In this teacher's guide to the textbook called "Persuasion" the emphasis is on assisting the teacher to develop in his students the skills of critical and creative thinking. Each instructional unit moves from the experience of persuasive techniques, through critical analysis, to the creative practice of the technique in question. Essays on…

The authors have defined process education as the systematic...cultivation of those generalizable and adaptive behaviors which underlie all creative activity and which the learner engages in to acquire, organize, and utilize information and experience for effective problem solving and productive living. The curricula listed in this document are…

The Curriculum Research Institute papers presented here draw upon the behavioral disciplines of psychology, psychiatry, and sociology to examine some aspects of factors affecting the nurturing of individual potential. Although content, scope, and sequence of learning opportunities are central in individual development, other significant influences…

Creative methods of communicating with young children are discussed. In order to communicate through talk, adults must realize that children have a "secret world" with their own language and reasoning and must respect it. Self awareness, patience, understanding, and consistency are necessary for adults to truly communicate with children through…

In a graduate in-service course on creativity in teaching, an exercise in finishing a story was used to see if teachers scored better on three of Guilford's creativity traits (expressional fluency, elaboration, and originality) when working alone or in groups and when provided or not provided with clues. (SJL)

William Glasser demonstrates the principle of conducting a classroom meeting with a third-grade class in an affluent, suburban elementary school. Class meetings stimulate creative and critical thought. They are a tool to help students to begin to think for themselves. (Author)

PAL (Providing Alternatives in Learning) is an in-school enrichment model which provides opportunities for bright elementary students to pursue a curriculum which has been differentiated to meet their needs, interests, and abilities. The school librarian, special education personnel, and school administrators have been essential to the program's…

Identifies five criteria for the selection of picture books, and discusses their potential benefits for children's reading attitudes and skills. The benefits discussed include offering a store of experiences, learning the possibilities of language, gaining an understanding of cultural heritages, developing imagination, and learning about…

Argues that there is a sense of surprise and wonder that can result from looking back at problem solutions and there is a potential for then creating unexpected, even memorable, alternative solutions. Example problems with routine solutions and alternative approaches uncovered while "looking back" at the solution are given. (PK)

Assessed developmental aspects of ideational fluency, flexibility, and originality across five age groups in 316 Chinese who responded in Cantonese to four groups of acoustical stimuli. Comparative American data were collected previously. Results indicated cross-cultural similarity in the expression of originality, based on developmental trends…

Building projects with blocks provide opportunities to foster creative thinking skills. The connection between blocks and thinking how to implement the strategy are included, along with examples. (MNS)

Although information skills are the most basic of skills, the tendency is to teach strategies related to educational projects, erroneously assuming that these "information skills" are applicable to everyday decision-making. Educated imaginations are needed for today's variety of lifelong creative information situations. (17 references)…

Presents rationale for including use of productivity tool software--database management systems, spreadsheets, graphics software, word processing--in classrooms and reviews appropriate strategies for introducing students to these tools. Discussion covers adaptability of these tools to various academic disciplines and illustrates how students…

Describes the components of SEEN, a computer program which provides an environment that prompts the user to create, support, and test an hypothesis, and its applications in an introductory world literature and an art history course. (MBR)

Although critical thinking and developing student confidence are common objectives of courses in laboratory experimentation, a study of one Australian engineering course showed little progress toward these goals and that efforts to develop critical thinking conflicted with development of confidence. More attention to these objectives within course…