The purpose of this study is to explore a theoretical idea in relation to a body of empirical material from a reading activity involving a picturebook on shadow. The theoretical idea, sprung from variation theory, entails children's discernment through synchronic simultaneity as a key to their ability to imagine. To explore this idea, an analysis…

In this article, we describe a year-long superhero storytelling project we facilitated with youth in a midwestern middle school. In this project, students read "Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spiderman," designed superhero stories set in their community, and presented artistic representations of their stories to their families and peers. We…

This article argues for a reconceptualisation of early childhood education, where learning and development are not only valued by outcome, and aims to investigate how aesthetic processes are organised in ways for the children to be inspired, to compare, explore, and play. Inspired by a Vygotsky perspective and his theories of play, imagination,…

This article discusses four exemplary activities to highlight imaginative approaches that encourage critical literacy: building a jackdaw, responding to text through multimodal journaling, engaging in dramatic roleplay, and practicing multi-genre writing. Each activity connects imaginative approaches to critical literacy as learners view the world…

This article aims to provide insights of social justice awareness in young children's pretend play (2-6 years old) involving shopping activities in the nursery and the children's museum. Previous literature acknowledges the importance of grocery exhibits and relevant learning centres in the cognitive and socio-cultural development of children, but…

This study investigated the role of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools in facilitating informal digital English learning activities among second language (L2) learners in a Chinese context. It explored how factors like learners' ideal L2 self-imagination, international posture, and perceptions of information quality influence their…

This design case centers around a creative assignment given to graduate students studying instructional design. The goal of the assignment is to facilitate mastery of learning theories through the theory-based evaluation of an instructional product, using both research and imagination. By applying learning theories in a practical and engaging…

Scientific imagination plays an important role in learning science. The ways students interact with the learning activities in different classroom contexts can reflect their learning abilities. This research aimed to promote scientific imagination of lower secondary school students using a science learning activities package. The participants were…

The opposition between learning as a process of self-cultivation ("Bildung") and learning as a form of vocational training for the workplace ("Ausbildung") is becoming ever more deeply entrenched in the twenty-first-century university. In language education in particular, the distinction between these two competing aims…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of using video-enhanced activity schedules on a laptop on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of schedule following, and pretend play skills in children with ASD. In addition, social validity data were collected from the teachers and the mothers of the participating children. Four…

The mobility of peoples and their settlement in our country has created a new dynamic in dealing with population groups with particular linguistic, cultural and social characteristics. At the same time, it brought to the fore the case of the Roma, who have been active in Greece for decades without being fully integrated into the social and…