Exploring Cultural Creativity with Emerging Scholar Corey Gray

How can educators teach for creativity through a culturally responsive lens?

In this week's episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast, hosts Dr. Matthew Worwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett introduce Corey Gray, a PhD candidate at the University of Georgia specializing in educational psychology and gifted education. The insightful conversation delves into key factors that shape creative schooling, such as instructional design, teacher engagement, and collaborative learning environments. Corey provides a comprehensive look at culturally responsive teaching, an approach that honors students' cultural identities while enhancing their creativity and academic skills. The discussion highlights the systemic underrepresentation of Black and Brown students in gifted programs, largely due to implicit biases in existing policies and practices, and explores creative methods to address these disparities.

Corey shares his vision for creative schools and his belief in the transformative power of culturally responsive creativity. He outlines practical strategies for educators, such as utilizing non-traditional classroom setups, project-based learning, and developing custom curriculums tailored to students' needs. 

About Corey Gray:

Corey Gray is a third-year Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Georgia, studying Educational Psychology with an emphasis in Gifted and Creative Education. Corey is a graduate of Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master of Arts in Teaching in Elementary Education. As a resident of Atlanta, Corey has taught in a variety of educational roles, such as elementary educator, cooperating teacher, gifted education mentor teacher, middle school math teacher, special education teacher, department head, and adjunct instructor. He has also taught in traditional neighborhood public schools, charter schools, and independent schools. Corey currently serves as the Communication Chair for the Creativity Network in the National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) and the Vice President of the UGA chapter of Graduate Researchers in Educational Psychology. His research interests include teaching for creativity, culturally responsive pedagogy, abolitionist teaching, excellence gaps in culturally diverse communities, and creative schools.

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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 understand how Design Thinking can promote teacher creativity and support professional growth in the classroom. 

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