Discusses the importance of imagination and the power of stories. Draws on insights gained from visits with children growing up in difficult environments, and shares examples from the author's own works written for young adults. (AEF)

Transcripts from three problem-solving discussions involving eight or fewer social scientists were analyzed by nonlinear regression to determine whether the groups' productivity was chaotic over time. It was shown that the productivity was chaotic, correlated with the number of active discussion threads, and dependent on the discussion…

Argues that realist researchers regard serendipitous events in research with suspicion, resulting in the lack of analysis of the role of serendipity in the generation of research ideas. Analyzes the significance and impact of serendipity in the process of a case study. Deliberates the problematic nature of constructing research stories. (DSK)

Discusses young teenagers' adoption of animal personas in their creative writing classes, and the way these classroom activities follow Montessori principles. Considers both the role of imagination in the animal identification and the psychological and pedagogical significance of the underlying development of unconscious kinship with Earth and its…

Recounts Polynesian legends and folktales as examples of how the informal knowledge passed on through shared traditional stories can broaden children's worldviews and contribute to a culture vision. Maintains that reading, telling, discussing, and making creative interpretations of folklore are one way to share the intimate side of a culture.…

Describes the Talents Unlimited Program, implemented in an elementary school in southwest England, which provides a framework for developing creative- and critical-thinking skills. Describes an evaluation that found that 5-year olds taught with this approach performed better on specific critical- and creative-thinking skills tasks than did peers.…

Describes two assignments that help students realize the dialectic between parts (how one part affects the understanding of all other parts) by having students create their own photographs and physical structures, combine the parts in various way, and consider (in their written papers) the difference it makes. (SR)

Thirty-four gifted children in Louisiana and 34 from Connecticut were administered the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) and the Khatena-Torrance Creative Perception Inventory (KTCPI). The KTCPI included the What Kind of Person Are You (WKOPAY) subtest, a measure of creative striving. Perfectionistic traits were negatively correlated with…

Discussion of creativity in teachers of the gifted considers different kinds of creativity, techniques that promote creativity in students, the role of planning in creative teaching, and improvisational creativity during the teaching process. (Contains extensive references.) (DB)

This study investigated the effects of prop realism on the play of 24 preschoolers. Observations of play sessions revealed that highly realistic props and low-realism props elicited equal amounts of group dramatic play. However, low- realism props generated greater diversity of play themes, more fantasy role enactments, and more nonintended use of…

A modified version of Kirton's Adaptor-Innovator Inventory was used to operationalize the person-environment fit model and a self-report measure was used to assess creative productivity in 40 British adults. Results indicate that style match between the individual and the environment was associated with higher levels of product novelty and…

Our increasingly uniform schooling system needlessly brands many youngsters as failures. We are embracing standardized tests just when the new economy is eliminating standardized jobs. Computers, the Internet, and digital commerce have exploded the old job categories into various new niches, creating multitudinous employment opportunities. (MLH)

Too often, gifted programs offer standard, all-purpose enrichment without regard to special talents. Talents are not usually fully developed in youngsters. Teachers can help develop children's talent by becoming talent scouts, structuring appropriate learning activities, praising talented behavior, helping kids set learning goals, locating helpful…

Discusses a scholar's reactions to libraries made by Umberto Eco in "De Biblioteca." Topics addressed include functions of libraries, including collecting; accessibility of materials; the scholar's creative use of libraries, and discovering materials not looked for or known about; North American research libraries; photocopying; and…

Personal Construct Theory framed a study of three secondary design/technology teachers and six students. Teachers were insecure about their understanding of creativity and professional role. Risk-taking teachers felt prepared to challenge students. Concerns that students avoid failure resulted in less challenge and risk. (Contains 32 references.)…