Project IMPACT is a locally-initiated, federally-funded attempt to encourage creativity in elementary and secondary classrooms. From a start with nine school districts, it had been extended by its third year to nearly 60 school districts in nine counties. This report covers a one-year inservice program culminating in a 5-week teach-and-study…

This monograph, the third in a series of documents dealing with educational accountability, contains a compilation and an analysis of goal statements available from State departments of education on the direction of public education in America as reflected in State goals. Learner outcome goals are classified under the areas of (1) basic skills;…

The main emphasis of this investigation was to study the relationship of three cognitive styles (response tempo, response style and response ambiguity) of problem solving. A sample of 288 junior high school students participated in the study to ascertain the degree to which each cognitive style contributes to creative problem solving. The…

Presents the problem of teachers who are unwilling to examine critically their teaching practices, evaluate their efficacy, and make changes where necessary in the face of criticism, and suggests that part of the problem lies in the way teacher educators model teaching styles. (JC)

A fundamental obligation of schooling in a democracy is to educate youth in the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that are crucial to an informed and involved citizenry. If schools are to enhance a citizenship based on taking responsibility for one's thinking and actions, imaginative expression and critical thinking must be taught. (RM)

In his recent bestseller The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman argues that countries like the United States can no longer compete in the global economy on the basis of making and selling commodities. Their competitive edge increasingly comes from how well they produce products, services, and technologies that are new . . . special . . .…

Using the children's book "Tops and Bottoms" by Janet Stevens--an adaptation of the classic fable of the Tortoise and the Hare--students are given opportunities to build connections between a problem-solving situation and mathematics and to communicate solutions through writing, symbols, and diagrams. A key concept is to demonstrate to students…

Studied influence of age and research support on frequency of technical innovation and economic growth in United States between 1929-1984. Found research support and age influenced number of patents awarded which, in turn, influenced deviations in gross national product. Concluded that development and maintenance of creative potential needs…

Presents the fifth chapter ("Learning Activity in the Younger School-age Period") of V. V. Davydov's "Problems of Developmental Teaching," published in 1986. Covers the history of learning activity issues and the content and structuring of learning activity. Argues elementary level developmental teaching should promote a…

If teachers and parents genuinely believe that it is educators' responsibility to prepare students for a life of "meeting employers' needs," then teachers have to better examine what it is that they choose to teach students. That is, what should be in the curriculum to ensure that students have the knowledge to prepare them for a life of…

The impact of project-based learning has been shown to be effective in increasing pupil motivation, improving problem-solving skills and thinking skills in studies by Barrows and Williams. "Project Hour" was set up in order to conduct a longitudinal study over the course of one academic year, to observe and record progress and…

The present crisis in education is so severe that to return to the "basics," or simply to improve the standard approach to instruction, will only make the situation worse. Missing is a recognition of the importance of the imagination in the learning process. I. A. Richards (1925) has identified six distinct aspects of the imagination: (1) the…

This handbook enables teachers to proceed from understanding to practical incorporation in the classroom of "Common Essential Learnings," an appropriate and sound pedagogy, based on techniques of questioning, reflection, and dialogue. The "Common Essential Learnings" comprise six categories: (1) communication, which focuses on…

Ethnographic research (1) observes human behavior in its natural setting over a substantial period of time, (2) claims that classes of events are better understood through intensive examination of carefully selected particular cases, (3) incorporates as many of the complexities and variables into a setting as possible, and (4) is usually comprised…

Practical ways in which writing was used in a college level introductory social psychology course are described. Rather than being used almost exclusively as a tool for evaluation, the process of writing was also used as a tool for problem solving and for producing creative and analytical thinking. Writing was integrated into the course in three…