Action 5
Initiate Discussions
from The Future Creative: 10 Actions for Fueling Creativity in Education by Matthew J. Worwood and Cyndi Burnett.
Scanned the QR code from the book? You're in the right place.
Creativity doesn’t grow in silence. Initiate Discussions makes the case that one of the most powerful things an educator can do is to start or facilicate discussions with student and colleagues. A simple start is to have a conversation about what creativity is, who it belongs to, and why it matters in your classroom and community. From school boards to students, these conversations surface assumptions, build shared language, and create the conditions for creativity to become something people actually pursue together.
Episodes referenced in this chapter
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AJ Crabill
How School Boards Can Influence Creativity · Season 6The chapter's opening story — AJ shows how asking a school board "what do you actually want for your students?" creates space for creativity to enter conversations that usually stay focused on test scores.
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Marta Ockuly Davidovich
A Scholarly Journey to Redefining Creativity · Season 1Marta spent years crafting an alternative definition of creativity — and her advice is to use it, challenge it, adapt it, and play with it. A model for how to open up the definition rather than close it down.
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Anna Abraham
Discussing Neuroscience and Creativity · Season 3Anna's reminder that creativity is not the domain of a few — it's a skill basic to all of us — is one of the most important conversations to initiate in any school community.
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Monica Kang
Creativity and a Global Perspective · Season 3Monica highlights how the language teachers use about creativity shapes whether students see it as something that belongs to them — or to someone else.
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Vincent Andrews
Creativity is Everywhere, Including in Teachers · Season 5Vincent opens the chapter with a challenge: show students that creativity isn't limited to the art classroom — it can guide them through every problem they'll face as they grow professionally.
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Lisa Saunders
Teaching Teachers About Creativity · Season 6Lisa asks the uncomfortable question: are educators actually trying something new, or are we having the same conversations about creativity without ever changing what happens in classrooms?
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Andrea Mango
Giving Up Control in the Classroom · Season 6Andrea's frank reminder that creativity isn't always tidy — and that initiating honest discussions about what it actually looks like helps set more realistic and useful expectations.
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James Kaufman
The Creativity Advantage · Season 7James's "it all counts" is one of the most useful phrases to bring into any discussion about creativity — a simple reframe that expands who gets to see themselves as creative.
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Will Richardson
Talking About the Past and Future of Schooling · Season 9Will asks why conversations about kids so rarely include kids — a provocation that sits at the heart of what it means to truly initiate discussions rather than just talk about students.
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Corey Gray
Exploring Cultural Creativity · Season 9Corey's advice to pick a creative process and teach it explicitly — rather than assuming students will absorb it — translates directly into how discussions about creativity should be structured and sustained.
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