Presents a qualitative study of imagination in lower socioeconomic African American young adolescents. Reveals that the youth had few environmental factors enhancing their imaginative ability and spent little time in imaginative activity. Shows that, after a psycho-educational intervention to enhance imagery skills, there was significant change in…

Reflects on experiences of 3- and 4-year-olds after reading "Cat and Alex and the Magic Flying Carpet." Follow-up activities involved children pretending to travel on a magic flying carpet. Notes that children selected locations important in their hearts, minds, and daily lives and that their actions reflected their knowledge of the world, their…

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…

Argues that, as the world becomes increasingly less human and more technocratic, staying in contact with whatever is humane requires conscious effort. Suggests the use of poetry writing assignments as a means of preserving children's inventiveness and imagination. Provides examples of poems written by schoolchildren. (SG)

Drama in the classroom means honing thinking skills, increasing comprehension, bringing the written word to life, and fun. And it's effective with general, gifted, and at-risk students from K-12. (Author/TE)

Discusses Vygotsky's theory and the research stimulated by it. Notes that the vast literature on children's play reveals that its contributions to child development can be looked at from diverse vantage points. Suggests that Vygotsky's theory has much to say to teachers about the importance of promoting make-believe in preschool and child care…

Presents a framework within which to organize and synthesize existing knowledge about children's understanding of the mental states of imagination, pretense, and dreams. Concludes that by the age of three, children understand important fundamental aspects of the mental nature, origin, and truth-relation of fictional mental states, but that their…

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…

Essential qualities of expert teachers are explored, examining the practices of three historical teaching masters: Zeno of Elea, Lao Tzu of Ch'U, and Jesus of Nazareth. The three qualities identified are profound moral and cultural worth; engagement of the imagination; and the story as the primary form of pedagogy. (SLD)

Four experiments confirmed the widely accepted hypothesis that, although children as young as two engage in pretend play, even four and five year olds do not understand that pretending requires mental representation. Children appear to misconstrue pretense as its common external manifestations, such as actions, until at least age six. (MDM)

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…

Examined the effects of narrative statements used to evoke imaginal elaborations on children's recall. Found that children generated images that involved multiple referents and that children's memory performance was facilitated when their imaginal constructions were based on material created by themselves rather than on descriptions provided by…

Reviews the fundamental role of imagery in science and technology and our current knowledge of visual-spatial cognition. Results suggest that individual differences in perspectives should not be ignored. Contains 126 references. (DDR)

Examines the characteristics of the "storylistening trance" and any influences (positive or negative) that affect it. Discusses results, which show that many listeners experience a qualitatively different state while listening to some stories. Concludes with a theoretical model of the storylistening trance and the applicability of findings to…