The Nature of Imagination in Pedagogy: A Qualitative Study of an Elementary School Setting

<p>The task of this dissertation is to assess the popular thought of teachers on the topic of imagination and uncover how they incorporate imaginative methods into their current teaching practices. I attempt to ascertain the origination of these current perspectives through an analysis of the imagination from a historical perspective. Through portraiture, a qualitative research tool, I examine how the imagination is currently engaged in an elementary classroom setting. The research questions that guided this inquiry were as follows: 1) What is the intention of teachers who utilize imaginative teaching methods/strategies, 2) what types of instructional practices, activities, and learning environments support the use of student's imagination, and 3) how might teachers in K-12th grade make use of imaginative practices to engage students in learning? In order to answer these questions I investigated the use of imagination by teachers with classroom observations, in-depth interviews of three teachers, and developed themes and stories brought to voice through two focus group interviews.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Shank, Perry S.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Bruce Uhrmacher, Ph.D.
• Andrew R. Goetz, Ph.D.
• Paul Michalec
• Nicholas Cutforth

• Creativity
• Imagination
• Imagine
• Innovation
• Education
• Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1082

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-2082