Claim OwnershipThe Creative Classroom with John Spencer
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John Spencer is passionate about seeing schools embrace creativity and design thinking. In this podcast, he explores the intersection of creative thinking and student learning.
134 Episodes
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Collaboration is one of the most powerful forces in learning. Yet it can also be one of the hardest things to cultivate. Too often, students struggle to share ideas, listen to one another, or take creative risks. At the center of this struggle is something...
The post The Surprising Element for Empowering Your Students in Collaboration appeared first on John Spencer.
As the year begins, we are all thinking about the idea of building a classroom community. Although I am no longer at the K-12 level, I am reminded of the power of community as I think about the cohort I lead that’s now in their...
The post 10 Creative Risks to Take With Your Students This Year appeared first on John Spencer.
Every year, we hear news reports about the “summer slide,” or the summer learning loss. Students arrive to school behind where they left off in May or June. This is a real challenge. But there’s more to the story. So, in this week’s article, I...
The post How Deeper Learning Can Address Summer Learning Loss appeared first on John Spencer.
Machine learning is changing our world in profound ways. It will impact the way we learn and the way we teach. In today’s article and podcast, I want share a few big ideas on what that might look like. I’ll share some questions we might...
The post How Will AI Transform the Teaching Profession? Four Trends to Consider appeared first on John Spencer.
Throughout this summer, I’ve had the opportunity to lead professional development on ethical AI integration throughout the United States. In some cases, it’s been a keynote and customized sessions. In other cases, it’s been a deep dive 1-3 day workshop. The audience has ranged from...
The post Back to School in the Age of AI appeared first on John Spencer.
When AJ Juliani and I co-wrote the book Empower, we focused on the ways that students could own the learning process. It’s the core idea of shifting from being teacher-centered toward being more student-centered. We often talk about what it means to move from compliance...
The post Six Ways to Empower Students to Own the Classroom Community appeared first on John Spencer.
When I was a student, I thought I was a top tier reader. My teacher didn’t do numbers for our reading groups. She chose large cats. But I knew that it was better to be a Lion than an Ocelot. I knew my reading level....
The post The Slow Work of Great Teaching – Why Speed Can’t Be the Only Metric for Student Success appeared first on John Spencer.
Teaching has always been challenging, but right now it feels heavier. In this piece, I share a conversation with Mike, a fifth-grade teacher who’s feeling the weight of tech distractions, AI-written essays, student apathy, and the pressure to do it all. The usual quick fixes...
The post Deeper Learning is a Better Path Forward appeared first on John Spencer.
In classrooms across the country, something subtle but powerful is taking shape. Amidst the distractions, the surface-level shortcuts, and the pressure to speed everything up, I’ve seen students quietly shift from passive to active. They’ve gone from compliant to curious and from distracted to dialed...
The post Teachers Are the Champions of Depth in a Culture of Distractions appeared first on John Spencer.
The future is unpredictable. So, when we try to design learning experiences that “prepare students for the future,” we have to recognize that we don’t always know what they’ll need. In this article, I explore the counterintuitive reality that the best way to prepare students...
The post Why Deeper Learning Is a Critical Advantage in the Age of AI appeared first on John Spencer.
Content curation is a vital part of the creative process. In this blog post and podcast, we explore why curation matters and how we can help students learn how to engage in the curation process. Listen to the Podcast If you enjoy this blog but...
The post In a World of AI, Content Curation Is More Important Than Ever appeared first on John Spencer.
In my latest podcast episode, I interview Samantha Marsden, who shares how drama and improve strategies can help students gain creative confidence, improve their communication skills, and engage in iterative thinking. Her new book Acting Games for Improv is out and I highly recommend it....
The post Sam Marsden on the Value of Improv Games to Spark Creative Thinking appeared first on John Spencer.
1We know that creativity is vital for student learning. We also know that we tend to value the things we assess. However, when we assess creativity, we can unwittingly cause students to become risk-averse. So, how do we assess creativity in a way that encourages...
The post We Want Students to Be Creative, But How Do We Assess This? appeared first on John Spencer.
About a week ago, ChatGPT rolled out a major update to its image generation and suddenly my feed was flooded with AI-generated images in the style of Studio Ghibli. While the results are impressive (yes, it finally gets hands and text right) but also pretty...
The post Centaurs, Cyborgs, and Coffee-Bearded Logos – Seven Ways AI Is Changing Creativity appeared first on John Spencer.
We often hear about AI and student cheating. This is a valid concern. But I’d like to highlight ways that we can use AI for deeper mastery. In this post (and podcast), I explore how we can move beyond using AI for quick answers and...
The post Ten Ways to Use AI for Deeper Learning and Mastery appeared first on John Spencer.
While it’s easy to reject traditional teaching practices as “less authentic” in PBL, we explore why these ten strategies actually belong in PBL unit plans. Listen to the Podcast If you enjoy this blog but you’d like to listen to it on the go, just...
The post Ten Traditional Teaching Practices that Still Belong in a PBL Unit appeared first on John Spencer.
In this latest episode, Lynn Cashell shares how she integrated AI into her student Genius Hour projects. Listen to the Podcast If you enjoy this blog but you’d like to listen to it on the go, just click on the audio below or subscribe via iTunes/Apple...
The post Lynn Cashell on How She Integrated AI into Genius Hour appeared first on John Spencer.
This week, we explore the concept of “teaching in beta”—a mindset that embraces imperfection and experimentation in the classroom. Learn how veteran teachers are innovating with new strategies, taking creative risks, and continually iterating on their lessons to foster resilience and growth in both students...
The post Taking a Beta Approach to Teaching and Innovation appeared first on John Spencer.
In my latest podcast episode, I interview Jed Dearybury. He’s a deep thinker and a creative spirit. As the co-author of The Playful Classroom, Jed advocates for integrating play into every aspect of school; from curriculum and instruction to assessment to the classroom culture to...
The post Jed Dearybury on the Power of a Playful Mindset (Interview) appeared first on John Spencer.
Student voice and choice can be challenging. There are so many variables at work and it’s okay if it doesn’t work perfectly. In this week’s article, I share my big mistakes I made with Genius Hour and how I changed things through multiple iterations. Listen...
The post The Six Biggest Mistakes I Made with Genius Hour (and How I Fixed Them) appeared first on John Spencer.
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great talk! can u give me example of show and tell, creative projects, wonder day, etc for college age students or university Freshers?
the background music is annoying, i don't understand what you are saying
Inspiring 👌
hang t to creddt
This podcast is a very nice place for ideas in teaching and learning. I have Spencer's book, which I definitely recommend, and I'm glad I found this podcast to keep exploring interesting possibilities.
really will help me justify direct instruction if and when i use it during PBL
This is awesome. If you PBL, you need to listen