Creative Approaches to Teaching

The best way to teach brainstorming? Let students brainstorm your teaching approach. Today, our design thinking class at the University of Kentucky, TEK 300, "Teens and Screens," reached a pivotal moment. With midterms behind us and spring break over, we faced a critical question: How might we structure the remaining weeks to promote deeper understanding rather than just blasting through the steps of our semester-long project? Instead of deciding for our students, we chose to "eat our own dog food"(as they used to say at Apple). (HT Reinhold Steinbeck, charles kerns) We turned our students into users and co-designers through a structured brainwriting session focused on this challenge. The process was beautifully simple: • Students received worksheets with our "How Might We" question and a 3×5 grid • Everyone silently wrote initial ideas (one per box) in the first row • Sheets rotated three times, with each person building on or adding to previous ideas • We ended with a gallery walk and dot-voting to identify the strongest concepts In just 20 minutes, we generated over 50 unique ideas! The winner? Incorporating hands-on, interactive activities in every session that directly connect to that day's learning objectives. The meta-realization? We were already practicing the solution before formally adopting it. The brainwriting exercise itself exemplified exactly what our students told us they wanted more of. My teaching partner Ryan Hargrove immediately began storyboarding how we'll implement this approach, moving us closer to the collaborative learning journey we want to have with our students. We're moving from "Once upon a time..." (not as great as we could be...) to "Students designed..." (active participation), to "Now we really dig learning all this..." Your students already know what they need; your job is to create space for them to tell you. P.S. What teaching approaches have you transformed by inviting your students to become co-designers of their learning experience? #DesignThinking #HigherEducation #TeachingInnovation #BuildingInPublic #StudentCenteredLearning

Today, I witnessed something extraordinary in my classroom that challenged everything we think we know about AI in education. Instead of handing students a rigid playbook of dos and don'ts with AI, I decided to flip the script entirely. Since summer, I've watched the endless parade of methodological frameworks and usage guidelines sweep through education. Each promising to be the "right way" to integrate AI into learning. But today, we tried something radically different. I simply asked my students to use AI to brainstorm their own learning objectives. No restrictions. No predetermined pathways. Just pure exploration. The results? Astonishing. Students began mapping out research directions I'd never considered. They created dialogue spaces with AI that looked more like intellectual partnerships than simple query-response patterns. Most importantly, they documented their journey, creating a meta-learning archive of their process. What struck me most was this: When we stopped fixating on the tangible "products" of AI interaction and instead centered on the mental maps being developed, something magical happened. Some might say this approach is too unstructured, too risky. But consider what we're gaining: 1. Metacognitive development: Students are thinking deeply about their own learning process 2. Agency and ownership: They're designing their own educational pathways 3. Critical navigation skills: Learning to chart courses through AI-enhanced knowledge spaces 4. Creative confidence: Freedom to experiment without fear of "wrong" approaches 5. Future-ready adaptability: Building skills to work with evolving AI systems We're not just teaching students to use AI – we're empowering them to design their own learning ecosystems. The focus isn't on what appears on the screen, but on the neural pathways being forged, the cognitive frameworks being built. Watching these students navigate this space, I'm reminded that the future of education isn't about controlling AI use – it's about nurturing the wisdom to use it well. We need to trust our students' capacity to be architects of their own learning journeys. The real breakthrough happens when we stop seeing AI as space to be contained and start seeing it as a landscape to be explored. Our role as educators isn't to build fences, but to help students develop their own compasses. #AIEducation #FutureOfLearning #EducationalInnovation #StudentAgency #EdTech #CognitiveDesign #GenerativeThinking Amanda Bickerstaff Stefan Bauschard Dr. Sabba Quidwai Mike Kentz David Gregg David H. Doan Winkel Jason Gulya Dr. Lance Cummings. Alfonso Mendoza Jr., M.Ed.

Are Your Students Evolving into Their Creative Potential? A few years ago, my 12-year-old daughter hopped into the car after a long day at theatre camp. “How was your day?” I asked. “It was okay,” she replied, clearly unimpressed. “Just okay? Tell me more.” “I just don’t feel like I’m evolving.” I had to stifle my laughter—“evolving” seemed like an ambitious word for a 12-year-old. But as we talked, I realized she expressed something we all feel: a desire to grow and fulfill our potential. She knew she could do more; she just wasn’t sure how to get there. This conversation reminded me how important it is to intentionally nurture creativity in our students. They crave opportunities to grow, just as we do. As educators, parents, and mentors, we can help them evolve by: 1. Asking Open-Ended Questions: Spark curiosity with questions like, “What’s a new way we could approach this?” or “What are three different solutions you could try?” 2. Create a Safe Space for Failure: Celebrate effort, experimentation, and “mistakes” as valuable learning experiences. When students feel safe to take risks, creativity flourishes. 3. Encouraging self-reflection: Regularly prompt students to assess their own growth. Ask, “What are you most proud of this week?” or “What’s one area you want to improve?” 4. Provide Constructive Feedback: Give students specific, actionable areas to improve and empower them to take the lead on their growth. For example, you might say, “Here’s something I noticed. How do you think you could approach it differently next time?” This puts the focus on their agency and problem-solving skills. What strategies have worked for you to help your students evolve into their creative potential? Share your thoughts below—I’d love to hear them! #creativity #education

Over time, my approach to teaching graduate classes has shifted towards creating an environment where students act more like a group of consultants tackling real-world, data-driven problems. Instead of simply following theoretical frameworks, students now dive into real-life datasets, analyze trends, and craft creative solutions. This hands-on method encourages them to think critically and out of the box—steering away from the temptation of copy-pasting from AI tools like ChatGPT. The focus isn’t just on solving problems; it’s about viewing challenges from different perspectives. By engaging with diverse datasets, students learn to approach problems with fresh eyes, ensuring a deeper retention of knowledge. It also makes the learning process more interactive and fun! This week, we focused on conducting data-driven SWOT analyses. Students worked in teams, using multiple datasets to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Along the way, they developed their soft skills, learned the value of collaboration, and strengthened their ability to work effectively in groups. This approach not only prepares students for real-world consulting roles but also equips them with the skills to think critically, collaborate, and adapt to a rapidly evolving business landscape. #DataDrivenLearning #ConsultingSkills #RealWorldProblems #GraduateEducation #CriticalThinking #OutOfTheBox #SWOTAnalysis #SoftSkillsDevelopment #CollaborativeLearning #FunInTheClassroom #BusinessEducation #InnovationInTeaching #HigherEd

The quickest way to lose a class is to start with objectives. The quickest way to win them? Start with a question they actually want answered. When I taught Algebra I swapped “Today we’re learning linear functions” for: * "Could a paper airplane cross the length of a football field?"     * "How long would it take to walk to the top of Mount Everest—on a treadmill?" Heads lifted, pencils moved, and equations suddenly felt useful. Over the years I’ve kept one rule for any lesson I design: open with a curiosity hook that ties directly to the concept. A good hook is: * Short (under 15 seconds)     * Concrete (students can picture it)     * Connected (leads straight into the math)     Here’s what happens when curiosity leads the way: * Engagement rises before the slide deck even appears     * Students remember the concept because they remember the story     * Even the quiet kids take a shot at the first problem     If we want meaningful learning, we have to pay the curiosity tax first.