This paper outlines cognitive processes underpinning creative ability, considers their development, and discusses the creative potential of the individual at various life stages. Creativity is viewed as an outcome of self-directed transformational activity. The roles of fantasy and imagination are discussed, as is the contrast between public and…

Connects the imagination with one's affective states as related to 8- to 15-year-old students' engagement in a story or narrative. Discusses particular characteristics of narratives that engage students' imagination during these years and characteristics that are imaginatively engaging but in which the narrative component is less prominent. (BB)

Encourages the integration of storytelling into environmental and outdoor education to help urban children regain their lost connections to nature. The environmental educational story can be seen as a symbolic perception of the natural world that complements a child's experience and observation of nature and promotes imagination and an…

This paper calls for an alternative view of educational policy, a departure from the macroperspective currently dominating policy analysis. The latter perspective tends to focus on policy development and implementation issues of politics and control, compliance and measurement, and relationship structures and influences among groups and actors.…

Reviews research indicating that children's writing moves in an age-related sequence from the literal and factual to the metaphorical and affective and shows a growth in awareness of the psychological characteristics of the self and others. Presents an analysis of children's stories that provides guidelines for teachers and researchers to use in…

Examines the philosophical relationship of imagination (particularly its aesthetic aspects) to rationality and teaching. Reviews various criteria for basing education on rationality at the expense of imagination and concludes that children will benefit most from an educational system which teaches them to be imaginative without undermining their…

Imagery as it relates to creative imagination, incubation, and right brain activity, and as a subsystem of the General Systems approach, is discussed in terms of gifted education. Considered are the theories of G. Land (transformation theory), J. Gowan (developmental stage theory), and J. Eccles. (SBH)

A teacher describes using melodrama as a way to combine the elements of humor and drama to engage the imaginations of young gifted children. Techniques for use with elementary through junior high students are presented along with the script of a play for first or second graders, with the last lines left blank for students to supply their own…

Explores the profound connection between human memory and imagination. Educational ideas that find only incompatibility between memorizing and developing imagination and procedural skills are inadequate. Viewing teaching as story telling transforms the curriculum from a huge mass of predigested material to a collection of great stories reflecting…

Discusses the passionate philosophy of Robert Alexander, founder and director of living stage theater company and his views of art, creativity, the entire process of learning, politics, philosophy, and hope. Presents several excerpts from Alexander's presentations for artists and teachers during Living Stage residencies in cities around the…

This article considers the synergistic force, specifically imagination, which can serve as the catalyst for motivation and learning. The importance of classroom climate in fostering imagination and developing growth, discovery, and vision is emphasized. Ways to make imagination an important element of classroom climate are listed. (JDD)

A self-taught artist describes the creative process and a technique for developing one's intuitive drawing ability. The article identifies seven basic motifs derived from natural forms and illustrates how these motifs are used in the artist's work. (DB)

To foster individual development, educators must seek the gifts in every child, in those not demonstrating academic abilities as well as in the most brilliant. Instead of stifling thinking, creativity, and interest development, educators must encourage these behaviors. Currently, a big discrepancy exists between the child's potential and what…

Few children aspire to be writers when they grow up. When one is young, authors seem as mysterious as phantoms and are just as invisible. In childhood, the imaginative and creative mind is given a bad rap. Children are told to stop daydreaming and do their homework. They quickly learn that lying is bad stuff. Yet, both exercise the imagination and…

Discusses several problems confronting education in the United States, argues that music educators are among the most guilty of avoiding and even discouraging creative thinking. Presents a model of creative thinking in music and examines the conditions of motivation and environment that are important for child development. (GEA)