Nina Pagtakhan THEME THREE: IMAGINATION ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

Theme 3 Readings & Guided Questions

Educ 710-Summer Session

How do these examples of imaginative curricula add to your understandings of IE? According to
The Imagination of the Scientist Roger Shepard
y y

The Philosophical Imagination in Childrens Literature Gareth Matthews

y

Visual Imagery, Imagination, and Education Dan Nadaner

y The arts represent the use of imagination by all peoples to more fully grasp their world p. 198. This is why various aspects of the toolkits exist, so that each way of visualizing something, at any particular age or area of cognitive development is a means by which to internalize and understand the world in which they live and participate in. Can help in the teaching of abstract concepts We could almost say that science is nothing but a process of forming more accurate images of forms and forces in the world (which makes science very similar to art) p.203 The role of art in cognitive development and education is far more central than it has been supposed. Imagery is the raw material of a mans capacity to imagine and to symbolize. In this last function imagery reveals itself as a the basis and the essential origin and reason or mans need to make art.

In Search of a Childs Musical Imagination Robert Walker

y

Symbolic Inventions and Transformations in Child Art Claire Golomb

y

Imagination and Education for Intercultural Understanding

Michael Degenhardt and Elaine McKay

y

y y y

Intuitive (p.158) Limited resources & exposure to experts is no longer an excuse for a limited imagination (p.159) Sudden illumination (p. 159160 The antechamber of consciousness p. 160 There needs to be a digestive period of ideas before the mind imagines solutions p.162 One needs to remove themselves from a situation to see a new possibility p. 163 Outsiders can solve problems too, because they operate outside the rigidity of established norms/solutions p. 171.

To be an imaginative educator, teachers must avoid condescension or appeasement p. 188-191 in reference to the stories told at the beginning of this article Teaching or developing a students philosophic understanding is not limited to a certain age Students can tackle topics like death, life etc because of the way it is placed in literature. It is a place for them to pause and think.

y y

Musical imagination can be stifled in the same was as other forms of imagination are Musical imagination faces the same restrictions: like the values placed on music from culture to culture, how it is taught, performed and perceived. Music is part of the arts and because we are so removed from it and having it manifest from ourselves, we struggle to find ways to be imaginative in a musical context I guess this is why within each of the toolkits of understandings, there is a place for music so that we may tap into that area again.

The kinds of drawings produced from children are representations of how they view the world now a very valid way of assessing a childs knowledge. When children draw exactly what they see in front of them, it might be the equivalent to mimicry and as such, not completely indicative of what they truly can produce artistically. Therefore its best not to have them to reproduce work for the sake of reproduction just as you would not do that with any other subject area. Drawing elicits interpretation and as such it is a form of imaginative thinking. Like in the reading with literature, our appreciation of childrens work should not be condescending condescension is largely the product of overemphasizing the incorrectness of the drawing

Understanding other cultures is a consequence of teaching imaginatively. Teaching about other cultures is inherently superficial. What IE does is make it not so by showing the commonalities, relationships and understandings Naturally, the studies of culture is a study of another groups story. As such if we learn the story of others it enriches our own experience, gives us knowledge, and allows us to think beyond superficial understandings.

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Nina Pagtakhan

Theme 3 Readings & Guided Questions

Educ 710-Summer Session

What are the strengths and weakness of these conceptions of imagination in education? According to
The Imagination of the Scientist Roger Shepard
y y y

The Philosophical Imagination in Childrens Literature Gareth Matthews

Teachers should always encourage thoughts and ideas and not stifle them. Using childrens literature that is not condescending or limiting allows for higher level thinking. This comment is in reference to p. 188-191

Visual Imagery, Imagination, and Education Dan Nadaner

y

In Search of a Childs Musical Imagination Robert Walker

y The pitfall of being able to look at music is that we always assess it against adult conceptions of what is musically imaginative. And we know that this is not fair or possible given the limitation of a student (whether it be fine motor skill) to produce something that the adult western world would deem imaginative Since music is something that needs to be studied and appreciated from a distance, it follows with it that one must be indoctrinated to the existing culture of music (as it presently is viewed in the Western world). This already closes the door on those musical expression that fall out of the norm. (mimic) Students are forced to conform to the form and patter of current compositions in order to be deemed imaginative. Though cases exist (like Mozart) that show that you can fall outside of the norm still be appreciated for musical imaginativity, it also follows that you also have to be a little bit eccentric or nuts. y

Symbolic Inventions and Transformations in Child Art Claire Golomb

The strength and value of drawing for representation is a valuable means for students to represent their understanding of the material. They draw not only what they know but also do this in an economical and symbolic way A childs drawing does not mean that they are conceptually immature, but rather that it highlights their stage of development. We reject that the child draws what he/she knows because they actually draw what is of significance or of value to him/her. The problem with leaving out body parts in a drawing (symbolic representations) is that it lends itself to the child only thinking in a utilitarian type manner. If the person that they are sketching is using a pencil, then the child will draw a hand, but if they arent then there will not be a hand. The problem with this assessment is that you may not know if the child even has a concept of the value of a hand. Are kids imaginations limited then?

Imagination and Education for Intercultural Understanding

Michael Degenhardt and Elaine McKay

y

It must flash on you It seems unpredictable Imagery is the most powerful manifestation of imagination and language erodes the imaginative capacity/limits it p. 160 Language cant seem to keep up with our ability to convey the ideas that emerge in our head p. 160 It seems you have to be somewhat unconscious to be brilliant or brilliantly imaginative Involuntary, occurs outside the rigid structure so why to go to school p. 181 It is described as a dreamstate so this makes an argument for allow our students to daydream in class p.169 It can seem fanciful and has been written off as such p. 171 and the result is that valuable scientific findings have been ignored The profile of an imaginative on p. 175 suggests the child is almost autistic delayed ability to communicate, preoccupation with objects, to be able to access this type of brilliance

Visual imagery in imagination is necessary for functioning in every day life Can be said that images are too concrete to permit abstraction and synthesis of meaning p. 199 But images are often mistaken for sources of thought, when they are only side effects p. 201 In order to read we need to form images that we can hold in memory; in order to write well we need to have a rich imagination and be able to control it at will p. 203 Through the exercise of the imagination, the view can become more broad, more flexible, and therefore more resistant to demeaning stereotypes and unproductive fixations of attention p. 204 Students who had poor control over their imagery would tend to rely more readily on the ethnic stereotypes, while those with better controlled (that is, more flexible) images would be more open to impressions gathered from direct experience (p.205)

We have to caution against romanticizing culture or carnivalizing it when we do take on intercultural studies. Intercultural studies cannot be limited to what we observe but rather what experiences we can bring our students in touch with. We have to be careful that when students imagine other cultures, that they are given enough sound knowledge to conceptualized an understanding that is actually true and representative of what they are studying.

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Nina Pagtakhan How does IE compare to these examples? According to

The Imagination of the Scientist Roger Shepard
y

Theme 3 Readings & Guided Questions

Educ 710-Summer Session

The Philosophical Imagination in Childrens Literature Gareth Matthews

y y

Visual Imagery, Imagination, and Education Dan Nadaner

y

In Search of a Childs Musical Imagination Robert Walker

y

Symbolic Inventions and Transformations in Child Art Claire Golomb

y

Imagination and Education for Intercultural Understanding

Michael Degenhardt and Elaine McKay

y

Rationalizes the existence of vivid mental imagery in the toolkit of the romantic understanding. didnt need any drawings, all in my head p. 167 suggests that students dont always need to justify the process in which they get there. A solution presented by a child should be valued in his/her own right. However the dilemma comes with how to articulate that solution to his/her audience. Or whether it is even necessary to articulate it for marks. Points to holistic types of assessment and teaching p. 168 not a narrow, atomistic approach

Forster that sense of wonder by avoiding condescension. Childrens literature can be a medium for philosophical discussion

This is likely the rationale for using vivid mental imagery as one of the tools in the romantic framework. It is meant to conjure a more personal and authentic participation into the students actual environment

What this article is saying that IE in music faces the same challenges as any other aspect of IE in other subject areas. It faces the same rigidity, snobbery as it would in art or literature studies. Only worsened because not everyone can hear, study or be exposed to musical studies

Drawing is another medium of expressing their knowledge or values A childs drawing is a representation of the meaning and likeness they bring to a situation/person or event. As with all tools found in the individual frameworks, kids artwork is another way of allowing students to demonstrate the meaning they derive from an event or any content learned. A childs artwork develops, and they access various mediums for expression in the same way that they access various tools in the respective kits at various times. Just as they will use more complicated & perhaps textured tools, they too will use the tools from first the somatic, then mythic, etc as they see use for them and are ready to access them.

IE cannot be separated from intercultural studies because both are a story of a peoples history, narratives, mythologies etc They are one in the same.

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Nina Pagtakhan

Theme 3 Readings & Guided Questions

Educ 710-Summer Session

What do these varying conceptions of imagination say about what imagination is? According to
The Imagination of the Scientist Roger Shepard
y

The Philosophical Imagination in Childrens Literature Gareth Matthews

y

Visual Imagery, Imagination, and Education Dan Nadaner

y

In Search of a Childs Musical Imagination Robert Walker

y

Symbolic Inventions and Transformations in Child Art Claire Golomb

y y

Imagination and Education for Intercultural Understanding

Michael Degenhardt and Elaine McKay

y y

y y y y

Illumination/flashes of highlevel unverbalized thinking p. 160 It exists in the antechamber of consciousness Part of our kaleidoscopic power of the brain p. 160 Sudden and unexpected Occurs outside the rigid structure presented by traditional school systems or society. Highly visual and something is lost when we try to articulate it given the limitations of langauge

It (imagination) does not discriminate by age (and nor should the teaching of it). All people are capable of engaging in a philosophical discussion despite background, socio-economic status

y y y

Imagination is a quality of conception, thus encompassing the logical and metaphorical capacities of the mind. P. 198 P. 200 it stands between perception and memory, helps in constructing knowledge about the world Supplements language (p. 200) Is a way to participate in the world Imagery is a mental activity that pervades most forms of thought. Imagination is a qualitative condition attached to the function of imagery and specifies a breath of conception p. 205 Education means that learners expand their cognitive horizons and strengthen their capacities for further action.

y y

It seems to say that imagination lies in all areas of the arts. Whether it be literature or music, it has a strong visual component. Students can draw sounds, intonations, etc Imagination is a full sensory experience. It further supports that what we hear is not easily translated to our fingers either to write or play on an instrument. No matter what, what we produce when we are imaginatively engaged has some restrictions, either physical (motor skills due to our development) or mental (we dont actually know how to produce an equivalent written word for what we are hearing, or experiential (we just cant make a reference point yet because of our limited time on earth). Someone who can play within the conventions established by a piece

Imagination is a symbolic activity Imagination is experimentation with various mediums in order to relay a message beyond what was originally presented Artwork varies and changes with experience

Imagination is culturally bound, rich, meaningful Imagination is preserved in culture but also changed in our interactions with others in any given place Imagination is an ongoing narrative of people coming together to share experiences, histories, practices etc Imagination is a manifestation of who we are in one world and what we conceptualize on our own Imagination is a union of our inner/cultural/emotional/spir itual self with the mainstream/outside world

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