Improvisation is a vital part of an elementary general music education. While some music teachers successfully include improvisation in music instruction, others have fears and face challenges when attempting improvisational activities in the classroom. This article acknowledges obstacles facing music educators when attempting to incorporate…

A portfolio can document student skills, abilities, growth, achievement, and attitudes. It can also reflect students' learning processes and subsequently guide new teaching strategies. Portfolio proponents have used these arguments to justify the time and organization needed to successfully implement them in their classrooms and in their school…

Based on the dozens of interactive workshops that the author has facilitated with children, he has discovered that children are more knowledgeable about the natural and the built environment than typically accredited. Due to this discovery, he believes children should be part of the community engagement for planning projects, developments, and…

Music technology is a term commonly used to refer to electronic form of the musical arts, particularly devices and computer software that enable the facilitation, playback, recording, composition, storage, and performance of various musical compositions. There has been a growing awareness of the importance of aesthetics in early childhood…

Who are talented and gifted (TAG) students and how do we meet their unique needs in the elementary school setting? The body of literature clearly articulates the unique intellectual, social and emotional needs and characteristics of TAG students. Additionally, the literature supports the implementation of differentiated teaching strategies and…

This research explored essential elements to be considered when teaching US students to develop and define creativity in the general elementary (students aged 5-11 years) music classroom. This case study focused on answering the following research questions: 1) What are students' perceptions of creativity? 2) How can music educators successfully…

Farrell's (2001) theory of collaborative circles provides a useful frame for analyzing the interpersonal dynamics that enable creative collaboration in small groups, but it leaves contextual factors of collaboration undertheorized. Using ethnographic data on freestyle BMXers in Greenville, North Carolina, this article demonstrates how resource…

This essay examines the theme and trope of "copies" in Kazuo Ishiguro's novel "Never Let Me Go." Whatever one's final reading of the novel, the theme and thread of copy, copies, copying and copied is never far off. In a semantic sense then, the act of "copying", both as a verb and the indexing of "copies" as…

This article considers the relationship between artistic research, creative production and exegesis. What it is that renders a particular creative outcome as significant and the ways in which an accompanying critical text functions as a navigational tool, directing readers towards points of entry into the overall work, is at the core of the paper;…

Artist Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) created wonderful environments inside boxes using mostly found objects. They were often Surrealistic in nature. Some boxes were designed with glass fronts, and others were meant to be interactive with the viewer, wherein the objects could be handled. With Joseph Cornell in mind, the author introduces an art…

The author was interested in seeing what would happen if children were given more latitude when making art in school. In January 2009, he began by setting up environments in his classroom wherein he hoped his students would feel free to create self-initiated forms of artmaking. Two times each week an hour was set aside for an activity called Open…

For more than 30 years, the thinking and writing of Jerome W. Berryman has made a significant and unique contribution to the religious education of children and adults in faith-based contexts. Claiming to be influenced primarily by the work of Maria Montessori, his writings reveal the purpose of religious education to be teaching children the art…

How best to move on with life was the challenge of the families of those who died on 9/11. The choice of one family to do something positive to perpetuate the human spirit is related through creative endeavors that bring rewarding memories and encourage others to rejoice in service and understanding for individual needs and talents. (Contains 5…

Calls for practitioners to "innovate" are common within higher education and universities, which go to some length to cultivate innovative learning and teaching cultures. The definition of innovation, however, is not clear cut and understandings of how innovations spread and innovative practices should be supported differ. This study aimed to…

This paper describes how a linguistic form, rap, can evolve in tandem with technological advances and manifest human-machine creativity. Rather than assuming that the interplay between machines and technology makes humans robotic or machine-like, the paper explores how the pressure of executing artistic visions using technology can drive…