Let us begin with a few links to groups with related aims to our own. In the next little while we will add further links to groups and activities that seem to us to bring about imaginative education. If you would like us to add a link to your page(s), please let us know.

Some of our primary links are with those whose brief vitae and pictures are available on our People page. You can email them from there. Here are a few interesting sites:

Click on the name of the link to visit the site or click on "more" to read a brief description of the site.

Reach Every Child: Horace Mann and nationally recognized teacher, Alan Haskvitz, developed this site of educational resources for teachers and students. It includes lesson plans to make reaching students and using technology easier.

Imagination in Education(IIE) is a research group made up of an independent group of professionals in educational sciences, higher education and educational policies. Our aim is to find practical solutions for major challenges that now confront Romania's public education.

This project's aim is to realize research focused on imagination, education and social change in order to re-think the project for an authentic and more efficient educational reform. Other common objectives of IIE's research group are:

Research on imagination and curriculum. A database for teachers and policy-makers in education at different levels.
A lobbying and contact group for international projects and collaborations for Romanian and international institutions interested in Imagination and education;
Development of common projects and initiatives with IERG from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada (www.ierg.net)
Conferences, seminars and colloquiums

Science upd8 is a new concept - translating the latest breakthroughs and science behind the news, into inspiring activities - and publishing them lightning fast. Quality and ease of use mean that teachers simply "download and go". With sponsorship from Planet Science and IBM, the concept was piloted between January and April 2003. The project was managed by Tony Sherborne at the Centre for Science Education, Sheffield Hallam University and Marianne Cutler and Daniel Sandford-Smith at the Association for Science Education (ASE). "We developed over 30 activities, taking 7 - 10 days to complete, published activities. Teachers who signed up were alerted about new activities by email or mobile text messages. They simply clicked the link to download the activity sheets, originally from the ASE website." Approx. 60% of all British schools use this site.

The Touchstone Center for Children, a nonprofit educational organization founded in New York City in 1969 by its present director, Richard Lewis, was established in the belief that all persons have natural creative, imaginative and artistic capacities, which when encouraged and allowed to develop, find unique expression in each individual.

Through its Arts and Education Projects , the Center creates interdisciplinary arts programs in classrooms which explore the role of the imagination and poetic thought as pivotal to all learning. In addition the Center conducts Workshops and Seminars for adults on the role of the imagination within the learning process and how, at all levels of education, the use of elemental themes and images based on natural phenomena can strengthen and awaken our human relationship to the natural world.

Centre for science education
The Centre for Science Education is one of the UK's leading academic groups working in the field of science education and communication, and with 34 staff it is the largest. Its key mission is to raise the engagement and progression rates CSE's vision statement is Creativity that works which reflects a passionate belief that only by inspiring and capturing the imagination of youngsters in science through the development of 'creativity-rich' resources and activities can we reverse the trend away from science careers and qualifications. But the creativity has to work, that is, allow youngsters to reach the highest levels of attainment they are possible of. This combined approach, to higher standards, as well as higher levels of engagement and motivation, are hallmarks of all the Centre's projects.

Storyline is a structured approach to learning and teaching that was developed in Scotland It builds on the key principle that learning, to be meaningful, has to be memorable, and that by using learner's enthusiasm for story-making , the classroom, the teacher's role and learning can be transformed. Storyline is a strategy for developing the curriculum as an integrated whole. It provides an opportunity for active learning and reflection as essential parts of effective learning and teaching. At the same time it develops in learners a powerful sense of ownership of their learning.

This "Storyline" group now has a wide network of centres in Europe, and a very active Centre in the U.S.

The Journal of the Imagination in Language Learning
A publication for language teachers at all levels, K-12 through College

The Journal is concerned with theoretical and practical relationships between the imagination and the acquisition of first and subsequent languages. This publication is of interest to teachers at all levels as well as to administrators of educational programs, linguists and those involved in any aspect of language use and planning.

Among the main concerns of the Journal is the following proposition: Attempts to acquire a language are significantly enhanced by the presence of an activated imagination. Both theoretical and practical articles or proposals for articles that are related to this broad area are welcome.

Centre for the Imagination in Language Learning

"The Centre for the Imagination in Language Learning website is a resource for those wishing to learn more about imagination in language learning and also wishing to discover more about the Center's annual conference, its certificate programs, and journals."

MakeBelieve Arts is a Theatre and Education Company, set up to work both in and out of schools developing projects that are both challenging and innovative, with people of all ages for whom theatre would not normally be accessible.

The company has a particular focus on developing the work of Vivian Gussin Paley in Story Telling, Story Acting (Helicopter Technique) within the Early Years and Primary Curriculum.

Waldorf schools have long been exploring ways of engaging students' imaginations in learning. You might like to look through their Online Waldorf Library.

This site has been created to provide useful information to English speaking Waldorf teachers, parents, homeschoolers, and anyone interested in Waldorf education. Our aim is to make visible all the appropriate resources on Waldorf education that are currently available and to provide information about where these resources can be purchased or obtained.

The Curriculum Research & Development Group is situated in the School of Education at at the University of Hawai'i.

The CRDG's mission is to design and develop new curricula and instructional materials for all students and teachers, from kindergarten through grade 12 and beyond. Each year, over 700,000 students in Hawai`i, forty-two other states, and six foreign countries, use CRDG-developed curricula. Additionally, the CRDG offers staff development courses to schools that adopt its programs.

The The Philosophy of Education Society (PES) was founded to,

promote the fundamental philosophic treatment of the problems of education
promote the clarification of agreements and differences among the several philosophies of education through the opportunities for discussion afforded by annual meetings
advance and improve teaching in the philosophy of education both in schools for the education of teachers and in other educational institutions
cultivate fruitful relationships between workers in general philosophy and workers in philosophy of education
cultivate fruitful relationships between scholars in philosophy of education and those in other areas of education, and
encourage promising students in the field of philosophy of education.

To learn more about PES, visit their website.

Geometry Step-by-Step, From the Land of the Incas.
This is an unusual site that will be of interest particularly to teachers of geometry, but is worth an extensive visit by anyone interested in engaging students' imaginations in learning. It is a curious mix of puzzles, jokes, music, the Incas, and geometry, and much more. The page introduces itself this way: "Welcome to "Geometry Step-by-Step, From the Land of the Incas". It provides an eclectic mix of sound, science, and Incan history intended to interest students in Euclidean geometry. The site includes geometry problems, proofs, quizzes, puzzles, quotations, scientific speculation, and more. The site is created and run by Antonio Gutierrez.

JN Partnership.
This is a site focused on the work of John Nottingham. He is concerned particularly with such movements as philosophy for children, teacher designed schools, and other ways of effectively engaging children in learning. .

Mantle of the Expert.
This website promotes the use of Mantle of the Expert. The aim is to make the site into a resource for teachers interested in developing communities of imaginative enquiry.

Institute for Arts infused education
The Marygrove College Institute for Arts-Infused Education believes that using the arts to teach the core curriculum can transform learning. The purpose of the Institute is to improve student success, create innovative models for teaching the core curriculum, and promote the systemic integration of the arts into the K-12 core curriculum. Note that the lesson plans include topics in geography, science, etc. as well as arts.

Chicago’s Imagination Education Conference

Each year at Chicago's National Louis University an Imagination Education conference discuss, performs, and explores all facets of imagination in education. This link should take you to their next conference announcement. The conferences are usually held in November. As they put it: "The Chicago Imagination Conference is an invitation to unleash imaginative and artistic powers in the service of education and planetary survival through stories, conversations, problem-solving, drama, games, music, movement, simulations, dancing, and more…please join us!"

One of the main organizers of the conference is Kristin Lems, a certified "friend of IERG," whom many of you may remember from her wonderful songs at our July conference in 2006. Online registration and information about all of the workshops and artistic performances can be found here. The conference is always a lively affair, with a variety of papers and performances. It has a quite different but delightfully complementary feel to IERG’s own July conference.