What Criminals Can Teach Us About Creativity

A few weeks ago, I posed the question “Is Creativity Research Elitist?”. I pointed out that creativity researchers have studied high-class Western European creativity, but they’ve neglected working class creativity–like custom motorcycle mechanics, or small-town preachers writing sermons. Right on cue, a new book’s just been published making basically the same point. The Misfit Economy argues that criminals… Read More What Criminals Can Teach Us About Creativity

June 30, 2015 keithsawyer5 Comments

How to Foster Creativity in the Primary Curriculum

For the fifth and final talk of my European lecture tour, I gave the keynote at a meeting of primary school educators, the Association for the Study of Primary Education (ASPE): Creativity in the Primary Curriculum. Planned in collaboration with the Open University, the University of Exeter, and the BERA Creativity SIG, the seminar seeks… Read More How to Foster Creativity in the Primary Curriculum

June 22, 2015 keithsawyerLeave a comment

Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology (CREET)

On the fourth stop of my European tour 2015, I gave the annual CREET lecture at the Open University. The room was full of brilliant colleagues that I very much respect. So I used the opportunity to report on a very new analysis I’m now doing, using a new data set, on creativity and learning. I… Read More Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology (CREET)

June 18, 2015 keithsawyer2 Comments

Creativity Research at University of Plymouth, UK

On the third stop of my European tour, I was invited to give a talk to the CogNovo research group at the University of Plymouth. I was impressed to find one of the top research groups in the world, studying creativity with an interdisciplinary approach. CogNovo brings together over 40 participating scholars and artists to… Read More Creativity Research at University of Plymouth, UK

June 16, 2015 keithsawyer2 Comments

The Improvisation of Teaching

I just spent three wonderful days at the conference “The Art and Science of Improvisation in Teaching.” My visit to the University of Stord, Norway, was sponsored by a project funded by the Norwegian Research Council, “Improvisation in Teacher Education.” I was honored to be invited to give the keynote talk, because the project was… Read More The Improvisation of Teaching

June 14, 2015June 14, 2015 keithsawyerLeave a comment

The Invisible Creativity You See Every Day

Typeface design: Decades ago, it was a little-known part of the printing industry. Then starting with the Apple Macintosh in 1984, we’re all now intimate with typefaces like Palatino, Verdano, and Times New Roman. We all know what serifs are; we know the difference between a typeface and a font. On June 9, 2015, The New… Read More The Invisible Creativity You See Every Day

June 10, 2015 keithsawyerLeave a comment

Europe Tour 2015, First city: Gothenburg, Sweden

Gothenburg is a charming city in the South of Sweden, and to me it’s famous because it has the University of Gothenburg. I was last here to give an invited lecture in Fall 2009. Now I’m back for one of the big annual learning sciences conferences: Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL). I’m giving a three-hour… Read More Europe Tour 2015, First city: Gothenburg, Sweden

June 7, 2015 keithsawyerLeave a comment

Is Creativity Research Elitist?

I’m beginning to think that creativity research is elitist. Exhibit A: The most prominent historical studies of creativity focus on high-status individuals: top art schools, Nobel-prize winning scientists; corporate CEOs. Howard Gardner’s book on creativity studied Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Ghandi. Exhibit B: Simon Kyaga’s highly publicized studies (2011, 2012) about creativity and… Read More Is Creativity Research Elitist?

June 3, 2015 keithsawyer22 Comments

The Creativity Guru

Your Source for the Science of Creativity, Innovation, and Learning

Month: June 2015