ACT International Webinar

About the speaker:

Dr. Gerard J. Puccio, Department Chair and Professor at the International Center for Studies in Creativity (ICSC), Buffalo State; USA.

Dr. Gerard J. Puccio heads a unique academic department of ICSC that offers the world’s only Master of Science degree and doctoral degree in creativity. Gerard has written more than 60 articles, chapters and books. His most recent book titled “The Innovative Team”, co-authored with Chris Grivas, is a fable about a team that was able to apply proven creative-thinking tools to turn around a dysfunctional and unproductive situation. In 2011 he and his colleagues published the second edition of their book “Creative Leadership”: Skills that Drive Change. In recognition of his outstanding work as a scholar, Dr. Puccio received the State University of New York Chancellor’s Recognition Award for Research Excellence, as well as the President’s Medal for Scholarship and Creativity.

Dr. Puccio is an accomplished speaker and consultant; he has worked with major corporations, universities, and numerous school districts. Some of his recent clients include the BBC, Fisher-Price Brands, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Kraft Foods, Rich Products, BNP Paribas, Rubbermaid, Coca-Cola, and the Fashion Institute of Technology. He has delivered creativity workshops and presentations across the United States and in more than 20 different countries.

In 2012 Dr. Puccio was selected by the Teaching Company as one of America’s Great Lecturers and as such was invited to design and deliver a course comprised of twenty-four 30-minute video sessions. This “Great Course,” titled “The Creative Thinker’s Tool Box”, will be released internationally in January 2014. Dr. Puccio was also a featured speaker at a TEDx event held in New York City in December of 2012. Among many other responsibilities, Dr. Puccio also serves on the selecting committee for the Toy Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.

Gerard holds a Ph.D. in organizational psychology from the University of Manchester, England.

About the speaker:

Speaker: Dr. Gururaj Karajagi, Chairman, Academy for Creative Teaching, Bangalore.

Dr. Gururaj Karajagi, a doctoral degree holder in Chemistry has published over 22 research papers in International journals. He has served on the Boards of Management of a few Medical Universities. Dr. Karajagi also served as a member of the State Resource Group (SRG) for the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) in the colleges of Karnataka. Dr. Karajagi was the Principal, V.V.S. First Grade College for Women, Bangalore, India for 16 years. He was the Director of the V.V.S. Academic and Administrative College, founder Principal and Academic Director of the Jain International Residential School and the founder Director of the International Academy for Creative Teaching. He has served as a member of the Syndicates of a few Universities and as a member of the Karnataka Knowledge Commission. He is a member of the Governing body of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla. He is a well-known columnist and has completed 1800 columns. His fifteen books entitled “Karunaalu Baa Belake” are immensely popular and have seen several editions. Dr. Karajagi has written many articles on ‘Sufi’ philosophy and has published a book on ‘Sufi’. As of now, he has authored twenty-two books. He has published over hundred articles on all aspects of education in National and International journals. He is also known for his daily spiritual discourses on a bilingual T.V. channel – Sri. Sankara with over 500 programmes on Dasa Sahitya and Vachana Sahitya. Through the Academy for Creative Teaching, of which he is the Chairman, Dr. Karajagi is instrumental in building over 90 schools of very high quality all over the world. He is generally considered as an institution builder. His areas of interest include Creativity, Creative & Critical Problem-Solving Skills, Communication skills, Motivation, Work ethics and Human Values. He has travelled and lectured extensively both in the East and the West and has conducted more than 2000 training programmes for educational and corporate organisations.

He has been a teacher for over four decades without a moment’s regret.

About the speaker:

Brittany Wright, Senior Teaching Fellow, Centre for Teacher Education, University of Warwick, UK.

Brittany Wright is a Senior Teaching Fellow in the Centre for Teacher Education, University of Warwick, UK. She previously worked in secondary education. Although her most recent school-based role was as Head of English in a large secondary school, Brittany has also led on provision for higher-ability learners and coordinated widening participation programmes focused on supporting learners from disadvantaged backgrounds in pursuing further and higher education. As an experienced school-based mentor of trainee teachers and NQTs, she believes that it is important for university and school-based staff to work together in order to provide the best experience for early career stage teachers.

Since moving into initial teacher education, Brittany has also worked with schools in North London, supporting professional development of teachers. Providing targeted CPD and a proficiency-focused approach to classroom observation in English, she supported a North London secondary school in achieving the third highest Progress 8 results in its borough. As well as teaching across Primary and Secondary Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programmes, Brittany has also led on curriculum development in English for a London-based MAT.

Alongside her work in initial teacher education, Brittany is also a doctoral student in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham. Her research focuses on social justice and gender in education. Brittany recently co-authored Engaging, Motivating and Empowering Learners in Schools (2018), exploring the potential implications for self-determination theory and positive psychology in primary and secondary schools.