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| spark how creativity works: Imagine Jonah Lehrer, 2012 How do you measure the imagination? How do you quantify an epiphany? In Jonah Lehrer's book, we go in search of the epiphany. Shattering the myth of creative 'types', Lehrer shows how new research is deepening our understanding of the human imagination. |
| spark how creativity works: The Origin of Ideas Mark Turner, 2014-01-02 What makes human beings so innovative, so adept at rapid, creative thinking? Where do new ideas come from, and once we have them, how can we carry them mentally into new situations? What allows our thinking to range easily over time, space, causation, and agency-so easily that we take this truly remarkable ability for granted? In The Origin of Ideas, Mark Turner offers a provocative new theory to answer these and many other questions. While other species do what we cannot-fly, run amazingly fast, see in the dark-only human beings can innovate so rapidly and widely. Turner argues that this distinctively human spark was an evolutionary advance that developed from a particular kind of mental operation, which he calls blending: our ability to take two or more ideas and create a new idea in the blend. Turner begins by looking at the lionman, a 32,000-year-old ivory figurine, one of the earliest examples of blending. Here, the concepts lion and man are merged into a new figure, the lionman. Turner argues that at some stage during the Paleolithic Age, humans reached a tipping point. Before that, we were a bunch of large, unimaginative mammals. After that, we were poised to take over the world. Once biological evolution hit upon making brains that could do advanced blending, we possessed the capacity to invent and maintain culture. Cultural innovation could then progress by leaps and bounds over biological evolution itself, leading to the highest forms of human cognition and creativity. For anyone interested in how and why our minds work the way they do, The Origin of Ideas offers a wealth of original insights-and is itself a brilliant example of the innovative thinking it describes. |
| spark how creativity works: The Creative Spark Agustín Fuentes, 2017-03-21 A bold new synthesis of paleontology, archaeology, genetics, and anthropology that overturns misconceptions about race, war and peace, and human nature itself, answering an age-old question: What made humans so exceptional among all the species on Earth? Creativity. It is the secret of what makes humans special, hiding in plain sight. Agustín Fuentes argues that your child's finger painting comes essentially from the same place as creativity in hunting and gathering millions of years ago, and throughout history in making war and peace, in intimate relationships, in shaping the planet, in our communities, and in all of art, religion, and even science. It requires imagination and collaboration. Every poet has her muse; every engineer, an architect; every politician, a constituency. The manner of the collaborations varies widely, but successful collaboration is inseparable from imagination, and it brought us everything from knives and hot meals to iPhones and interstellar spacecraft. Weaving fascinating stories of our ancient ancestors' creativity, Fuentes finds the patterns that match modern behavior in humans and animals. This key quality has propelled the evolutionary development of our bodies, minds, and cultures, both for good and for bad. It's not the drive to reproduce; nor competition for mates, or resources, or power; nor our propensity for caring for one another that have separated us out from all other creatures. As Fuentes concludes, to make something lasting and useful today you need to understand the nature of your collaboration with others, what imagination can and can't accomplish, and, finally, just how completely our creativity is responsible for the world we live in. Agustín Fuentes's resounding multimillion-year perspective will inspire readers—and spark all kinds of creativity. |
| spark how creativity works: Sparks of Genius Robert Root-Bernstein, Michèle Root-Bernstein, 2013-08-26 Discover the cognitive tools that lead to creative thinking and problem-solving with this “well-written and easy-to-follow” guide (Library Journal). Explore the “thinking tools” of extraordinary people, from Albert Einstein and Jane Goodall to Mozart and Virginia Woolf, and learn how you can practice the same imaginative skills to become your creative best. With engaging narratives and examples, Robert and Michèle Root-Bernstein investigate cognitive tools such as observing, recognizing patterns, modeling, playing, and more. Sparks of Genius is “a clever, detailed and demanding fitness program for the creative mind” and a groundbreaking guidebook for anyone interested in imaginative thinking, lifelong learning, and transdisciplinary education (Kirkus Reviews). “How different the painter at the easel and the physicist in the laboratory! Yet the Root-Bernsteins recognize the deep-down similarity of all creative thinking, whether in art or science. They demonstrate this similarity by comparing the accounts that various pioneers and inventors have left of their own creative processes: for Picasso just as for Einstein, for Klee just as for Feynman, the creative impulse always begins in vision, in emotion, in intuition. . . . With a lavishly illustrated chapter devoted to each tool, readers quickly realize just how far the imagination can stretch.” —Booklist “A powerful book . . . Sparks of Genius presents radically different ways of approaching problems.” —American Scientist |
| spark how creativity works: Spark Julie Burstein, Kurt Andersen, 2012-04-10 Creativity is an elusive subject. We enjoy its fruits—movies, novels, paintings, songs—but rarely are we privy to what happens during the creative process. In Spark, Julie Burstein traces the roots of some of the twenty-first century's most influential and creative artists and thinkers, including Joyce Carol Oates, Yo-Yo Ma, David Milch, Isabel Allende, and Joshua Redman. Burstein pulls back the curtain to reveal the sources of these artists' inspiration and the processes that bring their work into being. Creativity is integral to business, parenting, education, science, and, perhaps most poignantly, our personal relationships. Rarely do books on creativity illuminate and inspire; this marvelous volume will help you find a spark of your own. |
| spark how creativity works: The Artist's Way Workbook Julia Cameron, 2006-09-21 “Julia Cameron invented the way people renovate the creative soul.” –The New York Times For the millions of people who have uncovered their creative selves through the Artist's Way program: a workbook and companion to the international bestseller. A life-changing twelve-week program, The Artist's Way has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. Now, for the first time, fans will have this elegantly designed and user-friendly volume for use in tandem with the book. The Artist's Way Workbook includes: - more than 110 Artist's Way tasks; - more than 50 Artist's Way check-ins; - a fascinating introduction to the workbook in which Cameron shares new insights into the creative process that she has culled in the decade since The Artist's Way was originally published; - new and original writings on Morning Page Journaling and the Artist's Date-two of the most vital tools set forth by Cameron in The Artist's Way. The Artist's Way Workbook is an indispensable book for anyone following the spiritual path to higher creativity laid out in The Artist's Way. |
| spark how creativity works: Demoralized Doris A. Santoro, 2021-02-09 Demoralized: Why Teachers Leave the Profession They Love and How They Can Stay offers a timely analysis of professional dissatisfaction that challenges the common explanation of burnout. Featuring the voices of educators, the book offers concrete lessons for practitioners, school leaders, and policy makers on how to think more strategically to retain experienced teachers and make a difference in the lives of students. Based on ten years of research and interviews with practitioners across the United States, the book theorizes the existence of a “moral center” that can be pivotal in guiding teacher actions and expectations on the job. Education philosopher Doris Santoro argues that demoralization offers a more precise diagnosis that is born out of ongoing value conflicts with pedagogical policies, reform mandates, and school practices. Demoralized reveals that this condition is reversible when educators are able to tap into authentic professional communities and shows that individuals can help themselves. Detailed stories from veteran educators are included to illustrate the variety of contexts in which demoralization can occur. Based on these insights, Santoro offers an array of recommendations and promising strategies for how school leaders, union leaders, teacher groups, and individual practitioners can enact and support “re-moralization” by working to change the conditions leading to demoralization. |
| spark how creativity works: The Art of Noticing Rob Walker, 2019-05-07 A thought-provoking, gorgeously illustrated gift book that will spark your creativity and help you rediscover your passion with “simple, low-stakes activities [that] can open up the world.”—The New York Times Welcome to the era of white noise. Our lives are in constant tether to phones, to email, and to social media. In this age of distraction, the ability to experience and be present is often lost: to think and to see and to listen. Enter Rob Walker's The Art of Noticing—an inspiring volume that will help you see the world anew. Through a series of simple and playful exercises—131 of them—Walker maps ways for you to become a clearer thinker, a better listener, a more creative workplace colleague, and finally, to rediscover what really matters to you. |
| spark how creativity works: A Book About Love Jonah Lehrer, 2016-07-12 “Jonah Lehrer has a lot to offer the world….The book is interesting on nearly every page….Good writers make writing look easy, but what people like Lehrer do is not easy at all.” —David Brooks, The New York Times Book Review Science writer Jonah Lehrer explores the mysterious subject of love. Weaving together scientific studies from clinical psychologists, longitudinal studies of health and happiness, historical accounts and literary depictions, child-rearing manuals, and the language of online dating sites, Jonah Lehrer’s A Book About Love plumbs the most mysterious, most formative, most important impulse governing our lives. Love confuses and compels us—and it can destroy and define us. It has inspired our greatest poetry, defined our societies and our beliefs, and governs our biology. From the way infants attach to their parents, to the way we fall in love with another person, to the way some find a love for God or their pets, to the way we remember and mourn love after it ends, this book focuses on research that attempts, even in glancing ways, to deal with the long-term and the everyday. The most dangerous myth of love is that it’s easy, that we fall into the feeling and then the feeling takes care of itself. While we can easily measure the dopamine that causes the initial feelings of “falling” in love, the partnerships and devotions that last decades or longer remain a mystery. This book is about that mystery. Love, Lehrer argues, is not built solely on overwhelming passion, but, fascinatingly, on a set of skills to be cultivated over a lifetime. |
| spark how creativity works: The Artist's Journey Nancy Hillis, 2021-02-25 If you yearn to say yes to your deepest expression in your art and life, this self-help book is for you. Dr. Hillis guides you past resistance on your artist's journey so you can finally trust yourself, develop confidence and cultivate deep exploration and experimentation in your art. Bonus resource library with videos lessons and book club guide. |
| spark how creativity works: The Art of Stone Painting F. Sehnaz Bac, 2017-01-04 Transform ordinary stones into colorful works of art. Full-color illustrations accompany step-by-step instructions for creating 30 different themes: trees, flowers, animals, mandalas, geometric patterns, marine and holiday motifs, more. |
| spark how creativity works: In Search of Deeper Learning Jal Mehta, Sarah Fine, 2019-04-22 The best book on high school dynamics I have ever read.--Jay Mathews, Washington Post An award-winning professor and an accomplished educator take us beyond the hype of reform and inside some of America's most innovative classrooms to show what is working--and what isn't--in our schools. What would it take to transform industrial-era schools into modern organizations capable of supporting deep learning for all? Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine's quest to answer this question took them inside some of America's most innovative schools and classrooms--places where educators are rethinking both what and how students should learn. The story they tell is alternately discouraging and hopeful. Drawing on hundreds of hours of observations and interviews at thirty different schools, Mehta and Fine reveal that deeper learning is more often the exception than the rule. And yet they find pockets of powerful learning at almost every school, often in electives and extracurriculars as well as in a few mold-breaking academic courses. These spaces achieve depth, the authors argue, because they emphasize purpose and choice, cultivate community, and draw on powerful traditions of apprenticeship. These outliers suggest that it is difficult but possible for schools and classrooms to achieve the integrations that support deep learning: rigor with joy, precision with play, mastery with identity and creativity. This boldly humanistic book offers a rich account of what education can be. The first panoramic study of American public high schools since the 1980s, In Search of Deeper Learning lays out a new vision for American education--one that will set the agenda for schools of the future. |
| spark how creativity works: A Whole New Mind Daniel H. Pink, 2006-03-07 New York Times Bestseller An exciting--and encouraging--exploration of creativity from the author of When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: artists, inventors, storytellers-creative and holistic right-brain thinkers whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn't. Drawing on research from around the world, Pink (author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others) outlines the six fundamentally human abilities that are absolute essentials for professional success and personal fulfillment--and reveals how to master them. A Whole New Mind takes readers to a daring new place, and a provocative and necessary new way of thinking about a future that's already here. |
| spark how creativity works: Fright Club Ethan Long, 2015-08-11 This monster mash-up from Geisel winner Ethan Long doles out the laughs and the chills in equal measure. Each year, on Halloween eve, Fright Club meets to go over their plan: Operation Kiddie Scare. Only the scariest of monsters can join Fright Club--Vladimir the Vampire, Fran K. Stein, Sandy Witch, and Virginia Wolf have all made the cut. They've been practicing their ghoulish faces, their scary moves, and their chilling sounds. But when a band of cute little critters comes along asking to join in the fun, the members of Fright Club will find out who really is the scariest of all! This clever, rollicking read aloud text and delightfully spooky illustrations will have young readers laughing, cheering, and begging to be the newest members of Fright Club. |
| spark how creativity works: How We Decide Jonah Lehrer, 2009 The first book to use the unexpected discoveries of neuroscience to help us make the best decisions Since Plato, philosophers have described the decision-making process as either rational or emotional: we carefully deliberate, or we blink and go with our gut. But as scientists break open the mind's black box with the latest tools of neuroscience, they're discovering that this is not how the mind works. Our best decisions are a finely tuned blend of both feeling and reason--and the precise mix depends on the situation. When buying a house, for example, it's best to let our unconscious mull over the many variables. But when we're picking a stock, intuition often leads us astray. The trick is to determine when to use the different parts of the brain, and to do this, we need to think harder (and smarter) about how we think. Jonah Lehrer arms us with the tools we need, drawing on cutting-edge research as well as the real-world experiences of a wide range of deciders--from airplane pilots and hedge fund investors to serial killers and poker players. Lehrer shows how people are taking advantage of the new science to make better television shows, win more football games, and improve military intelligence. His goal is to answer two questions that are of interest to just about anyone, from CEOs to firefighters: How does the human mind make decisions? And how can we make those decisions better? |
| spark how creativity works: Spark Andrea Debbink, 2018-08-27 Everyone has a bit of creativity inside them, waiting to burn brighter. Sometimes all they need is encouragement. At other times, they need skills or know-how. This fill-in-the-blank, do-it-yourself guidebook will give tween girls all these things and more as they discover what it means to be creative. Full color. Consumable. |
| spark how creativity works: Spark Patricia Leavy, 2019-03 Professor Peyton Wilde has an enviable life teaching sociology at an idyllic liberal arts college--yet she is troubled by a sense of fading inspiration. One day an invitation arrives. Peyton has been selected to attend a luxurious all-expense-paid seminar in Iceland, where participants, billed as some of the greatest thinkers in the world, will be charged with answering one perplexing question. Meeting her diverse teammates--two neuroscientists, a philosopher, a dance teacher, a collage artist, and a farmer--Peyton wonders what she could ever have to contribute. The ensuing journey of discovery will transform the characters' work, their biases, and themselves. This suspenseful novel shows that the answers you seek can be found in the most unlikely places. It can be read for pleasure, is a great choice for book clubs, and can be used as unique and inspiring reading in qualitative research and other courses in education, sociology, social work, psychology, and communication. |
| spark how creativity works: Journal Sparks Emily K. Neuburger, 2017-04-18 Using words, drawing, collage, and observation-based list-making, award-winning author Emily K. Neuburger highlights the many paths into journaling. Her 60 interactive writing prompts and art how-tos help you to expand your imagination and stimulate your creativity. Every spread invites a new approach to filling a page, from making a visual map of a day-in-my-life to turning random splotches into quirky characters for a playful story. It’s the perfect companion to all those blank books and an ideal launchpad to explore creative self-expression and develop an imaginative voice — for anyone ages 10 to 100! Teachers' Choice Award Winner Mom's Choice Awards Winner Foreword INDIES Gold Award Winner National Parenting Product Awards Winner |
| spark how creativity works: Zig Zag Keith Sawyer, 2013-02-13 A science-backed method to maximize creative potential in any sphere of life With the prevalence of computer technology and outsourcing, new jobs and fulfilling lives will rely heavily on creativity and innovation. Keith Sawyer draws from his expansive research of the creative journey, exceptional creators, creative abilities, and world-changing innovations to create an accessible, eight-step program to increasing anyone's creative potential. Sawyer reveals the surprising secrets of highly creative people (such as learning to ask better questions when faced with a problem), demonstrates how to come up with better ideas, and explains how to carry those ideas to fruition most effectively. This science-backed, step-by step method can maximize our creative potential in any sphere of life. Offers a proven method for developing new ideas and creative problem-solving no matter what your profession Includes an eight-step method, 30 practices, and more than 100 techniques that can be launched at any point in a creative journey Psychologist, jazz pianist, and author Keith Sawyer studied with world-famous creativity expert Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Sawyer's book offers a wealth of easy to apply strategies and ideas for anyone who wants to tap into their creative power. |
| spark how creativity works: Creativity, Inc. (The Expanded Edition) Ed Catmull, Amy Wallace, 2023-09-28 The co-founder and longtime president of Pixar updates and expands his 2014 New York Times bestseller on creative leadership, reflecting on the management principles that built Pixar’s singularly successful culture, and on all he learned during the past nine years that allowed Pixar to retain its creative culture while continuing to evolve. “Might be the most thoughtful management book ever.”—Fast Company For nearly thirty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner eighteen Academy Awards. The joyous storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Here, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired—and so profitable. As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph.D. student, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie’s success—and in the twenty-five movies that followed—was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as: • Give a good idea to a mediocre team and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team and they will either fix it or come up with something better. • It’s not the manager’s job to prevent risks. It’s the manager’s job to make it safe for others to take them. • The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them. • A company’s communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody. Creativity, Inc. has been significantly expanded to illuminate the continuing development of the unique culture at Pixar. It features a new introduction, two entirely new chapters, four new chapter postscripts, and changes and updates throughout. Pursuing excellence isn’t a one-off assignment but an ongoing, day-in, day-out, full-time job. And Creativity, Inc. explores how it is done. |
| spark how creativity works: Spark Creativity Chronicle Books, 2018-09-11 Creativity in a box: accessible prompts in a pick-me-up package that are applicable to any type of creative pursuit, be it visual art, music, writing, or any other practice that requires idea-generation. It's the gift of inspiration, with effective strategies to spark creativity and get unstuck. Includes 50 faux matchsticks with printed prompts. Fans of Spark Adventure, Spark Happiness, or The Creativity Project will love this gift. This gift is ideal for: • Artists and Musicians • Writers • Creative Business People |
| spark how creativity works: Mindfulness for Creativity Dr. Danny Penman, 2015-10-01 The original Mindfulness was written for those struggling to cope with the frantic pace of modern life. Mindfulness for Creativity is written for those who want to optimise their work, life and overall wellbeing. The simple mindfulness techniques at the heart of the book have been proven to enhance creativity, problem solving and decision making. They also dissolve anxiety, stress and depression while enhancing mental resilience and overall wellbeing. The four week programme takes just 10-20 minutes per day. The easy-to-follow programme works by clearing your mind and allowing innovative ideas to take form and crystallise. This helps you to spontaneously 'see' the solution to a problem, to conjure up new ideas, or to create works of art and design with true insight and flair. The programme also helps build the courage necessary for you to follow your ideas wherever they should lead - and the resilience to cope with the inevitable knockbacks. This book will help your mind work more effectively so that you can solve problems faster, more intuitively and have the inner confidence to drive your ideas forward. The accompanying CD contains 6 meditations that you can use to build an ongoing practice, mixing and matching meditations to suit your circumstances. |
| spark how creativity works: Love Your Creative Space Lilo Bowman, 2020-06-25 A budget-friendly guide for needleworkers, quilters, and crafters to help you design the best workspace to let your creativity flow. Does your creative den leave you feeling overwhelmed or uninspired? Energize your crafting space with jazzy ideas for organization and accessibility! With over one hundred and fifty photos, this lookbook offers an endless visual parade of ideas to help your studio reach its full potential. Smart storage solutions, furniture, and accessories can help quilters, needle artists, knitters, and crafters keep their creativity on track! Whether you’re undergoing a radical reinvention or looking for tiny tweaks, you’ll finally be able to plan and organize your projects in a workspace that works for you. Inspired workspaces! Get a sneak peek inside creative studios of all sizes, designed on budgets large and small Keep creativity flowing and stay organized with smart systems in place Make your space accessible! Pursue your passion in spite of physical challenges |
| spark how creativity works: Nurturing Creativity Rebecca T. Isbell, Sonia Akiko Yoshizawa, 2016 Tap into children's natural curiosity and scaffold their creative abilities across all domains of learning--and nurture your own creativity! |
| spark how creativity works: Release Your Creativity Rebecca Schweiger, 2017 Awaken your inner artist! For more than a decade, Rebecca Schweiger has nurtured students' creative spirit, regardless of their skill or age. In Release Your Creativity, she offers 15 step-by-step painting and mixed-media projects designed to get anyone's creative juices flowing. These hands-on projects help beginners develop their singular point of view, so that each finished project is a unique expression of the person who created it. |
| spark how creativity works: The Creativity Leap Natalie Nixon, 2020-06-23 Natalie Nixon's new book provides a fresh primer on how to cultivate creativity in the workplace.” —Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked and Indistractable Too many people associate creativity solely with the arts, even though to be an incredible scientist, engineer, or entrepreneur requires immense creativity. And it's the key to developing breakthrough products and services. Natalie Nixon, a creativity strategist with a background in cultural anthropology, fashion, and service design, says that in the fourth industrial revolution a creativity leap is needed to bridge the gap that exists between the churn of work and the highly sought-after prize called innovation. Nixon says that since humans are hardwired to be creative, it is a competency anyone can develop. She shows that it balances wonder (awe, audacity, and curiosity) with rigor (discipline, skill-building, and attention to detail), and that inquiry, improvisation, and intuitionare the key practices that increase those capacities. Drawing on interviews with fifty-six people from diverse backgrounds—farming, law, plumbing, architecture, perfumery, medicine, education, technology, and more—she offers illuminating examples of how creativity manifests in every kind of work. Combining creativity tools and techniques with real-world stories of innovative people and businesses, this book is a provocation, an inspiration, and an invitation to unleash the innate creativity that lies within each of us. It offers a more dynamic and integrative way to adapt and innovate, one that allows us the freedom to access our full human selves. |
| spark how creativity works: Deep Creativity Deborah Anne Quibell, Jennifer Leigh Selig, Dennis Patrick Slattery, 2019-03-26 Nautilus Award Winner A deeply intimate exploration of the 7 Ways to creativity led by three authors whose collaboration provides meditations on the creative process as well as practical and reflective exercises. Reignite your creative spark with accessible meditations and practices developed by three experts on creativity and collaboration across three generations. Whether you’re a filmmaker, writer, musician, artist, graphic designer, dabbler, or doodler, all creative people face the challenges of myriad distractions and pressure to produce. Devoting space for the creative spark has become increasingly difficult. Deep Creativity is a call for making that space and an invitation to intentionally and introspectively engage with the creative life through seven time-tested pathways, available to you right where you are. The authors’ novel approach includes fifteen principles of creativity that not only inspire but also set you up for a lifetime of self-expression. This highly resourceful book offers practical guidance as well as deep reflection on the creative process. For more information, visit www.deepcreativity.com. |
| spark how creativity works: These 6 Things Dave Stuart Jr., 2018-06-28 Streamline literacy instruction while increasing student achievement Dave R. Stuart Jr.’s work is centered on a simple belief: all students and teachers can flourish. Yet that seemingly simple goal can feel unattainable when teachers are expected to teach core content within the disciplines and improve literacy in their classrooms. How can teachers and students flourish under so much pressure? Stuart’s advice: Take a deep breath and refocus on six known best practices— establish and strengthen key beliefs, then build knowledge and increase reading, writing, speaking and listening, and argumentation in every content area, every day. These 6 Things is all about streamlining your practice so that you’re teaching smarter, not harder, and kids are learning, doing, and flourishing in ELA and content-area classrooms. In this essential new resource, teachers will receive Proven, classroom-tested advice delivered in an approachable, teacher-to-teacher style that builds confidence Practical strategies for streamlining instruction in order to focus on key beliefs and literacy-building activities Solutions and suggestions for the most common teacher and student hang-ups Numerous recommendations for deeper reading on key topics In addition to teaching English and world history for more than a decade, Stuart is well-known for his blog DaveStuartJr.com, which has over 35,000 visitors each month. This popular resource has been a beacon of light for more than 10,000 subscribers who refuse to freak out about the everyday challenges of teaching in a high-stakes era. He presents professional development workshops and institutes for schools around the United States and offers a number of online learning tools and experiences on his website. |
| spark how creativity works: The Creative Family Manifesto Amanda Blake Soule, 2017-10-10 Bring more fun, unity, and love to your household through creative activities the whole family will enjoy—featuring ideas for imaginative play, arts and crafts, nature explorations, and more Embrace family life with creativity at its heart. The Creative Family Manifesto is a guide to using the simple tools around you—your imagination, basic art supplies, household objects, and natural materials—to relax, play, and grow together as a family. When you learn to awaken your family’s creativity, wonderful things will happen: you’ll make meaningful connections with your children, your children’s imaginations will flourish, and you’ll learn to express love and gratitude for each other. This book is just what you need to get started. Amanda Soule has charmed many with her tales of creativity and parenting on her blog, SouleMama. Here she shares ideas and projects with the same warm tone and down-to-earth voice. Perfect for all families, the wide range of projects presented here offers ideas for imaginative play, art and crafts, nature explorations, and family celebrations. Released on its ten-year anniversary, this revised and updated edition of The Creative Family, carries on Amanda Soule’s thoughtful perspectives on parenting. |
| spark how creativity works: inGenius Tina Seelig, 2012-04-17 Imaginative. Innovative. Ingenious. These words describe the visionaries we all respect and admire. And they can describe you, too. Contrary to common belief, creativity is not a gift some of us are born with. It is a skill that all of us can learn. International bestselling author and award-winning Stanford University educator Tina Seelig has worked with some of the business world’s best and brightest, who are now among the decision-makers at companies such as Google, Genentech, IBM, and Cisco. In inGenius she expertly demystifies creativity, offering a set of tools and guidelines that anyone can use. A fantastic resource for everyone wanting to achieve their ambitions, and for readers of Jason Fried’s Rework, and Seth Godin’s Poke the Box. |
| spark how creativity works: Fires of Invention Jeffrey Scott Savage, 2016-08-02 Even though technology and inventions have been outlawed in the mountain city of Cove, in order to save the city Trenton and Kallista must follow a set of mysterious blueprints to build a creature to protect them from the dragons outside their door. |
| spark how creativity works: The Creativity Project Colby Sharp, 2019-09-03 Book advocate Colby Sharp presents more than forty beloved, award-winning, diverse and bestselling authors and illustrators in a creative challenge! Colby Sharp invited more than forty authors and illustrators to provide story starters for each other; photos, drawings, poems, prose, or anything they could dream up. When they received their prompts, they responded by transforming these seeds into any form of creative work they wanted to share. The result is a stunning collection of words, art, poetry, and stories by some of our most celebrated children book creators. A section of extra story starters by every contributor provides fresh inspiration for readers to create works of their own. Here is an innovative book that offers something for every kind of reader and creator! With contributions by Sherman Alexie, Tom Angleberger, Jessixa Bagley, Tracey Baptiste, Sophie Blackall, Lisa Brown, Peter Brown, Lauren Castillo, Kate DiCamillo, Margarita Engle, Deborah Freedman, Adam Gidwitz, Chris Grabenstein, Jennifer L. Holm, Victoria Jamieson, Travis Jonker, Jess Keating, Laurie Keller, Jarret J. Krosoczka, Kirby Larson, Minh Lê, Grace Lin, Kate Messner, Daniel Nayeri, Naomi Shihab Nye, Debbie Ohi, R.J. Palacio, Linda Sue Park, Dav Pilkey, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Jewell Parker Rhodes, Dan Santat, Gary Schmidt, John Schu, Colby Sharp, Bob Shea, Liesl Shurtliff, Lemony Snicket, Laurel Snyder, Javaka Steptoe, Mariko Tamaki, Linda Urban, Frank Viva, and Kat Yeh. |
| spark how creativity works: The Artist's Way Julia Cameron, 2020-11-05 Since its first publication, The Artist's Way has inspired the genius of Elizabeth Gilbert, Tim Ferriss and millions of readers to embark on a creative journey and find a deeper connection to process and purpose. Julia Cameron guides readers in uncovering problems and pressure points that may be restricting their creative flow and offers techniques to open up opportunities for self-growth and self-discovery. The program begins with Cameron's most vital tools for creative recovery: The Morning Pages and The Artist Date. From there, she shares hundreds of exercises, activities, and prompts to help readers thoroughly explore each chapter. A revolutionary programme for personal renewal, The Artist's Way will help get you back on track, rediscover your passions, and take the steps you need to change your life. |
| spark how creativity works: Messy Tim Harford, 2016-10-27 The urge to tidiness seems to be rooted deep in the human psyche. Many of us feel threatened by anything that is vague, unplanned, scattered around or hard to describe. We find comfort in having a script to rely on, a system to follow, in being able to categorise and file away. We all benefit from tidy organisation - up to a point. A large library needs a reference system. Global trade needs the shipping container. Scientific collaboration needs measurement units. But the forces of tidiness have marched too far. Corporate middle managers and government bureaucrats have long tended to insist that everything must have a label, a number and a logical place in a logical system. Now that they are armed with computers and serial numbers, there is little to hold this tidy-mindedness in check. It's even spilling into our personal lives, as we corral our children into sanitised play areas or entrust our quest for love to the soulless algorithms of dating websites. Order is imposed when chaos would be more productive. Or if not chaos, then . . . messiness. The trouble with tidiness is that, in excess, it becomes rigid, fragile and sterile. In Messy, Tim Harford reveals how qualities we value more than ever - responsiveness, resilience and creativity - simply cannot be disentangled from the messy soil that produces them. This, then, is a book about the benefits of being messy: messy in our private lives; messy in the office, with piles of paper on the desk and unread spreadsheets; messy in the recording studio, the laboratory or in preparing for an important presentation; and messy in our approach to business, politics and economics, leaving things vague, diverse and uncomfortably made-up-on-the-spot. It's time to rediscover the benefits of a little mess. |
| spark how creativity works: Launch John Spencer, Visiting Senior Lecturer in Law John Spencer, (Mi, A. J. Juliani, 2016-05-15 Something happens in students when they define themselves as makers and inventors and creators. They discover powerful skills-problem-solving, critical thinking, and imagination-that will help them shape the world's future ... our future. If that's true, why isn't creativity a priority in more schools today? Educators John Spencer and A.J. Juliani know firsthand the challenges teachers face every day: School can be busy. Materials can be scarce. The creative process can seem confusing. Curriculum requirements can feel limiting. Those challenges too often bully creativity, pushing it to the side as an enrichment activity that gets put off or squeezed into the tiniest time block. We can do better. We must do better if we're going to prepare students for their future. LAUNCH: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student provides a process that can be incorporated into every class at every grade level ... even if you don't consider yourself a creative teacher. And if you dare to innovate and view creativity as an essential skill, you will empower your students to change the world-starting right now. Look, Listen, and Learn Ask Lots of Questions Understand the Problem or Process Navigate Ideas Create Highlight What's Working and Failing Are you ready to LAUNCH? |
| spark how creativity works: Kubla Khan Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 2004-01 |
| spark how creativity works: Anyone Can Teach Art: How to Confidently Teach Art in Your Classical Homeschool Julie Abels, 2020-04-11 “Me? Teach art? I don’t even know how to draw!!” Many of us started there. We felt a total lack of confidence about teaching art. We wanted to give our children all the benefits of art in their education, but didn’t know how. Some of us did a few colorful hands on projects with our children, but we could see they weren’t really learning the basics of art. We had never learned the basics of art ourselves. But then, after a few years of teaching art with the classical model of education, we realized that teaching art can be as simple as teaching any other subject and we can learn it alongside our children! Now we’ve condensed our knowledge here for you. Instead of a how-to-draw book, Anyone Can Teach Art presents the scope and sequence of a classical Christian art curriculum for K-12 students. In this book, we break it all down for you. By the end of this book you’ll know: · Why art should be included in everyone’s education · What are the basics of art creation and art appreciation · How to use the ancient, amazingly effective, classical model of education to teach art · Which simple drills and exercises to include in art projects to help students advance their skills · How to proceed in art education once your students have mastered the basics What’s stopping you from including art in your child’s education? Learn the basics and follow the plan in this book and you’ll realize how easy it really is to teach art. |
| spark how creativity works: The Outside Edge Robert Kelsey, 2015-05-18 The brand new book from the international bestselling self-help author Robert Kelsey's internationally bestselling self-help books have helped tens of thousands of people overcome fear of failure and under confidence. Now Robert is back and is here to debunk the ever pervasive myths around the trail-blazing rebel outsider.... Our culture celebrates outsiders while – in reality – slamming the door in their face. The modern world craves innovation while alienating original thinkers. It encourages creativity while shutting-out all but a privileged few from individualistic expression. What a waste! Yet achieving great things as a genuine outsider is possible. Outsiders can find their own way – succeeding without compromising their individuality. They just need to forge an edge. The Outside Edge is all about learning to harness the unique vantage point you possess in order to give yourself the edge required to succeed. It will show you when to embrace your outsider status and go against convention, and when to play the game, do as the insiders do and make sure you can get progress. Think of The Outside Edge as a manual for positively directing your insecurity, awkwardness and role-confusion – towards a meaningful future, shaped and pursued on your own terms. By getting The Outside Edge you can: Identity and understand the causes of feeling like an outsider Accept yourself while focusing on finding meaning for your life Motivate yourself using strong goals, often harnessing creativity Acquire the skills needed to succeed on your own terms Avoid pitfalls such as poor judgement, negativity and extremism. |
| spark how creativity works: Creative Spark Prince Penman, Are you ready to unlock your creative potential? Creative Spark: Ignite Your Passion and Unlock Your Potential by Prince Penman is the ultimate guide to help you break through creative blocks, conquer fear, and transform your passion into real, tangible success. Whether you're an aspiring artist, writer, entrepreneur, or simply someone looking to ignite their creative spark, this book is your roadmap to a more fulfilling and inspired life. In this empowering guide, you'll discover: Practical exercises to harness your creative energy and turn inspiration into action. How to overcome fear and self-doubt, unlocking your true potential. The secrets to cultivating a creative mindset that drives success and personal growth. Strategies for building lasting creative habits that fuel your passion every day. Stories and insights from successful creators who overcame obstacles and embraced their inner creativity. Packed with actionable tips and personal stories, Creative Spark shows you how to embrace the creative process without waiting for perfect moments or divine inspiration. It’s about embracing imperfection, taking creative risks, and learning to love the journey of creation. Don’t let fear, procrastination, or self-doubt hold you back. Whether you're looking to express yourself through art, launch a new business, or simply explore new ideas, this book will help you tap into the creative flow within you and start living with purpose and passion. Are you ready to ignite your creative potential? Dive in and start your journey toward creative fulfilment today! |
Apache Spark™ - Unified Engine for large-scale data analytics
Apache Spark is a multi-language engine for executing data engineering, data science, and machine learning on single-node machines or clusters.
Overview - Spark 4.0.0 Documentation - Apache Spark
Running Spark Client Applications Anywhere with Spark Connect. Spark Connect is a new client-server architecture introduced in Spark 3.4 that decouples Spark client applications and allows …
Quick Start - Spark 4.0.0 Documentation - Apache Spark
Unlike the earlier examples with the Spark shell, which initializes its own SparkSession, we initialize a SparkSession as part of the program. To build the program, we also write a Maven …
Documentation - Apache Spark
The documentation linked to above covers getting started with Spark, as well the built-in components MLlib, Spark Streaming, and GraphX. In addition, this page lists other resources …
PySpark Overview — PySpark 4.0.0 documentation - Apache Spark
May 19, 2025 · PySpark combines Python’s learnability and ease of use with the power of Apache Spark to enable processing and analysis of data at any size for everyone familiar with Python. …
Downloads - Apache Spark
Download Spark: Verify this release using the and project release KEYS by following these procedures. Note that Spark 4 is pre-built with Scala 2.13, and support for Scala 2.12 has been …
Examples - Apache Spark
Spark is a great engine for small and large datasets. It can be used with single-node/localhost environments, or distributed clusters. Spark’s expansive API, excellent performance, and …
Spark SQL & DataFrames - Apache Spark
Seamlessly mix SQL queries with Spark programs. Spark SQL lets you query structured data inside Spark programs, using either SQL or a familiar DataFrame API. Usable in Java, Scala, …
Getting Started — PySpark 4.0.0 documentation - Apache Spark
Quickstart: Spark Connect. Launch Spark server with Spark Connect; Connect to Spark Connect server; Create DataFrame; Quickstart: Pandas API on Spark. Object Creation; Missing Data; …
Spark SQL and DataFrames - Spark 4.0.0 Documentation
Spark SQL, DataFrames and Datasets Guide. Spark SQL is a Spark module for structured data processing. Unlike the basic Spark RDD API, the interfaces provided by Spark SQL provide …
Apache Spark™ - Unified Engine for large-scale data analytics
Apache Spark is a multi-language engine for executing data engineering, data science, and machine learning on single-node machines or clusters.
Overview - Spark 4.0.0 Documentation - Apache Spark
Running Spark Client Applications Anywhere with Spark Connect. Spark Connect is a new client-server architecture introduced in Spark 3.4 that decouples Spark client applications and allows …
Quick Start - Spark 4.0.0 Documentation - Apache Spark
Unlike the earlier examples with the Spark shell, which initializes its own SparkSession, we initialize a SparkSession as part of the program. To build the program, we also write a Maven …
Documentation - Apache Spark
The documentation linked to above covers getting started with Spark, as well the built-in components MLlib, Spark Streaming, and GraphX. In addition, this page lists other resources …
PySpark Overview — PySpark 4.0.0 documentation - Apache Spark
May 19, 2025 · PySpark combines Python’s learnability and ease of use with the power of Apache Spark to enable processing and analysis of data at any size for everyone familiar with Python. …
Downloads - Apache Spark
Download Spark: Verify this release using the and project release KEYS by following these procedures. Note that Spark 4 is pre-built with Scala 2.13, and support for Scala 2.12 has …
Examples - Apache Spark
Spark is a great engine for small and large datasets. It can be used with single-node/localhost environments, or distributed clusters. Spark’s expansive API, excellent performance, and …
Spark SQL & DataFrames - Apache Spark
Seamlessly mix SQL queries with Spark programs. Spark SQL lets you query structured data inside Spark programs, using either SQL or a familiar DataFrame API. Usable in Java, Scala, …
Getting Started — PySpark 4.0.0 documentation - Apache Spark
Quickstart: Spark Connect. Launch Spark server with Spark Connect; Connect to Spark Connect server; Create DataFrame; Quickstart: Pandas API on Spark. Object Creation; Missing Data; …
Spark SQL and DataFrames - Spark 4.0.0 Documentation - Apache …
Spark SQL, DataFrames and Datasets Guide. Spark SQL is a Spark module for structured data processing. Unlike the basic Spark RDD API, the interfaces provided by Spark SQL provide …
