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),…

The monograph presents a variety of language arts teaching ideas for use with gifted students. Teachers are encouraged to expose children to much literature including poetry, folk tales, riddles, fairy tales, "pourquoi" tales, myths and legends, fantasy, science fiction, and biographies and autobiographies. The document offers the SIMMER theory of…

The developer of a one-semester course in creative thinking for university undergraduates, which was later adapted for adult students, describes the course, suggests ways a teacher may unlock blocks to creativity, and offers some learning activities designed to stimulate creativity in any classroom. Selected references are given. (AJ)

Factors that are closely related to creative behavior are also intimately connected with language learning and the ability to communicate in languages other than one's own. These factors are fluency; flexibility; elaboration; originality; sensitivity to problems; and the ability to synthesize and analyze, to reorganize an idea, to handle…

Presents three teacher-preschooler scenarios illustrating teacher actions that hinder creativity and social development. Discusses the connection between psychosocial and creative development in light of Erik Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development. Suggests that teachers need to be flexible, consider children's feelings, foster…

The 25 strategies described in this book can be used to develop personal creativity, student creativity, and creativity in colleagues and staff members. The strategies are based on investment theory, a psychological theory of creativity, but any one strategy is consistent with many other theories. The investment theory of creativity asserts that…

These conference proceedings consider the unique needs of gifted and talented individuals, focusing on state-of-the-art knowledge regarding school reform initiatives, cooperative learning, creative achievement, social-emotional development, differentiated curriculum, charter schools, and parenting issues. Summaries are provided of the following…

Outlines a method to help students through the beginning phases of writing that will also show them the vital relationship between observation and creation. (RL)

This booklet is a teacher's manual that promotes sex equity in elementary school physical education. The first part of the booklet explains the development and effect of sex stereotypes in the classroom. The second part lists games, activities, and sports in which both sexes can participate equally. Appendices include behavior and discipline…

Projects are in-depth studies of a topic undertaken by a class, a group, or an individual child. Projects are intended to strengthen children's dispositions to be interested, absorbed, and involved in in-depth observation, investigation, and representation of worthwhile phenomena in their own environments. This Catalog on the Project Approach, the…

This lecture discusses the creative ability of young children, asserting that educators must cultivate children's creative potential so that these abilities can develop and expand. Early childhood education also needs to take into account children's natural need for rules. (MDM)

In most schools in America little attention is paid to the nurturance of students' creative potential, with emphasis too often placed instead on rote, repetitive learning. The literature contains many suggestions for enhancing creativity in the classroom setting, such as refraining from discounting odd or unusual questions from students, finding…

This paper cites reasons to be optimistic and to be concerned about the creative potential of at-risk and disadvantaged students. Reasons for optimism include the wide distribution of creative potential, the significant role played by motivation in creative performances, and the diverse expression of creativity. Reasons for concern include the…

Ways by which teachers can enhance creativity skills of children in the classroom are addressed in this monograph. An overview of creativity first sets the stage for discussions on the child, curriculum, teacher, and environment. The goal is to show the many faces of the development of creativity in children and to recognize ways to enhance the…

Discusses specific teaching strategies to nurture creativity in young children that guide choice, highlight human potential, and distinguish those activities that help children from those that are more impulsive and less developmental. Suggests that teachers need to encourage a love of work, concentration, self-discipline, and sociability. (MDM)