Professor, doctor, expert on creativity, whatever you call him, James C. Kaufman, Ph.D., knows the subject of creativity about as well as anyone. As a psychologist, Dr. Kaufman has been studying and writing about creativity for many years, and is currently a professor of educational psychology at the University of Connecticut.

James C. Kaufman, a psychologist whose research focuses on creativity, hypothesizes that the power of tarot cards to jumpstart creativity lies in their ability to stimulate “associational thinking.” That’s what happens when the brain tries to synthesize multiple distinct inputs, forming associations between ideas that, at first, seem unrelated.

Adults have more access to informal learning opportunities than ever before, says Robin Grenier, associate professor of adult learning at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education.

A new study of the educational needs of students who are native users of American Sign Language (ASL) shows glaring disparities in their treatment by the U.S Department of Education. The article, “If you use ASL, should you study ESL? Limitations of a modality-b(i)ased policy”, by Elena Koulidobrova (Central Connecticut State University), Marlon Kunze (Gallaudet University) and Hannah Dostal (University of Connecticut), will be published in the June, 2018 issue of the scholarly journal Language

Ronald Beghetto is interviewed about his new book, “What If?”

Morgaen Donaldson, a professor at the University of Connecticut, said the initial buy-in followed by pushback isn’t surprising, pointing to her own research in New Haven. To some, aspects of the initiative “might be worth endorsing at an abstract level,” she said. “But then when the rubber hit the road … people started to resist.”

In a nutshell, PBIS is an approach to addressing student behavior, a sort of scaffolding upon which teachers and administrators build practices to prevent problems and provide the right help for kids who need it. “We focus on the social and emotional success of kids but we do it in the context of academic success,” George Sugai told a packed auditorium at Southwest High School earlier this week.

The University of Connecticut will start offering what is believed to be the only full teacher preparation program in Mandarin Chinese in January. Already with what officials say is a robust World Language program, UConn would include Mandarin to a program that already turns out teachers of French, Spanish, German, Italian and Latin.

How can teachers and schools promote creativity and innovation through education? Ronald Beghetto suggests structured uncertainty in this TEDxUConn talk, which took place this past spring in Storrs.

The Federal Commission on School Safety will have its first “field” hearing Thursday—and second meeting—at a school in Anne Arundel County, Md., that has embraced Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, or PBIS. Also on hand: Dr. George Sugai, the co-director of the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports at the University of Connecticut.