Second and third grade students used the creative problem solving strategy developed by Sidney Parnes and Alex Osborn in their social studies classes. The second graders, finding few biographies written for students reading on a first or second grade level, interviewed community members, collected photographs of them, and wrote their biographies,…

This presentation addresses the function of education and, in particular, teacher education. Focusing upon the institutions of higher education in Nigeria, questions are raised on the role of the college or university in producing educated persons. It is pointed out that schools of higher education have a responsibility to be aware that…

A writer and educator with an obsession for writing and a concern with the teaching of writing demonstrates how all writing, in many different ways, is autobiographical and that autobiography grows from a few deep taproots that are set down into the past in childhood. Autobiography (described as the way an individual makes meaning out of his or…

Based on the central position of creative and critical thinking as essential learnings common to all areas of study in the Saskatchewan (Canada) schools, this document introduces a theoretical view of creative and critical thought and shows how it can be incorporated into all levels of education. The document begins with an executive summary that…

This thesis examines the formation of thought and the separate functions of the left and right brains, emphasizing the scientific basis of creative thinking. It explains the cause and effect relationship of thought and some possible methods for reconstructing an individual's belief system to produce desired effects. This reconstruction process is…

The study investigates the goals of arts education and measures the learning effects. Since the status of arts education is controversial, the question is, what does arts education provide for children? The report comprises four studies: (1) a review of the various conceptions of arts education advanced in literature; (2) interviews with teachers…

Courses designed to teach problem-solving and creativity, which are relatively new additions to college curricula, are discussed, along with their intellectual foundations and research on these two processes. The teaching of these processes involves the following course goals: teaching a specific subject, generally useful skills, and professional…

The teaching activities presented in this document focus on motivating students in the classroom. The paper describes (1) using stick figures to teach the use of adjectives, (2) using pen names in a covert letter writing project to teach writing skills, (3) increasing creativity in composition topics by brainstorming about ways to use bricks, and…

Author's summary of his book, "Schools Without Failure, released January 1969, Harper & Row.

Isolated examples of creative adaptation show that Jean Piaget's theories of childhood development provide the conscientious teacher with a veritable warehouse of innovative and thought-provoking principles with which to construct a meaningful foundation of language arts experimentation. The elementary Piagetian principles for evoking creativity…

A profile of the attitudes and environment of the child from an impoverished family is drawn, illustrating the factors that inhibit such a child in developing creative problem-solving skills. The attitudes and atmosphere of the poverty home and culture are outlined. It is pointed out that limited vocabulary and low motivation are typical of such…

This project developed as an effort to investigate how the school could become more actively involved in educational innovation. This final report highlights work conducted over the period 1972-75 in the nineteen Organization for Economic Cooperation and Innovation member countries that took part in the project. The first two chapters summarize…

This teaching guide suggesting specific art experiences for preschool and elementary children, is based on the assumption that visual perception is fundamental to learning in any field and that visual thinking (perception) in young children can be facilitated through teaching specific art concepts. More than 200 basic concepts identified,…

The new trend in writing instruction is toward "content area writing"--the rhetorical situations and composing problems that students will face in their non-English courses and in their professions. The focus of content writing instruction should be to prescribe the inventional techniques that are common to all forms of writing, and to…