Previous research indicates that episodic retrieval contributes to divergent creative thinking. However, this research has relied on standard laboratory tests of divergent creative thinking, such as generating creative uses for objects; it is unknown whether episodic retrieval also contributes to domain-specific forms of creativity. Here we start…

The purpose of this qualitative action research study was to examine a published language arts curriculum, determine how Anna Craft's possibility thinking framework could be integrated into the curriculum, and then observe how students responded to the implementation of lessons integrating the elements of possibility thinking. The findings…

This essay considers the relative merits of critical writing and writing in role as a means of enabling and assessing students' responses to literary texts. Drawing largely on the author's experience of teaching "Frankenstein," it argues that the distinction between critical and creative writing is not as absolute as is sometimes…

Disruptions to learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been one of the most concerning consequences of school closures in Australia during 2020. Carefully planned curriculum sequences and learning progressions were flipped into online formats, with teachers having very little time to prepare and students being unused to learning away from each…

The article describes exercises in drama and creative writing to broaden the imaginations of visually handicapped children through stories and poems with a nonvisual imagery. Examples of stories and poems written specifically for the visually handicapped are included. (Author/CL)

Explores the extent to which technology has affected creation and production in modern poetry and concludes that originality of expression has not been lost in the medium of newsprint or advertising text. (DF)

A study examined the relationship between structured imagination and creativity in story writing among 108 undergraduates. Subjects produced paragraphs that were meaningful/original, meaningful/non-original, or non-meaningful/non-original. Results showed that groups 1 and 2 wrote psychologically meaningful stories significantly more than group 3…

A theory of teaching creative writing that involves preconscious learning is presented in this paper. Following a review of the literature on methods of developing writing ability, the paper describes a three-step creative process of preparation (the gathering and study of appropriate materials), incubation (the preconscious absorption and shaping…

Reports of one poet's efforts in elementary classrooms to counteract the misconception of the syllabic nature of haiku. (RL)

Two studies involving 60 graduate and undergraduate students explored the role of structured imagination in story creation. Results indicate representational knowledge was an important influence on story meaning and originality and that meaningful and original stories were more likely to contain abstract concepts than were nonmeaningful and…

In teaching students how to write, the utilitarian aspect does not need to be ignored, but--more important--the imaginative, expressive aspect should be emphasized. Since all writing depends on the full resources of the imagination, students need to be taught how to recreate or vivify people, objects, scenes, and feelings. A process which helps…

Curriculum leaders, program specialists, and teachers can intentionally arouse the activation of one hemisphere of the brain over the other through the use of right brain strategies in language learning. While most functions of the left hemisphere are concerned with convergent production (getting the right answer), functions of the right…

Reviews automaticity, effortless writing that enjoys freedom from excessive conscious interference, in terms of its origins in automatic writing and growth into contemporary techniques. Characterizes automaticity as a (1) form of dissociation from consciousness; (2) succor to spontaneity and creativity; and (3) key to understanding why some…

Discusses three books on language and literature instruction that present humanistic approaches to teaching students how to write, think, and express themselves in a creative manner. (FL)