Action 7
Spot Creative Potential
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.
Creative potential is rarely loud. Spot Creative Potential makes the case that the students most worth watching aren’t always the ones raising their hands with the right answer — they’re often the ones asking an unexpected question, taking an unconventional approach, or quietly filling twenty Post-it notes with thoughts no one else thought to think. This chapter is about learning to see what’s already there, and creating the conditions that give it somewhere to go..
Episodes referenced in this chapter
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Joann McPike
Exposing Students to Different Cultures Expands Thinking · Season 6Joann opens the chapter with the belief that drives everything in it: creativity is every student's power, and the job of every educator is to make sure students know that adults genuinely believe in them.
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Mark Runco
Educating for Creative Potential · Season 4Mark reminds us that creative potential is hidden until it is expressed — once it shows up, it's no longer potential but action. The educator's job is to create the conditions that draw it out in the first place.
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Patricia Alves-Oliveira
Evaluating the Impact of Creativity Interventions in Children · Season 5Patricia's work reinforces that creativity lives in the process — which means spotting potential requires watching how students engage with a challenge, not just evaluating what they produce at the end.
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Todd Henry
How to Develop a Brave Habit in the Classroom · Season 8Todd introduces the idea of instilling a sense of agency — giving students voice in their learning environment as both a trust-builder and one of the clearest ways to surface creative potential that might otherwise stay hidden.
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Erinn F. Floyd
Equity in Gifted Education · Season 10Erinn's warning: teachers often identify the "teacher pleasers" first — the cooperative, tidy, easy-to-manage students — while genuine creative potential is just as likely to show up in the student who won't stop tinkering.
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Billy Almon
Nature Knows Best: Teaching Creativity Through Biomimicry · Season 10Billy — a self-described former disruptive kid — makes the case for watching the defiant outliers: the student cracking jokes and testing boundaries is often the one with the most creative potential in the room.
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Jeb Puryear
Exploring Creativity, Metacognition, and Gifted Education · Season 10Jeb advocates for giving students "tryouts" before placement decisions are made — creating structured opportunities for potential to surface rather than relying on prior achievement alone.
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