One of the best parts of our work at the New England Institute for Teacher Education is watching educators continue to learn. Long after they’ve become accomplished teachers, they keep asking questions, exploring new ideas, and looking for ways to grow. That commitment to lifelong learning is part of who we are as a community. It shows up in our classrooms, in conversations between colleagues, and in the work our instructors and students bring back to their schools every day. This year, two members of our NEI community reached significant milestones that remind us what professional learning can look like and how far its impact can reach.
When Dr. Lindsay Stewart earned her Ph.D. from Lesley University, she marked the completion of years of research, reflection, and creative exploration. She dedicated her dissertation to her children, recognizing the role they played in inspiring her journey. It is a powerful reminder that our deepest learning is often connected to the people and experiences that shape us.
Lindsay’s research explored something every educator has witnessed but perhaps struggled to describe: what happens when creativity becomes central to learning rather than an activity on the sidelines.
Working with children and teachers in Kajiado, Kenya, she invited participants to express themselves through drawing, poetry, music, movement, photography, collage, and storytelling. Together, they explored how creativity shapes learning, confidence, relationships, and wellbeing.
Her research found that when learners are given opportunities to create, they develop more than artistic skills. They build empathy. They discover agency. They become more willing to take risks, solve problems, and imagine possibilities that extend beyond the classroom. Even in environments with limited resources, creativity became a pathway to resilience, curiosity, and joy.
One outcome of the study is a framework Dr. Stewart calls the Zone of Creative Confidence, a way of understanding how creative experiences help learners develop the confidence to think, explore, and grow.
The questions at the heart of Dr. Stewart’s research also shape the learning experiences she creates for educators. In Encountering the Arts: Choice, Voice, and Creativity, participants explore how the arts can deepen learning, strengthen student voice, and inspire new ways of thinking. Click here to learn more about the upcoming Winter Semester offering.
That same belief in learning through relationships and shared purpose is reflected in another member of the NEI community. Former NEI student, Enos Magaga, recently graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, adding another chapter to a journey that has already connected educators across continents.
Over the past several years, Magaga has helped strengthen partnerships between schools in Maine and Kenya, bringing together teachers through arts-integrated STEM learning and professional development. What began as conversations between educators has grown into lasting relationships built on trust and shared learning. Today, that work is expanding into broader educational and diplomatic partnerships, while keeping Maine at the heart of the collaboration.
Magaga’s journey from NEI student to Harvard graduate and education leader shows the lasting impact of continued learning. The work educators do to grow themselves often reaches far beyond their own classrooms, shaping the opportunities and experiences of others along the way.
At New England Institute, we are fortunate to learn alongside educators who continue to challenge themselves, pursue new ideas, and generously share what they discover. Their work enriches classrooms far beyond our own and strengthens a community that believes teaching is a profession of continual growth.
Congratulations to Dr. Lindsay Stewart on earning her doctorate and advancing our understanding of creativity, imagination, and learning.
Congratulations to Enos Magaga on his graduation from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and on the inspiring work he continues to do in building bridges between educators around the world.
As we celebrate these milestones, they also invite us to reflect on our own journeys as educators. Where is your learning leading you? What questions are you still curious enough to pursue? How are your students, colleagues, and community shaping the educator you are becoming?
One thing these stories have in common is a willingness to keep learning. The teachers who leave a lasting impression are often the ones who are still asking questions themselves. That openness has a way of reaching beyond the teacher, inviting students and colleagues to keep learning, too.
What’s capturing your curiosity these days?