Creative Advocacy Makes for Creative Action
“I am me. You are you. Being Creative Together– That’s What We Can Do” Imagine you are a primary school teacher who understands why weaving creative thinking skills into her classroom has a powerful effect on her students, inspiring them to speak up and share ideas in ways they hadn’t thought of before. They feel […]
Using Chess to Teach Perseverance with Principal El
How do you champion students through failure, success, and the creative process? In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood welcome Dr. Salome Thomas-EL, aka Principal EL, an award-winning principal, teacher, speaker, and author. Tune in to learn how to motivate children who find success early […]
Variations on a Theme
Rather than produce a single object or event, we can greatly expand our possibilities through multiple variations on a shared theme. Creative inquiry is generally driven by curiosity and inspired by one or more principal questions. A traditional researcher carefully hones each question posed, while a visual artist may more intuitively ask “what if” and […]
Giving Up Control in the Classroom with Andrea Mango
How can teachers empower children to be more creative and engaged in class, even when they don’t want to? In this Fueling Creativity in Education episode, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood welcome Andrea Mango, an elementary STEAM teacher based in Williamsville, New York. This episode focuses on bridging the gap between theories and […]
Why Creativity is More Collaborative Than You Think: A Look at Edward Clapp’s Participatory Creativity
When we think of creative people — writers, artists, inventors and the like — we often think of a lone individual working furiously away in a dreary attic or studio, burning the midnight candle down to a stubby little nub. The solo inventor, the lone maverick, the mad genius. You get the picture because that […]
Art Makes Creativity Visible with Dr. Penny Hay
How do we facilitate learning that invites inquiry and makes learning purposeful? In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood welcome Dr. Penny Hay, an artist, educator, and researcher in the field of culture and creativity. Penny’s doctoral research focused on children’s learning identities as artists. […]
The Launch of Season Six: New Ideas Brewing
We are back with Season Six of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast! Join Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood as they share what is in store for Season Six! Big Giveaway! We are giving away five of our Fueling Creativity in Education mugs along with a bag of our favorite coffee! All you […]
Durham College’s Creativity: A Personal Understanding
Introducing Creativity to Durham College Since the fall of 2018, I, along with a few of my colleagues, have been working to make creativity a part of the culture at Durham College. Durham College is a provincially-funded community college located in Oshawa, Ontario, approximately 45 miles (72 kilometres) east of downtown Toronto, Canada. To bring […]
Design Thinking as Art Therapy
Design thinking is a creative process that lends itself to many different contexts. It has been used in business, engineering, education, and even the arts. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in applying design thinking to art therapy. Design thinking can be a powerful tool for healing. By engaging in creative problem-solving […]
Why are MakerSpaces trending? Why is Maker Education so important?
In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood welcome Michael Mino, an Education Development Specialist with over 25 years of experience in K-16 public and private education. Michael is also the founder of numerous innovative student programs and currently serves as the Director of Career and […]
Deviance and Creativity: A Different Perspective on Troublemakers
Risk-taking is one of the skills listed when describing creative individuals. It is a willingness to take chances and to fail. It is a desire to deviate and go against conformity. Often, it is an inclination to get into trouble. It is a trait that many teachers dread because it might mean dealing with a […]
Play or Academics?
Should kindergarten be more focused on play or academics? How does education in Hong Kong differ from American/Western education? In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood welcome Dr. Alfredo Bautista, an Associate Professor & Associate Head of the Department of Early Childhood Education at The […]
Identifying Creative Abilities in Students
Numerous initiatives and resources are available to implement creativity within the classroom, but even less to identify students with outstanding creative abilities within the academic setting. Typically, if we consider the emergence of creativity within the classroom, we look for markers of giftedness or novel expression as markers of creative intelligence within content areas—fine arts, […]
What is Your Dream Machine? With Piet Grymonprez
What is your Dream Machine? What would your students create if they had the opportunity to build a dream machine? In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood welcome Piet Grymonprez, author and Co-Founder and Managing Director of MyMachine. MyMachine is a for-purpose non-profit that has a unique […]
Three Ways to Nurture Creative Potential
To think inside the box or outside the box, that is the question… or is it? Before we can answer that question, we probably need to understand the nature of the box itself. Whether we decide to improve the box we’re in or abandon the box for something better, one thing’s certain: we’re going to […]
Extra-Curricular Competitions that Celebrate Creativity
There are several national academic extra-curricular competitions that not only encourage creativity from students—they require it. Here are five I’ve done with students that most certainly fostered creative thinking. I like to use national competitions because the challenges and infrastructures to evaluate them are already in place. 1. Destination Imagination Destination Imagination (DI) is a […]
X Amount Of Ways To Embrace Mistakes!
*Note: Any typos or mistakes are on purpose, due to the nature of this blog. 😉 Have fun reading! Introduction We’ve all heard about how: Steve Jobs had 123 versions of the iPhone before it worked. Michael Jordan was cut from his college team. Oprah was told she was “unfit” for television. Even though we […]
5 Skills University Students Gain from Design Thinking
There is a lack of interdisciplinary innovation and strategic design implementation in the classroom. In developing teaching strategies and curricula that prepare students for an increasingly globalized world, recent studies have pointed to design thinking as a potential remedy to many multifaceted problems in education. Design thinking is an iterative, hands-on practice to redefine challenges […]
Collaborate for Creativity: Tips to Encourage Kids to Work Together
Creativity is an essential skill that children can develop throughout their lives. A study by the University of Plymouth found that creativity lies in not only creativity-based skills but also intellectual expertise and intrinsic motivation. This lines up with the study’s results: older children are more creative than younger children, especially when placed in group settings. […]
Five Easy Ways to Ignite the Love of Learning
We are all born very curious—we need it for our survival. Our curiosity leads us to explore the world around us and make sense of it. This curiosity helps us learn what might be dangerous and what brings us joy. Soon after we learn how to talk, we start bombarding our parents and carers with […]
5 Book Series that Show Gifted People Being Creative
Whenever someone reads a book, they want to be drawn to characters who think, act, and look like they do. This goes for girls, this goes for black and brown people, and this goes for handicapped folks as well. It’s no different for a gifted person: they want to see people who are like them, […]
Your Final Creativity Mission: Recolor Your World
Header image created by Iris Lawson, Age 12 We have one final family-fun creative activity for you! In case you missed our first five missions, you can access them here: “Create Your Own Family Camp,” “Family Game Night With a Creative Twist,” “A Colorful Scavenger Hunt in Nature,” “Summer of Surprises,” and Going Beyond Your […]
Going Beyond Your Interest Zone
Here is our creative family fun, activity #5: Go Beyond Your Interest Zone! And if you would prefer to watch the video, click here! Your Interest Zone My family and I have a passion for the arts. On any given summer weekend, you will likely find us cheering in the front row of a theatre production, […]
Summer of Surprises! Family Activity
Surprise! How do you feel about surprises? Perhaps it depends on the type of surprise you experience. A surprise tax bill can be upsetting, but a surprise tax refund can be a cause for celebration. In this mission, we are looking to create delightful surprises for your family. What does surprise have to do with […]
