Discussing Excellence Gaps and Creativity with Dr. Jonathan Plucker - Part 1

Our last guest of the season features a double expresso with President of the National Association for Gifted and Talented, Dr. Jonathan Plucker.  In part one of this two-part interview, Jonathan shares his thoughts on problems with achievement gaps and excellence gaps in education.    “I’m actually fully convinced that in the next 10-15 years, if we prioritize this, we can actually go a long way to solving this problem… and I could not have said that five or six years ago.” - Dr. Jonathan Plucker   Listen in to gain insight into the connection between academic excellence and creativity later in life, and why there’s never a blank canvas to work with when being creative. Jonathan also shares his candid thoughts on creativity in imaginative play, as well as how we can diminish the harmful impact of poverty on children’s ability to develop imagination.    “The more that students learn, the more information, the more ‘stuff’… that they have at their mental fingertips, the better off they will be as they try to be creative, especially as they move into their careers later in life.” - Dr. Jonathan Plucker   About Dr. Jonathan Plucker: Jonathan Plucker is a prominent education policy and talent development scholar, and the inaugural Julian C. Stanley Professor of Talent Development at Johns Hopkins University. He holds a joint appointment at the Center for Talented Youth and School of Education.   His work focuses on education policy and talent development and has been supported by over $40 million in external grants and contracts. Jonathan has published over 300 articles, chapters, and reports. He recently became editor for the Psychological Perspectives on Contemporary Educational Issues series at IAP. His work defining and studying excellence gaps (http://cepa.uconn.edu/mindthegap) is part of a larger effort to reorient policymakers’ and educators’ thinking about how best to promote success and high achievement for all children.   Visit Jonathan’s website Follow him on Twitter Book & Publications by Dr. Jonathan Plucker Resources Mentioned: Book & Publications by Dr. Jonathan PluckerListen to the episode with Scott Barry Kaufman Listen to the episode with Sally Reis   Eager to bring more creativity into your home or classroom?  Access various creativity resources and tools & listen to more episodes of The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast by visiting www.CreativityandEducation.com.   What to learn more about Design Thinking in Education?  Do you want to build a sustained culture of innovation and creativity at your school?  Visit WorwoodClassroom.com to learn how Design Thinking can promote teacher creativity and support professional growth in the classroom.    Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!   Follow Cyndi and Matt on Linkedin.   You can also find The Fueling Creativity Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and PodBean! Make sure to rate, review, and share the podcast if you enjoy it!