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Motivation and Me: Part 2
Again, today, I’m thinking about motivation, specifically, motivation to learn. Needless to say, teachers hope students will be motivated to learn the content they’ve prepared. There are few things...
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I’m Back!
I’m back! Not so much like a movie meme, but more like a hiker slogging in after a long trek through the wilderness. Yes, it has been that kind of spring/summer. Life—personal and professional—just got...
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Big Questions, Big Ideas, and a Helpful Skinny Book
Knowing what to teach can be tricky. Really. Given the seeming endless lists of outcomes, objectives, core ideas, etc. teachers face each day, that might sound odd. It seems any number of people and...
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Creative Thinking about Curriculum: Not Twinkies
It is back-to-school time, at least in most of the U.S. Depending on where you live, you are probably in the last stages of new-year planning or already in the thick of things. Either way, it is a good...
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Making Learning Matter: Powerful Supports
Strategies that support students in their creativity also support their learning. I have been repeating this mantra for more than 20 years, and the more I learn, the truer it becomes. It makes me think...
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Assessment for Creativity and Curriculum
Good curriculum and good assessment go hand-in-hand. So it is not surprising that the fourth key principle in developing curriculum supportive of creativity relates to assessment. In curriculum for...
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The Progress Principle Comes to School (or Not)
It is sad, but perhaps not unexpected, that since I recently wrote about discouraged educators, I’ve spent a lot of time coaching a young teacher friend. She’s trying to find her way through an...
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What Does Your Brain Do When You Aren’t Focused? It’s Busy!
I’ve been thinking a lot about brains lately. As I’ve been working on the next edition of Creativity in the Classroom, I’ve been reading neurological research about creativity and learning—an...
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The Default Network Comes to School
For the last week I’ve been thinking about daydreaming. Or, to be more accurate, I’ve been thinking about the brain’s “default network,” the work it does, and how it might fit into schools. In my last...
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Business Research Comes to School
I will admit I’ve frequently railed against using business models to design and evaluate schools. There are so many ways schools and businesses are different that attempting to translate one to the...
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Why Creativity?
Why, in the midst of end-of-term grading, holiday preparations, and even (I can’t believe it) preparing for new courses that start January 4, why take the time to write about creativity? And since your...
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Creativity and Curriculum: What Do We Teach?
“I don’t have time to think about creativity. Look at the amount of curriculum I have to cover this year. No time for anything else!” Ever felt like that? I suspect most teachers have. Fortunately, it...
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Back to Basics for the New School Year: Learning and Creativity
As the educational pendulum has swung back and forth, we occasionally hear calls for “back to the basics.” Usually this has translated into pages of math computation, grammar drills, and history as a...
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Prescription for Play: Just What the Doctor Ordered
When I was a little girl, visits to the doctor that included injections were followed by our favorite prescription—an official form entitling us to a one-scoop cone at the local pharmacy’s soda...
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Carrots, Mindfulness, and Creativity
My sister ate a carrot this week. That might not sound like much, but because her immune system has been compromised, fresh fruits and vegetables have been deemed too dangerous in recent days—until...
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Toddlers Explore The World: Perhaps We Should Follow
Recently I spent some time with a friend who has 16-month old triplets. Like most 16-month olds, they are in perpetual motion—over, under, around, and occasionally through nearby adults, furniture, and...
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Hurray for Creative Teens
I still chuckle at the memory of a mother of teens who said in only-partly joking despair, “I taught my kids to be independent, and now they ARE!” But she was onto something. It is easy to stereotype...
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Wonder and Skepticism Part I: Where’s the Wonder?
In 1995, Carl Sagan published an essay titled “Wonder and Skepticism,” in which he described the push/pull of wonder and skepticism as the bedrocks of science. Science involves a seemingly...
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Of Weeds, Metaphors, and Digging Deep
This is a time of reflection in the United States—at least I hope it is. Sometimes it feels as if the universe is trying to catch our attention. First, a pandemic upended our daily routines. Then, in...
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Can Emotions Be Creative?
Emotions and creativity seem always entwined. Our creativity can be affected by our moods, our confidence, and our ability to deal with frustration. New creative products can feel personal and touch a...
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