Workshops, Training Programs, Conferences on Creativity for Educators

[wanderingalan]

Hello fellow Creativity Champion

When I went to my first CPSI there were several teachers who attended. The giants of creativity in education research and the giants in gifted education were among the leaders/presenters. Now due to the economy and other reasons they are not.

ACA draws many educators, mostly from universities and colleges.\

Alden B. Dow Creativity Conference draws educators, once again from universities and colleges.

This Spring the first ACE - Atlanta Creativity Exchange attempted to draw educators along with business people and others. Some did come.

Project Renaissance draws some to their mix of programs.

My questions are...

Where are teachers going to learn about creative thinking in the classroom?

What are they looking for?

What do they want to share?

Where might they go that you know about?

Alan

[Chris Barlow]

They SHOULD be learning it through the Schools of Education and the in-services provided by their school systems.

Creativity training ain't rare and ain't rocket science. Every community has many people trained in the basics of deliberate creativity. Getting them into the schools to offer in-services seems to be more productive than a privileged few getting to national or international conferences.

As for CPSI, it started as a volunteer effort by business trainers to make the ideas and tools available to educators at a reasonable cost. They even scheduled it to fit the summer schedules of teachers.

Too bad that mission was lost...

[wanderingalan]

Chris

Thanks for your immediate and highly valid response.

National conventions or conferences may only be available to the very few if any, any longer due to government tax short falls and the primary focus on LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND, Back to Basics mentally that appears to exist currently.

CPSI...as you very well know was in Buffalo for 50 years and most of those years was held while school was still in session in Buffalo though it attracted teachers from other states. The Buffalo teachers who did attend most years came at night or took annual sick leave to come to attend or present. I was oblivious to that fact for years because the Georgia schools were out until some of my long time CPSI leader friends told me how and when they actually came to CPSI.

What has come from CPSI and ACA and a few others has been more regional or local annual gatherings such as: NEXT IDEA, Florida Creativity Weekend, Mindcamp, local Salons focused on creativity and this year ACE in Atlanta.

I am reaching out to the growing Creativity Champions community to discover what else is out there.

As far as in-service....great source if principals will support them.

A few of us who were students of E. Paul Torrance did in-service in the Athens-Clarke County area and the Torrance Center continues to do the same.

What is happening in other towns, cities, counties, states, countries?