There was a concern from faculty at Bahrain Teachers' College that undergraduate Bahraini students lack the necessary competencies needed for success in educational contexts that are conducive to active, student-centered learning. It was decided that the students be introduced to a problem-based learning (PBL) strategy in one of their educational…

Background: In his discussion of higher education, Fred Newman (1985) explained that university graduates should "have a profound understanding of what it means to be a citizen", and be "capable of an interest larger than self-interest" (p. xiv). "Art and Well Being", an elective course offered by the Department of Visual Studies at Lingnan,…

This paper outlines reflections by two tutors in Initial Teacher Education on ways design and technology (D&T) has been included in cross-curricular modules at our institution. These modules were a new addition to our courses in response to a conviction by tutors that cross-curricular teaching and learning in primary schools is important for…

Early in the year, the students of history and government at Mountain View High School in Stafford, Virginia, began to devise hand motions to help memorize the 27 amendments to the Constitution for government class. Three students in the school who are interested in hip hop music then suggested composing a rap song about the topic. Working with…

The relationship between loyalty to rules and the creativity that attempts to improve those same rules was examined among Norwegian army officers deployed in international operations. Today's army officers are faced with rapidly changing work conditions and unpredictable enemies, both of which challenge and outdate rules and routines. They thus…

Making changes in the school setting is not easy. However, it is possible if one looks beyond the library, to see how change can benefit the entire school. Just switching wording from the comfortable language of library lingo to a broader school perspective, made change possible in the author's school. In this article, the author shares her…

Two studies were designed to test the hypothesis that actively creating novel distinctions and sonically portraying them during the performance of orchestral music is preferable to attempting to re-create a past performance. The data suggest that orchestral musicians preferred creating music when they were encouraged to mindfully incorporate…

In response to student requests, and to help celebrate the graduation of our physics majors, we have designed a graduation stole uniquely befitting physics. The design incorporates the four visible spectral lines of hydrogen--the Balmer series. Since the 2002 debut of the design, all our graduates have proudly worn their physics graduation stoles…

Cognitive load theory has been concerned primarily with techniques that will facilitate the acquisition by students of knowledge previously generated by others and deemed to be important by society. The initial generation of that knowledge, a creative process, has been largely ignored. The recent expansion of cognitive load theory's cognitive…

Unlike the other arts, music has no direct connection with the rest of the human world. True, there are bird songs and natural "melodies" in the gurgling of brooks, but these are hardly the materials of music in the way that landscape can be the subject of painting. And no natural sounds can stand alone as quasi-artworks the way that the deeply…

This article describes an ongoing research project at the University of the Arts, London, which investigates the learning and creativity of a group of students with mental health difficulties. It discusses emerging findings on one theme, that of motivation. Employing a longitudinal biographic narrative methodology, this research, now entering its…

Parents and teachers occasionally express concern that their children are too focused on the discovery of mathematics. The author remembers clearly one upset father who told him, "Just teach my daughter what she needs to know. Don't worry if she understands why it works. She just needs to know how to get the right answer." The author agrees with…

All schools are expected to have explicit policies in place to make sure that their most able students are being extended. This is especially important in science, as many talented young people do not aspire to study or work in science. Carefully planned projects can offer suitable opportunities to engage and challenge such students, while…

The purpose of this study was to explore and develop a conceptual model for how individuals unlock insight. The concept of insight--the "out of the box" or "aha!" solution to a problem--offers a framework for exploring and understanding how best to enhance problem solving skills due to the cognitive shift insight requires. Creative problem solving…

The increase in the diversity of students and the complexity of their needs can be a rich addition to a mathematics classroom. The challenge for teachers is to find a way to include students' interests and creativity in a way that allows for rigorous mathematics. One method of incorporating the diversity is the development of "open-ended…