
Still Image. Soundscapes. Movement. Role play. Process Drama. Storytelling.

Digital Media
Video creation. Open educational resources. Searching. Creative Commons. Re-mix. Improve and Redistribute.

The culturally and linguistically diverse classroom
Multilingualism. Accessing the curriculum through an additional language. Techniques to aid comprehension and understanding of content

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment100% Examination Weight0%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
Digital Projectn/a100%Sem 1 End
Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories;
1 = A resit is available for all components of the module
2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module
3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
This module is category 1
Indicative Reading List

  • Boden, M. A.: 2004, The creative mind: myths and mechanisms, Second Edition, Taylor and Francis e-Library.,
  • Deller, S. and Price C: 2007, Teaching other Subjects through English, Oxford University Press,
  • Grabe, M. and Grabe, C.: 2008, Integrating Technology for Meaningful Learning, Wadsworth Publishing,
  • Neelands, J. and Goode, T.: 2015, Structuring Drama Work : 100 Key Conventions for Theatre and Drama, 3rd Edition, Cambridge University Press,
  • Bowell, Pam and Heap, Brian: 2001, Planning Process Drama, David Fulton London,
  • Lyster, Roy: 2007, Learning and teaching languages through content, John Benjamins,
  • Marsh, David and Wolff, Dieter (eds): 2006, Diverse contexts - converging goals: CLIL in Europe, Peter Lang,
  • Robinson, K.: 2011, Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative, Capstone Publishing Limited, Oxford,
  • Sternberg, R. J.: 1999, Handbook of Creativity, Cambridge University Press, New York,
  • Valenza,J, Berger, P., and Trexler, S.: 2010, Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World, Libraries Unlimited,
  • Williams Fortune, Tara and Tedick, Diane, J. (eds): 2008, Pathways to multilingualism, Multilingual Matters,
Other Resources

None
Programme or List of Programmes
PMEProfessional Master of Education
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