Micro Schools, Measuring Creativity, and Classroom Serendipity

Are serendipitous surprises the secret ingredient to sparking creativity in your classroom?

In this lively debrief episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Cindy Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood reflect on the past three episodes by digging into the stories, experiments, and aha moments that emerged around micro schools, creativity assessments, and the value of surprise in the classroom. Matt kicks things off with a humorous and messy retelling of his Marshmallow Challenge without masking tape, sparking a discussion about embracing serendipity and disruption to foster authentic creativity among students. Cyndi and Matt build on this idea by recalling insights from guests like Jason Blair, who advocated for serendipitous moments and playful engagement, and Dr. Wendy Ross, who highlighted the magic of unexpected classroom surprises.

The conversation then pivots to the world of micro schools, inspired by David Richards’ episode, where Matt proposes an innovative idea for teacher training programs to establish their own experimental micro schools. Cyndi weighs in on how such flexible environments can inspire both pre-service teachers and lifelong learners. The episode wraps up with a hands-on demo of Dr. Selcuk Acar’s new open-source creativity assessment tool, MOTES, as Matt takes the test on-air and they discuss practical ways educators can use such tools to track and nurture originality in students. The hosts encourage embracing the unexpected, prototyping new approaches to education, and continually creating opportunities for creative growth both in schools and beyond.

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