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Man with a brain and a toolbox behind him

Embrace Your Maker Mindset

Helping K-12 teachers unleash the power of creativity through project-based learning & design thinking

Hi, I'm John.
This is my promise to you.

As a former middle school teacher and current full-time professor and best-selling author, I’m a big believer in empowering students (and teachers) through the power of creativity. Whether you sign up for one of my online courses, enroll in one of my cohorts or invite me to spend time with your staff, I promise you’ll walk away with a fresh perspective and new ideas to transform your classroom.

How I Can Help

3 ways to reignite your passion for teaching & improve student outcomes

Take a self-paced course

My asynchronous courses were designed to give you practical ideas for the classroom — and work with your schedule. Start with a free option. Then take a deeper dive with premium content.

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Join an open cohort

Collaborate with your peers! Join one of my virtual cohorts and I’ll lead you and a small group of like-minded educators through a hands-on training experience, unlike anything you’ve experienced.

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Bring me in for a visit

Have a large group? Consider bringing me in (online or in-person) for a full day of design-thinking and PBL. We’ll work through problems of practice and set your team up for success.

Students Learn Differently Now

Try my project-based approach and experience the difference creativity makes

“As we continue our journey to provided quality learning opportunities to our students, Johnʻs work will be an important resource. We highly encourage other schools to offer Johnʻs resources to their teachers.”

JoAnn Wong-Kam, Managing Director of Ho'olaukoa

Kamehameha Schools, Honolulu, HI

“Dr. Spencer inspired my teachers to get back to creating classrooms full of “creativity and wonder”. I now hear conversations among teachers as to how to “launch” a PBL project in their class, how they are incorporating empathy into projects, and how service learning is changing their students mindsets. “

Lauren Crabtree, Principal

Douglas County Schools, Douglasville, GA

“John brought a great deal of energy and a fun sense of humor to his workshop that created a fun learning atmosphere for our faculty in a stressful time. I highly recommend John’s workshop and hope he can come back to CFS in the future!”

Eric Fulmer, Dean of Faculty

Church Farm School, Exton, PA

Let’s Learn Together

Working with me is easy. Start by filling out this short form.











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    Keep Reading

    Check out the latest from my blog

    CreativityPodcastProject-Based Learning
    October 2, 2024

    Making the Most of Community Partnerships in PBL

    In PBL, we often think about the role of a public product. However, community involvement is actually something we can embed into every area of the PBL process. In this week's article and podcast, we take a deep dive into how we can make this…
    How will AI transform teaching?Artificial IntelligencePodcast
    September 25, 2024

    AI Won’t Replace Teachers But It Will Transform Nearly Every Aspect of the Job

    Note that this isn't simply the question, "How will AI change teaching in the future?" This starts with the question, "How is AI already changing the teaching profession?" Listen to the Podcast If you enjoy this blog but you’d like to listen to it on…
    Artificial IntelligencePodcast
    September 18, 2024

    How Will AI Transform the Teaching Profession? Four Trends to Consider

    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…