Creativity Challenges

When designed in support of a lesson or unit, a creativity challenge is intentionally tied to a specific curricular understanding goal or learning objective with outcome expectations.  School wide creativity challenges are designed to be more open-ended and adaptable to meet the needs of learners across grade levels and subject areas.  Rather than asking students to make something specific (like a chair, turkey, or car), school wide creativity challenges will invite learners to make something in general.  This approach empowers teachers to device if they would like to use the challenge as a means of supporting a particular concept (like all making animals to connect to an animal adaptations unit) or if they would prefer to leave it open-ended to see how learners demonstrate mental flexibility and use the material(s) in new ways.  Both approaches have benefits in supporting student thinking and learning.  School wide challenges will culminate in some form of school wide documentation and overall feedback to be shared 102 weeks after completion with the school community.

We are committed to creating accessible and equitable experiences for all learners. The VC Creativity Challenges will intentionally focus on low-tech solutions that require little to no additional home resources to participate.  This is for a few reasons:

Research actually shows that fewer resources can foster more creative thought through the Power of Creative Constraint. 

Maker culture emphasizes examining the parts and purposes of objects, so sharing “rough finishes” like tape or exposed cardboard, etc. is actually encouraged as is explaining how what you made actually works.

Using recycled materials or objects found in nature encourages students to tinker and experiment rather than being worried about something being perfect the first time.  This approach emphasizes prototyping, iterating, and thinking over actual stuff.  Another benefit is it models the practice of recycling and sustainability to promote a healthier planet.

Creativity Challenges can happen anytime when infused into classroom practice as part of a unit or lesson to encourage student engagement throughout the school year. 

To foster community, the elementary Virtual Campus will also hold three school wide Creativity Challenges per year, with one scheduled each trimester:

• Challenge #1: Oct/Nov

• Challenge #2: Jan/Feb

• Challenge #3: April/May

2-3 weeks prior to the Launch Date…

VC faculty will receive an email with the specifics of the Creativity Challenge, including the Launch Date.  This email will also contain:

• A completed and standalone video lesson divided into 4 parts with interactive components to encourage student engagement and gather documentation of student thinking.  

• An explanation of any materials distributed to students in order to complete the challenge

1 week prior to the Launch Date…

 Families will receive an informational school messenger sharing a basic overview and challenge preview so they’ll know what to expect.  

On Launch Date...  

Classroom teachers will choose to share the lesson link in one of two ways: 

•  Synchronously: Classroom teachers will embed the Creativity Challenge into their weekly synchronous lessons and will start the lesson on Launch Date.

• Asynchronously: Classroom teachers will either post the lesson link on Google Classroom/Seesaw or email the lesson link for students to complete asynchronously on Launch Date. 

Students are welcome to complete a school wide creativity challenge anytime after its Launch Date.  The window to share and respond on Flipgrid, however, does have a specific start and end date.  Because each post is closely monitored and approved, the Flipgrid window for each challenge is open for 7 days, starting on the Launch Date.  At the end of that time window, the option to submit video posts or responses will be closed.  

Note:  Because each post is viewed and then approved, participant posts will not appear instantly on Flipgrid.  Once they are viewed and approved, posts will appear.