The current wave of school reform, with its emphasis on the learner, affords the opportunity to create environments that can foster excellence. The ability to support the development of excellence is threatened by commonly held beliefs that excellence depends on innate ability and that anyone who works hard enough will succeed, irrespective of the…

This book synthesizes research findings on creativity and talent development. Part 1, "Definitions and Processes of Creativity," discusses the definition of creativity, creativity and psychology, federal definitions of giftedness and creativity, psychological research on creativity, traditional theories of the creative, common descriptions of the…

A set of "creative competencies" provides a framework for assessing the extent to which local school environments contribute to the production of creative citizens. Following an introduction to rationale and organization of the Vermont Creativity Task Force, material is divided into five substantive sections. Section 1 pinpoints the…

A case study traces the evolution of "once-upon-a-time" in a child's classroom story writing, drawing upon data collected in a three-year study of writing development in an urban magnet school. The subject, Mitzi, is observed from kindergarten through second grade. The study assumes that stories are cultural discourse forms that serve…

To assist local school districts by making available curriculum materials that can be incorporated into the regular instructional program, a set of career awareness curriculum kits were developed by elementary and junior high school teachers in Oregon for grades K-8. The curriculum was based upon five program goals which were mastered by a set of…

New developments in the field of elementary school physical education are included in this up-dated text book. The following major topics are covered: (1) organizing, developing, and implementing a physical education program and curriculum; (2) the learning process and teaching techniques; (3) implementing a physical fitness program with attention…

Creativity and its development in students through creative English programs are the subjects of this report from the Dartmouth Seminar. David Holbrook's paper, "Creativity in the English Programme," maintains that English should be taught creatively to enhance the child's capacity to deal with his inner and outer experiences and to help…

Humanistic education, basing much of its theory on data provided by subjective experiences, is an attempt to create new perceptual systems for understanding human beings and to make these processes available in educational settings. Humanistic education is surveyed, with the view that its component branches are organized bodies of knowledge, each…

This conference paper proposes a classification of possible psychological activity and illustrates some ways that cognitive development depends on affective development. Through diagrams and examples, the following assumptions (based on Piaget) are developed: (1) Learning is socially as well as materially oriented. (2) Affective and cognitive…

This book reports on a 40-year longitudinal study of factors that foster or inhibit creativity over time. Students in elementary grades were originally evaluated from 1958 to 1964. Follow-up in 1980 led to development of a Manifesto for Children which summarized conclusions in the form of guidance for aphorisms such as "Don't be afraid to fall in…

Reviews research on the place of the arts in programs for the elderly. In nine articles deals with characteristics and attitudes of adult students in art and music, dance therapy, and creativity. Discusses the aging advocacy movement and suggests it can be useful to program planners and gerontologists. (JAC)

Discusses specific teaching strategies to nurture creativity in young children that guide choice, highlight human potential, and distinguish those activities that help children from those that are more impulsive and less developmental. Suggests that teachers need to encourage a love of work, concentration, self-discipline, and sociability. (MDM)

Presents activities employing LOGO to help create situations that enable students to make meaningful cognitive connections while exploring mathematical relationships. Activities explore the concepts of angles and rotations, progressing from off-line to on-line activities with suggested extensions. (MDH)

This study explores the use of design technology to teach a unit on poetry in a fifth grade class. The main goals of the poetry unit were to develop students' abilities to use their own creative voices to express themselves and to write descriptive poetry that creates detailed images for the reader. This unit was implemented in a fifth grade class…

This conference presentation handout describes a program which uses dance therapy to integrate special education students with various disabilities. The 6-week program at a middle school involved having a professional dancer teach students traditional and modern dance methods as a means of expressing emotions, followed by teams of students…