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This is our second book in the series Creative Education. In the first one, Dealing with Emotions: A Pedagogical Challenge to Innovative Learning, we reflected on emotions and education from multiple perspectives: the socio-cultural perspective that looks at interactions among individuals, the creation and recreation of the self and others, the study of collaboration, change processes (transformative learning) and aesthetic and creative learning in order to reflect on students’ and educators’ emotional responses.

This section provides an overview of research on creativity in mathematics education: Koestler’s understanding of creativity, the role of creativity with mathematics students, especially those who do not view themselves as gifted and a discussion on the how to support a creative learning environment within the mathematics classroom.

The chapter is the description of the teaching experiment designed to integrate cognitive and affective components of learning, supported by self-regulating learning practices, whose objective has been the reversal of the culture of failure through the development of student ownership of learning and enjoyment of mathematics.

Having understood the role of negative affect in blocking student access to their own, as she would put, excellence, Prabhu et al. started the process of Creative Learning Environment design through several routes. First, she deconstructed concept of didactic contract to eliminate the ambiguity present in the term it acquired since the important work of Brusseau.

The bisociative framework of the Teaching research method supports a creative learning environment (CLE) in the classrooms. The essential goal of our teaching research team was to design research in our respective classes, which promotes creating learning environment. In the different chapters of the Unit 2, Vrunda Prabu gave several examples of CLE in her classes that she had provided to improve learning.

As Heathcote believed over two decades ago, many educators today still believe we need to find new keys, new ways of working and thinking, to make learning engaging for students and change the dominant modes of teaching in classrooms. While each generation needs to rediscover what might work for them, the journey of researching this book, and hopefully for you as a reader, is to realise that there are certain features and characteristics of powerful practice that remain potent across eras and contexts.