Focuses on ways to develop student creative thinking, improvisation, and composition skills in instrumental classes. Provides suggestions, such as the importance of offering students creative opportunities, supplying examples, giving control to students, and encouraging expressive integrity. Includes a bibliography of resources for developing…

Describes an art project that focused on the supernatural in which students create their own "Book Of Luck" using plastic videocassette containers. Discusses how each student created a book and the types of things that were included in the book. Includes examples. (CMK)

A study examined the relationships among 109 children's creative performances in three domains and the relationships between those children's general creative thinking skills and their creative performances. Three case studies also examined domain-specificity of creativity. Results found considerable intra-individual variation in creativity…

Since highly creative individuals are more likely to experience depression, this article examines the hypothesis that appraisal may be a mediating feature between creativity and affect. Measurement of creativity, cognitive appraisal patterns, and mood in 104 undergraduate art or science students found art students were more creative, experienced…

Describes an art unit for middle school students where they created their own original pattern through the use of "ClarisWorks Paint." Discusses the procedure for the project and the evaluation used at the end of the unit. Emphasizes the importance of learning about computers. (CMK)

Discusses how to teach improvisation, creativity, and movement to beginning music classroom students. Includes background information on teaching each concept and lesson plans to be used with beginning string students. Provides rhythm patterns, exercises, and an assignment used in the lessons. (CMK)

Presents results from a study that examined student assessments of their own musical abilities as related to compositional creativity. Focuses on nonmusic majors in a music fundamentals course for elementary education majors. Explains that the students were placed into high-,middle-, and low-creativity groups. (CMK)

Focuses on the study of personal containers and their uses in art creation for children. States that children are fascinated by boxes and containers. Provides examples of personal containers, such as lunch boxes, pencil cases, purses and valets, and school bags. (CMK)

Focuses on teaching students how to compose music. Addresses issues, such as how to get the students started and types of questions to ask students about their compositions. Discusses the musical elements involved in composition, such as melody, harmony, rhythm and meter, timbre, texture, and formal design. (CMK)

Discusses two steps, focusing on improvisation, that teachers can follow in planning music lessons. Addresses how to include improvisation in the general music classroom by focusing on two different age groups: (1) kindergarten through grade three; and (3) grades four to six. (CMK)

Discusses how to encourage creativity in the music classroom for upper-elementary students by focusing on musical composition. Includes a description of a nine lesson unit that focuses on creativity in musical composition. States that students can continue working on compositions at home. (CMK)

Two experiments involving 44 Hong Kong undergraduates revealed that solving novel conceptual combination problems could enhance performance in a subsequent test of creativity. The evidence also showed that the beneficial effects of solving novel conceptual combination problems were mediated in part by the use of novel conceptual combination…

A teacher of gifted elementary school students reflects on her experiences using the Foxfire approach and on its value in involving students in experiential learning and facilitating higher level critical and creative thinking skills. Seven of her sixth grade students describe the projects they've completed over the years. (SV)

Presents suggestions for making reading instruction exciting and creative both for students and teachers. Describes the creative reading environment, ways the teacher may foster creativity as a result of reading, and ideas for developing creativity based on reading. Lists 20 creative reading activities. (MG)

Suggests that the aesthetic positions James Joyce expresses in his work have an independent intellectual value in understanding gifted childrens' aesthetic development. Discusses and critiques Joyce's theory on the psychology and philosophy of the artist. (KM)