Learners are actively engaged and/or involved in and encouraged to use mental imagery.

• involves learners

• is a high level/quality of learner participation in learning activities

• suggests more than simple on-task behavior

• can be estimated by periodic scanning (systematic observation) of the class

• is deep immersion in a learning activity

• can be enhanced when learners:

  • interact with each other

  • are asked for comments and assistance

  • roles are involved and detailed

  • access prior knowledge

  • can process and construct new knowledge in meaningful ways

Principles, rules, and/or generalizations:

• are statements or understandings of relationships between two or more concepts

• can be a law, a fundamental truth or doctrine, or an essential element that produces an effect

Mental imagery:

• is creating a picture in the mind by activating the imagination

• is bounded by learners' past experiences and past learning

• is more difficult for some learners and may require more support

While covering a unit about oceans in a fourth-grade science class, the teacher encourages learners to construct mental images about living at the bottom of the sea. Learners will transform knowledge and understanding by imagining a walk on the ocean floor as they feel the various life forms brushing on the bottom of the feet. Learners will then express thoughts in a writing activity.

In an art class, learners listen to Aaron Copeland’s "Grand Canyon Suite". They are asked to visualize the image the music creates in their mind. Each learner then sketches a pictorial representation of the mental image created by the melody of the music.

Secondary

In a geography lesson, learners are asked to consider the following example: "Imagine you are walking in a rain forest. Explain what you see, hear, feel, smell, and touch. What type of birds, animals, and insect life do you see? What type of plants and trees are in the forest? Is it raining? What is the temperature, etc." Learners will volunteer their images and will then draw the image and write an essay. A subsequent lesson will entail geographic locations of the world’s rain forests.