Fueling Creativity in Education

Promoting Inquiry, Improvisation, and Intuition with Dr. Natalie Nixon

What skills are needed to develop creativity and teach for creativity? In this episode of Fueling Creativity, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood speak with Natalie Nixon, a creativity strategist, former teacher, President of Figure 8 Thinking, award-winning author of The Creativity Leap. Natalie helps leaders of all kinds apply wonder and rigor to amplify business value and growth.
 
“To explain creativity as ‘toggling between wonder and rigor to solve problems is an example of the way I’m hoping to simplify and make creativity a lot more accessible.”
- Natalie Nixon
 
Tune in to learn Natalie’s unique definition of creativity and what that would look like in a learning environment. She breaks down her 3i Creativity Model, which increases the capacity for creativity through inquiry, intuition, and improvisation, along with how you can apply this model to your students’ or kids’ education. Natalie also sheds light on the role of the nervous system, and even daydreaming, in nurturing your intuition and creativity.
 
“In my opinion, a really great teacher is someone who can explain why 1+1=2 in five different ways, just because we all will get it differently, we all will understand it differently.”
- Natalie Nixon
 
Resources Mentioned:
The Creativity Leap: Unleash Curiosity, Improvisation, and Intuition at Work by Natalie Nixon
A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger
The Book of Beautiful Questions by Warren Berger
Article about cognitive flexibility
 
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. 
 
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
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!
 
About Natalie Nixon:
Meet Natalie Nixon, a creativity strategist and the president of Figure 8 Thinking, LLC. Natalie is a global keynote speaker, author of the award-winning book, The Creativity Leap, and has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, LinkedIn’s Hello Monday podcast, and Seth Godin’s Akimbo podcast. Natalie helps leaders apply wonder & rigor to amplify growth & business value.
 
Learn more about Figure 8 Thinking
Follow Natalie on Instagram
Follow her on Twitter
Connect with her on LinkedIn
Download the WonderRigor™ Tip Sheet
Free sample chapter of The Creativity Leap
Upcoming WonderRigor™ Lab online course

Creativity in Context: Mohammad Issa, founder of the Creativity Lab, Palestine

Why is it important for us to create a safe space in which to learn and create? In this episode of Fueling Creativity, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood speak with Mohammad Issa, Founder and Director of Creativity Lab for Empowerment and Innovation. Creativity Lab is a Palestinian company that helps the next generation of innovators and change-makers use their creativity to respond to social issues and contribute effectively to build a fairer, more caring, and equal society.
 
“If we are talking about creativity, education, innovation, and entrepreneurship as pillars in order to build good citizens who could contribute effectively to the development of our globe and face the challenges that all of us face, we need to think about a safe space. This is the first rule for creativity.”                                                                              - Mohammad Issa
 
Tune in to hear Mohammad speak on the importance of adapting the general theories of creativity to work in his specific environment. In particular, Mohammad talked about the need to establish safe spaces in which to foster learning and creativity. He shares his candid thoughts on how improvement science is being used in education, the challenges he and other educators are facing right now, and how creativity contributes to mental health and psychosocial well-being, especially for Palestinians. Mohammad also shares powerful insights into how he builds creative confidence in both youth and in fellow teachers as well as his hopes for the future.
 
“For the majority of the Palestinians, creativity is a way to respond to oppression, violence, and marginalization.”         
- Mohammad Issa
 
Resources Mentioned:
Listen to the episode with Vlad Glaveanu
Listen to the episodes with Ron Beghetto
 
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. 
 
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
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!
 
About Mohammad Issa:
Mohammad Issa has been working as a community development specialist since 1997. He has a Master's Degree in international cooperation and development from Bethlehem University. Mohammad used to work for different local and international organizations. He has trained, coached, and mentored thousands of youth and children. He has represented his country in different international platforms. Over the last four years, Mr. Issa has facilitated virtual and physical workshops as a part of Creativity Lab's program and projects. These projects promote education for social innovation. These projects allow Palestinians to use their creativity to respond to social issues and contribute effectively to building a fairer, more caring, and equal society. Recently, Mr. Issa was appointed as a representative for the MENA Region in the Steering Committee of Action 4 SDGs.
 
Connect with Creativity Lab on Facebook

Introducing Sociocultural Theories of Creativity with Dr. Vlad Glaveanu

 
What is the role of other people, objects and time in creativity? This question is one that sociocultural theory brings to the field of creativity. In this episode of Fueling Creativity, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood speak with Vlad Glaveanu, a multifaceted associate professor, author, thought leader, and creativity researcher. Vlad is widely published in the field of creativity, imagination, wonder, possibility and social change.
 
Listen in to learn about Vlad’s work investigating sociocultural theories for creativity and how sociocultural theory is furthering our global thinking around creativity in education. He sheds light on how time, people, and objects are connected to creativity, along with how you can amplify the creative process in your classroom or at home through his three ways to define creativity. Then, he shares his views on possibility and how it relates to creativity and education.
 
“What sociocultural thinking around creativity does is basically situate the creative person, the creative idea, within a wider context, and more than that, to see that context as an integral part of the creative process.”  - Vlad Glaveanu
 
Vlad’s Tips for Teachers and Parents:
Being able to take a risk and be vulnerable has enormous potential within the classroom. Be open to exploring an uncertain future. Ask unknown questions.
Playfulness and wonder are elements that will shift a person’s mindset. This allows kids to express themselves.
Highlight multiple perspectives. Try to understand the life experience of other people and bring that into your teaching. Remember, understanding someone’s experience doesn’t mean you agree with it.
 
Resources Mentioned:
Read Vlad’s article about Educating with Creativity (3 Different Ways to Define Creativity)
 
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. 
 
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
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!
 
About Vlad Glaveanu:
Vlad Glaveanu is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Psychology and Counselling at Webster University Geneva, founder and Director of the Webster Center for Creativity and Innovation and Associate Professor at the Centre for the Science of Learning and Technology, University of Bergen. He was published widely in the field of creativity, imagination, wonder, possibility and social change. He is the editor of the Creativity Reader, author of Creativity: A Very Short Introduction and The Possible: A Sociocultural Theory (with Oxford University Press), as well as Wonder: The Extraordinary Power of an Ordinary Experience (with Bloomsbury). He recently founded the Possibility Studies Network and you can learn more about this initiative at possibilitystudies.org. In 2018, Vlad received the Berlyne Award for advancing the field of creativity, aesthetics and the arts from the American Psychological Association (Division 10).
 
Learn more about Vlad & Connect with him
Subscribe to The Possibility Studies Network YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Webster University Geneva YouTube channel

Integrating Creativity in the Art Classroom with Tamara Doleman

How is teaching art different than teaching creativity? How do you teach creativity in the context of art? In this episode of Fueling Creativity, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood speak with Tamara Doleman, head of the Visual Art department at Ashbury College in Canada. Tamara has a Master’s degree in creativity and has coached individuals, run workshops, written articles, and presented a TEDX talk on the topic of creativity in schools. She’s passionate about exploring the intersection between art, creativity, wellbeing, and the growth and healing potential it can provide our communities and schools.
 
Listen in to learn about Tamara’s deliberate approach to teaching creativity in the art classroom and the difference between teaching art and teaching creativity. She details the many benefits of teaching for creativity in schools, especially now during the pandemic, along with how to facilitate a long-term program for creativity in your classroom.
 
“Creativity is the celebration of pluralism and diversity. I think that our world, in essence, really needs to come to terms with the fact that all of us are different and we all have something to contribute to the world. And so, when we’re teaching for creativity, we’re really teaching an individual how to be comfortable with who they are and start to think about what they want to bring into the world… to make it a better, more enjoyable, beautiful place”
            - Tamara Doleman
 
Tamara’s Tips for Teachers and Parents:
Read up on creativity, but also read up on what skills and characteristics different artists have. Were they risk-takers, detail-oriented, etc?
Don’t focus on and criticize the outcome of a creative experience. Focus on the creative process and how each student differs from one another.
Acknowledging how you talk to yourself during your creative process is an opportunity for learning in a creative space. Encourage your kids to work through frustration, getting stuck, and their inner critic.
Engagement and connection will increase once you focus on creativity in the classroom.
Set up expectations and awareness around behaviors and how our actions impact others.
Foster a space where kids feel comfortable being playful and coming up with crazy ideas.
 
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. 
 
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
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!
 
About Tamara Doleman:
Tamara Doleman has been teaching for over 20 years. Her experience includes teaching a variety of subjects in elementary and secondary, in single sex and co-educational schools, both public and private. She is head of the Visual Arts department at Ashbury College in Ottawa, Canada. Tamara has a Master’s degree in Creativity from SUNY Buffalo State. She has coached individuals, run workshops, written articles, and presented a TEDX talk on the topic of creativity in schools. She is passionate about exploring the intersection between art, creativity, wellbeing, and the growth and healing potential it can provide our communities and schools. Her future goals involve getting training in expressive arts therapies.
 
Visit Tamara’s website
Connect with her on LinkedIn
Follow her on Twitter
Follow her on Instagram

Facilitating Risk-Taking and Uncertainty in the Classroom: Part Two with Dr. Ron Beghetto

Why is risk-taking and uncertainty important parts of education? In this episode of Fueling Creativity, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood speak with Dr. Ron Beghetto, a renowned expert on creative thought and action in educational settings. Ron is also the Editor for the Journal of Creative Behavior, Editor for Review of Research in Education, Series Editor for Creative Theory and Action in Education (Springer Books), and has served as a creativity advisor for LEGO Foundation and the Cartoon Network.
 
Listen in to gain insight into Ron’s upcoming books and to learn about the impact of risk-taking and uncertainty in learning environments. Ron speaks on why it’s important to expose students to uncertainty, the power of recognizing the beliefs and emotions behind uncertainty, and how to design learning experiences for students that engage them with uncertainty and creative risk.
 
“When do we need to be creative? We need to be creative when what we’ve done in the past isn’t working anymore… When we have this encounter with uncertainty, when we’re like ‘I don’t know what to do next’, it’s in those moments that we actually have to think and act in new ways to resolve the challenge or problem we’re facing. That’s where uncertainty serves as a catalyst.”                                        - Dr. Ron Beghetto
 
Ron’s Tips for Teachers and Parents:
The only way someone can develop their creative confidence is by working through uncertainty, or something you don’t know how to do.
Let your students identify and explore problems or challenges that mean something to them.
Be willing to take risks and invite students to take risks, too. Model that as a teacher. It might not work, but you’re going to learn from it!
 
Resources Mentioned:
Listen to Part 1 with Ron Beghetto
 
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. 
 
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
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!
 
About Dr. Ron Beghetto:
Dr. Ronald A. Beghetto, PhD is an internationally recognized expert on creative thought and action in educational settings. He holds the Pinnacle West Presidential Chair and serves as a Professor in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University.  
 
Dr. Beghetto is the Editor for the Journal of Creative Behavior, Editor for Review of Research in Education, Series Editor for Creative Theory and Action in Education (Springer Books), and has served as a creativity advisor for LEGO Foundation and the Cartoon Network.
 
Visit Ron’s website
Buy his books

When is Creativity appropriate? Part One with Dr. Ron Beghetto

How do you teach kids to be creative and behave appropriately within the constraints of the classroom? In this episode of Fueling Creativity, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood speak with Dr. Ron Beghetto, a renowned expert on creative thought and action in educational settings. Ron is also the Editor for the Journal of Creative Behavior, Editor for Review of Research in Education, Series Editor for Creative Theory and Action in Education (Springer Books), and has served as a creativity advisor for LEGO Foundation and the Cartoon Network.
 
Tune in to learn about Ron’s definition of creativity inside the context of a teaching and learning environment, along with how to teach children how to identify when creativity is most appropriate. He also sheds light on when and why we should be rethinking rules and structures in the education system.
 
“Most educators are already half way to creativity, they just have to open up the curriculum and the experience for themselves and for their students to do things differently… The really beautiful thing about that is it helps us realize that creativity requires difference.”
            - Dr. Ron Beghetto
 
Resources Mentioned:
Listen to Part 2 with Ron Beghetto
Read the article Ron wrote with James Kaufman
 
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. 
 
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
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!
 
About Dr. Ron Beghetto:
Dr. Ronald A. Beghetto, PhD is an internationally recognized expert on creative thought and action in educational settings. He holds the Pinnacle West Presidential Chair and serves as a Professor in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University.  
 
Dr. Beghetto is the Editor for the Journal of Creative Behavior, Editor for Review of Research in Education, Series Editor for Creative Theory and Action in Education (Springer Books), and has served as a creativity advisor for LEGO Foundation and the Cartoon Network.
 
Visit Ron’s website
Buy his books

Building the Thinking School with Dr. Kulvarn Atwal

How do you facilitate teacher-led change in the classroom? In this episode of Fueling Creativity, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood speak 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
 
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. 
 
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
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!
 
 
 

Teachers as Designers: A conversation with IBM designer, KC Lathrop

How do you go from teaching to designing? In this episode of the Fueling Creativity podcast, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood speak with creator, educator, and designer, KC Lathrop. As a former teacher turned designer, KC works to empower people to go against societal norms, change careers, start over, start again, learn anything they want, and follow all creative desires.
Tune in to learn about her transition from educator to full-time designer at IBM, the similarities between teaching and design professions, and how her administrative role allows her to be creative in new ways. She also describes the fascinating 100 of Making practice and how it nurtures her creativity, design, innovation, and even mental health.
“I kind of think about creativity in support your mental health. I think it’s almost the same idea as going to the gym every day for your physical health. To me, maintaining a creative practice is one of the ways that I maintain my mental health.” - KC Lathrop
KC’s Tips for Teachers and Parents:
Take every lesson you teach as a new opportunity to learn something for yourself. Not every class is going to be the best class you’ve ever taught.
A part of learning is being vulnerable. If you want your students to be vulnerable, you also need to be vulnerable with them.
Meet people where they are. No matter how much experience you have, there’s always space for learning and growing.
About KC Lathrop:
KC Lathrop is a designer, creator, and educator. She currently works in strategy and operations for IBM’s IT department. KC started at IBM as a User Experience Designer 5 years ago while getting her master’s degree from New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP). During her time at NYU, KC enrolled in the class 100 days of making, which she ended up teaching the following year. As a former teacher turned designer, she works to empower people to go against societal norms, change careers, start over, start again, learn anything you want and follow all creative desires. KC currently lives in Brooklyn, NY with her adorable dog, Waffles.
Visit KC’s website
Connect with her on LinkedIn
Follow her on Instagram
 
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. 
 
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!
 
 
Follow Cyndi and Matt on Linkedin!
 
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!