This article examines how creativity and the arts can assist teachers who teach from a social justice perspective, and how knowledge built through meaningful experiences of difference can make a difference. Just as imagining is central to visual arts practice, so too is the capacity to imagine a necessity for social justice. The authors ask what…

Much like a Jazz group, successful middle level schools are also founded on elements of improvisation, collaboration, teamwork, and responsive communication. Just as the director of the jazz group must have a solid foundation of music theory, the skills to bring out the best in the players, and an attitude that allows others to shine, those who…

It has been shown that deep approaches to learning, intrinsic motivation, and self-regulated learning have strong positive effects on learning. How those pedagogical theories can be integrated in computing curricula is, however, still lacking empirically grounded analyses. In a more general level, it has been widely acknowledged that in…

In this article, Eliza Pitri states, "when allowed to make and explain their own choices, students develop invaluable creative problem-solving skills." Opportunities for such critical thinking abound in the art classroom. The importance of identifying how skills and dispositions related to creative problem solving are expressed in a…

This paper demonstrates a strategy to speed teaching innovation transfer between marketing educators. Nine teaching innovations presented at the Society for Marketing Advances 2012 Annual Conference are offered in a brief catalog form. The reader can also download support materials at www.salesleadershipcenter.com/research.html#mer-tm13/.…

This article presents findings of a qualitative study that explored the process of using expressive arts counseling techniques as experienced by high school counselor trainees. The researcher identified themes that were developed from using grounded theory methods. The three-stage theory, as experienced by high school counseling trainees, included…

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the ways gifted and talented pupils are served in Finland. The trend toward individualism and freedom of choice as well as national policy affecting gifted education are discussed. Empirical research on Finnish teachers' attitudes toward gifted education with respect to the national…

Christopher E. Garrett describes a faculty learning community program at Oklahoma City University that focused on improving teaching and learning through integrating the arts in a variety of disciplines, some of which may surprise you. (Contains 9 notes.)

Much recent work in the study of popular culture has emphasized the extent to which it is not only a site of signifying practices, myths, meanings and identifications, but also an arena of intensities, of affective flows and corporeal state-changes. From this perspective, many areas of popular culture (from calisthenics to social dance to video…

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…