The transition from childhood giftedness to adult creative productiveness: Psychological characteristics and social supports

The purpose of this article is to examine the sources of differences in motivation and other psychological characteristics, specifically the role of childhood environments, in engendering or promoting adult creative productive achievement. A model is presented in which it is proposed that the environmental conditions of creative producers result in responses that include the development of several key personality characteristics or coping strategies such as a preference for time alone, an ability to cope with high levels of anxiety or tension, freedom from conventionality, and the use of intellectual activities to fulfill emotional needs. The conditions in the environment often result from some kind of stress within the family, which is in part, a function of characteristics of the family, the broader context surrounding the family, and characteristics of the child.     

Creative Science Teaching Labs: New dimensions in CPD

This paper offers analysis and evaluation of ‘Creative Science Teaching (CST) Labs III’, a unique and immersive approach to science teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) designed and run by a London-based organisation, Performing Arts Labs (PAL), involving specialists from the arts, science and technology as integral. Articulating the key features of the experience and its perceived influences and by setting these in the wider context of the literatures in continuing professional development and creative teaching and learning, the paper seeks to demonstrate novel dimensions that this initiative has to offer CPD in creative teaching and the ensuing learning, highlighting key questions for further developing these new dimensions.     

Can ‘pooling teaching tips’ be more than ‘pooling teaching tips’?

Tertiary Education and Management - There is increasing interest in how academic development of various kinds influences university teaching and student learning. To date the focus has been on...     

Teaching and Learning in the University: New Directions for Australian Higher Education

The purpose of this paper is to outline recent changes to higher education in Australia and assess the implications of those changes for teaching and learning in universities. Three main changes have been identified:
1. The meta-policy context that has transformed a binary system of higher education into a unified national system of universities. This has given rise to the concept of the comprehensive university accompanied by an economic rationalist approach to the funding of higher education. Issues identified are the relativities to be accorded to teaching and research in the new universities and the push for more efficient modes of teaching.
2. Institutional changes that have influenced the traditional character of universities. These changes include the politicisation of Vice-Chancellors whose peak body is now recognised by the government as the single voice of the university sector, the changing student composition of universities as a result of government policies relating to overseas students and students who have been traditionally underpresented in universities and the introduction of academic staff appraisal. An assessment is made of this broad range of changes on teaching and learning.
3. Changing conceptions of teaching are discussed with a particular emphasis on the work of Shulman and its implications for teaching in the university.     

The importance of computer experience,learning processes,and communication patterns in multicultural networking

This paper reports on a case study which was undertaken to study issues fundamental to a computer-assisted, multicultural education. During the study, a group of Asian American middle-school students corresponded with culturally dissimilar students using telecommunications. The data reported reflect the Asian American students' experience. Results concerning three themes of the research are discussed: computer knowledge, learning processes, and communication patterns. Findings indicate that students of different ethnic backgrounds may have different attitudes about and knowledge of computers, cross-cultural communication patterns, and learning processes when working with computers. These differences should be taken into account when planning a computer-assisted, multicultural curriculum. The authors wish to thank Andy Xiong for his invaluable assistance on this project. We would also like to thank the three teachers for their contributions to the research. This research was supported by a grant from the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, College of Education, University of Minnesota.