Fueling Creativity in Education

10 Actions for Fueling Creativity: Initiate Discussions

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10 Actions for Fueling Creativity: Ask Questions

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What if the most powerful tool for creativity isn't having the right answers, but asking better questions?
In this third episode of the Summer 2026 Listen and Learn Series, Dr. Matthew Worwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett explore Action #3 from The Future Creative: Ask Questions.
The episode begins with a simple challenge: take an ordinary pencil and spend five minutes asking as many questions about it as possible. What starts as an ordinary classroom object quickly becomes an invitation to wonder, revealing how easily familiarity can prevent us from noticing the world around us.
Matthew explores the difference between questions that simply check for understanding and questions that spark curiosity, imagination, and creative thinking. While many classroom questions have a single correct answer, authentic questions encourage exploration, invite multiple possibilities, and create opportunities for deeper learning.
Drawing from interviews with leading creativity researchers, educators, and practitioners, this episode highlights why asking questions emerged as one of the most common themes across The Future Creative. As creativity practitioner Anne Jacoby reminds us, curiosity is the gateway to creativity.
The conversation also examines why questioning has become even more important in the age of artificial intelligence. As information becomes increasingly accessible, the ability to ask thoughtful, meaningful questions is becoming one of the most valuable creative skills educators can help students develop.
Most importantly, this episode encourages educators to create classrooms where curiosity feels safe, where students are encouraged to wonder, and where questions are celebrated as the beginning of creative thinking rather than interruptions to learning.
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10 Actions for Fueling Creativity: Build Relationships

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What makes someone feel safe enough to share a new idea?
In this fourth episode of the Summer 2026 Listen and Learn Series, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood explore one of the most important actions for nurturing creativity in education: Build Relationships.
Whether you're a first-year teacher looking for feedback, an experienced educator proposing a new initiative, or a school leader hoping to inspire innovation across your staff, creativity rarely happens in isolation. It grows in environments where people feel trusted, respected, and supported enough to take risks.
This episode examines why strong relationships are the foundation of creative learning communities. Matthew and Cyndi discuss how psychological safety encourages educators and students to share unfinished ideas, experiment with new approaches, and learn from failure without fear of judgment.
Listeners will also discover simple but meaningful ways to strengthen relationships in the classroom, including celebrating important moments in students' lives, showing genuine curiosity about their experiences, and creating opportunities for authentic connection. Beyond the classroom, the conversation highlights how supportive relationships among teachers and school leaders can foster a culture where creativity extends throughout an entire school.
The episode concludes with a reflective activity that invites educators to consider the relationships that encourage their creativity and those that unintentionally discourage it, offering a practical first step toward building stronger, more creative communities.
 
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10 Actions for Fueling Creativity: Be Deliberate

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If we say creativity matters, are we teaching it with the same intention we bring to literacy, mathematics, and other core subjects? Or are we assuming it will simply emerge on its own?
In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast Listen and Learn Summer Series, Dr. Matthew Worwood introduces the first action from The Future Creative: 10 Actions for Fueling Creativity in Education: Be Deliberate.
Drawing on an early experience designing a digital media and moviemaking program, Matthew reflects on a surprising challenge that revealed an important lesson about creativity. Despite being given an open-ended assignment, students across multiple schools produced remarkably similar ideas. The experience led him to question a common assumption in education: that open-ended tasks automatically produce original thinking.
In this practical episode, he explores:
 Why creativity should be taught with the same intentionality as other important skills
What happens when educators assume originality will emerge on its own
How open-ended assignments can still produce predictable outcomes
The difference between offering choice and deliberately targeting creative thinking
 Why students need support and strategies to generate original ideas
How instructional design influences creative outcomes
The importance of identifying creativity as a learning goal, not just a byproduct
Ways educators can intentionally build creativity into existing lessons and routines
Why small changes can have a meaningful impact on creative development
How deliberate teaching practices help students develop skills beyond academic standards
Matthew also reflects on how educators who successfully foster creativity often do so because they intentionally design learning experiences that target creative thinking, curiosity, and idea generation alongside subject content.
If you are an educator looking to strengthen creativity in your classroom, this episode offers an important reminder that creativity grows when we teach it with purpose.
 
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10 Actions for Fueling Creativity in Education: Keep Open

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How often do we shut down an idea before it has a chance to develop? And what opportunities might we miss when we judge ideas too quickly?
In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast Listen and Learn Summer Series, Dr. Cyndi Burnett introduces the second action from The Future Creative: 10 Actions for Fueling Creativity in Education: Keep Open.
Listen in as Cyndi explores why creativity requires us to resist the urge to immediately judge ideas and instead remain open long enough to discover what might be hidden within them. Through a simple classroom example, she demonstrates how even an impractical idea can reveal a valuable insight when we take the time to understand the need behind it.
In this practical episode, she explores:
– Why our first reaction to new ideas is often judgment– How quickly dismissing ideas can limit creative thinking– The difference between evaluating an idea and staying open to possibility– Why even unrealistic ideas may contain valuable insights– How positive judgments can stop idea development just as quickly as negative ones– The importance of separating idea generation from evaluation– What happens when students feel their ideas are immediately dismissed– How awareness of our own judgment patterns can strengthen creativity– A simple exercise for monitoring judgments throughout the week– Why keeping ideas open creates opportunities for better solutions to emerge
Cyndi also shares a classroom assignment she has used for years that helps students recognize just how often they judge ideas without realizing it.
If you are an educator, school leader, or anyone interested in fostering creativity, this episode offers a simple but powerful practice for creating more space for curiosity, exploration, and possibility.
 
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Disconnect to Reconnect: Creativity Beyond the School Year

What happens when we give ourselves permission to slow down? And how might moments of rest, reflection, and play help fuel our creativity for the year ahead?
In this special summer episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, Dr. Matthew Worwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett reflect on the end of another school year and share their plans for disconnecting, recharging, and reconnecting with the activities that bring them joy and inspiration.
Listen in as they discuss the importance of creating space for mind wandering, creative hobbies, and meaningful experiences beyond work. They also offer a preview of the upcoming summer Listen and Learn series, inspired by their new book, The Future Creative: 10 Actions for Fueling Creativity in Education.
In this thoughtful conversation, they explore:
– Why creativity often needs periods of rest and recovery– How slowing down can help us think more clearly and creatively– The value of disconnecting from technology and productivity pressures– Why mind wandering can be a powerful creative practice– How hobbies and personal interests can help restore energy and focus– The importance of reconnecting with activities you loved as a child– Why creativity should be nurtured both inside and outside of work– How small daily habits can support wellbeing and creative thinking– The challenge of balancing professional goals with personal renewal– Ways educators can create space for reflection during school breaks– How AI might help reduce routine tasks while preserving meaningful creative work– What listeners can expect from the upcoming Listen and Learn summer series
Dr. Matthew shares how golf has become a creative outlet that helps him disconnect from work and focus on learning, growth, and being present in the moment. Dr. Cyndi reflects on returning to dance after many years away and the joy of reconnecting with a lifelong passion that has always been part of her creative identity.
 
If you are an educator preparing for the months ahead, this episode offers encouragement to slow down, make space for yourself, and embrace the experiences that help creativity flourish.
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From AI in the Classroom to Creativity in the Movies: A Conversation with James Kaufman

How is artificial intelligence changing the way we think about creativity and learning? And what can movies teach us about the creative process, healing, and human expression?
In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, Dr. Matthew Worwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett welcome back Dr. James Kaufman, one of the leading scholars in creativity research, for a wide-ranging conversation about AI, education, creativity, and his latest work exploring creativity through film.
Listen in as the conversation reflects on the newly released book Generative Artificial Intelligence and Creativity: Precautions, Perspectives, and Possibilities, co-edited by James Kaufman and Matthew Worwood. Together, they discuss the promises and concerns surrounding AI in education, including its impact on learning, creative thinking, feedback, and assessment.
The discussion then shifts to James's newest book, Creativity Through the Movies, where he explores how films can help us better understand creativity, motivation, grief, healing, and the human experience.
In this thoughtful conversation, they explore:
– The different perspectives creativity researchers hold about AI and its future impact– Why the creative process may matter more than the final product– How AI can support productivity while potentially limiting originality– The risks of relying on AI for thinking, learning, and creative work– Why educators may need to focus more on process rather than product in assessment– The role of AI in providing feedback and supporting creativity research– How AI could help assess creativity at a larger scale– Why meaning, purpose, and creative identity matter in an age of automation– The relationship between creativity, wellbeing, and personal growth– How creative activities can help people process grief and difficult life experiences– What movies reveal about creativity as a human journey rather than a final achievement– Why everyday creativity can be just as meaningful as professional creative accomplishments
James also shares examples from films such as Ghostlight, Hamnet, and Sing Sing, highlighting how creative expression can help people navigate loss, build connection, and find meaning during challenging times.
If you are an educator, researcher, creative professional, or simply curious about the future of creativity, this episode offers a thoughtful exploration of both the opportunities and challenges emerging in a rapidly changing world.
 
About the Guest
Dr. James Kaufman is a Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut's Neag School of Education and one of the world's leading creativity researchers. He has written or edited more than 60 books and is widely known for co-developing the Four C Model of Creativity with Dr. Ronald Beghetto. His research spans creativity, meaning, motivation, intelligence, and education, and he has developed several widely used measures of creativity. His recent projects include Generative Artificial Intelligence and Creativity: Precautions, Perspectives, and Possibilities and Creativity Through the Movies.
 
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Mastery, Feedback, and Communication: A Season 12 Reflection with Jimmy Wilson

What helps students build creative confidence over time? And how do mastery, feedback, and communication shape the way students learn, create, and see themselves in the classroom?
In this final reflection episode of Season 12 of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, Dr. Matthew Worwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett welcome back resident scholar Jimmy Wilson to revisit key themes from the season through the lens of current creativity research.
Listen in as the conversation connects ideas from episodes on handwriting, AI, sports, game-based learning, creativity, and neurodiversity. Together, they explore why some traditional learning practices still matter, how mastery-based approaches can support creative confidence, and why feedback continues to play such an important role in student growth.
In this thoughtful conversation, they explore:
– Why handwriting may support creativity, retention, and deeper thinking– How slowing down the learning process can improve understanding– The connection between mastery and creative self-efficacy– Why repeated practice and experimentation help students build confidence– The challenges and opportunities within mastery-based learning– How games and sports naturally support experimentation and iteration– The role of feedback in helping students refine and strengthen ideas– How AI tools may help teachers provide more frequent and meaningful feedback– Why creative learning should include multiple ways for students to demonstrate understanding– The importance of balancing structure with flexibility in assessment– How creativity research is beginning to focus more on strengths within neurodiversity– Why traits like hyperfocus, curiosity, and experimentation can be creative strengths– The growing research connection between creativity and meaning in life
Jimmy also reflects on how creativity research is shifting toward more possibility-centered approaches that recognize different ways of learning, thinking, and engaging in the classroom.
If you are an educator interested in creativity, assessment, neurodiversity, or student motivation, this episode offers research-based insights and practical reflections on how learning environments can better support both mastery and creative growth.
 
About the Guest
Jimmy Wilson is the resident scholar for the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast and a doctoral researcher exploring creativity, neurodiversity, and education. His work focuses on topics including ADHD, dyslexia, autism, creative self-efficacy, and how different learners engage with creative processes in educational settings. Throughout Season 12, Jimmy followed the podcast conversations closely and connected emerging themes back to current creativity research.
 
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