Fueling Creativity in Education

THROW BACK to the Thinking School with Dr. Kulvarn Atwal

How do you facilitate teacher-led change in the classroom? In this throwback episode Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood revisit their interview with Dr. Kulvarn Atwal, an executive headteacher of two large primary schools in East London and author of The Thinking School.
Listen in to hear Dr. Atwal share his thoughts on educational leadership and how to facilitate teacher-led change in the classroom. He sheds light on the importance of trial and error in school systems, how school leaders can support the creativity of teachers, and ways administrators can spark curiosity and professional development in tenured teachers.
Dr. Atwal also gives advice for teachers who crave professional development but don’t have opportunities to foster it. Then, he talks a bit about his next book for empowering teachers, The Thinking Teacher.
“The greatest single factor that impacts upon the quality of children’s learning in school, students’ learning, is quite straightforward. It’s the quality of teaching.” - Dr. Kulvarn Atwal
Dr. Atwal’s Tips for School Administrators:
Give teachers more opportunities to collaborate with other teachers and engage in dialogue without having to report back or hit a target.
Create culture in which you actively inquire or ask about what your teachers are good at and what they’d like to improve in. This works well if you lead by example.
Express your school’s values, mission, and goals. Don’t deviate from those.
About Dr. Kulvarn Atwal:
Dr. Kulvarn Atwal was born and educated in East London and has been headteacher for nine years of the school he attended as a child. in 2018/19 he was Executive Head Teacher of two primary schools; both of which were graded Outstanding in all areas by Ofsted. His doctoral thesis, completed in 2016, examined the factors that influence teacher learning in schools. He has recently published his first book, ‘The Thinking School – Developing a Dynamic Learning Community’.
Follow Dr. Atwal on Twitter
Resources Mentioned:
Learn more about Highlands Primary School
Buy The Thinking School by Dr. Kulvan Atwal
Read Dr. Atwal's Blog Posts here:
The Need for Creative Thinking in Our Schools
Cultivating An Environment for Creativity in Schools
If You Want Creative Thinkers, Focus on Emotional Literacy
Five Strategies for Building a Thinking School
 
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
Eager to bring more creativity into your home or classroom? 
Access various creativity resources and tools & listen to more episodes of The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast by visiting www.CreativityandEducation.com.
 
What to learn more about Design Thinking in Education? 
Do you want to build a sustained culture of innovation and creativity at your school?  Visit WorwoodClassroom.com to learn how Design Thinking can promote teacher creativity and support professional growth in the classroom. 
 
You can also find The Fueling Creativity Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and PodBean! Make sure to rate, review, and share the podcast if you enjoy it!

CREATIVITY TIP: Shifting Perspectives

In this short Creativity Tip episode, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood offer advice on how to highlight the importance of perspective shifting when engaging students creatively in the classroom. Matthew shares an exercise he experienced during his graduate program that helped him realize the challenge of assuming the perspective of others. Cyndi introduces how stories can offer different perspectives, such as the perspective of an individual perceived by others as the villain of the story. 
Interested in more tips to help bring creativity into the classroom?  Check out Cyndi's Books, Weaving Creativity into Every Strand of Your Curriculum, and 20 Lessons to Weave Creativity into Your Classroom.
 
Episodes related to Shifting Perspectives:
 
Listen to the episode with Monica Kang
Listen to the episode with Genein Letford
 
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
Eager to bring more creativity into your home or classroom? 
Access various creativity resources and tools & listen to more episodes of The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast by visiting www.CreativityandEducation.com.
 
What to learn more about Design Thinking in Education? 
Do you want to build a sustained culture of innovation and creativity at your school?  Visit WorwoodClassroom.com to learn how Design Thinking can promote teacher creativity and support professional growth in the classroom. 
 
You can also find The Fueling Creativity Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and PodBean! Make sure to rate, review, and share the podcast if you enjoy it!

CREATIVITY TIP: Teaching Failure

In this short Creativity Tip episode, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood offer advice on how to address incidents of failure in a classroom environment. Matthew shares his take on the Marshmallow challenge and how he uses this activity to normalize failure in a learning environment. Cyndi introduces an activity on how to reflect on and monitor incidents of failure during the learning process.
Interested in more tips to help bring creativity into the classroom?  Check out Cyndi's Books, Weaving Creativity into Every Strand of Your Curriculum, and 20 Lessons to Weave Creativity into Your Classroom.
 
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
Eager to bring more creativity into your home or classroom? 
Access various creativity resources and tools & listen to more episodes of The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast by visiting www.CreativityandEducation.com.
 
What to learn more about Design Thinking in Education? 
Do you want to build a sustained culture of innovation and creativity at your school?  Visit WorwoodClassroom.com to learn how Design Thinking can promote teacher creativity and support professional growth in the classroom. 
 
You can also find The Fueling Creativity Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and PodBean! Make sure to rate, review, and share the podcast if you enjoy it!

Bridging the Gap: Video and Creative Potential

In this debrief episode, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood reflect on the first five episodes of Season 4. Cyndi revisits creative potential and the value of integrating student interests into the learning experience. At the same time, Matthew discusses expression preferences and the ability to know when to use and not use computer algorithms to support the creative process. Cyndi and Matthew also take time to reflect on the different ways they've both used video to engage their children in creative production.
 
If you haven't listened to all five episodes of Season 4 (+ the BONUS episode), check out the links below to go back and listen, so you don't miss out on any golden nuggets of wisdom! Then, share your favorite episode with a colleague, parent, friend, or anyone else who could benefit from the show's information. 
 
Matt's Insights
Expression preferences: We all like to express our creativity through different outlets. How many opportunities do you give your students to do that?
The "future creative" is someone who knows when to use the algorithm and when to turn it off.  
Each of us has a unique creative potential. How can you find that in your students and help them act on it? (hint: Personal Interest Projects!)
 
Cynthia's Insights 
There are significant benefits to using digital innovation, like YouTube videos, to demonstrate problem-solving and creativity skills.
Creative potential: Look for things that differentiate your students and find ways to showcase and/or nurture that creative potential.
Give your students resources and tools that encourage exploration and development of their personal interests, like Personal Interest Projects. 
 
Go back and listen to Season 4:
Listen to S4 Episode 1 with Mark Runco
Listen to S4 Episode 2 with Frances Valintine
Listen to S4 Episode 3 with Carrington Faulk
Listen to S4 Episode 4 with Dr. Elizabeth Radday
Listen to S4 Episode 5 with Dr. Joseph Renzulli
Listen to the S4 BONUS Episode: Parenting for Creativity
 
Watch different video examples on the DadsforCreativity YouTube channel and review some easy video projects quickly enacted at home. 
 
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
Eager to bring more creativity into your home or classroom? 
Access various creativity resources and tools & listen to more episodes of The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast by visiting www.CreativityandEducation.com.
 
What to learn more about Design Thinking in Education? 
Do you want to build a sustained culture of innovation and creativity at your school?  Visit WorwoodClassroom.com to learn how Design Thinking can promote teacher creativity and support professional growth in the classroom. 
 
Have a question? Email Dr. Burnett and Dr. Worwood at questions@fuelingcreativitypodcast.com!
 
You can also find The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and PodBean! Make sure to rate, review, and share the podcast if you enjoy it!

How to Engage, Inspire, and Promote Creativity with Dr. Joseph Renzulli

How can we inspire and hold space for gifted and talented kids to express their creativity? 
 
In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood speak with Dr. Joseph Renzulli, a world-renowned leader and pioneer in gifted education, creativity, and gifted teaching strategies. Joseph is here to share insights from his research along with why we should care about the spectrum of giftedness in our society.
 
Listen in to learn Joseph’s take on the relationship between giftedness and creativity, how to bring more creative giftedness into the classroom, and the greatest barriers to us increasing the number of people reaching their creative potential within their field. He also talks about the Renzulli Learning system, how it works, and how it’s benefitting thousands of educators across the world.
 
“Training teachers is the key to so much of this and, of course, there has to be some administrative support for it.”  – Dr. Joseph Renzulli
 
Plus, Joseph breaks down his “Creative Idea Generator” method, how to apply “curriculum compacting” to accommodate gifted students, and how parents can facilitate creativity and learning outside of the classroom. Then, he highlights his biggest fear regarding the future of gifted education and where we need to focus our energy in the coming years.
 
Are you an educator who wants to learn and do more in the field of gifted education? Tune in to learn how to participate in the virtual Confratute learning experience held in July at the University of Connecticut!
 
Joseph’s Tips for Teachers and Parents:
Work with the school library to set up a section dedicated for “how-to” books.
Utilize basic ideas that are quick to read/learn about. Long lectures or videos are going to lead kids to lose interest.
Ask open-ended questions every single day.
 
Resources Mentioned:
Article: What Makes Giftedness?: Reexamining a Definition
Learn more about Renzulli Learning
Listen to the episode with Dr. Sally Reis
No Child Left Bored by Sally Reis
Register for Confratute at UConn!
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
Eager to bring more creativity into your home or classroom? 
Access various creativity resources and tools & listen to more episodes of The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast by visiting www.CreativityandEducation.com.
 
What to learn more about Design Thinking in Education? 
Do you want to build a sustained culture of innovation and creativity at your school?  Visit WorwoodClassroom.com to learn how Design Thinking can promote teacher creativity and support professional growth in the classroom. 
 
Have a question? Email Dr. Burnett and Dr. Worwood at questions@fuelingcreativitypodcast.com!
 
You can also find The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and PodBean! Make sure to rate, review, and share the podcast if you enjoy it!
 
About Dr. Joseph Renzulli:
Dr. Joseph Renzulli is a leader and pioneer in gifted education and applying the pedagogy of gifted education teaching strategies to all students. The American Psychological Association named him among the 25 most influential psychologists in the world. Dr. Renzulli received the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Award for Innovation in Education, considered by many to be “the Nobel” for educators, and was a consultant to the White House Task Force on Education of the Gifted and Talented.
 
Joseph S. Renzulli is Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut, where he also served as director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. His research has focused on the identification and development of creativity and giftedness in young people and on organizational models and curricular strategies for total school improvement. A focus of his work has been on applying the strategies of gifted education to the improvement of learning for all students. Dr. Renzulli currently leads the Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development. 
 
Follow Renzulli Learning on Instagram 

Personal Interest Projects with Elizabeth Radday

What is a Personal Interest Project (PIP) and how might it benefit students’ creativity?
In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood speak with Dr. Elizabeth Radday, an educator who’s been working in education for over 12 years. Currently working in Skills21 and School Services for EdAdvance, Elizabeth is passionate about student-driven personal projects, like Capstone, and loves to see what students can do when they are given the space to explore their interests. The Capstone curriculum and Personal Interest Project (PIP) curriculum she wrote are now being used by thousands of students in Connecticut each year. 
Tune in to learn about this fascinating high school program that’s built on students identifying and furthering their creativity and interests while at school. Liz provides inspiring examples of Personal Interest Projects and describes how schools and educators can creatively implement them into students’ curriculums.
Plus, Liz breaks down the most successful format of PIPs and Capstones, what types of educators can best facilitate a Capstone course, her recommendations on rubrics, stimulating motivation in struggling students, and much more.
 
Liz’s Tips for Teachers and Parents:
Give kids voice and choice. They need to feel control over the process.
Find the time to work on Personal Interest Projects. Start small if you need to.
Do your own PIP or Capstone project alongside your students and share your experience (and mistakes) with them. Also, it’s important that you choose something unrelated to school.
 
Resources Mentioned:
Skills21 Personal Interest Projects  
Skills21 Capstone  
Portrait of a Graduate
Listen to the episode with Heather Lyon
Listen to the episode with Dr. Sally Reis
Listen to the episode with Jonathan Plucker
Listen to the episode with KC Lathrop
 
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
Eager to bring more creativity into your home or classroom? 
Access various creativity resources and tools & listen to more episodes of The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast by visiting www.CreativityandEducation.com.
 
What to learn more about Design Thinking in Education? 
Do you want to build a sustained culture of innovation and creativity at your school?  Visit WorwoodClassroom.com to learn how Design Thinking can promote teacher creativity and support professional growth in the classroom. 
 
Have a question? Email Dr. Burnett and Dr. Worwood at questions@fuelingcreativitypodcast.com!
You can also find The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and PodBean! Make sure to rate, review, and share the podcast if you enjoy it!
 
About Elizabeth Radday:
Dr. Elizabeth Radday has been working in education for over twenty years. She first started teaching as a teenager doing arts and crafts at sleepaway camp. After college, she spent sixteen years in the middle and high school classrooms teaching STEM subjects and working with students with learning disabilities. She now works for EdAdvance in Connecticut for Skills21 and School Services. She is passionate about student driven personal projects like Capstone and loves to see what students can do when they are given the space to explore their interests. The Capstone curriculum and Personal Interest Project curriculum she wrote is now being used by thousands of students in Connecticut each year.
Connect with Elizabeth Radday on LinkedIn
Follow her on Instagram
Follow her on Twitter
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ecskills21
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ecskills21

Teaching Creative Content Production with Carrington Faulk

Should social media content creation be part of K-12 education? Yes, but the answer is more complex than that… 
 
In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood speak with Carrington Faulk, a high school marketing teacher, Google for Education Certified Trainer, and Founder of ‘skilltivity.’, an online education platform that seeks to advance your creative thinking skills. Carrington enjoys educating learners of all ages on how to master subjects in the realm of creativity, technology, leadership, marketing, and innovation.
 
Tune in to learn why video is such a popular medium for creative expression and how YouTube and TikTok play a powerful role in educating students and connecting them with the world. You’ll also learn the benefits and concerns of integrating video production and social media content creation in the classroom.
 
“I’ve never seen this many students want to be YouTubers in my life than they do right now. But the big thing that I try to tell them is it’s not what the popular platform [is] now, I tell them to think about what’s going to be popular later and what’s up and coming.” – Carrington Faulk
 
Carrington shares the tech tools and activities he uses to spark creativity in the classroom along with the real-life opportunities (and dangers) of encouraging kids to use social media to express their creativity. He also sheds light on the importance of teaching students about modern marketing, future trends, the metaverse, and creative leadership. 
 
Plus… Carrington breaks down his strategy for facilitating the “question-asking” and critical thinking/reflection parts of the creative process, as well as how his personal creativity in music inspires his students’ creativity in the classroom.
 
“If we aren’t being creative leaders in the classroom, then  we will get left behind as educators.” – Carrington Faulk
 
Carrington’s Tips for Teachers and Parents:
Everyone needs to ask more questions. 
We are in the 4th Industrial Revolution, a workforce where AI and automation is changing the landscape of work every single day. So, students need to understand that the jobs and opportunities they see today may not be the ones they see in the future.
Each district should have a Chief Creative Officer.
 
Resources Mentioned:
Subscribe to the skilltivity. YouTube channel
Listen to the episode with Jonathan Plucker
 
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
Eager to bring more creativity into your home or classroom? 
Access various creativity resources and tools & listen to more episodes of The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast by visiting www.CreativityandEducation.com.
 
What to learn more about Design Thinking in Education? 
Do you want to build a sustained culture of innovation and creativity at your school?  Visit WorwoodClassroom.com to learn how Design Thinking can promote teacher creativity and support professional growth in the classroom. 
 
Have a question? Email Dr. Burnett and Dr. Worwood at questions@fuelingcreativitypodcast.com!
 
You can also find The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and PodBean! Make sure to rate, review, and share the podcast if you enjoy it!
 
About Carrington Faulk:
Carrington Faulk is a high school marketing teacher and Google for Education Certified Trainer who enjoys educating learners of all ages on how to master subjects in the realm of creativity, technology, leadership, marketing, and innovation. He is the founder of ‘skilltivity.’, an online education platform that seeks to advance your creative skills. In his time away from education, Carrington is a musician (carringtonfaulk.com), owner of ‘MICAH3 - a video branding agency’ (micah3.com), and husband & father to his wife and 4 kids.
 
Connect with Carrington Faulk on LinkedInFollow him on Twitter

The Challenge of Educating the Future Creative with Frances Valintine

In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood speak with Frances Valintine, Founder and CEO of The Mind Lab and Tech Futures Lab, two organizations providing learning pathways for educators and professionals to participate in and have a sustainable impact on our tech-driven future. Everything Frances does revolves around supporting people, business, and organizations to understand the impact of emerging technologies and the cultural adaptation required to embrace change and build that impact. So, how is that connected to creativity in education?
 
Tune in to gain insight into the type of future we can anticipate for our students, particularly with the rise in digital innovation, as well as the technologies that can help students make education more personal to them while building on their own unique strengths. 
 
Frances breaks down the concept of compulsory education and the role of the educator in preparing students for non-traditional, more personalized careers and side hustles (think freelancing and entrepreneurship). She sheds light on how students are reacting to online learning and returning to in-person learning, along with how to effectively engage, motivate, and teach your students what they need to learn in order to thrive in a highly innovative, tech-driven future.
 
“What if we took away that need to lead every conversation and to set that tone and give the creativity back to the kids?”  – Frances Valintine
 
She also highlights the difference between cooperation and collaboration, the importance of embracing robots and cobots (collaborative robots) in and out of the classroom, and whether or not the future creative needs to develop the capacity and skills to operate outside of the algorithms.  
 
Frances’ Tips for Teachers and Parents:
Start with students asking the questions instead of answering them.
Never use a learning opportunity to get the students to do the same thing. 
Don’t be over-indexed by your own knowledge. Just because it was true at the time or place or in the group you hang out with doesn’t mean it’s representative of the real world or other people’s scenarios.
 
Resources Mentioned:
The Mind Lab
Tech Futures Lab
Listen to the episode with Bea Leiderman
Listen to the episode with Bryan Alexander
Listen to the episode with David Cropley
 
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
Eager to bring more creativity into your home or classroom? 
Access various creativity resources and tools & listen to more episodes of The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast by visiting www.CreativityandEducation.com.
 
What to learn more about Design Thinking in Education? 
Do you want to build a sustained culture of innovation and creativity at your school?  Visit WorwoodClassroom.com to learn how Design Thinking can promote teacher creativity and support professional growth in the classroom. 
 
Have a question? Email Dr. Burnett and Dr. Worwood at questions@fuelingcreativitypodcast.com!
 
You can also find The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and PodBean! Make sure to rate, review, and share the podcast if you enjoy it!
 
About Frances Valintine:
A well regarded and recognised technologist and educator, Frances has been focused on the future of work and the development of human capability for the duration of her career. She has a life mission to uncover the potential in anyone she meets -  if you have a conversation with Frances you’ll come away buzzing with inspiration, confidence and optimism for what lies ahead.
 
In recent years, Frances has built up The Mind Lab (started in 2013) and Tech Futures Lab (2016) to provide learning pathways for educators and professionals to not just participate in but have sustainable impact for the technologically driven future. Everything she does is about supporting people, businesses and organisations to understand the impact of emerging technologies and the cultural adaptation required to embrace change and build that impact.
 
Connect with Frances Valintine on LinkedIn