Although many students simply do not visualize or draw very well, most students have capabilities and potentials that they, and perhaps their professors, are overlooking. Once elementary representations are mastered, it may be that drawing becomes progressively less of a learning tool as one moves through the educational system. But there is…

This paper discusses the use of different media for art instruction and creative activities with preschoolers at the Reggio Emilia preschools in Italy. Drawing made with markers, paper constructions, clay sculpture, and wooden constructions are all used to deepen children's understanding of a particular theme or concept. Typically, a small group…

There is a growing recognition of the way in which instruction can be enriched by engagement with narrative, and teachers can learn much from studying interactions between parents and children where the activity seems unforced and enjoyable and where parent and child seem most in harmony. Such a pair are three-year-old Anna and her mother, who is…

The concept of intellectual property rights (defined as the creative work of some unknown dimension) is put into the perspectives in this speech of the individual involved, the educational institution, and the general public. Such concerns are ethical implications, incentives, costs, quality, change and innovation, impact on lifelong learning…

The central thesis of the paper is that there are beneficial outcomes derived from engagement in the process of creating instructional materials, quite apart from the benefits to those who use the materials later. Of the three stages in materials production--design, development, and dissemination--this paper highlights the development stage by…

This paper reports on one dimension of a longitudinal study that researched the impact on student creativity of a unique intervention program for elementary (year 6 and year 7) students. The intervention was based on the Australian National Profile and Statement for the curriculum area of Technology. The intervention program comprised…

This paper discusses creativity in young children and what teachers can do to support and promote it. Topics addressed in the paper include: (1) teacher interest in promoting creativity; (2) defining creativity; (3) creativity in the socioemotional domain; (4) the relationship between creativity and empathy for others; (4) bibliotherapy; (5)…

The new medium of computer-aided design requires changes to the creative problem-solving methodologies typically employed in the development of new visual designs. Most theoretical models of creative problem-solving suggest a linear progression from preparation and incubation to some type of evaluative study of the "inspiration." These…

The arts are basic educational processes that involve students with different abilities and from differing age groups in sensory perception. This perception, augmented by the use of art compositions, establishes a critical dialogue between the medium and the viewer. What one views, sees, and observes in an art piece serves to create a…

Cultural diversity in the classroom provides the opportunity for children to learn about the customs, clothes, and languages of other countries. Various art forms offer a vehicle for boys and girls to communicate in nonverbal play. A "two-faced" happy-sad puppet provides a nonverbal means for very young or nonnative speaking children to indicate…

To encourage children's creative writing in a classroom setting, student teachers used two types of children's books as models: (1) a traditionally structured picture book in which the story maintains strong development of plot, setting, and characters as in "Peter Rabbit"; and (2) a predictable pattern book that develops a repetitive pattern as…

To provide a differentiated language arts program to meet the needs of highly able and gifted readers and to encourage interest in reading and the development of state reading goals, students in the sixth grade of a middle school in Maryland were grouped by ability for their language arts/reading classes. Students were exposed to a wide variety of…

Adult and continuing education in the arts can and does play a role in the development of cultural identity. Dimensions of culture include ethnicity, location, age, social class, and time. This definition of culture leads to the conclusion that cultures are generally small and are dynamic rather than static. Research shows that individuals in what…

This paper begins by examining various aspects of children's and young people's reading ability and the new media, including children's media use and ownership, as well as multicultural aspects. The way public libraries see their role in the teaching of media skills is then considered, including well-developed reading ability as a prerequisite of…

Although the concepts of "droit d'auteur" (author's right) and copyright derive from different traditions, they are nearly synonymous in that both protect original works of the mind against reproduction or representation made without consent of the author or the author's successors in title. Implications of the electronic age for both of…