Creative Process

What I learned about the creative process...

My workshop was a great implication of my creative process. It helped me thoroughly think about concepts that I'm interested in, such as the top four topics of musical elements (tone, rhythm, dynamics, etc.), Genres vs. effect it has on people who listen to it, musical synesthesia, and mental health benefits, and how to break them down into digestible pieces of content to relate to my students and their own creative process of curating their playlists. Especially when I was thinking of lessons, it allowed me to tap into playlists that I currently listen to or have made, and I had to think about how to explain them and give specific steps so others can follow along, but also have some room to make them personalized.

I also learned the importance of collaboration in relation to learning, because I discovered that once I implicated different seating arrangements, I could create an active learning classroom (ALC). In CPSA260, we read an article called “The Room Itself Is Active: How Classroom Design Impacts Student Engagement” from the Journal of Learning Spaces that basically showcased various seating arrangements that allowed students to face each other more. This way, students became more talkative and seemed to become more comfortable with each other through more interactions. I also asked for a lot of feedback from my workshop participants after changing the seating arrangements and found that they enjoyed collaborative playlists and projects rather than individual ones. It was such a joy to see them laughing and conversing with each other more compared to the silence from the first few sessions. 

In essence, while I've had some prior experience in guiding and instructing groups, both as a prospective educator and through theater, this workshop provided a profound exploration into lesson planning. It equipped me with the skill to tailor lessons to meet my students' requirements and to embrace flexibility instead of rigid adherence to preconceived plans. This adaptability is crucial for my future classroom endeavors and now I can feel more comfortable when I have to do it again.