Magistro darbe analizuojamas V – VI klasių mokinių kūrybiškumo ugdymas muzikos pamokoje improvizuojant, siekiama atskleisti šio proceso kryptis ir metodiką, tobulinimo galimybes. Tyrimo objektas – mokytojų ir mokinių nuomonė apie muzikinį kūrybiškumo ugdymą improvizuojant. Darbo uždaviniai: atskleisti kūrybiškumo proceso teorinį aspektą, įvertinant improvizavimą kaip kūrybiškumą įtakojančią muzikinę veiklą. Empirinio tyrimo uždaviniai: išaiškinti svarbiausius kūrybišką asmenybę lemiančius veiksnius, pateikti rekomendacijas, kokiomis kryptimis galima vystyti muzikinio ugdymo improvizuojant strategiją. Tyrimas atliktas taikant pokalbio, anketinės apklausos metodus. Darbe iškeliama pedagoginė problema – mokinių nenoras giliau domėtis muzika. Improvizuojant ši problema pasireiškia mokinių iniciatyvos stoka, susikaustymu, nemokėjimu ir nenoru išreikšti save. Tai ypač būdinga paaugliams. Tyrimas parodė, kad mokytojai kūrybiškumą nelaiko prioritetine muzikinės veiklos sritimi. Jie kūrybiškai asmenybei priskiria šias savybes: mokėjimą fantazuoti, atkaklumą įgyvendinant savo idėjas, laisvumą, pasitikėjimą, emocingumą, jautrumą, originalumą, nepriklausomumą. Ištirta, kad svarbiausi veiksniai, lemiantys improvizavimo sėkmę, yra muzikinės klausos ir muzikinės atminties lavinimas, saviraiškos ir pažinimo poreikių tenkinimas, sugebėjimas operuoti muzikos išraiškos priemonėmis. Vienodas skaičius mokytojų mano, kad muzikai gabūs mokiniai visada kūrybiški ir muzikai gabūs mokiniai nevisada... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This Master‘s thesis contains the analysis of the 5-6th grade pupils education of creativity through improvization at music lessons, directions, methods of the process, as well as possibilities of the development. Research subject - teachers and pupils’ opinion of musical creativity education through improvization. Research objectives: to review the theoretical aspect of creative process, assessing improvization as creativity which influence musical activity. Empiric research objectives: to analyse the most important activities of a creative personality; to present recommendation on the ways of music education through improvization strategy. The research is based on oral and written questions. Pedagogical problem of the research – pupils’ unwillingness to understand music deeper. This especially concerns teenagers. The research has demonstrated that teachers do not consider creativity to be the priority ir music education. According to them a creative personality possesses the following qualities; ability to imagine and realise ideas, freedom, self - confidence, emotions, sensitivity, originality, independence. It has been defined that the most important actions, leading to successful improvization, are the development of musical hearing and memory, self-expression and learning needs, ability to use means of music expression. The number of teachers, thinking that musically gifted pupils are always creative, is the same as the number of those who believe that they are not... [to full text]

This dissertation, flying between aesthetics, visual arts, and political/cultural/historical issues, traverses lines of stratification, and (de/re)territorialization to examine uncertainties in making and teaching art. In keeping with a conviction that nothing is unitary, that everything is always connected to countless others, Deleuze and Guattari’s metaphor of rhizome is the central organizing element in my work. My research questions what is meant by creativity, whether assumed to be a gift, talent, or innate quality, and what is meant by teaching art in university, which assumes creativity can be organized and developed. Differing discourses of creativity exhibit a general continuity of agreement that creation takes place within chaos, and forms where chaos and order meet each other. I posit that contemporary discourses of creativity hegemonically reinforce capitalism as a system of nomadic power and of constant de/reterritorialization. All, in a capitalist system, is linked to the construction of the urge to consume, and therefore the acceleration of capitalism necessitates an increase in the rate at which we manufacture venues for consumption, even in such innovative ways as by making creativity itself a consumable package. How do we resist this? From a Deleuzian point of view, creation is a becoming event, as destructive as productive. Creativity, which is about freedom, occurs on a plane of immanence which sifts chaos and multiplicity together to break lines. Teaching, however, is on a “plane of organization” where rigid and dichotomous segmentarities of personal and social life operate. I suggest that artistic knowledge can be theorized and taught, in the Schönian sense, but creativity, a matter of “lines of flight,” is fundamentally unrelated to artistic knowledge. I argue that what can be taught is technique, theory, and the material language of media, and that these should be taught as explicit professional objectives, not as “creativity.” We can teach the value of breaking away from the false seriousness of creativity, with reference to Dada. We can teach the enjoyment of chaos and the confrontation of it. We can teach resistance. We can teach a love of complexities. We can teach play. / Thesis (Ph.D, Education) -- Queen's University, 2008-05-16 09:14:08.09

Studies over the last ten years suggest computers are not being used to their full potential inside schools (Abrami et al., 2006; Smeets, 2005; Suronta & Lehtimaki, 2004). Findings often recommend some combination of professional development, increased technical support, and the development and acquisition of user-friendly software to remedy the situation. While any one of these options may help in the short term, this thesis argues that, even in combination, none of these solutions get to the root of education’s problem with integrating new technology. Policy purports that simply inserting a computer into a classroom will open up new possibilities for learning, however in order to successfully integrate new technology in a way that is beneficial for both students and the teacher, what is needed is an approach to learning that will foster a creative and engaged learning environment. Using a phenomenological perspective that draws from my experience helping teachers implement computer technology and my artistic practice, this thesis will explore what began as a hunch, that there might be something to an artist’s approach that makes using technology more navigable. This approach, which is transferable to other environments, can foster meaningful learning. By developing a manner of approach that is by nature creative and leads to an unfolding process for learning, rather than programming for desired outcomes. This thesis draws broadly from four sources: Christopher Alexander’s The Nature of Order: An Essay on the Art of Building and The Nature of the Universe, Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics, Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception, and my memories from my Introduction to Painting class in art school. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2008-07-14 15:40:24.502

Gyvename globaliame pasaulyje, kur žmonės spręsdami kasdienines ar ilgalaikes užduotis, nuolat susiduria su kliūtimis. Informacinėse visuomenėse stresoriai yra informacijos perteklius ir pernelyg didelės pasirinkimo galimybės. Vaikai dabar susiduria su daugeliu stresorių: nerimu dėl santykių tiek ekonomiškai, tiek psichologiškai nestabiliose šeimose, rinkos santykiais grindžiamos aplinkos eskaluojama visuotine konkurencija, nepamatuotais vartotojiškais poreikiais, išaugusiu psichologiniu ir fiziniu smurtu. Tikėtina, jog globalizacijos kontekste stiprėja ir intensyvėja stresą sąlygojantys reiškiniai, todėl itin svarbia tampa stresą padedančių įveikti sąlygų paieška. Gebėti susidoroti su stresu, reikštų gebėti spręsti problemas. Daugelis autorių gebėjimą spręsti problemas sieja su kūrybiškumu. Tyrimo objektas: paauglių streso įveikimo strategijų, kūrybiškumo, vaizduotės tarpusavio sąsajos. Tyrimo tikslas: teoriškai pagrįsti ir empiriškai nustatyti paauglystėje (13-15m.) streso įveikimo strategijų ir kūrybiškumo sąsajas. Tyrimo metodai: • Teoriniai: mokslinės (psichologinės, pedagoginės), metodinės literatūros analizė. • Empiriniai: kiekybinio duomenų rinkimo ir duomenų apdorojimo. Tyrimo imtis ir organizavimas. Tyrime iš viso dalyvavo 107 tiriamieji iš Kuršėnų miesto Pavenčių vidurinės mokyklos, 13-15 metų paaugliai. Pagrindinės išvados 1. Paauglystė siejama su specifiniu elgesiu, jai būdingomis nuostatomis, vaidmenimis ir konfliktais. Vieni savo elgesiu greitai prisitaiko... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / We live in the global world, where people solve daily or long-term tasks and are constantly meeting with difficulties. In information society the stressors are an excess of information and excessive options. Nowadays children are facing with many stressors: anxiety about the relationship both in economically and psychologically unstable families, in the market-based environment interfaces where general competition is escalated, excessive consumers‘ needs, psychological and physical violence is on the rise. It seems likely that stress determinant phenomenons increase and intensify in the context of globalization, therefore it becomes very important to search the ways how to cope with stress. Being able to cope with stress means that a person is able to solve his/her problems. Many of the authors an ability to solve problems relate to creativity. Object of the research: teenagers‘ stress overcoming strategies, creativity and imagination correlations. Aim of the research: justify theoretically and empirically define stress strategies overcoming and creativity interfaces in adolescence (aged 13-15). Methods of the research: • Theoretic: scientific (psychological, educational), methodical analysis of literature. • Empirical: quantitative data collection and data processing. Organization and proceeding of the research: 107 (aged 13-15) subjects from Kuršėnai Pavenčiai Secondary School participated in the reseach. The main conclusions: 1. Adolescence is related with its... [to full text]

The study was conducted to measure whether participatory drama with young adolescents, as implemented by teachers untrained in the discipline, is more effective in producing changes in creativity, literary writing, personality, and attitudes than regular programs of English used exclusively.

Who has never reflected about an artist or a creative person thinking why this person is not recognized and famous? Why so much talent for nobody?Who has never reflected, why this singer sings or this actor plays or this fashion designer draws? And secretly thinks that he or she should not.Finding a talented and a creative leader is a real challenge for the company. Finding the good one, we mean. Indeed, the creative leader is the key of improvement and success for creative organizations such as the theater, cinema, cuisine, music and fashion… Once the company found him or her, it has to keep him or her, to give to him or her all the freedom and power he or she needs because he is the one that is able to create great products, to draw out the creativity of the team and to build a clear vision for the company.However, the company also has to deal with constraints. There are financial, material, humans…This thesis try to understand how creative companies work and what are the characteristics of a creative leader. But we do not let the financial part be a taboo. Creative companies build a bridge between their talented leader and their financial restrictions. This paradox involves the question of whether to control or to let the creativity be completely free. The duality between leading creativity and leading rationality is the matter of this thesis.We illustrate the dichotomy with the business of fashion, in particular with Haute Couture Houses. The study case is a way to go inside a real creative organization and to understand how the leadership is implemented.

Many studies have been performed on creativity and the measurement of creativity. However, little is known about the relationship between gender differences and creativity, particularly in South Afnca. The current study aimed to investigate the difference in creativity between boys and girls, as well as the development of creativity in late middle childhood, in the South African context. From the random sample of 1000 primary school children in late middle childhood (grade 4 to 7) of different races and socio-economic strata and from different provinces in South Africa, the questionnaires of 707 children could be used. By using a single cross-sectional design, creativity was measured with subscales of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking. The results indicated low average scores of creativity in South Afncan children. No statistically significant differences in creativity scores were found between boys and girls. Furthermore, no statistically significant differences in creativity scores were found between the 9-year-old and the 10- to 12-year-old groups, except for verbal fluency, where the 10- tol2-year-old children scored higher than the 9-year-old children. Since the creativity scores were generally lower than the norms for the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, it is clear that the development of creativity in particular groups of South African children may be suboptimal and this phenomenon needs further investigation. / Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

This arts-based study will discuss using a sketchbook journal to enhance creativity and promote the cultivation of the artist’s visual voice. The paper attempts to define creativity, as well as the usefulness of the sketchbook as a creative tool. The results of this study will demonstrate how the effectiveness of the sketchbook journal in the development of the artist can also transcend to usefulness when considering the sketchbook as a curriculum tool in elementary art education.

The initial intention of this arts-informed research study was to implement art classes for people with Alzheimer‟s disease, and to examine its impact upon new learning at cognitive, procedural and affective levels of experience. While these goals persist – indeed adult educational theory and quality of life are central to this thesis – the research focus gradually shifted from a constructivist view of the Alzheimer‟s learner to a phenomenological view of the relationship between teacher and student. Its power to facilitate the growth of reciprocity and bolster identity within the learning context, whether one-to-one or in small group settings, became more apparent as the research progressed. This revealed the potential of arts-based educational programs to build mutual trust and reciprocity with and among the participants. In turn, these qualities contributed to the expression of positive feelings, improved self-esteem,and communication in people with Alzheimer‟s.

Local diversity is often credited with being a driver of creative economic activity. Comparative research on this topic is often however highly structural in nature and does little to address questions of agency. This work seeks to link the traditional regional science approach to questions of potential advantages of local diversity with a more bottom-up view of the creative process. From a theoretical perspective this involves incorporating the social psychology literature on the creative process as well as concepts from social network analysis with more aggregated spatial notions of creativity and diversity. More specifically, it addresses how different knowledge is connected through social interaction and how this fuels the creation of new ideas and ultimately creative economic activity. A number of empirical innovations are made in order to test these theoretical constructs beginning with an agent-model/simulation which illuminates how social networks form and evolve over space and time. These artificial networks suggest how agents embedded in diverse local contexts have a creative advantage by possessing greater access to a variety of knowledge. Subsequent statistical analysis of large secondary datasets seeks to provide external validity to the agent-model. The first demonstrates a strong relationship between local diversity and the concentration of creative economic activities across 140 Canadian city-regions. A key implication of this finding is that local diversity is more closely associated with certain types of economic activity, rather than overall economic performance. The second statistical analysis uses the Canadian General Social Survey to compare the social network characteristics of individuals. This analysis shows that people engaged in creative industries and occupations tend to have larger, more dynamic, and more diverse sets of social relations than any other category of worker. The dissertation concludes with a model that suggests policy interventions should focus on developing local environments that provide the necessary conditions in which creative activity can thrive, rather than attempting to intervene directly in the creative process itself.