Imagining imagination: towards cognitive and metacognitive models

TY - JOUR

T1 - Imagining imagination

T2 - towards cognitive and metacognitive models

AU - Burns, Helen

N1 - © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.

PY - 2022/3/31

Y1 - 2022/3/31

N2 - This paper presents a theoretical exploration of the relationship between imagination, cognition and metacognition, conceptualised within ‘emergent models’. These models are offered to enable dialogue and tools to understand and support imagination in education practice, through the presence of ever-transforming theory, conceived as emergent phenomena. The models are arrived at theoretically and pragmatically, drawing on evolutionary, philosophical, psychological and art paradigms. They demonstrate a fundamental relationship between cognition, metacognition and imagination. A major conclusion is that to nurture thinking, we should perceive and develop imagination as a fundamental aspect of thought, as opposed to often regarding it as a magical force. Of special importance is the necessity for and prominence of imagination in metacognition, given the strong evidence that metacognition supports achievement and attainment. Through its fundamental relationship with metacognition, imagination increases our capacity to learn, enables personal and potentially, democratic capacity.

AB - This paper presents a theoretical exploration of the relationship between imagination, cognition and metacognition, conceptualised within ‘emergent models’. These models are offered to enable dialogue and tools to understand and support imagination in education practice, through the presence of ever-transforming theory, conceived as emergent phenomena. The models are arrived at theoretically and pragmatically, drawing on evolutionary, philosophical, psychological and art paradigms. They demonstrate a fundamental relationship between cognition, metacognition and imagination. A major conclusion is that to nurture thinking, we should perceive and develop imagination as a fundamental aspect of thought, as opposed to often regarding it as a magical force. Of special importance is the necessity for and prominence of imagination in metacognition, given the strong evidence that metacognition supports achievement and attainment. Through its fundamental relationship with metacognition, imagination increases our capacity to learn, enables personal and potentially, democratic capacity.

KW - Imagination

KW - metacognition

KW - creativity

KW - emergence

KW - creative imagination

KW - fantastical imagination

KW - imagery

U2 - 10.1080/14681366.2022.2059547

DO - 10.1080/14681366.2022.2059547

M3 - Article

SN - 1468-1366

JO - Pedagogy, Culture and Society

JF - Pedagogy, Culture and Society

ER -