Beautiful OOps for Adults
Let’s play with Beautiful Oops!
A torn sheet of paper. A little drip of paint. A smudge and a smear. “OOPS!” Often times, children (and adults!) are paralyzed when they have an oops. However, what if we were to take an oops and turn it into something beautiful? This is the wonder-filled lesson of the children’s book, Beautiful Oops, written […]
Let’s Play!
A List of Children’s Books to Spark Creativity
When my children were young, I became enamored with children’s books. In just five minutes, I could have a cuddle with my little one as we journeyed through a delightful story full of fun and visually captivating characters. I would sneak off to garage sales on the weekends, where I could easily find used children’s […]
Five Strategies to Build a Thinking Classroom
Research has shown that children are able to learn more between the ages of 0 and 3 than at any other time in their lives. They are natural-born learners – curious, creative, critical, independent thinkers. However, the first time that many begin to doubt themselves as learners is when they start formal education in schools. […]
The Many Faces of Ms. Teixeira
A few years ago, while leaving my classroom at dismissal, I ran into another teacher, who gave me an inquisitive look, puzzled by my extravagant style. (I think I was wearing a faux fur hat, boots, dramatic makeup, a gladiator belt over a winter dress… and more). In good humor, I paused, looked at my […]
Four Books to Help You Understand the Field of Creativity
If you are interested in creativity, that means that sooner or later, someone is going to ask you The Question. You know, the one that starts, “creativity…isn’t that something you are born with?” After teaching creativity for twenty years, I have had to deal with this question more times than I can remember. As a […]
Know Imagination, Know Creativity.
No Imagination, No Creativity.
“Know imagination, know creativity. No imagination, no creativity.” -M.D. Ockuly collage 2018 How do you define or understand imagination? What words, definitions, or actions do you associate with your own lived experience of imagination? Through the lens of my own lived experience as an educator and creativity practitioner, I am very clear imagination alone […]
The Five Pillars of Creative Problem Solving
Introduction Over the last 40 years, I have taught more people to lead the Creative Problem-Solving process than anyone else in the world. When I step back and view the field from this perspective, I have observed that there are five “pillars” that support the successful use and implementation of the creative behaviors embedded in […]
Ten TED Talks to Teach Your Students About Creativity
Why Creativity? Creativity is more important now than ever before. In recent years, reports such as The Future of Jobs, from the World Economic Forum, and the Workplace Learning, from Linkedin, emphasized that creativity is an essential skill in the workplace. However, the importance of creativity is not limited to the work environment. Throughout humanity’s […]
When Lightening Strikes: Brainstorming with Pa
Background When COVID 19 hit this Spring, my wife and I agreed to homeschool our ten and seven-year-old grandsons for two weeks. Those two weeks turned into nine, and they were weeks of pure joy for everyone involved. My wife, Judy, was an elementary teacher and reading specialist for over 40 years. In my first […]
My Career Roadmap: Creative Approaches to Career Education
It’s challenging to find the balance between getting students engaged in thinking about their future and providing impartial yet meaningful advice on making the decisions that will set them up for future success.
The Most Important Thing to Put in Your School Backpack: A Letter to High Schoolers
Dear High Schooler, A new school year is starting. I know this is a weird one. You’ve probably already gathered the materials you will need this year in your backpack, or in your designated learning space if you’re doing virtual learning. But there’s one more important thing you’ll need, this year more than any other, […]
E-teaching During the Pandemic: What’s Working for Me
Here are some of the strategies that worked for me; hopefully they can give you some ideas to implement in your class for a smoother transition.
Engage your Students in Virtual Visual Arts: 13 Tips for Teachers
Some takeaways with action items that we can use to improve our instructional practices for our students. 13 tips that have worked for me in virtual teaching.
Distant But Together: A Student Perspective of Virtual Learning
A Classroom of One
In the month just before Uganda locked down due to COVID-19, an 11-year-old boy called Mukisa wandered into my life. He is the son of our part-time cleaner, and my mom asked our cleaner to let him stay with us a while because he was really such a pleasant young man. Before we knew it, […]
Call To Action! What Worked for You?
We recognize that the upcoming academic year will be filled with both new opportunities and perplexing challenges for both educators and parents. At Creativity and Education, where we are educators, parents, and creativity experts, we want to help. Throughout this pandemic we have all been trying different things – some of them have been heroic […]
Meet Cyndi Burnett and Izzy Mamnoon of Creativity and Education- Go Beyond
Hosted by Kim Marie McKernan and Anthony Billoni, The Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast features guests who are using creativity, innovation, and new thinking to help change the world.