A new interactive model of attention, perception, memory, and arousal is introduced; and its use in assessing characteristics of the perceptual process is demonstrated. The principal concern is not the presentation of new data; rather it is placement of existing psychological data within a new context. Topics discussed include: attention as an…

Students are faced with many subjects related to death in their everyday lives--war, euthanasia, disease, teenage suicide. A unit on death that focuses on literary and artistic conceptions of death, as well as historical trends concerning beliefs about death and burial, can help students express their feelings about death coherently and…

The internationally accepted definition of gifted children includes a range of factors that contribute to giftedness, but makes no mention of the child's motivation, capacity for self-initiation, or ability to work independently. Using the current definition, schools and teachers remain bound to gifted identification based on academic achievement…

In this anthology the issues related to the fine arts (music, theater, visual arts) in the elementary secondary curriculum are examined. The fifteen articles, ranging in length from one to seven pages, are followed by a biographical page briefly identifying the contributors. The articles are: "What's It All About?" (Frederick B. Tuttle, Jr.);…

Based on the idea that laughter and humor are basic components of a healthy childhood, this practicum paper emphasizes the concern that preschool programs have become too academic and are creating stress for children. Similarly, adults in preschool settings, pressured by parents and public school academic expectations, have become too serious in…

Citing studies by the National Assessment of Educational Progress and by Dolores Durkin, this paper argues that students are not being taught higher level comprehension skills, such as inference, and presents hypotheses explaining this failure. The paper suggests that emphasis on skills and drills and the typical programed format advanced by…

The development of an instrument to measure creative teaching abilities, the Creative Teaching Dilemma (CTD), involved three phases. The instrument was constructed and refined, and scoring procedures were outlined. The activities comprising the CTD included defining the teaching dilemma, gathering additional facts, identifying and stating the…

How to deal with the absence of creativity and critical thinking in the educational setting is discussed. All efforts to improve education will be futile if we don't take into account the absence of relationship among the participants and between the participants and the content of education. Relationship--i.e., connecting with others and with…

Articles and documents concerning brain growth and hemispheric specialization, theories of cognitive style, educational implications of brain research, and right-brain learning activities are cited in this annotated bibliography. Citations are preceded by a glossary of terms and followed by a brief review of the assembled literature. Educational…

Information for this study was complied from teachers identified as creative to determine if, in their opinions, creativity can be developed or enhanced; and, if so, how it can be encouraged or developed in others. Subjects were 60 teachers seen as creative and interviewed by graduate students during the academic years of 1978-84. Teachers ranged…

Some basic concerns about the proliferation of computers in schools are stated: (1) Educational goals for children should be established as a first priority, then what computers can do to help achieve those goals should be examined; (2) Very few pieces of software are useful in schools, and teacher education programs should explore what is needed…

Futures research involves speculation about alternative developments based upon existing data and potential choices. Effective futures research requires creativity in scientific practice rather than an overemphasis on reason. In discussing the important role of intuition in futures research, characteristics of creative scientists are reviewed and…

Using children's books that reflect the cultural heritage of the American Southwest, this paper offers suggestions for integrating the language arts through reading, writing, and listening activities. Activities are arranged into two sections: (1) integrated language arts approaches to writing springing from Southwest picture books by Byrd Baylor,…

The classics of our literature are still the best antidote to the abuses of language found everywhere around us. (JH)