In this short TED Talk Nalini Nadkarni challenges viewers to change the way they think about seemingly static objects like trees and prisons. What I took away from the talk was a reminder of how important physical and visual settings are on a person’s psyche.

Applications for Education
I have a colleague who keeps live plants in his classroom. After watching this talk and reflecting on my colleague’s classroom, I think I’m going to try that this year too.

Here are some related items that may be of interest to you:
Sir Ken Robinson – Bring on the Learning Revolution
TED Talk – Creativity and Play
Math Class Needs a Makeover