The Idea Gym
Join co-hosts Rachel and Tanya as they explore the many facets of creativity and how we think and move through the complexities of the problem-solving process. Whether you need to clarify the challenge, come up with new ideas, develop ideas into solutions or get a plan into action, how we think matters. We invite you to flex your creativity muscles as we learn and grow at The Idea Gym.
Listen on:
Episodes
Wednesday Oct 26, 2022
Wednesday Oct 26, 2022
We were thrilled to have creativity specialist, artist and blogger Kim Zanti join us who has contributed to the field of creativity with published articles, a blog (Catalyst Muse), and is currently working on a short documentary about creative placemaking.
Kim explores risk-taking with us with a quick game (Risk Roulette!), just as she recently did in an LA Libraries workshop on risk-taking for career pivots. We dig into the fear of failure, opportunities for growth, how to follow our gut and set the environment to feel aligned in our risk-taking.
We would love to hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening and we invite you to take a screenshot and tag us @the.idea.gym and Kim @zanti_kay on Instagram.
Resources from the show:
Catalyst Muse blog
Failure vs. low-point study: Estabrooks, L. B., & Couch, S. R. (2018). Failure as an active agent in the development of creative and inventive mindsets. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 30, 103-115. doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2018.02.015
Failure Resume by Dr. Melanie Stefan
Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion | TED - Bing video
Thinking Skills: Weaving Creativity: Into Every Strand of your Curriculum by Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Julia Figliotti
Torrance, E., & Safter, H. (1990). The incubation model of teaching : getting beyond the aha!. Buffalo, N.Y: Bearly Ltd.
Connect with The Idea Gym
The Idea Gym: Website | Email | Instagram
Tanya Knudsen: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn
Wednesday Oct 19, 2022
Wednesday Oct 19, 2022
Curiosity is one of the main doorways to creativity. Wonder why that is? Lots of reasons really, but mostly because what interests you matters. Internal motivation is key in becoming a better learner and living out a fully rich + creative life.
We would love to hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening and we invite you to take a screenshot and tag us @the.idea.gym on Instagram.
Resources from the show:
Books to check out for extended learning:
Think Again by Adam Grant
A more beautiful question: The power of inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas by Warren Berger
Why? What makes us curious by Marv Livio
Wonder by Vlad Glaveanu
Dr. Tracy Dalgleish
Harvard Business Review, “The Business Case for Curiosity” September-October 2018
Opdal, P.M. Curiosity, Wonder and Education seen as Perspective Development. Studies in Philosophy and Education 20, 331–344 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011851211125
Start with Why by Simon Sinek TED Talk
Torrance, E., & Safter, H. (1990). The incubation model of teaching : getting beyond the aha!. Buffalo, N.Y: Bearly Ltd.
Wharton School interview with Marv Livio
Connect with The Idea Gym
The Idea Gym: Website | Email | Instagram
Tanya Knudsen: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn
Thursday Oct 13, 2022
Thursday Oct 13, 2022
Because drawing to learn is so powerful, Osa the artist (IG: @osatheartist) joins The Idea Gym again in kicking off our Creative Thinking Skills exploration with a simple exercise to resonate on this fundamental skill in keeping open.
We would love to see your own drawings from this episode's exercise and hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening and we invite you to take a screenshot and tag us @the.idea.gym and Osa @osatheartist on Instagram.
Resources from the show:
Torrance, E., & Safter, H. (1990). The incubation model of teaching : getting beyond the aha!. Buffalo, N.Y: Bearly Ltd.
Connect with The Idea Gym
The Idea Gym: Website | Email | Instagram
Tanya Knudsen: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Think creativity is reserved for artists? Think again.
Osa the artist (IG: @osatheartist), a Nigerian born artist who has been painting for over two decades shares his thoughts on creativity and beautifully describes his creative process for painting. When we think like artists, the creative problem solving process naturally emerges.
We would love to hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening and we invite you to take a screenshot and tag us @the.idea.gym and Osa @osatheartist on Instagram.
Resources from the show:
The 4 Ps of Creativity: Rhodes, M., (1961). An analysis of creativity. The Phi Delta Kappan, 42(7), 305-310.
Connect with The Idea Gym
The Idea Gym: Website | Email | Instagram
Tanya Knudsen: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn
Friday Sep 30, 2022
Friday Sep 30, 2022
Welcome to The Idea Gym where we invite you to flex your creativity muscle and work out your thinking. In this podcast, we aim to lift up the research on creativity and empower you to apply it in your own life and business to get your creative self in shape.
In our inaugural episode, we (co-hosts and creativity scholars Tanya Knudsen and Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann!) share how creativity is a universal human super power and why it's important to infuse into our lives.
We would love to hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening and we invite you to take a screenshot and tag us @the.idea.gym on Instagram.
Resources from the show:
Creative Genius Study: Land, George & Jarman Beth (1992), Breakpoint and Beyond: Mastering the Future Today. Harpercollins Publishers
IBM Study: IBM 2010 Global CEO Study: Creativity Selected as Most Crucial Factor for Future Success - Medical Design and Outsourcing
2016 the World Economic Forum’s ‘Future of Jobs’ report
The 4 Ps of Creativity: Rhodes, M., (1961). An analysis of creativity. The Phi Delta Kappan, 42(7), 305-310.
Creativity is novel + useful (Stein, 1953; Runco and Jaeger, 2012)
The Four C Model of Creativity | Walden University
RevisedBloomsHandout (iastate.edu)
Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity? | TED Talk
Gallery: Dyson Demo store Koshigaya - Dyson unveils its sixth store in Japan
Rhodes, M. (1961). An analysis of creativity. The Phi Delta Kappan, 42, 305-310. - References - Scientific Research Publishing (scirp.org)
Connect with The Idea Gym
The Idea Gym: Website | Email | Instagram
Tanya Knudsen: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn
About Rachel + Tanya
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann (M.Sci Creativity + Change Leadership) is the founder of Joybrick which works with business owners to help them organize, clarify and develop their business ideas for their next big project. She currently lives in the Seattle, WA area with her family and loves to express her creativity through her baking and impromptu dance parties around the house.
Tanya is a PhD candidate for Creative Leadership, educator, and creativity strategist for education and business. Tanya is currently teaching Creativity Through English to vocational hospitality students via Zoom at Wings of Change in Madagascar. She is the founder of Tanya Knudsen Consulting and lives in Redmond with her family. Tanya is a polyglot who loves to wear fun jumpsuits and paddle-board whenever she can.