Extra credit assignments are often viewed with disdain by educators as opportunities to earn points for students that lack the study skills to do well on exams and quizzes. However, these assignments can serve as a platform for students to apply the course material to their own lives, optimizing their strengths and creativity, and encouraging them…

This theoretical paper is driven by the question, "What does creativity look like in classroom settings?" It is motivated by my past experiences as a teacher: my stories and my students' stories as we struggled together within a restricted classroom environment to create enough space for our creativity to emerge and flourish. I suggest…

"To a great extent, we all must "do" in order to learn." Ellen Lebitz begins with this overarching truth as a lead-in to a close look at handwork in the elementary environment. She explains the benefits of handwork for the second-plane child, including it being a key to helping "even the most distracted children find focus…

This author is quite often described by respected critics and musical peers as one of the finest artists in the world--making the young pianist's mark on music both undeniable and admirable. In this speech he shares his thoughts on improvisation. The ability to improvise is integral to the future of classical music. Classical pianists are still…

"Theatre Applications" was an international conference convened by the Central School of Speech and Drama, London, in April 2010. Framed by the subheading "Performance with a purpose", the call for papers invited contributors to consider how theatre making in different settings can "make a difference" to those who…

Describes potential role of flow experiences in motivating students to learn. Discusses the characteristics of flow: goals are clear, feedback is immediate, skills match challenges, concentration is deep, problems are forgotten, control is possible, self-consciousness disappears, sense of time is altered, and experience becomes autotelic. Then…

An American professor of German recounts his experience getting his university to acquire the necessary computer equipment for computer-assisted foreign language instruction. Such difficulties as acquiring funding, developing an actual program in German, reworking the program, and finally, "selling" the idea to the other language professors, are…

Suggests that those involved in foreign language education need a greater understanding of technology in order not to fall behind the fast moving pace of the microelectronic revolution. Cites inadequate teacher-training programs and a general passivity towards the "electronic learning age" as two of the major obstacles which need to be overcome.…

Considered is the importance of teaching creativity in the field of chemical engineering. Lists major concepts in teaching creativity. Suggests ways of bringing creativity into chemistry instruction. (MVL)

Reviews the problems and strengths of an English for Science and Technology teacher-training course at the University of Chile (Santiago). Since most students come to the course with a humanities background, coupled with a "traditional" or "general" English background, they have the following types of problems: attitudinal,…