Rhythm tap is sweeping the nation as an outlet for self-expression. Also known as "jazz tap" or "percussive tap," this art form's dominant focus is musicality, improvisation, simple-to-complex rhythms, and new styles. It reaches beyond technique and serves as an outlet for self-expression, independence, and spontaneity. Rhythm tap incorporates an…

Teaching has often been thought of as a creative performance. Although comparisons with performance were originally intended to emphasize teacher creativity, they have become associated instead with contemporary reform efforts toward scripted instruction that deny the creativity of teachers. Scripted instruction is opposed to constructivist,…

An essential element in successful psychotherapy involves helping clients become more creative in their approach to their problems. While Otto Rank, one of the pioneers of psychoanalysis, loosely alluded to this as a fitting goal, it was the inventor of psychodrama, Jacob L. Moreno, MD (1889-1974), who made this an explicit objective of the…

All teaching artists have taken unexpected detours that lead to miracles. They have all created magical experiences in which people are too engaged to notice the incredible amount they are learning. As a TA, one searches for "serious play"--purposeful fun that stimulates exhilarating work and genuine learning. But how does it happen? How do TAs…

A leading TA and writer speaks to the human importance of art making in schools, prisons, and beyond. This article attempts to demonstrate that, as human beings and as artists, we should speak up for nourishing the art-making instinct at its core, and not only for placing this gift in the service of other laudable goals.

Life involves a myriad of skills. Most of the basic skills are undeniably "classics" such as communication and problem solving. The interpretation and delivery of these skills has morphed into a complicated science, with the changing social environment and the growing prevalence of technology in our everyday existences. Commonplace technology, as…

Drawing on socio-cultural theory, this paper focuses on children's classroom-based collaborative creative writing. The central aim of the reported research was to contribute to our understanding of young children's creativity, and describe ways in which peer collaboration can resource, stimulate and enhance classroom-based creative writing…

Studies on the development of creativity have highlighted the impact of learning environments. In particular, pedagogical approaches are hypothesized to differ concerning their emphasis on individual initiative, and action-based learning. A semi-longitudinal study was conducted during two consecutive years with 210 children in elementary schools…

Objective: The objective of this paper is to present the practical use of a Mandala that: 1) provides opportunities for athletic training students to explore, reflect on and appreciate their clinical experiences; 2) provides educators with a model to understand and value athletic training student experiences; 3) organizes and captures factors and…

Supervisors can use a wide range of skills and exercises when terminating counseling supervision with supervisees at the end of a practicum class. This article presents an experiential creative activity, the Wisdom Jar, as a metaphor for discussing specific lessons with supervisees. The use of creativity and the integration of symbols and…

The geography education literature touts the World Wide Web (Web) as a revolutionary educational tool, yet most accounts ignore its uses for public communication and creative expression. This article argues that students can be producers of content that is of service to local audiences. Drawing inspiration from the community networking movement,…

A basic premise of this essay is that music education practice is a form of--a broadly conceived notion of--political practice insofar as it creates situations where specific meanings are produced, attitudes built, identities shaped, and hierarchies of musical and social values constructed. Every music education practice expresses, and at the same…

Artworks that are circular in nature are often referred to as mandalas. "Mandala" means center, circle, or circumference. Mandalas are created in many cultures for a variety of reasons, most of which are related to self-expression, ritual, and religion. In this article, the author describes how her students created mandalas. She also provides…

This article presents a dialogue with Monte Joffee. Joffee has been an active leader in the small school and charter school movements in New York City for over 20 years. He is a cofounder of The Renaissance Charter School in New York City and served as its founding principal (1993-2007). In this dialogue, Joffee articulates the ways in which…

Students and teachers inevitably enter classrooms with differing expectations and experiences; those differences provide opportunities for both conflict and growth. This article examines this phenomenon in an undergraduate teacher education course on reading instruction at the middle-school level, presents case studies of students' improvisations…