Nothing made sense. Every problem seemed too complicated or too vague. For the first time, Danah Henriksen was struggling in school, and the anxiety was wearing her down.
Middle school always had its fair share of challenges, but falling behind in math class was not one that Henriksen had expected. So, it was a relief the next year when everything suddenly and dramatically improved.
“I actually tested with the lower group in math as a ninth grader, and thank God, because I had such an amazing teacher,” Henriksen recalls. “She didn’t do anything groundbreaking, but she was so clear in the way she contextualized problems and talked about math. It just started to click again.”
Even then, Henriksen understood the impact made by a great teacher.
But what makes a great teacher?
For Henriksen, the answer is simple: creativity. Though how to think creatively, design creatively and teach creatively is far more complicated. So, too, is exactly what being creative even means. A three-time Spartan graduate and current associate professor of educational leadership at Arizona State University, Henriksen has become a leading researcher of transdisciplinary creativity in multiple areas of education.
At its foundation, Henriksen found herself inspired by the psychology of it all.
“MSU’s College of Education had a unique program that allowed me to pair educational psychology and educational technology,” she says. “It was this really thoughtful, developed way of thinking about the psychology behind pedagogy. There’s this idea there—the angle we take on the things, the psychology behind it, and the idea of creativity and how people make things compelling and novel.”
Beyond being a lifelong Spartan fan, Henriksen found MSU to be an ideal place to develop her skills and realize new opportunities. The College of Education has ranked among the best in the nation for decades.
“MSU is such a dynamic place,” she says. “Location and geography are connected to the vibe, the spirit, the character and culture of an institution. MSU is a place where that feels very rich—a safe place to be creative and explore. It’s a great intellectual community.”
Inspired by educators that she worked with and learned from at MSU, Henriksen’s initial research focused on creative teaching strategies. She studied and interviewed award-winning teachers and discovered that their creativity wasn’t bound to just their careers. Creativity was an active part of their lives across multiple disciplines and hobbies.
“There was a lot of intersection in their work and how they think about life and the world,” Henriksen says. “Education can be so siloed, but they saw it as much more expansive and were open to trying new things and exploring.”
Over the years, Henriksen’s research has expanded beyond teaching practices to include creativity’s role in design thinking and development, technology, problem solving, and, most recently, its link to mindfulness and meditation.
An intentionally broad approach has helped Henriksen chart a path to connect creativity across different areas of human life, thinking and education.
Henriksen also has taken a more direct role in the practical application of her work, stepping outside her scholarly bounds to turn research into action. On occasion, and with great joy, she has heard directly from educators who have been inspired by her research.
“Sometimes you’ll get an email that doesn’t have an agenda to it. Just somebody on the other side of the world who says they’ve been reading your work, who has been doing these things in their classroom. Those moments pop up here and there, and it’s really affirming and exciting,” Henriksen says.
Henriksen isn’t sure where her work will take her over the next decade. She balks at the idea of committing to one plan, one line of thinking, or one specific area of study. She embraces possibility.
“I’m always looking for an interesting project that I spot in the world, or a good conversation with a colleague that I can write a paper or book with,” she says. “I want to be working on interesting projects related to creativity. I’ve found that staying open to what comes along brings up a lot of cool opportunities.”