Thinker, Learner, Dreamer, Doer

Born in Liverpool, England, Peter is the co-author, with Jane Daly, of The Wonder Wall: Leading Creative Schools and Organizations in an Age of Complexity, 2017, Corwin, foreword by Sir Ken Robinson; and Thinker, Learner, Dreamer, Doer: Innovative Pedagogies for Cultivating Every Student’s Potential, April, 2022, Corwin, fore­word by Yong Zhao. An insightful, entertaining, and knowledgeable speaker, presenter, and consultant, Peter brings decades of academic research, experience, and insightful knowledge, gleaned from his award-winning career as a teacher and administrator at all levels of the education system. Through his presentations, workshops, books, YouTube channel, and website, he explores learning, leadership, and innovation and their impact on individual and organizational health and culture. Peter has worked across Canada and throughout many parts of the world, showing students, educators, administrators, schools, districts, com­panies, and policy makers how to foster that vibrancy in their own organizations. Through the course of his work and research, Peter has captured the voices of hundreds of students and adults alike, video clips that provide unique and insightful glimpses into the lived world of our classrooms, schools, and organizations. These clips also provide criti­cal insight as to how we might imagine our learning cultures in a way that reawakens the brilliance that lies in all of us, with a central focus on individual, group, and organizational well-being. An adjunct professor with the University of Ottawa, Peter has been the recipient of many awards throughout his forty-year career. In 2013, he was awarded the Distinguished Leadership Award by the Ontario Public Supervisory Officers’ Association for the work he led in Learning, Leadership and Creativity with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. In 2015, he was awarded the Global Distinguished Leadership Award by the Alberta Teachers’ Association. In 2020, he cofounded the Canadian Network for Imagination and Creativity, @CNIC, which holds monthly IdeaJams on a wide range of topics—and which evoke lots of lively interactive conversation. Although Jane’s career took her into the marketing and communications world, she was always fascinated by the field of education and the seeds of potential in every individual—especially when one of her own sons had difficulty reading and thus became “a problem to be solved.” She has worked on numerous communications projects for educational institutions and has taught at the college level. She has often observed the chal­lenges and opportunities that both educational organizations and businesses share when it comes to organizational learning. Jane was happy to join Peter Gamwell as coauthor for The Wonder Wall: Leading Creative Schools and Organizations in an Age of Complexity and again with Thinker, Learner, Dreamer, Doer: Innovative Pedagogies for Cultivating Every Student’s Potential. Jane freelances as a communications strategist and commercial writer by day and enjoys fiction writing by night, as well as spending time with her husband John, and their kids and grandkids, at the small MacLaren’s Landing beach community outside of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

List of Videos
Foreword by Yong Zhao
Chapter 1: Thinker, Learner, Dreamer, Doer: Innovative Pedagogies for Cultivating Every Student′s Potential
Chapter 2: The Uncomfortable Chapter
Chapter 3: What is Brilliance?
Chapter 4: Seeds of Yesteryear: Jesus Christ Superstar
Chapter 5: Fiona′s Story: Finding Fertile Ground
Chapter 6: Rebecca′s Story: The Courage to Do Things Differently
Chapter 7: Blue Sky School: Rooted in Innovation
Chapter 8: Road Trip: Seeds Take Flight
Chapter 9: Golden Hills: Seeds Take Root
Chapter 10: Mud Lake and Carseland: Where Learning Comes Naturally
Chapter 11: Odyssey′s North Star: How to Build a Strong Community
Chapter 12: The But, But, But, But Chapter: Assessment & Evaluation