Todd Cowden

What happens when you give students one hour a week to follow their passions? They call the shots. They are in charge of what and how they are learning, and what they are going to present. Each year I run a Genius Hour in my class and it has been a huge success. Students are engaged, creative, and many times, inspiring. The difference isn’t in the TYPE of learning, it’s the REASON.

In the current job market, “creativity” is one of the most highly sought after qualities. What better way to be prepared for the problems of tomorrow than to build your creative confidence today. Join us as we bust age-old myths about creativity in order to have a better understanding of what creativity means in this day and age. We’ll examine a new definition for “creativity”, one that includes virtually everyone. We’ll review different types of creativity from the traditional “artistic” to “mathematical”; from “auditory” to “kinesthetic”.

Join us as we learn how to S.O.L.V.E. problems creatively. This is a method best used for overcoming small, every day, sometimes urgent, obstacles. With each tiny victory, students will build their creative confidence to solve larger problems, with the hope that one day they will consider nothing impossible. We’ll take a look at some student examples, used in and out of school, that illustrate this type of creative thinking. Participants may even take on a challenge themselves when they will be presented with a problem they must overcome using only their creativity and the items in the environment around them.