This article argues that poetry is an act of meditation, improvisation and exploration, and urgency is what guides the writer into (and through) the poetic journey. In the light of this, this article illustrates the features of a workshop that was designed to guide social and human scientists in the delicate process of turning raw data into poems.…

The article examines the socialization of children and adolescents in the process of participating in the innovative festival and competition project "Music-Making for All" involving concerts in which school students perform along with professional orchestras. The basis for achieving the desired result is provided by the author's…

Research investigating improvisational skill development in adolescent learners is scant. In this study interviews with developing jazz improvisers are used to characterize the skill-building process. The findings were considered in light of two views of skill learning. In one view, students progress through several discrete levels, while in a…

The criterion problem was one of the focal points of early studies of creativity, but several useful criteria have been developed in the last few decades. The investigation reported here represents additional progress. This report (a) describes a new quality of creative achievement index for each domain of the Creative Activity and Accomplishment…

How might teachers transform routine tasks into non-routine ones? The purpose of this article is to address this question. The article opens with a discussion of why non-routine problems require creative and original thought. Specifically, I discuss how non-routine problems require students to confront uncertainty and how uncertainty can serve as…

To investigate the cognitive processes underlying creative inspiration, we tested the extent to which viewing or copying prior examples impacted creative output in art. In Experiment 1, undergraduates made drawings under three conditions: (a) copying an artist's drawing, then producing an original drawing; (b) producing an original drawing without…

General creativity and, more specifically, creative thinking in music are valuable qualities that should be fostered in music education for personal, professional, and societal reasons. In order for band directors to successfully integrate musical creativity into their classroom curriculum and serve as resources for other content area teachers…

This paper focuses on an innovative transdisciplinary educational arts-based learning project, LangScape Curators, which links to and leads from research conducted for the AHRC-funded "Translation and Translanguaging" project. Here, we describe how we work collaboratively with creative practitioners to use a variety of creative arts…

To examine the quality of rhythmic improvisations after learning Ugandan folksongs via notated or aural/oral means, we asked university music majors (N = 32) to practice two Ugandan folksongs via Western notation or while viewing a prerecorded video of an expert Ugandan performer singing the same song to mimic aural/oral tradition conditions.…

The current study aims to interpret student-teachers' PowerPoint presentations using concepts derived from jazz improvisation. The purpose of the study is to acquire insight on how knowledge is instantiated in action in a ubiquitous educational setting. If musical lead sheets depict the draft model that provides players with a framework for…

This article discusses George Mason University's locally developed assessment survey instrument, the OSCAR Student Survey, in which students self-report on learning outcomes, attitudes, goals, personal and professional growth, and satisfaction items. Development of the instrument is discussed, as well as the methods used to achieve construct…

Approaches to teaching music notation and instrumental technique have been standardized and codified in the United States with great success in beginning instrumental programs. While these skills are important, we do a disservice to students if we do not equally develop comprehensive musicianship and creative thinking at a young age. Creating…

The maker education movement is growing in the United States. In order for this movement to gain widespread acceptance it is critical that students' learning goals and progress towards those goals are clearly visible to all stakeholders. Given that traditional assessment methods may not be best suited for measuring some of the higher order skills…

This qualitative study presents an analysis of how the use of social media can provide opportunities for students to critically analyze complex texts and collaborate with peers. The students participated as active audience members at a theatrical performance of Gertrude Stein's "Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights" at a large urban…

The article presents the results of an interdisciplinary and integrative study of creativity and creative activity in high-school students. The authors attempted to describe the abovementioned phenomenon considering the influence of a traditional large Kalmyk family, ethnical-cultural identification, self-actualization, role and functions of…