ABSTRACT
In educational research, it is often difficult to document incidents of a behaviour or an experience such as creative learning when its occurrence is unpredictable (Cziko, 1989; Taylor, 1996). It is difficult for the researcher to plan to be there, field book or camcorder in hand, when a child finds a new use for a toy or tool, makes a discovery about mixing colours to create an effect in a painting, works out a novel solution to a mathematical problem, or creates a spontaneous dance. I had this difficulty in a research study of my own school – a specialized arts school. I was trying to collect and document the aesthetic experiences of students and teachers. However, aesthetic experiences in classroom situations are not necessarily predictable and therefore I wasn’t always able to observe (or video) them when they happened.
