Beyond Compliance: Building Curious, Creative Thinkers with Dr. Katie Trowbridge - TEC95

About this episode

This episode discusses the challenges of fostering curiosity and creativity in education with Dr. Katie Trowbridge.

What happens when schools become more focused on answers than thinking? In this episode of The TechEd Clubhouse Podcast, I sit down with educator, nonprofit leader, and author Katie Trowbridge to unpack one of the biggest challenges facing education today: the slow loss of curiosity, creativity, and human connection in classrooms. From AP students trapped in compliance culture to reluctant learners who thrive when given ownership, we explore what deeper thinking actually looks like in real classrooms—not just in theory. Katie shares insights from her work with Curiosity to Create and explains how curiosity, creative thinking, critical thinking, and connection work together to create meaningful learning experiences. We also dive into: Why “right answer culture” is hurting learning The danger of over-standardized teaching Productive struggle and the fear of failure Why teams matter more than groups What educators can learn from coaches, band directors, and shop teachers How relationship-building changes classroom culture Why AI-resistant assignments start with better design The importance of process over product This episode is packed with practical ideas for teachers, leaders, and…

People in this episode

Host: Dan Thomas

Guest: Dr. Katie Trowbridge

Topics covered

• curiosity
• creativity
• education
• compliance culture
• deeper thinking
• classroom culture
• AI-resistant assignments

Keywords

• curiosity
• creativity
• compliance culture
• productive struggle
• classroom culture
• critical thinking
• relationship-building
• AI-resistant assignments

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Curiosity to Create

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