SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE

IN

ART APPRECIATION

by:

EVELYN C. CASARENO

Instructor I

Implemented by:

AURIE MAY S. MARZO

Instructor

MODULE 1: Imagination and Creativity in Teaching and Learning

Topics
1. Imagination
2. Nature and Young Children
Learning Outcome
1 Characterize artistic expression based on personal experiences with art
2 Discuss the nature of artexpression

Overview of the Lesson

Young children are known to be inquisitive, exploratory, and naturally critical.
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These characteristics are manifestations of children’s rich imagination that pushes

them to be creators of their own learning experience. Imagination, being the
highest form of thinking, is expected to be nurtured to young children as they
progress in different stages on their learning development.

This lesson highlights the construct of imagination and creativity in teaching and
learning and categorizes the significance of imagination into the nature of young
children. It delves further into the natural environment of children—the concept of
play being a significant transition phase for children’s creative learning
experience.

Looking at the photo above, what concepts can you form? If you’ll relate it with the
context of education, what does it represent?

Education

REFLECT.Have you ever tried imagining yourself doing something before officially
doing them? How significant is it for you to use the power of imagination in
dealing with creative tasks? Share your experience.

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IN
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Imagination and the Young Children

Imagination

- The highest form of thinking which extends

beyond the natural identity of a natural art. It
creates an avenue for children to explore their own
learning and express themselves in a non-
threatening environment.

The main construct of imagination into the world

of teaching and learning is supported with
scaffolding which is initially provided by the
immediate family—not until the child is sent into
his/her formal schooling.

- It includes high forms of thinking which includes

creativity, possibility, and ideas.
a. Creativity—through the drive of imagination, the ability to refine and
recreate anything out of something is done.
b. Possibility—a sort of thinking which is highlighted by imagination that
ignites an individual’s tendency to be futuristic on varying concerns.
c. Ideas—underscored by the power of imagination, this brings a thought,
plan, or suggestion on what to deal with in any circumstance.
Imagination and Its Application in Teaching

“We can only teach students by the use of imagination”—it is applied on

instances which allows abstract reasoning and abstract properties of
thinking.

Standing in front of the class while having discussions/lectures is a huge

challenge in the teaching and learning world. Learners find it challenging to
get into the learning scheme due to the abstract concepts and properties;
however, with the scaffold provided by the teacher by means of utilizing the
learner’s imagination capability, they are augmented to get through it.

Starting with a springboard, let the learners explore—creating a space for

them to work on. As the teacher progresses with the lesson, learners will
have enough time to make transitions and adaptations to the learning
process. Listening to their claims, accepting their brilliant ideas, and
addressing their concerns will make them feel considered and accepted—
this will further encourage participation.

Imagination drives human discovery

When properly motivated and appropriately coordinated, imagination will
provide enough scaffold which leads to human discovery. It enables

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learners to work on their own pace and create their own learning experience
(the said experience impels critical and creative thinking) that boost their
inquisitive ability in finding for answers on their quest of truth and
intensifies high regards to learning.
Contributors of Imaginative concerns

 Kieran Egan
—an educational philosopher who created the book on ‘Imagination in
Teaching and Learning’
—he hopes to provide practical help for teachers like concrete examples
of curriculum designs and teaching techniques who wants to engage,
stimulate, and develop student imagination
—he strongly adheres to the claim that imagination is the ‘heart of all
learning.’
 Albert Einstein
—the thought, “Imagination is more important than knowledge for
knowledge to all we know and understand while imagination embraces the
entire world and all there will be known and understood,” has lingered and
is reflected back from his crafts.
Importance of Imagination in Education

1. Lead by example—considers the idea of

‘Learning by Doing’. The fact that teachers
are dealing with children (of young age) and
that they adhere with the concept of ‘to see
is to believe’, teachers should spearhead the
development and appropriate exercise of
imagination.

Imagination should be properly utilized as a

means of developing the inquisitive nature of
children—where their creativity and critical
thinking is used into their optimum state.

2. Pursue their passion—this is the main core

of all human activity since it clings to the
affection/heart.

Children are naturally inquisitive; thus, addressing their concerns will

make them feel recognized and appreciated.

3. Encourage spontaneity –give them spare time to experience how to deal

with the natural world so they can explore and wander around so as to
engage them in creative pursuit.

We cannot work on things overnight—everything needs polishing to be

regarded as quality. Giving children enough space and time as they engage
in creative pursuit will give them enough opportunity and experience as
they gear towards discovery.

4. Don’t focus on results—focus only on how they manage to create

something. Focusing on results often give children the state of being
idealistic and perfectionist—in the course of discovery and exploration,
what’s more significant is on how children manages to come up with
something or what creative output were they able to produce out of

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exploration.

5. Create a positive environment—leave them act freely without any sort of

stiff rules or laws. Let them work on their own.

Indulging the young into a non-threatening environment will help them

explore freely and without inhibitions.Providing ‘class rules’ and meeting
with the needs and demands on their learning environment is enough to let
them held accountable on their learning experience. Positive learning
environment doesn’t mean that everything is provided so as to achieve a
positive result, rather it is having children define their own construct on
discipline.

6. Boost their self-esteem—their sense of freedom will develop their self-

confidence which will later on keep them expressing themselves in class.

The scaffold given by the teacher as moderator/facilitator of the learning

process impose a huge impact on helping the young children to develop
their natural state of confidence. While they are expressing themselves, the
teacher can utilize this development as they work further on boosting the
self-esteem of the young.

7. Spend time out in the natural world—exposing the pupils in the natural
and changing world will help them manifest sort of thinking which requires
them to observe on modernization and advancement.

As they delve freely into the learning environment, there is a tendency that
children will just deal with what is right at the moment—this limits the
range of rich experience which could possibly be manifested in their
exploration. Thus, exposition of the young to both natural-conventional
and artificial-modern learning environment will possibly provide them with
richer experience and intensify a more realistic learning outcome.

8. Try new things—never confine pupils on their rote learning, let them deal
with the realities of the world. Only the real world can provide real and rich
learning experiences—let the young deal with the world of the young
(naughty, inquisitive, eager, and playful). Let them play while learning, let
them indulge with the realities of the world.

9. Read everyday—reading will keep pupils abreast of updated and factual

information. Reading will provide a wider range of information to the young
and will help them keep up with the current trends not only in learning but
also in the realities of the world which they can utilize during their
exploration.

10.Limit screen time—don’t let the pupils interact with spoon fed/anticipated
stories instead, let them explore on things which will better help them
visualize with their imagination.
Screen time will spoil learners on the access of information around them;
thus, making them rely on these readily accessible information without the
effort of validating them and without the exercise of creative and critical
thinking that triggers quality exploratory activities and discovery.

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NATURE AND YOUNG

CHILDREN
This promotes the Holistic development of children by engaging them in
the beauty of nature. It involves the indoor and outdoor activities in which
children can maximize their capacity.
In nature, a child exposes himself to the world of creativity due to
exploration while playing. Playing serves a significant role in providing the
young with rich, natural, and non-threatening learning experience—
children learn as they play.
The young children are the most vulnerable individual in the world of
teaching and learning while enjoying the realm of life through playing.
A child’s nature in play is categorized as indoor or outdoor. This is in
consideration to individual differences of each individual.
Play

--It is a natural activity for young children. It is considered as the language of the
child and is considered as part of their multitude of development in different
areas.

 Physical development
 Social development
 Emotional development
 Spiritual development
 Psychomotor development
 Mental development
Nature Play

--it involves both indoor and outdoor activities

which will help hasten and hone a child’s capacity
depending upon his/her chosen field.
Appropriateness of the learning environment is a
must for a child to learn while playing.

 INDOOR—offers more opportunity for active

involvement with nature since materials are
found elsewhere and this exudes more time for exploration that results to
ample time for creative works.

It emphasizes the production of learning resources which will be

contributory to the rich learning experience of children—without the
learning resources, it will be impossible for children to work productively in
the indoors.

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 OUTDOOR—offers materials which can be natural or man-made so long as

it tries to augment the creative tendencies of a child.

Resources are found everywhere—they offer multitude of learning

experiences to children. With the guidance of the teacher, children will
define the significance of these materials and will utilize them for their
creative works.
Benefits of Natural Play

1. Makes kids healthier—stimulates higher level and intensity of physical

activity
2. Makes them smarter—boosts brain development and their Higher Order
Thinking Skills (HOTS). They have the access of devising their own scheme
to get through the activity in which they also have the tendency to lead the
group to finish the activity/play.
3. Let them feel better—develops a child’s well-being and help secure their
affection. Interaction on the duration of play makes children feel acceptable
and understood. It makes them communicate naturally and express their
vulnerable selves while enjoying their learning state.
4. Environmental care—maintained through their exposition to nature and
their exploration to its natural being; thus, developing in them a sense of
responsibility. It also instills discipline in them as a manifestation of their
exposure to the natural world.
Creative Play

--a normal stage in a child’s development where

he/she is prone to mimic or to deal with ‘make
believe’ things the characteristics which are
highly developed in this kind of play is creativity
and imaginative capacity.

--it is one way for children to express themselves

(ideas, thoughts or beliefs, and feelings)

Encouraging Creative Play

1. Less toys more play

2. Give them ample time
3. Explore—this leads to helping children create their own learning
opportunity.

4. Provide variety of experiences—this clings to individual differences of

children. Remember you cannot reach out children who aren’t into
something which they aren’t inclined to.

5. Involve children in adult activities—this is one way to channel the known

and unknown on their level of cognition.

Elders play a vital role in the cognitive aspect of children—they serve as the
light giver to the unknown concepts. With proper and appropriate
responses, children will be given a variety, valid, and quality information to
breach the abstract concepts.

6. Don’t mind the mess—play always involve messy activities but remember
this is how they learn. Also, while they are indulging in the learning
environment while playing, their mess reflects their creative pursuit for a

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better or quality learning output.

Learning doesn’t always require systematic or organize properties as we

underscore the concept of individuality—learners have their own ways of
dealing with their learning. Creativity and discovery is manifested during
plays and it is not validated through following a certain system alone but on
following what’s applicable and appropriate.

7. Set up invitation to play—encourage children to feel the belongingness in

each phase. In this case, they will be motivated to join in any sort of
activity/play.

By merely calling their attention, calling their names, guiding them (when
they needed), and praising them (even their little progress) can build the
essence of trust that marks their state of belongingness and being
accepted. This in return, will ignite the participation of children into
whatever activity which they feel to be relevant to their learning experience.
Learning in Natural Environment

1. Play in natural environment provides better opportunities for

development and learning than playground.
2. It fostered growth in all developmental domains (Physical, Mental, and
Psychomotor) and it tends to move varied, complex, and creative plays
than playing indoors.
a. Physical—clings to the materiality and physical prowess of an
individual
b. Mental—underscores the cognitive capacity of an individual
c. Psychomotor—this highlights the ability of an individual to deal
with mobility and application of their learning
3. It promotes natural intelligence for all children regardless of their
learning styles and individual abilities

My Reflections / My Insights
LOOKING BACK. How does nature and play impacts the
learning of children? Share your significant childhood
experience that support and validate your stand.

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UPSHOT

Nowadays children are having a great time dealing with the modern world as they
are exposed to the advance technology and all sorts of modernization. As arts is a
reflection of one’s culture and an extension of man’s activities, it is then important

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to start the young in the pursuit of creative activities—exposing them to

imaginative construct to hasten their Higher Order Thinking Skills.

Children, on a realistic context, will always be children. Play, being the language
of a child, can be used as a springboard for the exercise of their imaginative
construct. Having them exposed on both the natural and the prepared
environment helps them define their own learning as they indulge to their own
learning discovery. Indeed, LEARNING IS FUN!

ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY
NOTE: Please use separate sheet/s for your answers.

1. PICTURE PERFECT!Using the figure provided below,

creatively recreate a representation of yourself as a molder of
the future.

Define further your role in setting the significance of imagination to young

children.

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2. LET’S PLAY!
Modify or create an educational play for young children. Define your own rules
(without compromising the freedom of children in a non-threatening environment),
set of standards, participants, and the expected outcome of the activity. Use the
table below in constructing the paper.

NAME OF THE ACTIVITY/PLAY

Rules of the play

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Participants

Learning Resources

Set of activities to be followed

Expected outcome and its

significance

Prepared and Facilitated:

NAME & SIGNATURE OF FACILITATOR

COMPREHENSION CHECK

Imagination and the Young Children

I. IDENTIFICATION. Identify what is being asked on the

following items.
1. Known as the provider of immediate guide to young children
during their informal education, as they seek maturity in the concept of
imagination.
2. Provides the scaffold needed by young children in their creative pursuit
during formal schooling.
3. This involves the ability to modify any available resource to match the
demands of teaching and learning with the manifestation of healthy and
productive state of imagination.
4. In the world of teaching, this is the peak of learning which breach the
concrete and the abstract identity in education.
5. As a response to the challenges of learning, children continue their quest for
truth and further learning opportunities which could impose better
outcomes.
6. A significant aspect of imagination in education intensifies the promotion
and experience of young children into a non-threatening environment.
7. Nature and nurture plays a vital role in providing productive learning
opportunities for children.
8. Learning isn’t confined on the four corners of the room, it extends even on
the farthest areas of the world—let children indulge in the evolving world.
9. This activity provides a wide range of learning opportunities to young
children. Even with the inevitable changes brought by modernization, the
significant contributions of the past are recorded for retrieval and for mental
activity consumption.
10.To enhance their power of imagination, the teacher should create and
employ learning opportunities which augments the Higher Order Thinking
Skills of children. The quality of learning opportunity is a reflection of the
teacher’s regard to imagination.

Nature and Young Children

II. TRUE or FALSE. Write TRUE if the statement is of truth and FALSE if
otherwise.

1. The categories of play is a response to the concept of learning differences.

These categories initiates the response generation on learners as they deal
with their choice of learning opportunity to dwell with.
2. The vulnerability of children in the world of teaching and learning is

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potentially observed during playtime.

3. A child’s optimum development is best achieved through the help of
intuition and a prepared learning environment.
4. A productive learning environment is a definition of an appropriate nature
for learning.
5. The availability of learning resources is the sole consideration in the choice
of activities/play.

REFERENCES

www.academia.edu

Egan, Kieran (1992). Imagination in Teaching and Learning, pp. 12-37

Wilson, Ruth (2012). Nature and Young Children, 2nd Ed., Encouraging Creative
Play and Learning in Natural Environments pp. 1-17

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