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Showing posts from May, 2012

Understanding (A Follow-up to "U.S. University Classes")

*formerly posted on "Welcome, International Students!" blog A month and a half ago, we took a general look at U.S. university classes . One of the major points that came up was that U.S. students--and other international students--can be very curious and eager to learn about their international classmates. At times, this can lead to class discussion questions being directed to specific individual students. A few days ago, a friend and former classmate of mine brought up a great point that I wanted to share with all of you. Paraphrasing what he said, "It can be intimidating and overaggressive to direct numerous questions towards one student. It is better to talk with the individual student face-to-face/in private with these types of questions, such as after class." That is, even with the friendliest and most academic intentions, asking questions can get out of hand and students--whether born in the U.S. or elsewhere--can feel intimidated and/or embarrassed by a...

Time Limits & Creativity

"Time, why you punish me?" These may just be lyrics from a Hootie & The Blowfish song from the 1990s, but they are quite appropriate to descriptions of time in relation to creativity. That is, there tend to be 2 main approaches to time & creativity in business, education, and general life. The first main approach emphasizes that time serves as a hindrance to creativity. Artists do not just spend a set amount of time to come up with the idea for a masterpiece and create the masterpiece. Drawing, painting, music, etc.: innumerable masterpieces were created without a strict timeline in mind. Similarly, a large number of great brainstorming sessions do not require set time limits, defined schedules, or strictly defined actions & activities. Rather, brainstorming sessions (for marketing, management, event planning, etc.) flow due to a lack of rigidity and structure. On the other hand, the second main approach emphasizes that efficient and effective creativity flows...