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The Wonder Wall: Leading Creative Schools and Organizations in an Age of Complexity
Learn the four conditions most effective for fostering creativity Sometimes our attempts to foster creativity can actually stifle it. Author Peter Gamwell, a former teacher and superintendent who has spent more than three decades studying creativity, shares a fresh perspective on how to nurture creativity, innovation, leadership, and engagement in a variety of settings. You’ll learn how
Tap the creative and leadership potential in everyone Think bigger by moving from a deficit model of thinking to a strength-based approach Develop the lost arts of listening and storytelling to optimize learning Handle the inevitable pushback and fear that transformational change can bring
"I love this book. I am a huge fan of storytelling, and this book is one great story blended with cutting-edge academic work in the field of human mind and creativity. In The Wonder Wall Peter Gamwell and Jane Daly bring together decades of firsthand experience in creativity, leadership and learning into this volume that I indeed will, as the authors suggest, read twice. I would urge you to do the same if you want to be in the frontline of finding ways to improve your schools." —Pasi Sahlberg, Author Finnish Lessons 2.0: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland, Helsinki, Finland "Take everything you know about learning and turn it upside down. It is there that you will find Peter Gamwell, Jane Daly and their Wonder Wall of creativity wallowing in wisdom. Yes, we have three imperatives, and four conditions, and therein you will find a treasure trove of ideas for creativity. You don’t have to leave the school system to upend it. Just read Wonder Wall and you will be swept along into doing things that engage all students and teachers. You will even get ideas about how to evaluate creativity. The timing is perfect. Go beyond skills and knowledge, light the sparks that lead to learning. Be excited about the limitless possibilities of education." —Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus OISE, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada "Be brilliant at what you′re best at. Build on your strengths. Belong to something. These are the three imperatives that this great book sets out for young people and those who teach them. It does so with wit, wisdom, up-close experience and a magnificent capacity to tell a good tale of why all people in schools really matter. This book is its own Wonder Wall. When you′ve closed your Ken Robinson book, open this next. You′ll not be disappointed." —Andy Hargreaves, Brennan Chair in Education Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA
Tap the creative and leadership potential in everyone Think bigger by moving from a deficit model of thinking to a strength-based approach Develop the lost arts of listening and storytelling to optimize learning Handle the inevitable pushback and fear that transformational change can bring
"I love this book. I am a huge fan of storytelling, and this book is one great story blended with cutting-edge academic work in the field of human mind and creativity. In The Wonder Wall Peter Gamwell and Jane Daly bring together decades of firsthand experience in creativity, leadership and learning into this volume that I indeed will, as the authors suggest, read twice. I would urge you to do the same if you want to be in the frontline of finding ways to improve your schools." —Pasi Sahlberg, Author Finnish Lessons 2.0: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland, Helsinki, Finland "Take everything you know about learning and turn it upside down. It is there that you will find Peter Gamwell, Jane Daly and their Wonder Wall of creativity wallowing in wisdom. Yes, we have three imperatives, and four conditions, and therein you will find a treasure trove of ideas for creativity. You don’t have to leave the school system to upend it. Just read Wonder Wall and you will be swept along into doing things that engage all students and teachers. You will even get ideas about how to evaluate creativity. The timing is perfect. Go beyond skills and knowledge, light the sparks that lead to learning. Be excited about the limitless possibilities of education." —Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus OISE, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada "Be brilliant at what you′re best at. Build on your strengths. Belong to something. These are the three imperatives that this great book sets out for young people and those who teach them. It does so with wit, wisdom, up-close experience and a magnificent capacity to tell a good tale of why all people in schools really matter. This book is its own Wonder Wall. When you′ve closed your Ken Robinson book, open this next. You′ll not be disappointed." —Andy Hargreaves, Brennan Chair in Education Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA
190 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 17, 2017
3 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Peter Gamwell
2 books3 followersBorn in Liverpool, England, Peter Gamwell is an author, presenter and an award-winning leader in education who has worked in both central and eastern Canada and abroad. He is recently retired from the role of Superintendent, responsible for District Leadership Development with the 75,000-student Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB), where he also served as the Board lead for Aboriginal education from 2006 until 2012. Peter's book, The Wonder Wall: Leading Creative Schools and Organizations in an Age of Complexity, is available through Corwin Press:
https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/the-w...
The Foreword is written by Sir Ken Robinson.
Peter has become recognized nationally and internationally as a leader and catalyst for district-wide initiatives that inspire and advance education; student, faculty, community and business engagement; and strength-based models and creative thinking. He has developed numerous presentations and papers on these topics, and is regularly invited to speak both nationally and internationally.
With a reputation for engaging, compelling and practical ideas, Peter has advised academia, the business community and government departments at all levels on how to develop strategy to imbue creativity throughout an organization, as well as to create environments for optimal learning and engagement. Peter has been invited to sit on the Global Distinguished Leadership Panel at the Canadian Principals’ Association conference, Banff, Alberta; on the creativity expert panel at the World Creativity Forum in Oklahoma; and was appointed to the Board of Directors for the US-based National Creativity Network. His presentation style is engaging, dynamic - and a lot of fun!
In his spare time, Peter plays in a blues/rock band, and has been featured as an entertainer on provincial and national radio and television. He lives in Ottawa, Canada with his wife, Liz, and has two grown children.
https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/the-w...
The Foreword is written by Sir Ken Robinson.
Peter has become recognized nationally and internationally as a leader and catalyst for district-wide initiatives that inspire and advance education; student, faculty, community and business engagement; and strength-based models and creative thinking. He has developed numerous presentations and papers on these topics, and is regularly invited to speak both nationally and internationally.
With a reputation for engaging, compelling and practical ideas, Peter has advised academia, the business community and government departments at all levels on how to develop strategy to imbue creativity throughout an organization, as well as to create environments for optimal learning and engagement. Peter has been invited to sit on the Global Distinguished Leadership Panel at the Canadian Principals’ Association conference, Banff, Alberta; on the creativity expert panel at the World Creativity Forum in Oklahoma; and was appointed to the Board of Directors for the US-based National Creativity Network. His presentation style is engaging, dynamic - and a lot of fun!
In his spare time, Peter plays in a blues/rock band, and has been featured as an entertainer on provincial and national radio and television. He lives in Ottawa, Canada with his wife, Liz, and has two grown children.
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November 4, 2024
Years back, I had the pleasure of listening to Peter Gamwell speak about Creativity and Innovation at the international Learning and Brain Conference. This book by Peter Gamwell and Jane Daly captures the same spirit of this dynamic, creative presentation--the rationale of infusing creativity into education and also HOW to do so with ideas and real-life stories/ examples using the Wonder Wall approach.
As a teacher and tutor, who uses "the walls" of the classroom as part of our lessons (Word Walls) etc... I found this book inspired me to add a Wonder Wall. There is no one way to do the Wonder Wall, but throughout the book there are example of ways in which it can be used to invite curiosity, higher-level thinking skills and rich discussion in the classroom. As a teacher and tutor, I use the Wonder Wall to help build curiosity and metacognitive skills for my students for reading and comprehension lessons. I found the book to be a good resource that has inspired me to lean into the work I do with new intention!
As a teacher and tutor, who uses "the walls" of the classroom as part of our lessons (Word Walls) etc... I found this book inspired me to add a Wonder Wall. There is no one way to do the Wonder Wall, but throughout the book there are example of ways in which it can be used to invite curiosity, higher-level thinking skills and rich discussion in the classroom. As a teacher and tutor, I use the Wonder Wall to help build curiosity and metacognitive skills for my students for reading and comprehension lessons. I found the book to be a good resource that has inspired me to lean into the work I do with new intention!
Displaying 1 of 1 review