  In education there exists a tension between two modes of learning:
traditional lecture-based instruction and more tinkering-based creative
learning. In this paper, we outline our efforts as two Ph.D. students (who are
skilled in visualization but are not, importantly, professionally trained
visualization experts) to implement creative learning activities in an
information visualization course in our home department. We describe our
motivation for doing so, and how what began out of necessity turned into an
endeavor whose utility we strongly believe in. In implementing these
activities, we received largely positive reviews from students, along with
constructive feedback which helped us iteratively improve the activities.
Finally, we also detail our future plans for turning this work into a formal
design inquiry with students to build a new class centered entirely around
creative learning.
