The jazz ensemble represents an important performance opportunity in many school music programs. Due to the cultural history of jazz as an improvisatory art form, school jazz ensemble directors must address methods of teaching improvisation concepts to young students. Progress has been made in the field of prescribed improvisation activities and…

The purpose of this study was to explore the anxiety and stress-reducing effects of drawing, using different drawing materials by promoting the development of student confidence. The drawing activities were designed to foster the exploration of identity, emotion, and sense of self, while encouraging the exploration of materials and mark making.…

Gifted teenagers in middle and high school benefit from classroom environments that support their social and emotional development. Teachers of gifted adolescents may create classroom environments in which young people know it is safe to be smart and where they feel valued and respected for their intellect, creativity, and passions. By utilizing…

The purpose of the research is to study and change the structure of a mathematical lesson to improve quality of pupils' mathematical training and design mechanisms of inclusion the systems of open type tasks in educational process considering specifics of pupils' creative personality development. The leading method is modeling of a mathematical…

This article arises from an action research investigation that sought to understand the ways in which different approaches to teaching pre-twentieth century literature in Year 9 English lessons might influence students' experiences of texts. It examines the proposition that some students need to have a secure understanding of the text before they…

This paper analyses the cultural practices that were introduced in a radio improv class on the first day of Youth Radio Arts for immigrant students, and how these practices served as resources to mediate students' understanding of, and realisation of 'voice' over time. The theory-method combines insights from interactional ethnography and…

Implicit theories of creativity provide an understanding of attitude towards among different populations, including students. Insights on how students see and define creativity might help to adjust educational settings and thus make it possible to provide students with better conditions to support their creativity. Although many studies have been…

Most teenagers do not really like to be told what to do. For that matter, most adults don't either. This article discusses contemporary artist Oliver Herring's TASK, which is an opportunity for participants to bend or define the rules on their own terms. It is about choice, and, for many, it is a dream come true. TASK is controlled chaos that can…

Jazz band directors tend to face a lot of time constraints in readying their ensembles for performance. Sometimes the race to the stage can result in suboptimal playing, a rhythm section that does not quite gel, or soloists who "blow and hope"--that is, fail to put in the appropriate amount of thought before and during their…

Many teachers struggle with helping their students simultaneously comprehend and retain the information that they read. These classroom educators have students take notes (copious amounts of notes) that neither produces the intended learning effect nor actively engages the student in the learning process. One way to increase retention is through…

Formation of the law-governed state institutions in Russia, development of civil society, need for neutralizing the legal nihilism and generation of public legal culture, state demand for legally competent specialists, representing the public and social value, justify the relevancy of the investigated issue, on the one hand. On the other hand, it…

Digital technology and its many uses form an emerging domain of creative expression for adolescents and young adults. To date, measures of self-reported creative behavior cover more traditional forms of creativity, including visual art, music, or writing, but do not include creativity in the digital domain. This article introduces a new measure,…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the role aural imitation ability, jazz theory knowledge, and personal background variables play in the development of jazz improvisation achievement. Participants (N = 70) included 26 high school and 44 college instrumentalists with varying degrees of jazz improvisation experience. Data were…

When Patricia Ross' high school students at the Phoenix Day School for the Deaf buddied up with elementary school students to improve their reading skills, amazing things happened. As they read to them, Ross' students, who were part of the 2012-2013 Integrated Language Arts and Social Studies program, increased their reading scores and forged…

In this article, the author describes a creative way to demystify contemporary art for students. TASK is artist Oliver Herring's creation, where participants actively interpret instructions found on little pieces of paper--what he calls "tasks." An art classroom has all the key ingredients for a TASK event: (1) people; (2) materials; (3) space;…