Research has shown that mental imagery stimulates various types of learning. This research investigates a procedure designed to evoke and enhance mental imagery in a classroom learning situation. The content area selected for study was spelling because so little progress in instructional approaches has been reported in the literature. Compares the…

A project involving painting large murals on the courtyard walls of a school not only halted vandalism but improved the quality of education for all students by integrating the arts into their basic education. (JD)

Suggests that creating from and sharing dreams is an effective way to develop language skills, individuality, understanding, and rapport in elementary classrooms. Provides an index of dream topics that a group of elementary students reported. (RL)

Thomas A. Edison said, "To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." Well, the finalists in this year's Craftsman/NSTA Young Inventors Award Program had no shortage of imagination, but chose more useful items with which to work. With the goal to invent or modify a tool, students across the country were searching homes, yards, and…

Coping behavior was assessed for 74 children, at 2-1/2 years of age in an experimental barrier situation and at 7-1/2 years of age a novel play situation. Analyses indicate relationships between effective coping behaviors and other measures of child development in the preschool and early school-age periods. (SDH)

Two studies compare cognitive maps generated by first and fifth graders and college students. One study utilized a triangulation task, the other two used imagined situations. A practical methodology for such studies is introduced and a way of conceptualizing cognitive map development is suggested. (MS)

Historical accounts by fourth graders at the beginning stage of learning history show that these young students lack an experience-based framework for grounding and connecting historical teaching. Implications for teaching history to elementary school students and aspects of children's reliance on imagination in constructing historical narratives…

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…

Despite an apparent renaissance of interest in the creative and emotional in English education there remains a paucity of research in the province of teacher interpretations of pupils' creative, "affective", and imaginative activity. Based on the findings of an Ed D study conducted in six primary schools in central England, the genesis…

A study explored: (1) the possibility that imagination and imagery in young children can be developed by systematic practice; and (2) the extent to which the development of imagination and imagery affects other cognitive abilities, such as classification, seriation, and conservation. Concepts of imagery and operation schemes were derived from…

Explores causes of nonlearning in young children, the problems of mechanical, unimaginative learning, and the differences between precocity and maturity. (ED)

This textbook is the seventh in a series of readers. This volume focuses on building reading enjoyment. The book has been arranged in Five Parts, each Part being prefaced by a one page Introduction, presenting the general theme: (1) Citizenship and Service; (2) History in the Making; (3) The Great-Out-Doors; (4) Literature of the Imagination; and…

This textbook is the eighth in a series of readers. This volume focuses on building reading enjoyment. The book has been arranged in Five Parts, each Part being prefaced by a one page Introduction, presenting the general theme: (1) Citizenship and Service; (2) History in the Making; (3) The Great-Out-Doors; (4) Literature of the Imagination; and…

The author discusses children's developing conceptions of how to represent objects artistically. She compares the use of detail, line, viewpoint, and dimension in imaginative and observational drawings by concrete-operational children and cites their opinions about the accuracy of their work. Part of a series on children's art. (SJL)

Playing make believe (metaphoric play) with elementary students can promote very real conversations about art. The paper explains how metaphoric play can help teach art. After collecting familiar art (posters, storybook art, etc.), the teacher creates reality-based scenarios to promote talk, then encourages students on to more far-fetched…