Every day, I ask my kids, “What did you make in school today?” Too often, they can’t give me an answer. But on the days that they do, their eyes light up and they passionately describe their projects. It’s in those moments that I am…
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Five Really Good Reasons Not to Do Collaborative Projects With Your Students “Group project.” Say those two words and you’ll instantly notice the face of sheer dread as a handful of students calculate just how much extra work they’ll need to do in order to…
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If you're interested in designing your own makerspace, check out the Makerspace Master Course. It’s a self-paced, week-long course that you can do from anywhere at any time. Making Can Happen in Every Subject Recently a friend of mine said, "When I think of makerspaces,…
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Last year over 40,000 students and 450 schools from 5 continents participated in the very first Global Day of Design. The hashtag went viral as students and teachers shared and launched their creative projects all day long around the globe. This year, we are doing…
Limitations and challenges can be frustrating. However, they can also be the creative constraint that leads to problem-solving and divergent thinking. Over the years, I've learned that students love challenges that they find engaging, intriguing and meaningful. Some of these are practical and real-world. Others…
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A few months ago, my son came to me to pitch a story idea. "I want a story about a superhero taco." "You mean, like a superhero that eats tacos?" "No, a superhero taco. Like a real taco, though. Not those fake hardshell tacos." "Got…
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In a recent post, I wrote about why I want to see students become innovators: Subscribe to YouTube Channel Unfortunately, the system isn't designed for innovation. For years, schools have been stuck in a one-size-fits-all factory model, where students passively consume content. Some people will point…
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I still remember the day. I was in my first year of teaching and I sat there holding my printed lesson plan. This was supposed to be my greatest lesson of the school year. I had planned it for hours, revising various aspects of it…
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When I was a kid, my brother and I built a "roller coaster" in the backyard with a wagon, some scraps of wood, and tons of pipes. Was it safe? Probably not. Did it ever work properly? Not really. But it didn't matter. We were…
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For the last 12 years, I've used design thinking as a teacher, an author, an educational technology startup founder and an artist. I've used in in the non-profit world in program development and I'm currently using it right now as I lead a team of…
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Dr. John Spencer
I’m a professor and a maker. Sometimes I make things. Sometimes I make a difference. On a good day, I get to do both.
