bUzZ: a guide to authentic and joyful creative learning

Early in the 2010-2011 school year, the author noticed that the students in his fourth-grade classroom did their best creative work when allowed student agency and choice in a child-centered learning environment, often resulting in an energized cooperative working paradigm they came to refer to as the 'bUzZ'. During the spring semester, the author decided to see if he could ascertain the classroom characteristics that lead to a bUzZ and how it might be sustained once under way. The author found that the bUzZ closely resembled swarm dynamics found in nature, which led him to a whole new understanding of education, how students function within a classroom space and what it means to be a teacher. This article summarizes relevant and correlating research and findings by a classroom teacher to tell the story of how the bUzZ ultimately redefines creativity in education.