Describes a six-week seventh-grade project in which students create their own continent. The project helps students learn about weather and climatic patterns, use map scales and legends, describe relationships between natural resources and human activities, solve problems, and work effectively in groups. (Author/KC)

Among findings were that almost twice as many Japanese students preferred the intuitive approach to solving problems, and 27 percent of Japanese students regarded themselves as more intellectual than creative compared to 49 percent of American students studied. Preference by the Japanese students for verbal modes of learning as compared to their…

Two studies were conducted, one using 80 university students and the other 140 fifth through seventh graders, to examine the relationship between problem-solving strategies (leaping and flexibility) and measures of insight and scholastic aptitude. Relationships among insight, leaping, and quantitative scholastic aptitude were found. A…

Presents materials and methods that maintain student interest and encourage them to think creatively, develop mathematical reasoning, and look at problems from different perspectives, all within an open-ended approach to problem solving. Includes questions for discussion. (KHR)

Presents an experimental study conducted at the University of Twente (Netherlands) that investigated the learning effectiveness of concept mapping for computer-supported collaborative problem solving. Highlights include group interaction; shared cognition; knowledge acquisition; learning effectiveness; retention; creativity; and distributed…

Differences were investigated between communication behaviors of small groups trained or not trained in creative problem-solving. The 110 members of groups trained in problem solving participated more, criticized ideas less, supported ideas more, exhibited more verbal and nonverbal indications of humor, and produced more ideas than the 90…

Integrating art into the curriculum engages most students, enhances their creative expression, and benefits them academically. Even bored, rebellious, and unmotivated students respond to the arts. Elliot Eisner and other discipline-based art education proponents feel the arts are central to enjoyable learning. Exemplary K-12 programs are…

This article outlines goals and techniques that can be used to seek and employ intuitive skills for improved decision making. The article describes the Brain Skill Management program, which helps organizations identify intuitive talent resources and needs, integrate this talent with traditional management approaches, and develop intuitive talent…

Forty-eight seventh grade children were divided into four groups based on creative thinking scores and intelligence scores. On some measures of problem solving, imagery, and mathematics, highest scores were achieved by the high-intelligence/high-creativity group. For other assessments, creativity did not add to performance and even appeared to…

This article considers the nature of creativity in industrial and business settings, describes the Manchester (England) Business School Creativity Unit, models creativity in systems terms, reviews action research of the 1970s, and identifies recent areas of research at Manchester including creativity blocks and the impact of creativity training in…

The Future Problem Solving (FPS) Program assists students in acquiring better thinking, communicating, and problem-solving skills. Concepts built into the FPS process include the freedom to elaborate, respect for others and their ideas, providing a problem-solving framework, considering global concerns, and encouraging students to think about…

Reviews current research in the application of the Neo-Piagetian theory of Pascual-Leone and shows how it provides the science teacher new implements. Hypothesizes that the role of the environment and creativity, if emphasized adequately, can help make science instruction more effective. (Contains 45 references.) (PR)

Introduces an activity on arthropod genetics that involves phenotype and genotype identification of the creature and the construction process. Includes a list of required materials and directions to build a model arthropod. (YDS)

Draws on six instances in which students were engaged in improvisational musical composition with peers and/or a teacher in music classroom settings. Offers an analysis of the creative process and product. Discusses the findings and the role of shared understanding in empowering independent musical thinking. (CMK)

One of the major issues related to teaching an introductory programming course is the excessive amount of time spent on the language's syntax, which leaves little time for developing skills in program design and solution creativity. The wide variation in the students' backgrounds, coupled with the traditional classroom (one size-fits-all) teaching…