At the end of January, I attended the certificate program “Creativity in the classroom” by Bell English at Beykent University. I was lucky because I had the chance to share this wonderful experience with Cecilia and Ozan, two of my colleagues at Ozyegin University.

When I first read the title of this course, I wondered about the meaning of “creativity” and how someone could be “creative”. These questions made me go back to those days where I used to “create” so many activities to use into the classroom. Back then, I was using my “creativity” to do something that could help me make my input comprehensible for students instead of making “something” significant for them. I feared giving them “control” of their own learning process. Throughout time, I realized that I needed to share that responsibility with the students and I started to delegate it to them. The results where incredible. Of course, this process took a lot of time to adapt, design and create new activities that allow students to interact in the classroom. Nowadays I dedicate more of my “creative” time to do activities that can be integrated on LMS. So then, attending this program was a source of new refreshing ideas that can be used in the classroom, and I want to list some of them below.

On the second day of the program, I learned active learning activities such as discussion, debate, poster design, reaction to video and project work. We did and example about a work project, starting from a simple advertisement and the different activities that can be exploited through it and we explored different possibilities until the creation of a final product. During this process I had the chance to work with a colleague from Beykent University, Baran, to design a new product using the SCAMPER List:

 

 

 

 

 

The aim was to improve a sneaker using the previous list, to make a TV advert and to present it in front of the class. The result was the combination of multicultural beliefs and a global brand. I think it was a wonderful way to develop an activity, enjoying and exploring something new.

Another part that I really enjoyed was on the third day. I learnt about practical web sites that I started to use in my classes immediately (see the photos below).
https://classroomscreen.com/ is an online whiteboard that allows teachers to organize interactions patterns, to set a chronometer for activities timing, to select students to participate in the class, to insert a clock, etc.

https://answergarden.ch/ is a webpage that allows teachers to use it for brainstorming (brainstorm mode). Something I really liked is while students write the screen is updated.

http://aschool.us/ is a webpage that allows teachers to create a random group or pairs to organize students’ interactions in the classroom. It facilitates the organization and class dynamics.

My final reflection is that even with a small thing we can create an activity that engages students and motivates them to learn and participate into the class.