The twenty-first century economy often requires the innovative production of conceptual and physical artifacts. These innovations frequently are developed collaboratively within communities of workers. Previous theories about the nature of work and learning within communities have emphasized shared meaning or shared practice, but now shared…

Student-directed projects motivate and educate the students, inform the public--and produce some very handsome furniture that may well become treasured family heirlooms that will live beyond their makers. In this article, the author describes how he adopted a student-directed approach in his Fine Woodworking course by setting up a two-project…

This study examines whether MidYIS and YELLIS cognitive ability tests (CATs) are appropriate methods for the identification of giftedness in Design and Technology. A key rationale for the study was whether CATs and able to identify those students with the aptitudes considered of importance to identifying giftedness in Design and Technology and…

Teachers perform an important job by encouraging creativity in their lessons and among their pupils. Thus, the present study aims to examine primary school EFL teachers' attitudes towards creative thinking and their perceptions of what goes on in the classroom. Participants were 434 female primary school EFL teachers, chosen randomly, teaching all…

This paper outlines a theoretical framework which offers an explanation of the complexity of how teachers define their effectiveness in relation to their classroom practice. The research from which this framework emerged was a two-year, mixed method study of 81 primary and secondary school teachers. The use of repertory grid interviews combined…

This study focuses on the perceptions of 46 high school students on the integration of Twitter as a learning technology. Twitter was introduced and used to supplement instruction in the course for the first six weeks of the 2010/2011 academic year. The integration included designing twitter pages, communication, reflections, use of twitpics…

This study aimed to identify the level of dimensions for creative abilities (originality, flexibility, originality, elaboration) among students in Al Rai Jordanian schools according to Torrance Formal test, and to investigate the differences in these levels attributable to the study variables (gender, age, grade point average "GPA"). The…

As the US continues to strive toward building capacity for a workforce in STEM fields (NSF, 2006), educational organizations and researchers have constructed frameworks that focus on increasing competencies in creativity in order to achieve this goal (ISTE, 2007; Karoly & Panis, 2004; Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2007). Despite these…

Creativity can be applied to every domain of knowledge and must be seen as an important competence. Supporting social creativity across different domains and disciplines in learning communities is an important part of collaborative process in both university education and in the context of large-scale international projects. In this paper, we…

The Technology Integration Specialist (TIS) program is intended to provide and coordinate professional development activities for all teachers and administrators on a school level basis so that they may become proficient in the use of 21st Century Technology Tools--a key component of Teach 21. The TIS is an individual who assists schools by…

Introduction: The current models in the study of giftedness such as the Triadic Interdependence define it as a favorable outcome of the interaction between intrinsic (intellectual capacity, creativity and motivation) and extrinsic (family, peers, and school) factors. Based on this, the purpose of this study was to identify and establish a profile…

Educational institutions are considered as main indicator of a nation's competitiveness and the excellence of implementing their goals and objectives increase a nation's sense of competitiveness. Thus, it is important to receive a progress report showing how close the educational institutions are in accomplishing the 21st century visions and…

To implement the Common Core State Standards, teachers will need a broader knowledge base, a more diverse tool kit for teaching and learning, and greater experience with teaching in a standards-based environment. The growth required over the next three years seems to be large. The author works in a district that has provided an ongoing, continual…

In this article, we discuss an ethnographic case study of the teaching practice (practicum) experience of a student teacher, Lynn, in a university partnership school in mainland China. Drawing on Activity Theory, we conceptualise Lynn's practicum as boundary-crossing between two different activity systems: those of the school community and the…

This study examines the effectiveness of a four-stage conceptual change approach to creativity development in teacher education in the Emirate of Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. The participants were 32 student teachers studying at undergraduate level at an all-female university. The study examined participant preconceptions of creativity and how…