Teaching Teachers about Creativity with Lisa Saunders

In this episode of the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood welcome Lisa Saunders, a 4th grade teacher based in Connecticut. Listen in to gain insight into Lisa’s experience at the Teacher Innovation Studio (a program facilitated by Matt) and how it transformed her thinking as an educator. Lisa shares the unique challenge she worked on that led her to become a Teacher Innovation Champion in 2022: “How can I help students regulate their emotions to be prepared for learning throughout the school day by using plickers and a choice board?” Lisa talks about how the data from students’ plickers influenced the decisions she made throughout her creative project. She speaks on how she was taught teacher creativity and design thinking in the Teacher Innovation Studio, highlighting the personal challenges she faced with not feeling creative as an educator. “That was my biggest takeaway from this program was flipping the script on my thinking about creativity and how I view it. Now, I see that everything I do is creative. Every time I step into my classroom, I am creatively solving a problem.”  – Lisa Saunders Lisa then shares the valuable lessons she learned from being in a teacher cohort and how she’s helping her students navigate their emotions and become better problem-solvers. Lisa’s Tips for Teachers and Parents: Just go for it! Try something new and if it fails, that’s okay. Failure is good! Know that you are creative. Trust yourself and focus on the good. You are doing a great job! Remember how many incredible things you’re doing every day. Recommended Resources: Learn more about Teacher Innovation Studio Listen to the episode on How Emotions Influence the Creative Process with Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle   Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!   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.    Have a question? Email Dr. Burnett and Dr. Worwood at [email protected]!   You can also find The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and PodBean! Please rate, review, and share the podcast if you enjoy it!   About Lisa Saunders: Prior to becoming a teacher, Lisa worked in sports marketing. She has been an elementary educator for more than 10 years and I have had experience teaching in grades K through 6th. She is currently teaching fourth grade at Long Meadow Elementary School which is Region 15 (Southbury/Middlebury).   Lisa went to Western New England University for her undergraduate degree, where she played D3 basketball all four years. She scored more than 1,000 points and had almost 1,000 rebounds. Lisa was a two-year captain, MVP, and coach’s award, ranked as D3hoops.com player, and in 2019, she was inducted into the Western New England University Hall of Fame.   Lisa obtained her masters from Sacred Heart University. Most recently, she received Educational Administration & Supervision Sixth-Year Certificate (092) from the University of Bridgeport. Lisa is also the Teacher Innovation Champion 2022!   Lisa currently resides in Southbury, Connecticut with her husband and two boys.   Follow Lisa on Instagram