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Prof Ed10 M10-11 modules

Business Administration Major in Financial Management (Osmeña Colleges)

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Module 10 : ECOLITERACY
Eco-literacy and Sustainable Development
Eco-literacy considers ecological systems and awareness of how society operates within natural
aspects as an educational imperative, The basic principles of eco-literacy are good starting points to
explore fundamental lessons that can be learned from nature for the reform of society (Wahl, 2017).
David Orr (1992) posited that by failing to include ecological perspectives in education, students are
taught that ecology is unimportant. or and Capra (1990) coined the idea of 'ecological literacy' as
creating a new emphasis on the need for education to integrate understanding of the interdependence
between natural processes and human ways of life. Therefore, eco-literacy is the ability to understand
the organization of natural systems and the processes that maintain the healthy functioning of living
systems and sustain life on Earth.
In another perspective, ecological literacy is an understanding of the principles of organization that
ecosystems have evolved to sustain the web of life, which is the first step on the road to sustainability.
The second step is the move towards eco-design, of which there is a need to apply the ecological
knowledge to the fundamental redesign of technologies and social institutions, to bridge the current
gap between human design and the ecological sustainable systems of nature (Capra, 2003).
Sustainability is a qualitative and quantitative condition that demonstrates the human Capacity to
Survive Over time. It is qualitative in a way that we want well-being although, it is difficult to
measure. But it is also quantitative in that natural capital and ecological carrying capacity can be
measured with foot printing tools. It is a biological and ecological imperative for human society to
exist within the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. Ecological literacy therefore, provides the basis
for integrated thinking about sustainability. It supports the frame of mind, ethics, and the type of
practice that will support the kind of thinking that prioritizes ecological imperatives.
To achieve sustainability, we must trace the roots of our cultural assumptions and Work On ecological
illiteracy. Our society has created industries, processes, programs and institutions that are destroying
the ecosystem's ability to support life. This unsustainable and reckless action is a direct result of lack
of ecological understanding and lack of sense of urgency. With this in mind, ecological literacy aims
to replace fragmented thinking with new cognitive and social capacities necessary for the design of
sustainable ways of living (www.eco-/abs.org/about/eco-literacy).

Ecologically Literate Person and Society

For Wahl (2017), an ecologically literate person can apply such understanding to the design and
organization of communities and the creation of a regenerative culture. To be eco-literate means to
understand the principles of organization of ecological communities (i.e ecosystems) and to use those
principles for creating sustainable human communities (www.wikipedia.org). An ecologically literate
person translates this understanding into actions at demonstrate conscious efforts to minimize
negative impacts our life-sustaining systems and maximize value contribution and to collective well-
being, future generations now for (http://educationforsustainability.info/general/ecological-literacy/).
On the other hand, an ecologically literate society would be a sustainable society, which does not
destroy the natural environment on which they depend. Thus, ecological literacy is a powerful concept
as it creates a foundation for an integrated approach to environmental problems. Advocates and
catalysts champion eco-literacy as a new educational reform emerging from holism, systems thinking,

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sustainability and complexity. Wahl (2017) claimed that nurturing ecological literacy in students of a
wide range of ages has become the goal of sustainability education programs worldwide.

Ways to Develop Eco-literacy in Schools

A growing number of educators feel the need to foster learning that genuinely prepares young people
for the ecological challenges presented by this entirely unprecedented time in human history Thus, the
goal is to raise students with an important perspective called "socially and emotionally engaged
ecoliteracy", which is a process that offers an antidote for fear, anger and hopelessness which result
from inaction, Hence, tho act of engaging in ecological challenges on whatever scale is possible or
appropriate. It develops strength, hope and resiliency among young people.
In this case, ecoliteracy is founded on a new integration of emotional, social and ecological forms of
intelligence. While social and emotional intelligence extend students' abilities to see from another's
perspective, empathize, and show concern, ecological intelligence applies these capacities to
understanding of natural systems and cognitive skills with empathy for all of life,
By weaving these forms of intelligence together, ecoliteracy builds on success from reduced
behavioral problems to increased academic achievement to foster social and emotional learning.

To help educators foster socially and emotionally engaged ecoliteracy, the following are identified
practices in ageappropriate ways for students, ranging from pre-kindergarten through adulthood and
help promote the cognitive and affective the abilities with the integration of emotional, social and
ecological intelligences.
1. Develop empathy for all forms of life. By recognizing the common needs we share with all
organisms, we can Extend our empathy to consider the quality of life of other life forms, feel genuine
concern about their wellbeing and act on that concern.
2. Embrace sustainability as a community practice. By learning the wondrous ways that plants,
animals and other living things are interdependent, students are inspired to consider the role of
interconnectedness within their communities and see the value in strengthening those relationships by
thinking and acting cooperatively.
3. Make the invisible visible, If we strive to develop ways of living that are more life-affirming, we
must find ways to make visible the things that seem invisible by using web-based tools, such as
Google Earth, Good Guide and Fooducate Apps.
4. Anticipate unintended consequences. Teachers can teach students strategies for anticipating
unintended consequences. These include precautionary principle, that when an activity threatens to
have a damaging impact on the environment or human health, precautionary actions should be taken.
Another strategy is to shift from analyzing a problem by reducing it to its isolated components, to
adopting a systems thinking perspective that examines connections and relationships among various
components of the problem.
5. Understand how nature sustains life. Ecoliterate people recognize that nature has sustained life for
long that resulted to turning to nature when their teachers imbibe three crucial tenets to ecoliterate
living: (1) ecoliterate people learn from nature that all living organisms are complex and
interconnected that inhabit a particular place for survival; (2) ecoliterate people tend to be more aware

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that systems exist on various levels of scale; and (3) ecoliterate people collectively practice a way of
life that fulfills the needs of the present generation while simultaneously supporting nature's inherent
ability to sustain life in the future.

Seven Environmental Principles of Nature

Considering the key to understanding environmental problems is to learn about ecosystem. Ecology
can be best appreciated in schools through a more practical and more relatable perspectives and
manner of orientation and realization.

The following are basic environmental principles of ecosystem (adapted from Barry Connmoner;
cited in Butler, 2012).
1. Nature knows best. People need to understand nature and have to abide by the rules it imposes. In
essence, one must not go against the natural processes if he/she would like to ensure a continuous and
steady supply of resources.
2. All forms of life are important. Each organism plays a fundamental role in nature therefore, all
living things must be considered as invaluable instruments in maintaining balance in the ecosystem.
3. Everything is connected to everything else. In an ecosystem, all components interact with each
other to ensure that the system is sustainable, of which any outside interference may result in an
imbalance and deterioration of the system.
4. Everything changes. People must rethink their relationship with the environment through relevant
technologies for positive changes.
5. Everything must go somewhere. Since wastes may go back to one's own backyard in some other
forms, it is important to become aware of the different types of waste, classify and segregate those
that are toxic and potentially hazardous.
6. Ours is a finite earth. Awareness of the earth's limited resources leads to a conscious effort to
change one's attitude and initiative to recycle them.
7. Nature is beautiful and we are stewards of God's creation, Being the most intelligent and being
gifted with reason, humans are capable of controlling and taking care of the creation to their own
advantage.

Towards a Green School and Education for Sustainable Development

Schools play a great role in the development of academics but also environmental ethics and care for
nature among students. The school environment, therefore, should encourage, support and nurture
students' capacities on green environment as integrated in the curriculum and instruction. This will
allow them to connect with their surroundings and attend to their health and safety needs, while
motivating them to learn and imbibe a sense of belongingness and sensitivity towards the school,
society and even this planet.
Environmental issues and concerns can be effectively addressed when all efforts of staff and students
are geared toward adopting environmentally sustainable principles at all levels, from planning and

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decision-making up to their execution in the school's functioning as part of the daily routine, such as
creating a Green School.

Green School: The concept and background

The concept of Green School was introduced in Europe in the 1990s while the Rio Earth Summit of
1992 took cognizance of the need to take action in every area in which human impacts on the
environment. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002
catalyzed the efforts to bring about a shift in educating about the environment' to 'educating for
sustainability. This shift reflected the international climate of thinking about Sustainable Development
that meets the needs of the present without compromising future generations to meet their own needs.
There was a continuous misuse and abuse of natural resources in quest for development that would
tend the future to be at stake. Hence, we need a deeper understanding and action to respond to
environmental issues and challenges that our Earth is confronted with.
Recognizing education as a critical means to achieve sustainability, the United Nations launched the
'Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD)' in 2005, to integrate principles, values
and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning in order to
encourage behavior that will create a more sustainable future in terms of environmental integrity,
economic viability and a just society for present and future generations (UNESCO, 2005).
A key objective of the UNDESD is to foster better-quality teaching and learning for ESD. This calls
for reorientation of thinking and practice of formal education, including teaching-learning approaches
and assessment.
Green Schools and ESD. The Green School is visualized as a school guided by the principles of
environmental sustainability. It seeks to create a conducive environment to fully utilize all resources
and opportunities inside and outside the school and orient teachers and students on environmental
sustainability through active involvement of the community It demands on-going, continuous and
synergistic efforts of all stakeholders toward improving the environment of the school and its
surroundings.
Students' learning experiences outside school help them to consolidate and apply knowledge, gain
understanding of environmental processes, interrelationships and issues, acquire life skills and help
foster attitudes, values and sensitivity toward environmental concerns.
A "Green School" is identified with those elements and practices that inculcate environmental
sensitivity to promote environmental sustainability through various environment-friendly means and
encourage judicious use of resources. It also caters to the physical, mental and emotional needs of a
child by ensuring a school environment that is physically safe, emotionally secure and
psychologically enabling.
Essential aspects of Green School Environment. The greenness of a school finds expression in
various aspects of the environment. The Green School has clean, healthy, protective and green
surroundings. It also promotes both the physical and the psychosocial health of learners and others in
school; ensures a healthy (provision of health services, such as nutritional supplementation and
counseling), hygienic (safe drinking water, neat and clean classrooms, playground and parks, etc.),
safe learning environment with healthy practices (e.g. a school free of drugs, corporal punishment and
harassment); and brings children closer to nature and involves them in taking care of it.

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Thus, a Green School is a school that engages the school community, especially children, in critical
thinking and teaming by adopting participatory, practical and collaborative approaches to work
together and make the school environment healthier for students and staff by involving the whole
community to work towards a sustainable future.

A Green School adheres to the following precepts:

1. Learning about the environment. It focuses mainly on acquisition of knowledge and understanding
of the surroundings and related issues.
2. Learning through the environment. It refers to the processes of learning while being engaged with
environment inside and outside the classroom.
3. Learning for the environment. It aims at developing an informed response and responsibility
towards the environment beyond acquisition of skills and knowledge.
Understanding Green Curriculum. For a curriculum to be 'Green', it must include the following
aspects:

1. Environment is encompassing, multidisciplinary and dynamic, has scientific, social, economic,

political and technological dimensions.
2. Being holistic, a Green Curriculum views environment as all that is around and aims to give a
better understanding of the way the world functions operations, its alteration because of the actions of
human race and its consequences.
3. It holistically addresses sustainability] concerns, such as protection and conservation of natural
resources, traditions, culture and heritage, safety and security, physical and emotional assurance,
health and sanitation issues, concern for equity and justice and interconnection between and among
natural, social, physical and cultural environment.
4. This requires a teaching-learning approach where Students are provided time and space to explorer
different facets of environment and interconnect them.

A Green Curriculum is a mutual concern of teachers and students.

Creating a Green School. A Green School is a school that creates a healthy environment conducive
to learning, while saving energy, environmental resources and money.
Therefore, a Green School (1) reduces environmental impacts and costs; (2) improves occupants'
health and performance; and (3) increases environmental and sustainability literacy.
(https://www.centerforgreenschools. org/green-school)

Characteristics of a Green School. Green, healthy, and high-performing are the characteristics of a
green school that provides many benefits to students, teachers, parents and the community, at large.
1. It protects health. Schools, built with more daylighting, better ventilation, and healthy green
building materials and paints are healthier for students and staff.

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2. It increases student performance. Student test scores can improve up to 20% when students learn in
green classrooms.
3. It saves energy and money. Operating costs for energy and water in a green school can be reduced
by 20% to 40%.
4. It reduces carbon emissions. Green schools significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
5. It reduces water usage. On an average, a green school reduces water usage by 32% that has direct
savings for the building.
6. It improves teacher retention. Agreen school can reduce teacher turnover by as much as 5%, which
improves student learning and school community, and can result in financial savings for the school.
7. It improves daily attendance. It reduces absenteeism by 15%.
8. It provides a unique educational opportunity Schools can become teaching tools and important
features of science, math, and environmental curriculum when green features, advanced technology
and design in schools are used to motivate students about learning real world applications of green
technologies and using schools and schoolyards as living laboratories.
9. It creates green jobs. Investing in creating green schools is an investment in green jobs, including
green construction, building product manufacturing, and green architecture.
10. It improves equity. Greening public schools creates an opportunity to improve the health and
educational settings for all students amidst diverse identities and needs https://bostongreenschoolsorg/

Dark Green School Program: Philippine Environmental Perspective

A Dark Green school (DGS) is a school that delivers Environmental Education through assimilation
of the environmental philosophy by the students in formal lessons, as well as in activities

Accordingly, schools must:

a. be clean and neat as evidence of good management and
b. call for green spaces, appropriate land use, planning, conservation of materials and energy, proper
waste management, segregation, use of appropriate materials and avoidance of harmful ones and
respect to others' right to a smoke-free air.
c. have management policies and guidelines that would create a healthful and ecological campus.
d. have a well-planned environmental curriculum for all levels, adequately oriented and trained
faculty, and administrative, library and financial support.
e. have faculty and students who are aware of and appreciate the environmental program of the
school.
f. reach out to an outside community to spread concern for Mother Earth and facilitate projects and
programs that improve the environment.
g. engage in research that adds knowledge in the ways of nature and the impact of human activities.
(http://119.92.161.2/embgovph/portals/20/ee/neeap/dark-green schoolsprogram.ppt)

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Ecological Living Practices

Sustainable ecological living is based on different sets of principles. To assess the impact of our
choices and actions, we need criteria from studying the basic facts of life as follows (Capra, 2003): (1)
Matter cycles continually through the web of life; (2) Most of the energy that drives the ecological
cycles flow from the sun; (3) Diversity assures resilience; (4) One species' waste another species'
food; and (5) Life does not take over the planet by combat but by networking.

The dimensions of sustainability describe the environmental impacts of our activities, the causes of
which come from the socio-economic and political systems of the society. Sustainable development
entails three dimensions: environmental, economic and social.
Ecological living gives larger understanding of how things connect and are interdependent that begins
with addressing the causes of negative impacts on the environment. Ecological living and literacy
therefore, provide people with the tools, knowledge and Wisdom for taking concrete actions on their
immense desire to contribute to a better world and future (Capra, 2003).
Therefore, ecological living means to live in a way that it: (1) respects and replenishes the carrying
capacity of our planet; (2) honors our interrelatedness with all expressions of life; (3) enhances the
qualitative aspects of our relationships; and (4) brings forth the best of our human capacities for the
co-creation of an ecologically sustainable and caring world.
Smitsman (2014) mentioned practical suggestions on how we can support the change for
sustainability through ecological living. In order to sustain outer actions for ecological living, it is
helpful to remember and draw inspiration from the inner or personal development dimensions of
ecological living. The following are inner and outer ecological perspectives. To wit:

A. Inner ecology (Smitsman, 2014).

1. Become a catalyst of change to help co-create a better world and future.
2. Care for and relate with non-human beings while spending time with nature.
3. Make the most of sustainability crisis that forces us to learn, dream, think, design, act and relate in
new ways.
4. Join the rest around the world in becoming agents of sustainability.
5. Nurture nature by taking care of our body and become aware of our natural body rhythms.
6. Become more energy efficient and learn to recycle our own energy.
7. Learn to compost our own waste and no need to dump this unto others.
8. Become aware of rights, needs and well-being of future generations and explore how we can
support this in our actions.

Outer ecology (Smitsman, 2014).

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1. Educate ourselves about the resources that we,' our family and/or organizations' utilize to fulfill and
sustain our needs.
2. Reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle.
3. Be aware of the real price of goods and services that we use. Cheap products often have hidden
costs (e.g. the cost of child- labor, animal cruelty, or degradation of ecosystems).
4. Find out any child labor practices or natural resources that were sacrificed in the process of
producing products and services.
5. Recycle grey-water.
6. Collect and use rainwater.
7. Create an organic vegetable garden.
8. Compost organic waste and use the compost in the garden
9. Create a garden (with a balance of endemic/indigenous plants) to support local wildlife (animals,
insects, trees and plants).
10. Create a roof garden (green roof) as a natural air-conditioning
11. Buy organic and local products as much as possible.
12. Support local businesses and organizations that care for our planet

Integrating Ecological Literacy into the Curriculum

The Center for Ecoliteracy (2015) promotes a variety of teaching strategies based on practices that
are developmentally appropriate to students' level and are brain-based to foster knowledge, skills and
values essential to sustainable living (Sly, 2015).
Students learn best when teaching strategies are varied that include hands-on activities, time for
reflection, thoughtful discussion and combined indoor and outdoor environments, including
interdisciplinary projects (Sly, 2015). To wit:
1. Place-based Learning. It is an experiential. learning that engages students in their own
environments and a strategy that captures their imagination and advances environmental stewardship
and civic engagement. Activities include mapping the local environment to learn key ecological and
cultural principles, studying the interplay between local society and the environment, supporting
habitat restoration projects, and working with local citizens to improve the quality of life in their
communities. Learning takes students out of the classroom and into the community and natural
environment. It adheres to the following principles:

1.1 Place-based projects are integrated back into classroom lessons.

1.2 Students want to learn in order to apply their knowledge to solving real problems.
1.3 Students play an active role in redefining and recreating projects.
1.4 Students collaborate with local citizens, organizations, agencies, businesses and government.

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1.5 Students help make plans that shape the future of their social, physical and economic
environments.
1.6 Students are encouraged to view their community as an ecosystem and to understand the
relationships and processes necessary to support healthy living.
Research reveals the benefits of place-based learning, such as: (1) higher test scores; (2) better grade-
point averages; (3) improved classroom behavior; (4) increased self-esteem and problem-solving
abilities; and (5) higher-level thinking skills (Sly, 2015).
2. Project-based Learning. It is a strategy that involves Students in projects that use a variety of
resources, including the community, technology, outside experts, written resources, and the Web,
while the teacher usually serves as facilitator of learning.
Using this strategy, research shows its impact on learners, such as: (1) increased critical thinking skills
of Students; (2) fostered positive attitudes toward subjects (such as mathematics) and exemplary
performance with conceptual questions and applied problems; and (3) Improved positive study and
work habits, problem-solving capabilities and self-esteem.
Likewise, project-based learning bears environmental impact, such as habitat restoration, modeling
the evolution of agriculture, and changing food in schools.
3. Socratic Inquiry. This is named after the Greek philosopher Socrates, who believed that questions
(not answers) stimulate learning. Therefore, rather than teaching facts and information, teachers
encourage students to ask questions about their assumptions, values, and preconceptions. Therefore,
the role of the teacher shifts from direct instruction to facilitating discussion.
Through skilled questioning, the teacher asks students to clarify their statements, identify weaknesses
in their arguments and provide evidence for their reasoning
In retum, this strategy impacts student learning as evidenced by the following outcomes. (1) Students
reveal their beliefs, misconceptions and values and eventually, clarify their thoughts related to the
topic being discussed, (2) Students become more adept in critical thinking. (3) Students improve their
listening skills and learn to better articulate their thoughts and ideas and become more tolerant of
diverse opinions.

4. Experiential Learning. It promotes students' involvement in the real world and defines the teacher's
role as a facilitator of learning. The process of learning leads to behavioral outcomes. It is based on
the premise that learning is an active and a continuous process, with experience at its foundation
It goes along with principles of learning associated with environmental literacy.
4.1 Experiential teaming is vital to schooling for sustainability.
4.2 Only through direct contact with the natural world will students develop an in-depth
understanding of fundamental ecological principles.
4.3 By working with others to solve real-world problems, they also develop skills at the heart of
sustainable living.
4.4 When students participate in experiential learning, they frequently follow the learning cycle.
4.5 This is a process that starts with unstructured exploration, followed by concept formation and
application.

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5. Interdisciplinary Learning. It emphasizes connections between traditionally discrete disciplines,

such as math, science, history, and language arts, rather than limiting learning to one content area at a
time. The following are advantages of interdisciplinary
5.1 When teaching and learning are organized around themes, problems, or issues, students seek
knowledge and skills from a variety of disciplines to provide an expanded and more complex
understanding of the topics 5.2 When done well, interdisciplinary approach eliminates fragmentation
and learning of isolated skills. 5.3 It allows students to access a particular theme from different entry
points as they work with a range of sources of information and perspectives.
5.4 It also allows teachers to better differentiate instruction and create more interesting and rich
methods of assessment.
5.5 It increases students' motivation for learning, as well as their level of active engagement.
5.6 Students recognize the value of their learning and become more involved in it,
5.7 Students learn more when they apply a variety of skills to what they are studying and when they
interact with their classmates, teachers, and members of the community
5.8 Interdisciplinary teaching and learning adhere to the principles that help define sustainable living.
(https://www.ecoliteracy.org/article/teaching-strategies).

Module 11: Artnand Creative literacy

Arts and Creative Literacy

Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value. Moreover, creativity is the ability to
see the world in new ways. Therefore, creative individuals exhibit the ability to switch between
different modes of thinking and shift their mental focus that suggests a connection between creativity
and dynamic interactions of brain networks (Sun, et. al, 2019).
Likewise, creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Henceforth, it is
characterized by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make
connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. It involves two
processes: thinking, then producing (Naiman, 2011).
As such, creativity is a combinatorial force: the ability to tap into one's 'inner' pool of resources, such
as knowledge, insight, information, inspiration; and the fragments in the mind to combine them in
extraordinary new ways (Popova, n.d. in Naiman, 2011). It is also the process of bringing something
new into being that requires passion and commitment.
Creativity begins with a foundation of knowledge, learning a discipline, and mastering a way of
thinking. It can be learned by experimenting, exploring, questioning assumptions, using imagination
and synthesizing information.

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The ability to generate creative and innovative ideas is not merely a function of the mind, but also a
function of five key behaviors that optimize brain for discovery: (1) associating or drawing
connections between questions, problems, or ideas from unrelated fields; (2) questioning or posing
queries that challenge common wisdom; (3) observing or scrutinizing the behavior of others to
identify new ways of doing things; (4) networking or meeting people with different ideas and
perspectives; and (5) experimenting or constructing interactive experiences and provoking responses
to see what insights emerge (https://www.creativityatwork.com/20 4/02/17/what-is-creativity/).
Developing literacies of the arts and creativity involves design of physical learning environment, the
emotional environment, scheduling, organization and implementation of curriculum and instruction
and attention to the body and the brain. Therefore, teachers should be empowered in developing these
literacies among students with the support of the administrators, parents, and other stakeholders.
Highly Creative People Naiman (2014) opined that if a person makes a habit of the seven ractices,
he/she will be highly creative in his/her field. Thus, these would help teachers attain highest possible
level of creativity.

Seven Habits of
1. Prepare the ground. Creativity requires an absorbed mind, a relaxed state of focus and attention by
giving the self-sufficient time and space needed while letting the desire to create from the pleasure of
creative expression and inspiration.
2. Plant seeds for creativity. It is important to put attention on what you want to create, not on
complaints and set an intention to produce the desired results.
3. Live in the question. Ask questions, instead of trying to find immediate answers and pay attention
to questions that other people ask.
4. Feed your brain. Get interested in something that later can provide you wisdom and ideas if you
learn to make connections between people, places and things that are not usually connected. 5.
Experiment and explore. Follow your curiosity, experiment with ideas, and learn from your mistakes
therefore, the quality of your creativity will improve.
6. Replenish your creative stock. You must learn to be self-nourishing and translate hobbies, talents
and skills into wonderful potentials.
7. Liberate your creativity. Your child's play provides the clue to your creativity, potentials and
passion. In general, creativity takes on many forms in business, art, design, education and science.
When you express your creativity in these domains, you have the ability to make life indeed a work of
art (Naiman, 2011).

Eye-Hand Coordination
In most of our creative activities and endeavors, we integrate eye-hand coordination as we inhibit our
usual body functioning.
Eye-hand coordination (also known as hand-eye coordination) is the coordinated control of eye
movement with hand movement and the processing of visual input to guide reaching and grasping
along with the use of proprioception of hands to guide the eyes. Eye-hand coordination can be
observed in diverse activities, such as the movement of objects, handwriting, catching a ball, sports,
performance, music, reading, computer gaming, typing, and others. In short, it becomes part of the

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mechanisms of performing everyday tasks. Without it, people would be unable to carry out even the
simple actions in daily life.
Eye-hand coordination therefore, is the ability of the vision system to coordinate the information
received through the eyes to control, guide, and direct the hands in the accomplishment of a given
task. It is also a complex cognitive ability as it unites visual and motor skills, allowing the hand to be
guided by the visual stimulation that the eyes receive. It is the ability to- do activities that require
simultaneous use of hands and eyes, like an activity that uses the information that eyes perceive
(visual spatial perception) to guide the hands in carrying out a movement.

Hand-eye coordination is important for child development and academic success, which is equally
important among adults to use in countless activities on a daily basis. Most activities in day-today life
use some degree of eye-hand coordination, the reason why it is really important to develop it as
possible. Obviously, visual information is used to correct an inappropriate behavior in a situation. We
use our eyes to direct attention to a stimulus and help the brain understand where the body is located
in space (self-perception). Reciprocally, we use our hands to simultaneously carry out a determined
task based on the visual information that our eyes receive
(https://www.cognifit.com/science/cognitiveskills/eye-hand-coordination).

Examples of eye-hand coordination

1. In writing. When making lines, the eyes send visual information to the brain to tell where the hand
is placed and if handwriting is legible.
2. Typing on a keyboard. Although the types of movement are different, but visual information is used
to tell the brain how to guide the hand or if a mistake needs to be corrected.
3. When driving. It uses visual information to move the hands on the wheel, keeping the car in the
middle of the lane and avoiding accidents.
4. In sports. In any sports, the eyes usually coordinate with the movement of some parts of the body
called "motor coordination". Depending on the sport, either r hand-eye coordination (basketball,
tennis, football, etc.) or foot-eye coordination (soccer, track, etc.) will be more dominant.
(https://www.cognifit.com/science/cognitive-skills/eye%and-coordination ).
Problems and disorders related to poor eye-hand coordination. Hand-eye coordination can also work
poorly even if the person's eyes and vision are not affected and if their motor control skills work
properly. It is possible for someone with a perfect vision to have hand-eye coordination problems that
will only manifest when they use both the visual and motor systems together,
Any alteration to the visual or motor systems can significantly affect hand-eye coordination, like
visual or muscular problems, such as strabismus (crossed eyes), amblyopia, muscle hypotonia,
balance problems, or crossed laterality. Brain damage to the motor areas or perceptive areas may also
cause eyehand coordination problems.
Poor hand-eye coordination can affect activities that may lead to developmental disorders, learning
disorders (related to reading, writing and playing sports), in academics (making mistakes when they
take notes, poor hand-writing, poor attention), professional areas (in typing or assembling objects),
and problems with daily activities.

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Hence, poor hand-eye coordination can have variety of causes, but the following are two main
conditions for inadequate hand-eye coordination.
1. Vision impairment. It is a loss of vision that makes it hard or impossible to perform daily tasks
without specialized adaptations caused by loss of visual acuity, in which the eye does not see objects
as clearly as usual.
2. Movement disorders. These are characterized by impaired body movements caused by variety of
causes, such as ataxia, which is characterized by lack of coordination while performing voluntary
movements; and hypertonia, a condition marked by an abnormal increase in muscle tension and a
reduced ability of a muscle to stretch. https://www.cognifit.com/science/cognitive-skills/eye-hand-
coordination. Hand-eye coordination development stages. Hand-eye coordination development
milestones are as follows:

Between birth and three years

1. Between birth and three years of age, infants can accomplish the following skills and can: 1.1 start
to develop vision that allows them to follow slowly moving objects with their eyes; 1.2 begin to
develop basic hand-eye skills, such as reaching, grasping objects, feeding, dressing; 1.3 begin to
recognize concepts of place and direction, such as up, down, in; and 1.4 develop the ability td
manipulate objects with fine motor skills.

Between three and five years

2. Between three and five years of age, little children can:
2.1 continue to develop hand-eye coordination skills and a preference for left or right handedness; 2.2
continue to understand and use concepts of place and direction, such as up, down, under, beside;
2.3 develop the ability to climb, balance, run, gallop, jump, push and pull, and take stairs one at a
time; and
2.4 develop eye/hand/body coordination, eye teaming, and depth perception.
Five to seven years
3. Children between five and seven years old can:
3.1 improve fine motor skills, such as handling writing tools, using scissors, etc.;
3.2 continue to develop climbing, balancing, running, galloping and jumping abilities;
3.3 continue to improve. hand-eye coordination and handedness preference; and
3.4 on school work for hours (http://www.hea/thofchi/dren.com/G-H/Hand-Eye-
Coordination.htmi#ixzz5xFc4rsqG) learn to focus vision every day.

Visual Literacy
In the advent of the Internet, students must develop the necessary visual literacy skills to navigate the
image-intense world.

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Therefore, visual literacy refers to interpreting and creating visual images and usually about
communication and interaction. Visual literacy is the ability to read, write and create visual images. It
is a concept that relates to art and design and has much wider applications. It is about language,
communication and interaction. Visual media is a linguistic tool, with which we communicate,
exchange ideas and navigate our highly visual digital world.
The term was first coined in 1969 by John Debes, who was the founder of the International Visual
Literacy Association Debes explains: "Visual literacy refers to a group of vision-competencies a
human being can develop by seeing, having and integrating other sensory experiences.
According to Oxford Research Encyclopedia, visual literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate and
make meaning from information presented in the form of an image, extending the meaning of literacy,
which commonly signifies interpretation of a written or printed text. It is therefore, based on the idea
that pictures can be read and the meaning can be through a process of reading.
Serafini (2017) asserted that visual literacy is a set of visual competencies or cognitive skills and
strategies one needs to make sense of visual images. These visual competencies were seen as
universal cognitive abilities that were used for understanding visual images regardless of the contexts
of production, reception, and dissemination. More contemporary definitions stress that visual literac is
a contextualized, social practice as much as an individualized, cognitively based set of competencies.
It is also a process of generating meanings in transaction with multimodal ensembles that include
written text, visual images, and design elements from a variety of perspectives to meet the
requirements of particular social contexts.
Theories of visual literacy can be integrated across disciplines. Therefore, visual literacy now
incorporates sociocultural, semiotic, critical, and multimodal perspectives to understand the meaning
that are potential of the visual and verbal ensembles encountered in social environments (Serafini,
2017). Digital technology has greatly impacted our understanding of visual literacy as we now see
children growing up with tablets and computers and what appears to be highly developed visual
literacy instincts. (https://visualliteracytoday.orå/what-is-visual-literacy/)

Verbal Creativity
In view of the rapidly increasing complexity of the world, creativity is more important now than ever
before and is even considered as a useful and effective response to evolutionary changes, since it
allows the individual to flexibly respond to the continuously changing conditions around (Runco,
2004 in Fink, et. al., 2015). Torrance, (1969) in Hasan (2017) recognized creativity as important for
the development of a fully functioning, mentally healthy, well-educated and vocationally successful
individual. It is because of growing recognition of the importance of- creative functioning and there is
sufficient evidence of the universality of creativity.
Scott, et. al (2004) cited that creativity-related skills can be improved by providing specific rules,
techniques or strategies to develop appropriate cognitive skills for the domain at hand. This could be
realized through creative ideation trainings or divergent thinking exercises (Coskun, 2005; Benedek,
et. al, 2006), which aim at stimulating effective search, retrieval, and integration/combination of
remote associations related to a given stimulus word. Divergent thinking is a useful concept for
identifying, supporting and measuring creativity as a process to actualize one's self, manipulate
internal and external symbols as creation of illustrative ideas based on his/her knowledge senses
regarding people and objects to produce on (Hasan, 2017).

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The four major components of divergent thinking are fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration,
which are very useful for an operational concept. Fluency refers to the total number of ideas, Options
and solutions generated for an open-ended problem; flexibility is the number of conceptual categories;
originality is the aspect of created or invented works and is about statistical infrequency of responses
related to the task compared with original ideas; and elaboration is the ability to expand on an idea
with details and the ability to create an intricate plan.
Fink, et. al (2012) explained that cognitive stimulation through common or moderately creative ideas
was effective in improving verbal creativity, and most importantly, stimulation effects were also
apparent at the level of the brain. As such, a widespread creativity-related neural network includes left
middle and superior temporal gyri along with right parietal cortex being sensitive to cognitive
stimulation.

Aesthetics
Britanica defines aesthetics, also spelled esthetics, as the philosophical study of beauty and taste. It is
closely related to the philosophy concerned with the nature of art and the concepts of which individual
works of art are interpreted and evaluated.
In perspective, it is an interesting and puzzling realm of experience: the realm of the beautiful, the
ugly the sublime and the elegant; of taste, criticism and fine art; and of contemplation, sensuous
enjoyment and charm. In all these phenomena, similar principles operate and similar interests are
engaged.
The nature and scope of Aesthetics. Aesthetics deals not only with the nature and value of arts but also
with those responses to natural objects that find expression in the language of the beautiful and the
ugly. The terms beautiful and ugly are too vague in application and too subjective in meaning.
Everything on earth may be perceived as beautiful by someone from his/her point of view while
different people may use the Word differently that often may have little or nothing in common but all
are simply based on judgment. It may also be that the term beautiful has no sense except as the
expression of an attitude, which in turn, people may associate it to different matters.
Moreover, in spite of the emphasis of philosophers on the terms beautiful and ugly, aesthetics
becomes an insignificant issue for discussion in the description of what appeals in nature. Just like for
discussion in the description of what appeals in nature. Just like when appreciating a poem, it can be
described as ironic, moving, expressive, balanced and harmonious. Likewise; in characterizing a
favorite stretch of countryside, it can be noted as peaceful, soft, atmospheric, harsh, and evocative,
rather than beautiful.
Three Approaches to Aesthetics
Britanica laid down three approaches to aesthetics as follows:
1. It is the study of aesthetic concepts or the analysis of "language of criticism," in which particular
judgments are singled out and their logic and justification are presented.
2. It is a philosophical study of certain states of mind, responses, attitudes and emotions that are
involved in aesthetic experience.
3. It is the philosophical study of the aesthetic object that reflects the view that problems of aesthetics
exist because the world contains special objects toward which people react selectively as described in
aesthetic terms.

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(https://www.britannica.born/topic/aesthetics)

Integrating Arts and Creativity Literacy into the Curriculum The following are strategies and
initiatives in embedding arts and Creative literacy in the curriculum.
Physical environment - Design a physical environment to support creativity, such as castle-designed
building, well-architecturally designed edifice, roofs and ceilings, creative murals, beautiful
landscape, colorful blocks and benches in the math and science garden, structured music and arts , an
atelier, student lounge, amphitheater, etc.
2. Emotional environment Take time to create and maintain a climate of respect, caring and support to
someone when making mistakes.
3. Project-based learning (PBL) Provide students time, space and opportunity to express themselves -
ideas, emotions and insights through arts. Design and plan any projects that are relevant, rigorous
real-world to attain motivation, engagement and learning.
4. Teach creative thinking skills - - Teach students about "metacognition" or "thinking about their
thinking" even to the little ones through the process of brainstorming, reasoning, comparing and
contrasting, problem-solving, concept mapping, analyzing, evaluating and more,
5. Alternative assessments Instead of just a worksheet or an assignment, provide different authentic
assessment like performance, systems design, product/output making, visual arts creation, task-based,
project-based, portfolio and others provided with rubrics and other forms of metrics. 6. Scheduling
Project-based curriculum and performance-based assessment need ample time and proper scheduling
in either structured or unstructured manner.

7. Student-centered and personalized learning Provide students freedom to choose on what they will
learn, how they will learn it and how they will demonstrate what they have leamed.
8. Incorporate arts Integrate seamlessly music, art, drama and dance into the curriculum to develop
creativity.
9. Integration of technologies - Encourage students to create and utilize blogs and websites, Glogster,
Voice Thread, student publishing, video game design, coding, filmmaking, photography, global
collaborative classroom projects using Google Hangouts, etc.
10. Preparing the body and brain for creativity - Create activities that induce body-mind integration,
such as yoga, ballet, jazz, zumba, calisthenics, etc.

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