Inventors use imagination to challenge the status quo and envision new possibilities.
The most important word is ‘yet.’
Eliana, age 4
Children use their imagination to envision new possibilities when adults…
- deliberately invite children to dream, imagine, and create metaphors or mental images
- are intentional about the use of story and give children ample time to create and rewrite their own stories
- expect children to use materials to make connections and to develop and express their thinking in different ways
- explicitly teach children critical thinking strategies and regularly challenge them to shift perspective
Teachers envision new possibilities and model change-making when they…
- imagine “going big” to share children’s ideas beyond the classroom
- intentionally connect personal, local, and global issues through a practice of teacher-research
- actively seek resources that connect to children’s questions and theories
- consider the impact of children’s work in the classroom on the society at large