Describes activities in which K-12 social studies students (1) imagine the consequences of decisions and policies, and (2) imagine the consequences of new personal and social possibilities. Sample activities are offered for geography, world history, sociology, U.S. history, and civics. The authors include suggestions for student evaluation and…

Two studies involving 60 graduate and undergraduate students explored the role of structured imagination in story creation. Results indicate representational knowledge was an important influence on story meaning and originality and that meaningful and original stories were more likely to contain abstract concepts than were nonmeaningful and…

This article focuses on the enchantment of the Harry Potter series in the development of gifted imagination, self-concept, and worldview in light of Bruno Bettelheim's work, "The Uses of Enchantment." As the processes are discussed, suggestions to guide parents and teachers in facilitating them are included. (Contains references.)…

Questions why imagination is not brought into mainstream education as a cornerstone of learning and why education frequently makes students incapable of relating to what is alive and meaningful within themselves. Without imagination, it is impossible to experience the infinite qualities of our senses, nor to shape our thoughts and images of these…

Responding to a definition of creativity, 449 Chinese language teachers identified imagination foremost, followed by inspiration and original ideas as a component of effective writing. Teachers identified developing student confidence and providing an open atmosphere as essential means of fostering creativity. The majority of teachers, however,…

Challenges the notion evident in discourse about children and television that fantasy and make-believe are self-evidently appropriate genres for children and that children are more imaginative than adults. Draws from social psychology and anthropology theories to argue that fantasy and imagination are basic to the way that all humans organize…

This article presents a model to evaluate the imagination and creativity of strategic planners. Characteristics recommended for strategic planners include the cognitive styles of extroverted, intuitive, feeling, and perceptive; marginal personality orientation, which allows for an open-minded viewpoint with integrative skills; internal locus of…

A New York-based nonprofit educational organization, the Touchstone Center, creates interdisciplinary arts programs in public schools that stimulate the imaginative process. When the natural world is used as a context for imaginative thought, and when children use their innate capacity for wonder and imagination, a new interest in learning often…

The purpose of this study is to explore elementary students' views of (NOS) to see how well they align with national reform recommendations (AAAS, 1993; NRC, 1996). Using an open-ended questionnaire coupled with one-on-one interviews of fourth-grade students conducted at the end of the school year, the researchers explored students' understandings…

Learning through the arts has the potential to stimulate open ended activity that encourages discovery, exploration, experimentation and invention, thus contributing to children's development in all areas of learning and helping to make the curriculum meaningful to them. In this book, the author draws on her extensive experience of promoting young…

The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of classroom activities to enhance children's imaginations could improve their creative abilities. Subjects included 25 fifth-grade students in the Grand Forks, North Dakota, school district. Students were given the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking and were provided with materials designed…

Expressing the imagination dramatically is a step toward refining and shaping thought and behavior. Imagination is a part of the complex interaction of thought and action and has a place in the knowledge base. Drama is a direct expression of the imagination in action. In drama, the thought--the imaginings--are expressed in action and that action…

In teaching students how to write, the utilitarian aspect does not need to be ignored, but--more important--the imaginative, expressive aspect should be emphasized. Since all writing depends on the full resources of the imagination, students need to be taught how to recreate or vivify people, objects, scenes, and feelings. A process which helps…

Visual thinking is composed of three activities: idea-sketching, seeing, and imagining. This book suggests ways that people whose usual way of thinking is in words can turn to a new mode of thinking; preparations for it, including materials, environmental conditions, and an inner state of relaxed awareness; seeing; imagining; and idea-sketching…

This volume, the final one in the series, presents about 400 ideas which teachers can use to teach creative thinking. The ideas are classified according to teacher behavior (strategies or modes of teaching) and by types of pupil behavior, as described in the rationale for the cognitive-affective instructional (CAI) model presented in volume 2. The…