Lessons from a pilot introduction of environmental education into a teacher education programme designed to address pupil disengagement from school science, are discussed in this paper. Pre-service teachers discovered that environmental education can be a potent context for creativity and continuity in curriculum planning. Interpretation of the…

Poetry performance is an approach to learning where students can use theatrical techniques to develop a response to the poem. This paper argues that ELL students can explore the aesthetic function of language and, more widely, develop confidence in using English as a communicative tool through the dramatization of poetry. We describe the process…

This paper describes research that explored the question of whether or not it is possible to characterise and teach a single type of educationally productive talk. We analysed and compared the quality of children's interactional strategies when jointly working on a reasoning task and a psycholinguistic task. The latter involved writing an…

In the torrents of globalization and social transition in Taiwan, it is particularly important to reinforce a sense of cultural subjectivity and localization, and promote new trends of arts education that emphasize the development of self and spirit. The fundamental principles of these new trends are: (1) that the purpose of arts education is to…

This paper is a reflection on the process of dance choreography, an assignment for pedagogical evaluation at postgraduate level in an Indian university. It is also a recapitulation and reconstruction of my experiences while undergoing a Master's course in Bharatanatyam (a style of classical dance) in the Centre for Performing Arts (CPA),…

Stand-alone communication courses are still the dominant model in both Indian and US schools. Communication courses are taught separately and not integrated into the main course curriculum in a formal manner by communication faculty working alongside with the rest of the faculty. Although this may over-generalize, it suggests the background…

In this article "teacher as public art" is used as a metaphor to describe and explain the all-too-common perceptions and experiences of professors of color, especially women, within the academy. Highlighted throughout this discussion are: (1) the relevance of locating self within the context of people and place; and (2) the importance of bringing…

Science education in the United Kingdom faces a dual challenge in the near future: that of addressing increasing disaffection from the subject by pupils as they enter adolescence coupled with the downturn in learning as they leave primary school behind. Both bridging work and teacher creativity have been identified as key ingredients in ensuring…

The church school teacher has the ability to strengthen or weaken the overall effectiveness of the church school program. In many cases, loss of interest, church school dropout, and the decline of the church school result from poor teaching. A model is proposed that can address the problem of the declining church school through a teaching and…

This report investigates the lack of services provided to gifted students with attention and/or behavior problems. Issues addressed include: characterizations of gifted children and the resulting prejudice against gifted children who do not meet a certain profile; the similarities among characteristics of high ability/creative children and…

This collection of doctoral student research papers begins with a biographic dedication to Marilyn Zurmuehlen. The papers and their authors are introduced in brief discourse by a faculty mentor (mentor's introduction). Articles include: (1) "Feminism < > Dialogic Interaction < > Research (Miriam Cooley), introduced by Elizabeth J.…

This paper discusses the use of different media for art instruction and creative activities with preschoolers at the Reggio Emilia preschools in Italy. Drawing made with markers, paper constructions, clay sculpture, and wooden constructions are all used to deepen children's understanding of a particular theme or concept. Typically, a small group…

This paper offers a critical examination of definitions, issues, and practices relative to identification of students who are gifted and talented in the visual arts. The lack of agreement on the definition of talent in the arts is discussed, along with the role of culture, student characteristics, creativity, skills, cognitive abilities, affective…

The case study of a visually gifted 8-year-old child illustrates the problems that may be encountered in determining giftedness that is manifested largely through visual processes and products. The child's intelligence quotient was just below that required for admission to the gifted program in his school. Retesting with the complete number of…

The subject of regionalization or the consolidation of schools has been a major issue of discussion and educational research for the past 15 years. A fact that has come out of the research is that consolidation is expensive. Yet, some observers continue to recommend consolidating the remaining school districts. When schools are closed, children…