How can a focus on imagination help teachers, schools and districts achieve their educational goals?

What will help students understand and retain more of what they learn in school? How can teachers shape the classroom experience to include children from all backgrounds? How can socially relevant topics such as media education, environmental sustainability, diversity and citizenship be woven into the core curriculum? Can assessment be used to help students learn and teachers teach, in addition to meeting accountability goals?

These are some of the central concerns of teachers, school, and districts across B.C. and further afield. They are also key themes in the work of SFU's Centre for Imaginative Education. Rather than treating imagination as an interesting but unnecessary add-on, the CIE has been pursuing the idea that it may be essential to helping educators achieve their goals. A growing, worldwide community of researchers and practioners agrees.

This founding Summer Institute on Imaginative Education will focus on educational practices that come to the fore once one takes the imagination seriously as a major learning tool. We invite educators and scholars, and those who are both, to collaborate, discover, explore, discuss, investigate, interact, and thereby contribute to building a richer and more effective conception of what schools and other educational institutions can be.

With a unique combination of original research, expert speakers, and specialized sessions, this event will provide participants with a comprehensive grounding in key concepts and tools of imaginative education.