Teaching students the methodologies used by practicing professionals can increase creative productivity, levels of understanding, and motivation levels of bright students. How-to books can be used to explain these methodologies, by serving a mentor-in-print role, introducing students to new topics and processes, or providing a supplement to the…

Current syllabi and textbooks, in trying to cover every important idea, trivialize them all. The Coalition of Essential Schools believes that students will learn more if teachers are allowed to cover less. The advantages of a slower, thought-provoking curriculum, and recommendations for designing one, are provided. (BJV)

Discusses the importance of thinking, communication, and laughter to a successful and useful student publications program. (SRT)

Determined whether small groups would stimulate creativity more than individualized learning environments for fifth- and sixth-grade students (N=111). Results indicated that small groups were more creative with electrical circuits and that this grouping format should be used in elementary classes. (Author/DH)

Describes an attempt to develop appropriate career skills through the design of a balanced cross modular assignment program and individual cross modular assignments. Explores difficulties associated with development and assessment of such skills. (Author/CH)

One community college schedules two Wednesdays a month as a time for administrators to think creatively, do long-range planning, read professional literature, or catch up on paperwork. Administrators agree not to call each other or schedule meetings during that time. (MSE)

The author explores the arena of decision making peculiar to school administrators. Dilemmas confronting school principals are discussed: (1) conflicting expectations and demands; (2) adversary position of the principal; (3) simultaneous dual interpretations of the school systems; and (4) duality of goals of the educational organization. Modes of…

When we learn, we learn through our own experiences. So when we teach, how do we incorporate our own invaluable life lessons into a state mandated curriculum? Dale Brubaker's "Revitalizing Curriculum Leadership" provides an innovative and liberating solution to this problem. In this updated resource, the author tells why educators need to move…

This paper appraises aspects of Anglo-American and Chinese concepts of invention from a historical perspective. It then describes the results of 70 third-year Taiwanese English majors' responses to a Likert scale questionnaire that sought their reaction to Anglo-American strategies of invention in English academic writing. It singles out two…

This bulletin offers guidelines to help parents and teachers improve the thinking skills of gifted children. It stresses the importance of encouraging thinking through the use of evocative questions, distinguishes between and defines critical thinking and creative thinking, and offers suggested questions to prompt either creative/divergent…

This paper describes how a fourth grade class at a Canadian laboratory school used an approach to knowledge building that had students participating as intentional learners as they specialized in interest groups for their study of light. It examines how, later in the year, the goal of building collective knowledge became the focus for this group…

This book explores what can be accomplished when effective classroom techniques for teaching students to become good thinkers are combined with effective strategies to engage students in thoughtful learning of the regular secondary school science curriculum. The technique of lesson design and instruction that results is called infusing critical…

This digest paper presents strategies and activities that can be used to encourage gifted students to develop their individual talents in the language arts. Suggestions for exploring poetic language especially free verse, include ideas for creating group poems and catalysts for creating individual poems. Suggestions for exploring the elements of…

This monograph deals specifically with the challenge of recognizing or assessing creativity. Following an introductory chapter, chapter 2 focuses on definitions and characteristics of creativity to help clarify the nature and meaning of creativity and creative thinking, and to consider the implications of those definitions for assessment. The…