Blog - Page 28 of 49 - Spencer Education

Feb 12 2019

7 Ways to Inspire Divergent Thinking in the Classroom

By John Spencer Creativity, Creativity Deconstructed 14 Comments

The world is unpredictable. The corporate ladder is now a maze, which means our students will need to think divergently. In this article, we explore how to integrate divergent thinking into our everyday classroom practices. This is an updated version of an article that was…

Feb 04 2019

Six Strategies for Tackling Perfectionism

By John Spencer Creativity, Teacher Life One Comment

The following is a variation on a post I created for the New Teacher Academy. Each year, I ask my pre-service teachers to describe what teaching will be like when they move from surviving to thriving. Common themes emerge. "Every student will listen each time…

Jan 28 2019

Podcasting Can Work in Any Subject

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast 2 Comments

Last week, I shared why student podcasting is a great idea. Podcasting is a powerful way for students to share their voice with the world. Along the way, they learn to communicate, engage in critical thinking, and go through the design process as they ultimately…

Jan 21 2019

5 Reasons to Pilot Student Podcasting Projects

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast 2 Comments

I just learned that New York City doesn't actually have alleys. Okay, they have a few private alleys. However, after listening to the latest 99% Invisible podcast, I learned that the idea of alleys throughout NYC is a bit of a myth. Does this matter? Probably…

Jan 14 2019

Seven Strategies for Building Empathy in Students

By John Spencer Creativity, Design Thinking, Podcast 2 Comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB-M4dvAgWs&t=64s Subscribe to YouTube Channel A few days ago, my son said something that surprised me. He said, "Dad, we have the best cafeteria lady at our school." And I said, "Wait, what?" But then he went on to describe how this woman chose to…

Dec 10 2018

10 Teacher-Tested Strategies to Engage Reluctant Writers

By John Spencer Creativity, Literacy, Podcast 11 Comments

A few years ago, my son opened a Google Document and started typing. I asked him about it and his eyes lit up as he described the shared story he was writing with classmates. This was the first day of summer break but he was…

Dec 05 2018

4 Surprising Truths About the Creative Journey

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast 3 Comments

About a year ago, I watched La La Land for the first time. It was as enchanting and mesmerizing as people had told me. And it struck a chord, in terms of the deeply human longing to chase your dreams, captured in the lines: Here's to…

Nov 19 2018

A Thank You Letter to Teachers

By John Spencer Teacher Life 2 Comments

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I created a thank you video for teachers. Feel free to share it with friends, colleagues, or your own children's teachers. You can find it here on YouTube or on here on Facebook. Subscribe to YouTube Channel If you haven't…

Nov 15 2018

Taking Choice Menus to the Next Level for Student Ownership

By John Spencer Empowering Students, Podcast 4 Comments

Recently, I asked my students (pre-service teachers who are currently in their practicum) about the ultimate goal of education. Some described the need for raising democratic citizens who will think critically about the world. A larger group described the need for preparing students for the global…

Nov 09 2018

Why Balance Is Critical for Creative Work

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast 2 Comments

Earlier this week, my friend George Couros wrote a wonderful post about seeing the value in balance and it had me thinking about the role of balance in creativity and teaching. Years ago, my friend Wayne gave me some great advice about balance and self-care.…