Nell Daniel

Doctoral Fellow in Teaching and Learning

For Nell Daniel, creativity is not just a prized product of the imagination.  She believes it is "an undervalued learning tool that can inspire minds and motivate critical thinking."  A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Daniel sees herself as an "artist educator able to build bridges between education reform and art institutions.

Daniel is interested in alternative teaching and learning models, particularly those that take place outside of the traditional classroom. She has coordinated several initiatives for PASE, The Partnership for After School Education.   "Students who engage in quality after school programs tend to perform at a higher level academically as well as function better socially and emotionally.  After school programs have more informal learning environments, larger blocks of time, and operate without pressures of testing and union regulations.  This learning environment gives teachers more flexibility to shape programs to address needs of the whole child."

Daniel is also currently working as a consultant to the New Design High School in New York City which espouses an experimental approach to education that places design in all of its incarnations and ramifications in the forefront of its curriculum. "When you talk about the way things are made and try to recreate them it's a great way to encourage kids to engage in the educational process and expand their thinking."

"It is clear to me now," Daniel reflects," that creativity alone will not generate effective models that will serve low-income youth within the current landscape of education.  Innovative but reliable solutions require a foundation of history, research methods and theory in the field I plan to pursue. "