Purpose: The purpose of this article is to summarise key literature related to the Foundation for Learning and Literacy's Touchstone 4 (creativity, the arts and imagination). Design/methodology/approach: This article reviews a selection of relevant studies exploring the contributions of creativity, imagination and the arts to traditional literacy…

In this era of rapid development in multimedia and technology, there is a growing awareness of the use of multiple semiotic resources in meaning-making (Fei, 2004). Music videos specifically harbor meaning within their semiotic features of visual communication. They also exert an enormous influence on the popularity of music (Fei, 2004). Music…

Dewey (1934) defined reflection as "the kind of thinking that consists in turning a subject over in the mind and giving it serious and consecutive consideration" and argued that reflective thought should be an educational aim. Today the importance of reflective thought for students, teachers, and teacher candidates is recognized. Within…

Guided looking, even done informally, has a huge impact on early childhood preparation for elementary school and is an effective way to address learning inequities. Why, therefore, does it play such a small role in schooling'? This is a question that occupied Philip Yenawine during his long career working in art museums, where the adults, once…

To serve children with language impairments (LI), speech language pathologists and other educators need approaches supported by evidence (Hoffman et al., 2013). In evidence-based practice (EBP), educators integrate children's needs, strengths, interests, and preferences with research and expertise (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association,…

Literacy literate has become a contested and dynamic concept in the 21st century (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro & Cammack, 2004). Images are increasingly a primary means of communication and they have been emancipated and democratised in the post-literate age. Images are accessible, and are being endlessly reproduced and manipulated on a scale never seen…

Describes an evaluator's experiences in three art workshops for fourth graders at the Carnegie Museum of Art. Workshop participants demonstrated significant intellectual growth and visual learning. (AM)

Discusses current changes in the structures of British art education in light of the 1988 Education Reform Act (ERA), and describes the use of microcomputers to develop visual sensitivity and skills. A test model is discussed which examines an experiential approach toward the teaching, evaluation, and interpretation of color theory. (five…

Focuses on works of art that are dreamlike and surrealistic and include visual contradictions. Includes four reproductions of artworks with information about the works of art and the artists. Explains that the four pictures will stimulate students' creativity. (CMK)

Discusses the use of the Rainbow Solfege system with early elementary aged children. Uses color-coding to connect the teaching of music notation symbols with aural solfege. Addresses the use of color in teaching music and how to use the system. (CMK)

Explains that looking at a picture book as a work of art entails that one explores the relationship between images, the combination and arrangement of images, style and story, use of color, the relationship between the meaning of the text and images, and the form of the book. (CMK)

Offers case studies of "problem" students who have been motivated to learn through their interest in and talent for artistic expression. Suggests ways teachers can channel students' interests in productive ways; e.g., Individual Idea Logs (to record fantasies, doodles, inventions) and five-minute drawing breaks. (DMM)

The goal of an introductory graphics course is fundamental visual literacy, which includes learning to appreciate the power of visuals in communication and to express ideas visually. Traditional principles of design--the focus of the course--are based on more fundamental gestalt theory, which relates to human pattern-seeking behavior, particularly…

The arts program in the Attleboro, Massachusetts, public schools is an interdisciplinary attempt to communicate the basic knowledge structures used in most subjects through nonverbal visual means. An evaluative study showed Attleboro seventh graders' gains in visual concepts as significantly higher than those of traditionally taught students. (JM)

Deals with differences between drawing in art class and in other subjects. Points out that the latter are considered serious learning while learning promoted by art class is often dismissed. Advocates both rational analysis of art and the imaginative extension of such rational art as maps and diagrams to promote visual literacy. (KO)