Fueling Creativity in Education

Are we unknowingly training a generation of students for a “middle of the road” future, where creativity and critical thinking suffer at the hands of automation and convenience? In this enlightening episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Matthew Warwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett sit down with Dr. Roni Reiter-Palmon, a distinguished professor of Industrial Organizational Psyc...

Can teachers truly be creative if they’re told exactly what tools to use—and how to use them? In this thought-provoking episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood welcome Dr. Punya Mishra, Associate Dean of Scholarship and Innovation at Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. Dr. Mishra delves deep into the concept o...

In this thought-provoking episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, Matthew Worwood and Cyndi Burnett sit down with Dr. Catherine Little, Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut and President of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). Catherine reflects on how the field of gifted education has evolved—where meaningful progress has been made a...

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...

What happens when you mix creativity with the freedom and flexibility of micro schools?   In this enlightening episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Matthew Worwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett dive into the world of micro schools with special guest David Richards, founder and CEO of ChangeMakeredU. David breaks down what micro schools are—intimate learning environments with 5...

Can we really measure creativity in the classroom—or are we missing the bigger picture?   In this engaging episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Matthew Worwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett sit down with Dr. Selçuk Acar, Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of North Texas and a leading voice in creativity assessment. Together, they dive deep into the complexit...

In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood sit down with innovative art educator Jason Blair to explore the often overlooked discomfort adults feel around "real creativity"—something Jason dubs "inconvenient creativity." Jason shares powerful personal stories, from creative chaos in his daughter's room to spontaneous, student-dri...

Is it time to completely tear down the education system and start over if we truly want creativity to thrive in our schools?   In the first debrief episode of Season 11, hosts Cyndi Burnett and Matthew Worwood take a reflective dive into insights from their most recent three guests on the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast. The discussion begins with Dr. Henry Smith from Johns Hopkins Univers...

What if creativity doesn’t start with inventing new things, but with learning to see and interpret the world differently?   In this engaging episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood sit down with Dr. Keith Sawyer, a leading creativity researcher, jazz pianist, and professor at UNC Chapel Hill. The conversation centers on Sawyer’s new b...

How can an elementary classroom feel more like a family than a traditional learning space—and why does that matter for creativity and learning?   In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Matthew Worwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett sit down with Emily Jamieson, an elementary school teacher renowned for creating classroom communities that feel more like families. Emily, cu...

What can the challenges of the public schooling system teach us about re-prioritizing creativity in education? Season 11 of Fueling Creativity in Education launches with Dr. Henry M. Smith, EdD, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education under President Clinton. Co-hosts Matthew Worwood and Cyndi Burnett dive into the realities of America’s public schooling system—its entrenched challenges, how...

Welcome to Season 11 of the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast! Co-hosts Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood are back—and this season, we’re excited to offer video episodes on YouTube in addition to our regular audio format. To kick off the new school year, Matt and Cyndi each share three go-to activities they use to set the stage for creative teaching and teaching creativity from day o...

As part of our Fueling Creativity in Education Throwback Series, co-hosts Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood selected this episode to help educators reignite their passion for creative teaching as they prepare for the new school year. In this powerful conversation, they welcome back Dr. Ron Beghetto and Laura McBain, Co-Director of the K12 Lab at the Stanford d.school, to explore the lesson...

As part of our Fueling Creativity in Education Throwback Series, co-hosts Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood selected this episode to help educators reignite their passion for creative teaching as they prepare for the new school year. In this inspiring conversation, Dr. Frank LaBanca—educator, researcher, and founding principal of Westside Middle School Academy Magnet—shares his powerful ap...

As part of our Fueling Creativity in Education Throwback Series, co-hosts Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood handpicked this episode to help educators gear up for a new school year with fresh ideas for teaching creativity in the classroom. In this conversation, elementary STEAM teacher Andrea Mango shares how she brings creative teaching to life by connecting creativity research with everyd...

Sign up for our weekly newsletter here! In this special summer edition of the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast, hosts Matthew Worwood and Peter Reynolds welcome renowned children’s author, illustrator, and songwriter Barney Saltzberg. Best known for his playful, heartfelt stories like Beautiful Oops and Crazy Hair Day, Barney shares insights into his two newest books: Just a Banana and Rabb...

Sign up for our weekly newsletter here! In this special Listen and Learn episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood welcome back Katie Trowbridge, an educator with over 20 years of experience and the creator of the CREATE method. Katie discusses her newly released book, Deeper Thinking in the Classroom , which is designed to guide educat...

Sign up for our weekly newsletter here! In this special summer Listen and Learn episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast, hosts Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood welcome back the inspiring Principal EL to discuss his new book, " Meet Their Needs and They'll Succeed ." Principal EL, a celebrated educator and chess coach, shares the heartfelt story behind his book—highlighting...

Sign up for our weekly newsletter here! In this special summer Listen and Learn episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Cyndi Burnett and Matthew Worwood welcome back Dr. Anna Abraham, the E. Paul Torrance Professor and Director of the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development at UGA. Dr. Abraham introduces her new book, The Creative Myths and Truths , which explo...

Sign up for our weekly newsletter here! In this special summer edition of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood welcome back Dr. Zorana Pringle, senior research scientist at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, to discuss her new book, " The Creativity Choice. " In a concise, listen-and-learn format, Dr. Pringle offers a compelling over...

In this special on-location recording, co-hosts Matthew Worwood and Cyndi Burnett reunite in person for only the sixth time to introduce the Fueling Creativity in Education Summer 2025 Listen & Learn Reading Series. This unique summer series features short interviews with past podcast guests, who return to discuss their most recent books—all selected to support creative teaching and the teachi...

In this special episode, co-host Cyndi Burnett turns the microphone toward fellow host Matthew Worwood to discuss his latest Teacher Roundtable film, Riding the First AI Wave. As the second installment in the Teacher Roundtable series, this project captures another pivotal moment in education—this time focused on the early reactions of educators to the emergence of generative AI. The episode opens...

Sign up for our weekly newsletter here! In this special end-of-year recap, hosts Dr. Matthew Worwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett reflect on the biggest shifts and ongoing challenges in education as the 2024-2025 academic year comes to a close. They revisit the evolution of conversations around what skills and experiences students truly need in an age of rapid technological disruption, especially with th...

Sign up for our weekly newsletter here! Are we missing an essential ingredient for creativity in education—like sleep? In the Season 10 finale of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Matthew Worwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett hand over the mic to their resident scholar, Jimmy Wilson, for an in-depth reflection on the standout moments and innovative insights from an eclectic season. Ji...

Sign up for our weekly newsletter here!   Are today’s students losing their passion and sense of purpose—and how can educators help reignite it? In this final debrief episode of Season 10, hosts Dr. Matthew Worwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett reflect on their standout interviews with a trio of trailblazers in creativity: astrobio futurist Billy Almon, MIT Media Lab’s Dr. Leo Burd, and the legendary Dr....