Imagination in Teaching and Learning: The Middle School Years.
Egan, Kieran
It is widely believed that a child's imagination ought to be stimulated and developed in education. Yet, few teachers understand what the imagination is or how it lends itself to practical methods and techniques that can be used easily in classroom instruction. This book offers practical help for teachers who want to engage, stimulate, and develop the imaginative and learning processes of children ages 8 to 15. The publication is geared to the typical student's imaginative life and how it can be stimulated in learning; how the average teacher can plan to achieve this aim; and how the curriculum can be structured to help achieve this goal. The book contains concrete examples of curriculum design and teaching techniques structured to appeal specifically to children in their middle school years. The publication is organized into 6 chapters which cover: (1) a brief account of the range of meanings people ascribe to imagination; (2) why it is important to stimulate and develop the imagination of students; (3) characteristics of students' imaginative lives and meaningful learning; (4) the design of a framework for planning teaching that aims to stimulate students' imaginations; (5) the usefulness of forming and articulating vivid images in teaching; and (6) examples of how the framework can be used to plan teaching in mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts. The conclusions discuss implications for teaching and the curriculum if imagination is taken seriously in education. (Contains approximately 85 references.) (LL)