Music Educators Journal

Creativity—its definition, evaluation, and place in the curriculum—is often misunderstood. Peter R. Webster clarifies the issue with a model for musical creativity that holds exciting implications for music educators.

Unless we know what creativity is, we cannot foster its development in our students. Alfred Balkin, a professor of education, a composer, and the coordinator of the Integrated Creative Arts Program in the College of Education at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, presents some musings on the subject.

Introducing creative learning opportunities into the curriculum requires the development of clearly articulated goals and objectives. John Kratus, assistant professor of music and director of music education at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, offers a systematic approach for organizing students' creative learning in music.

Janet Moore, who is an assistant professor of music education at the University of South Florida, Tampa, examines the importance of composing and improvising as activities at all levels of the music curriculum.

Musicians around the world exhibit creativity in a number of ways. Patricia Shehan Campbell, associate professor of music education at the University of Washington, Seattle, cites some examples that provide a new perspective on the workings of performance, composition, and improvisation.

Encouraging creativity among students is a matter of providing an environment in which students have responsibility for their own learning. Lyle Davidson, lecturer in education at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education and chairman of the Undergraduate Theory Department at the New England Conservatory of Music, reviews the conditions needed for such learning.