Fueling Creativity in Education

Recorded live at the National Association for Gifted and Talented (NAGC) Conference in Pittsburgh, this final episode of the Winter 2026 Listen & Learn series brings together Dr. Matthew Worwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett with emerging scholar Jimmy Wilson and researcher Dr. Julie Delgado. Together, they explore how creativity can become a powerful pathway for twice-exceptional (2e) learners—partic...

In this special on-location recording at the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, hosts Dr. Matthew Worwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett sit down with Sarah Caroleo, Ph. D. to explore the powerful role of professional learning in advancing gifted education. Together, they unpack how thoughtfully designed professional learning (PL) can elevate teacher pra...

In this Winter 2026 episode of the Listen and Learn series, Dr. Jennifer Riedl Cross joins Dr. Matthew Worwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett to challenge traditional views of giftedness. Moving beyond IQ and high achievement, she introduces Transformational Giftedness—the idea that intelligence and talent are most meaningful when used to tackle societal challenges and create positive change. The conversat...

In this special end-of-year episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Cindy Burnett and Dr. Matthew Warwood reflect on their accomplishments throughout 2025, sharing candid insights into the goals they've met and the challenges they've faced. From launching their YouTube channel and refining their website , to penning an almost-complete book titled "The Future Creative: 10...

In the season finale of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Matthew Worwood, and Cyndi Burnett welcome their emerging scholar in residence, Jimmy Wilson, for a dynamic exploration of micro schools and alternative educational models. Drawing from Jimmy's personal experiences and research, the episode dives deep into the benefits and trade-offs of innovative school structures versus t...

In this debrief episode marking the end of season 11 and 2025, hosts Dr. Matthew Warwood and Dr. Cindy Burnett dive into three pivotal topics they explored with recent guests: AI’s impact on student creativity, the reframing of creativity through “innovation-ish” thinking, and the power of game-based learning for creative and critical thinking in education. Reflecting on discussions with experts l...

What if students saw themselves not just as learners, but as world builders, empowered to design, problem-solve, and imagine new possibilities through playful learning? In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Cindy Burnett and Dr. Matthew Warwood dive into the dynamic potential of game-based learning and world-building with guests Stephen Slota and Trent Hergenrad...

In this captivating episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Cindy Burnett and Dr. Matthew Warwood sit down with Dr. Tessa Forshaw and Richard Cox Braden, co-authors of "Innovation Ish," to unpack what it truly means to think and act like an innovator. The discussion dives deep into the often-blurred lines between creativity and innovation, clarifying how creative problem...

If AI can generate endless ideas, does that mean it's actually more creative than humans—or are we losing something uniquely ours in the process?   In this thought-provoking episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Matthew Worwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett welcome Dr. Florent Vinchon, an occupational psychologist and researcher at Paris Nanterre University, to discuss the inte...

Is our education system stifling creativity by sticking to labels and standardized solutions—or can we truly unleash the creative potential of every student and teacher? In this dynamic debrief episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, hosts Dr. Matthew Warwood and Dr. Cyndi Burnett reflect on three thought-provoking interviews covering the future of gifted education, repurposing tec...

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...