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This article tells the story of an elementary school math teacher faced with the challenge of preserving a classroom devoted to innovative and creative learning, as his independent day school moved towards standardization and traditional educational approaches. After being informed that his instruction needed to come into closer alignment with the rest of the school he invited his students to brainstorm ways in which they could inconspicuously remain empowered agents of their own learning. The class decided to set aside one hour each week as a time for self-directed learning. During this time they produced math-based carnival games culminating in an event they called ‘Math Palooza’. Reflecting on this experience, the author realized the importance of using critical self-reflection to interrogate the status quo and as a safeguard from falling into habitualized methods of instruction and obsolete forms of curricular design.

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.

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