Beyond Grades: Santosh Zachariah on Cultivating Creativity and Curiosity in Education

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In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast, hosts Matthew Worwood and Cyndi Burnett are joined by Santosh Zachariah, an educator with a rich background in STEM fields and a passion for fostering creativity in his students. Santosh shares insights from his journey from civil engineering and software development to teaching and educational technology coordination. He underscores the importance of intrinsic motivation and the power of removing grades to cultivate meaningful learning experiences. The conversation delves into the challenges and strategies of creating grade-free environments, emphasizing student reflection and metacognition as tools to fuel curiosity and creativity. Santosh offers practical examples from his experience at the Evergreen School, where intrinsic motivation is prioritized to help students explore their interests and develop skills rather than simply achieving grades.

The episode explores broader themes around how educators can nurture creativity by promoting metacognitive strategies and fostering engagement through meaning-driven tasks. Santosh reflects on the challenges of assessing process over product and the importance of scaffolding learning to support creativity in any content area. The discussion touches on examples of real-world creativity, such as the innovative responses of teachers during the pandemic and the impact of a professional development experience at Western Kentucky University that emphasized creativity in teaching. Santosh's insights highlight the ongoing need for educators to adapt their approaches to inspire meaningful learning and creativity in the classroom. Listeners are encouraged to reflect on how these strategies might be applied in their own educational settings to enrich teaching and learning experiences.

About Santosh Zachariah:

Santosh Zachariah has happily found himself in late elementary and middle school STEM classrooms at The Evergreen School for the past 15 years, having first meandered from Civil Engineering to clincal Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation to Biomechanics research to software engineering. At The Evergreen School, he is involved in their Strategic Growth Initiative whose goal is "To educate students to develop the competence of Creativity." 

Eager to bring more creativity into your school district?
Check out our sponsor Curiosity2Create.org and join their Creativity Network for Educators at Curiosity2Connect!

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For more information on Creativity in Education, check out:
Matt's Website: Worwood Classroom
Cyndi's Website: Creativity and Education