CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS
CHRISTOPHER F. TORIO
Teaching creative thinking skills is a necessity with for students and is crucial for living life. Every teacher is looking for more ways to integrate it into classrooms.
Creative thinking is not just thinking “clearly or rationally” but about thinking independently. Creative thinking about something means formulating your own opinions and drawing your own conclusions. This happens regardless of outside influence. It’s about the discipline of analysis, and seeing the connections between ideas.
Teaching creative thinking skills does not require hours of lesson planning. You don’t need special equipment or guest speakers. All you need are curious and open minds, along with a few strategies:
Begin with a Question. This is the simplest method into creative thinking. What do you want to explore and discuss? It shouldn’t be a question you can answer with a ‘yes’or a ‘no.’When you pose your question to students, encourage brainstorming. Write down possible answers on a chalkboard or oversized pad as a student reference. This is a big part of defining the problem. Have big open discussions where students can dissect and discuss questions.
Create a Foundation. Students cannot think creatively if they do not have the information they need. Begin any creative thinking exercise with a review of related information. This ensures they can recall facts pertinent to the topic.
Consult the Classics. Great literary works boast challenging narratives and deep characterization. They are a perfect launch pad for critical thinking. Use them for specific lessons on character motivation, plot predictions, and theme.
Create a Country. How does one create a country from scratch? This could be great project-based learning scenario. It requires sufficient research to discover what actually “makes” a country. In the process students learn history, geography, politics, and more.
Use Information Fluency. Part of creative thinking is knowing when to pursue and when to discard information. Students must learn to amass the appropriate knowledge to inform that thinking. Teaching critical thinking skills can be supported by an understanding of Information Fluency.
Mastering the proper use of information is crucial to our students’ success in school and life. It’s about learning how to dig through knowledge in order to find the most useful and appropriate facts for solving a problem. Creative thinking is deeply embedded in the process of Information Fluency. — oOo—
The author is Teacher II (Senior High School) at Diosdado Macapagal High School, Mexico, Pampanga