Discusses approaches by the organization URGENS in helping persons who have dropped out of society. Topics include employment seeking, social workers, experimental activities, imagination, development of creativity and communication, and the need for self-expression and self-observation. (AEF)

Examined the effect of sociodramatic play on the literacy learning of first graders. Found that sociodramatic play provided a vehicle through which the players practiced what they knew about literacy and provided an opportunity to think about literacy in the context of various play themes. Adult mediation enhanced the players' incorporation of…

Tested the ability of 19 older adults, given additional training in a mental imagination technique, to approach the performance of 16 younger adults on serial word recall tasks. Results indicated that negative age differences in older adults' performance were substantial, resistant to extensive practice, and applicable to all subjects. (BC)

Presents an edited transcript of a panel discussion entitled "Educating the Imagination" held to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of Teachers and Writers Collaborative. Discusses fabulous lies in folk tales, definitions of "imagination," the role of the teacher, using slides of artwork to motivate students to write, and playwriting. (SR)

Examines majaor constituent ideas of education (from Durkheim, Plato, Rousseau, Dewey), suggesting that they are mutually incompatible and consequently result in an incoherent concept of education. Proposes an educational scheme that would develop the kinds of understanding developed in cultural history, which would require focus on imaginative…

Explores the type of school construction suitable for instruction that includes lectures, experiment, and creation. The philosophical bases of a triadic approach to learning that appeals to feeling, rationality, and imagination are considered. Four detailed diagrams portraying the author's concepts are included. (Contains four references.) (KRN)

Discusses the role of literature, or the arts, in society. Argues that literature enables people to interpret and shape their experience as humans; and transcends time and place and culture, helping people to re-view the past, interpret the present, and envision the future. (SR)

Finds that youth participating in a delinquency-prevention program (that included a psychoeducational intervention teaching them imagination skills) improved in their ability to be more fluent thinkers, showed better divergent thinking in the area of originality, improved in richness in storytelling, and reported a greater ability to relax and to…

Nonlinear imagination-based thinking draws on intuition to allow insight into the unseen realms that govern everyday life. Largely abandoned by Western education in favor of materialist rationalism, this faculty is being promoted by a sustainability center in Montpelier (Vermont) that demonstrates methods of harmonizing thinking, learning, and…

Asserts that puppets help children in storytelling and role playing, encouraging creativity and language development. Details types of puppets and how to construct them, including: (1) figure stick puppets; (2) paper plate puppets; and (3) garden glove puppets. Describes how to construct different puppet stages for performance. (BGC)

In an effort to make reading more visible and find out what goes on in the minds of adolescent readers, the author led a group of seventh-grade students in creating Symbolic Reading Inventories. The students created "snapshot" scenes from the books they were reading and placed themselves, as readers, in or around the picture. Reading is a complex…

Imaginal perspective switches are often considered to be difficult, because they call for additional cognitive transformations of object coordinates (transformation hypothesis). Recent research suggests that problems can also result from conflicts between incompatible sensorimotor and cognitive object location codes during response specification…

Early research on imaginary companions suggests that children who create them do so to compensate for poor social relationships. Consequently, the peer acceptance of children with imaginary companions was compared to that of their peers. Sociometrics were conducted on 88 preschool-aged children; 11 had invisible companions, 16 had personified…

This article features ImaginOn: The Joe and Joan Martin Center," a learning facility wherein students are provided with an original approach to education, learning, and the arts. ImaginOn is a joint venture of the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLMC) and the Children's Theater of Charlotte. ImaginOn's mission is to "bring…

Erikson found sex differences in the play configurations of pre-adolescents who were given a variety of toys and blocks. Wamback, Cramer and Hogan's replications of Erikson's work revealed that sex differences of this type lack sensitivity to inter-school variation among subjects, time or locality. Two possible alternatives to Erikson's hypothesis…