Although under attack from some goal-oriented politicians and parents and ofen considered superfluous by school administrators and teachers, free play remains vital to human health and creativity. Contrary to the notion that play should serve utilitarian ends or consist primarily of organized sports, the author makes a case for self-initiated…

The ways to train creative talents are put forward by an analysis of talents-training mode, individual development, creative thinking and the optimization of teaching process.

This essay argues for a paradigm shift in what counts as learning and literacy education for youth. Two related constructs are emphasized: collective Third Space and sociocritical literacy. The construct of a collective Third Space builds on an existing body of research and can be viewed as a particular kind of zone of proximal development. The…

What should families and teachers look for when they choose picture books to help young children overcome their fears of imaginary monsters, dark places, thunderstorms, and dogs? This article provides criteria for assessing picture books and suggests ways to read them in ways that support children's development. (Contains 4 tables.)

This article presents an activity in which students use narrative theory as a conceptual canvas for understanding resumes as autobiographical performances shaped by social and material forces. By asking students to story their lives in both conventional and creative resumes, this assignment invites students to produce autobiographical discourse…

In this article, Gitlin and Peck argue that much of the development of action research has been based on a reconstructed view of science (i.e., a science that is more contextual, less law-like, less causal, but still accurately represents reality and is teacher centered as opposed to researcher centered). In contrast to this reconstructed view of…

Difficulties in understanding symbolism have been documented as characteristic of autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs). In general, virtual reality (VR) environments offer a set of potential advantages for educational intervention in ASD. In particular, VR offers the advantage, for teaching pretend play and for understanding imagination, of it being…

This article examines the creation of novel words by two English-speaking male siblings, ages five- and six-years-old, during a fourteen-month period of weekly play sessions. The questions the article addresses are: Did the boys produce novel words? What types of words? Why were these words created? and Did they become a permanent part of the…

We introduce Lesson Play as an imaginary interaction between teacher and students presented in a form of a dialogue or play. We suggest that lesson plays are a valuable professional development tool in preparing for teaching that can be juxtaposed with, or used as a replacement for, traditional lesson planning. The article begins with an…

In this article, the author discusses how she developed an innovative, interdisciplinary unit in eighth-grade English that links with the history teacher's Civil War studies. When constructing lesson plans, the author needed to rely on her sympathetic connection with students. To determine the best way to help students learn, the author had to ask…

Previously we found in preschool that child-directed pretend play in small playing groups importantly improves cognitive competence in mixed-age environment and that the effect is based on close coupling between affective and cognitive domain. To foster affective and cognitive intertwining, it is reasonable to select the most favored pretend plays…

This article considers the design of poetry within the UK National Curriculum for English, where it is conceived of primarily as a print-based medium. With reference to curricular detail, the recent Ofsted survey of poetry teaching in schools, and to original research, it describes the role the existing curricular conception of poetry can play in…

Early twentieth-century social activist Jane Addams is best known for her work at Hull House, the settlement house she founded with Ellen Gates Starr in 1889. Adams was also a pacifist, storyteller, writer and philosopher. Through her actions, stories, and writing, Addams modeled a philosophy of democracy-in-action based in imagination and…

The aim of the study was to examine how drama fosters children's everyday creativity, its relationship with creative pedagogy, and what teachers can provide for children's development in creativity in an Asian context. A series of drama lessons were designed and taught to two six-grade (11-12 years old) classes by involving pedagogical strategies…

Young Children and the Arts: Nurturing Imagination and Creativity examines the place of the arts in the experiences of young and very young children at home and in out-of-home settings at school and in the community. There is great need for development of resources in the arts specifically designed to introduce babies and toddlers to participatory…