Among 150 eleventh grade American Indian students, those attending urban high schools were significantly more creative than reservation students on 5 of 7 variables of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, Figural Form B. There was no significant difference between groups in academic achievement. Contains approximately 100 references. (SV)

Gifted elementary students at the Center for Gifted Education in Columbia, Missouri, participated in a seminar designed to teach them the fundamentals of chess and other strategy board games. Students learned that beginning chess is accessible to everyone, learned problem solving and concentration, and created their own strategy board games. (JDD)

Presents the study of feminist utopian literature as a means to achieving three goals of feminist education: valuing self-disclosure and personal knowledge; encouraging innovative thinking transcending the traditional world view; and fostering critical awareness and community learning. Provides a selected bibliography of women's utopian fiction.…

Problem-solving strategies which use reflective thinking and inference in mathematics are discussed. Examples are provided with discussions of the learning process. The advantages of this approach are stressed. (CW)

Although increased attention to testing has resulted in improved guidelines for measuring skills and interpreting test results, educators are confused about certain testing problems and appropriate ameliorative strategies. Changing from multiple-choice formats to authentic performances will not reform education. Highly valuable outcomes such as…

The article suggests a method for organizing the research on teaching thinking and provides examples of indicators of teacher performance within various domains (hypothesis testing, argument assessment, problem solving, probabilistic thinking, and flexibility). Examples of empirical evidence supporting each indicator are included. (SM)

Observation of 200 children ages 4 to 19 attending a Massachusetts nongraded alternative school disclosed substantial age mixing. Younger children used older children to develop skills and acquire knowledge. Age mixing encouraged opportunities for creativity, helped match abilities, and fostered older children's sense of responsibility for younger…

Considers how teachers can help students become literate, critical, creative thinkers by aligning curricula, teaching strategies, and instructional resources. Promotes literacy, higher-level thinking, and writing skills through the interdisciplinary approach of combining language and art. Suggests that creating a comic strip stimulates and…

Discussion of combating stereotypes of Native Americans in literature and educational resources focuses on the need to promote information literacy in order to develop students' critical thinking skills that will help with problem solving, decision-making, and creative thinking. Highlights include integrating critical thinking; resources for…

Distinguishes between curiosity, which is seen as a motive to do exploration within definite and generally accepted frames, and wonder, where doubt about the frames themselves is the underlying factor. Argues that educational institutions need to build on both notions, and that wonder often finds expression in philosophical pursuits. (Contains 16…

This article discusses how the World Wide Web can empower students to think creatively, especially the gifted. It profiles 3 Web sites that discuss techniques, games, and strategies for enhancing creative thinking and 13 Web sites that contain information on inventors and inventions to stimulate gifted students. (Contains one reference.) (CR)

There is a childhood saying about a confused dog who thinks he sees a possum in a tree. The problem is that the possum is actually in a different tree so the dog barks up the wrong tree. American education is constantly playing both dog and possum. Sometimes they are the prey, and sometimes they are just confused about what and where the prey is.…

The study of metaphor involves numerous fields in recent history from cognitive neuroscience to linguistics. Visual metaphor research occupies an underrepresented area of inquiry. With the development of the cognitive sciences, a cognitive view of metaphoric thinking is emerging. This calls for a reconsideration of visual metaphor in the…

An important outcome of Singapore's education system is the development of creative thinking skills. This project investigates the impact of a creative dance unit on a class of Primary One (seven-year-old) children's usage of bodily kinaesthetic intelligence to solve problems. One key objective was for the researchers to observe something new,…

Although film and video archives are abundant and inexpensive and contain stories of leaders from a variety of occupations and historical periods, teachers of graduate-level educational administration courses rarely use them in their classrooms. This paper describes the advantages of using film/video as a teaching tool; in particular, its…