The Creative Classroom with John Spencer

Happy Star Wars Day! Here’s a reflection about Yoda, teaching, and the deeply human element of being a teacher. Listen to the Podcast Just click on the audio below to listen to this Creative Classroom podcast. You can also listen to it on the go by subscribing on iTunes (ideal for iPhone users) or Google […] The post Was Yoda a Good Teacher? (Happy Star Wars Day) appeared first on John Spencer.

My cohort graduates today. I feel so honored to be a part of their journey. So, here is my hope for them.   Listen to the Podcast Just click on the audio below to listen to this Creative Classroom podcast. You can also listen to it on the go by subscribing on iTunes (ideal for […] The post Be Wildly and Unabashedly Different (My Hope for My Cohort as They Graduate) appeared first on John Spencer.

It seems counterintuitive but gratitude can actually help us find the hidden opportunities that lead to creativity and innovation in the classroom.   Listen to the Podcast Just click on the audio below to listen to this Creative Classroom podcast. You can also listen to it on the go by subscribing on iTunes (ideal for iPhone […] The post Find the Hidden Opportunity appeared first on John Spencer.

There’s a common cultural assumption that “kids these days” can’t focus due to screen time. They simply lack the attention span needed to engage in deep work. But what if that’s not entirely true? What if this generation is capable of reaching a state of creative flow?    Listen to the Podcast Just click on […] The post Getting Past the Attention-Span Myth (Thoughts on Creative Focus) appeared first on John Spencer.

About six weeks ago, my son asked if he could start a cubing club for anyone interested in solving Rubix cubes together. (Heads-up: cubers can get really sensitive about calling it a Rubix cube because that’s almost never the brand they use.) He planned it all out. They would meet on Tuesday nights at 7:30 p.m. […] The post Seven Ways to Help Students Develop a Growth Mindset appeared first on John Spencer.

About a week ago, I created a video about how to thrive as an introverted teacher. I sat down in front of the camera, shared some spontaneous thoughts, and then edited it the next day. From start to finish, it took around 45 minutes to make. While that might not seem fast, it was a huge […]

I’m a hard introvert to spot. I can be loud and social and nobody sees how tired I feel as a result. I’m not shy. I’m often quick to engage in deep conversations. And yet, I am introvert to my core. Every minute I’m at a party I’m having to work hard to pull it […]

When I turned 30, I jotted down a set of goals listing things I wanted to do by the time I turned forty. On the left side, I made a list of personal accomplishments. If life was a vapor, these were the things I wanted to do when I still had the chance. They were […]

This post is inspired by Ross Cooper’s latest post on the mistakes he made in doing PBL. It’s a great post. In fact, you should stop reading this now and read his post instead. Go check out his book while you’re at it.  I love the notion of sharing our mistakes along with what we […]

When I was a first-year teacher, my team leader Nancy gave me this heaping box of classroom supplies. On the top, she placed a notecard with the words New Teacher Card. On the back of the notecard, she wrote a note explaining that I could play this card when I messed up. “You’re new and you make […]

At first I thought it was a teacher thing. I would ask how someone was doing and they would say, “I’m really busy.” This was often followed by a description of how little sleep they had gotten and how much grading they had done. Teachers weren’t whining. It wasn’t a “poor me” attitude. It was […]

A few weeks ago, my son convinced me to download Minecraft on my iPad. He’s been playing it for a few years now and is at that stage where he is entering portals, creating drop world and doing parkour. Meanwhile, I’m at the basic level. I spent the first few hours trying to orient myself […]

I need your help. In the next few weeks, I plan on creating a free resource for new teachers. I plan to use the LAUNCH Cycle (the design thinking framework that A.J. Juliani and I developed) to move from empathy and awareness into research and ideation, before eventually creating a beta concept. I want to […]

I’m just going to put it out there. I don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to making videos. For the last six weeks, I’ve been experimenting and trying things out. Every time I get ready to publish a video, these fears swirl around my mind. What if it’s not good enough? What if […]

It was about five years ago when a boy walked up to me and asked, “Hey Mr. Spencer, can you talk to the district and see if they’ll open up the library over the summer?” “I don’t think they can,” I answered. “But the city library is just down the street.” “I can’t go there. […]