The Improvising Teacher offers a radical reconceptualization of improvisation as a fundamental element of teacher expertise. Drawing on theories of improvisation and expertise alongside empirical research, the book argues that teacher expertise is fundamentally improvisatory. The book provides a theoretical model for teacher expertise that is…

This design case introduces a design and development process of using magic performance as a method to facilitate students' creative design thinking in user-centered design. Magic performance is used not only as a creativity stimulus for facilitating design flexibility but also as a guiding tool for facilitating the design process. Specifically,…

The purpose of this article is to introduce an action-oriented framework aimed at clarifying and promoting a principled approach to creativity in education. A principled approach to creativity refers to the design and implementation of positive creative educational endeavors, which are guided by a set of agreed-upon commitments aimed at making a…

How might teachers transform routine tasks into non-routine ones? The purpose of this article is to address this question. The article opens with a discussion of why non-routine problems require creative and original thought. Specifically, I discuss how non-routine problems require students to confront uncertainty and how uncertainty can serve as…

This article addresses how theatrical improvisation can be used as a creative teaching tool to develop English language learners' listening and speaking skills, to create an environment that encourages them to use the target language, and to gain confidence in their own abilities and experiences to become successful English speakers. Improvisation…

Creative instruction across the curriculum is a critical pillar of the Creative Learning Initiative (CLI). This research brief summarizes key results from the full report (published separately), the second in a series of three on CLI, shares teacher's reactions to training in Creative Teaching, how and why they use it in the classroom, and how…

National research shows that students attending arts-rich schools have higher levels of motivation and better academic and social success. This two-page research brief summarizes key points from the full report (published separately), the first in a series of three on the Creative Learning Initiative, is used to track the progress of our…

Creativity has and always will be at the heart of American culture. It is evidenced in our daily lives thanks to the contributions of society's most revered icons. For decades, creativity has languished in the educational system. Creativity is not the norm in schools, and seems to only survive in classrooms or enrichment programs when highly…

Historically, music programs in K-12 schools have emphasized performance opportunities for children and young people. Until the release of the 1994 National Standards in Music, targeted instruction in composition was frequently overlooked due to the emphasis on performance as well as the expectations of what a school music program ought to produce…

In elementary school, the use of repetitive songs to help children remember concepts is commonplace and is usually very effective. Unfortunately for many students, this strategy is generally not used in later grades. A group of mathematics teachers at Westerville South High School in Westerville, Ohio, have taken this approach to a new creative…

Art educators are concerned with exposing their students to contemporary art making practices. They aim to create fresh lessons that expand their understandings of art in today's world while highlighting the importance of imagination. With a personal interest in performance and street art (art forms that have gained popularity in recent years),…

In the authors' science classrooms, students respond favorably and with more enthusiasm when they engage them with doing activities and building their own connections, as opposed to simply listening to or reading about the important concepts. Creative activities are important in science classrooms because creativity is not only an integral…

Mindful of the fact that one of the most important ingredients in learning to write in a foreign language is motivation, the authors have experimented in their classes with a wide range of exercises from a very useful source: Gianni Rodari's "Grammatico della Fantasia: lntroduzione all'arte di inventare storie" (Torino: Piccola Biblioteca Einandi,…

Educators know that students create better projects when they are personally invested in the material. The rewards are particularly significant when students can exercise some degree of creativity in the process of developing their projects. One tried-and-true avenue for creative expression is through the use of stories or narratives. Simply…

Street intersections are a source of accidents--for both automobiles and pedestrians. This article presents an intersection challenge that allows students to explore some possible ways to change the traditional intersection. In this challenge, teachers open up the boundaries and allow students to redesign their world. The first step is to help…