EDU302 Quiz 4

LECTURE 12

1. Understand forms of thinking
2. Measure creativity in classroom
3. Explore the concept of creativity in classroom
4. Select some strategies that can stimulate complex thinking in students

Forms of Thinking

The forms have distinctive educational purposes, even though they sometimes overlap, in the sense that one form may contribute to success with another form. Consider three somewhat complex forms of thinking that are commonly pursued in classroom learning: (1) Critical Thinking, (2) Creative Thinking,

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking requires skill at analyzing the reliability and validity of information, as well as the attitude or temperament to do so. The skill and attitude may be displayed with regard to a particular subject matter or topic, but in principle it can occur in any realm of knowledge (Halpern, 2003; Williams, Oliver, & Stockade, 2004). A critical thinker does not necessarily have a negative attitude in the everyday sense of constantly criticizing someone or something. Instead, he or she can be thought of as astute (smart, intelligent): the critical thinker asks key questions, evaluates the evidence for ideas, reasons for problems both logically and objectively, and expresses ideas and conclusions clearly and precisely. Last (but not least), the critical thinker can apply these habits of mind in more than one realm of life or knowledge.

Creative Thinking

Creativity is the ability to make or do something new that is also useful or valued by others (Gardner, 1993). The “something” can be an object (like an essay or painting), a skill (like playing an instrument), or an action (like using a familiar tool in a new way). To be creative, the object, skill, or action cannot simply be strange; it cannot be new without also being useful or valued, and not simply be the result of accident. If a person types letters at random that form a poem by chance, the result may be beautiful, but it would not be creative by the definition above. Viewed this way, creativity includes a wide range of human experience that many people, if not everyone, have had at some time or other (Kaufman & Baer, 2006). The experience is not restricted to a few geniuses, nor exclusive to specific fields or activities like art or the composing of music. Especially important for teachers are two facts. The FIRST is that an important form of creativity is creative thinking, the generation of ideas that are new as well as useful, productive, and appropriate. The SECOND is that creative thinking can be stimulated by teachers’ efforts. Teachers can, for example, encourage students’ divergent thinking—ideas that are openended and that lead in many directions (Torrance, 1992; Kim, 2006). Divergent thinking is stimulated by open-ended questions—questions with many possible answers, such as the following: How many uses can you think of for a cup? Draw a picture that somehow incorporates all of these words: cat, fire engine, and banana. What is the most unusual use you can think of for a shoe? Note that answering these questions creatively depends partly on having already acquired knowledge about the objects to which the questions refer. In this sense divergent thinking depends partly on its converse, convergent thinking, which is focused, logical reasoning about ideas and experiences that lead to specific answers.

Somewhat less open-ended than creative thinking is problem solving, the analysis and solution of tasks or situations that are complex or ambiguous and that pose difficulties or obstacles of some kind (Mayer & Wittrock, 2006). Problem solving is needed, for example, when a physician analyzes a X-ray: a photograph of the foot is far from clear and requires skill, experience, and resourcefulness to decide which foggy-looking blobs to ignore, and which to interpret as real physical structures (and therefore real medical concerns). Problem solving is also needed when a grocery store manager has to decide how to improve the sales of a product: should she put it on sale at a lower price, or increase publicity for it, or both? Will these actions actually increase sales enough to pay for their costs?

Measurement of Creativity

Torrance has developed TWO types of creativity tests: verbal and graphic

Verbal Test

In verbal tests, a child is asked how, for example, a toy can be changed to make it more fun to play with or think of many uses of a tin as possible.

Graphic Test

In the graphic test, a person may be given a number of circles and asked to create a different drawing from reach circle. The responses are then scored for originality (new responses), fluency (number opf responses) and flexibility (different responses).

LECTURE 13

1. Understand forms of thinking
2. Measure creativity in classroom
3. Explore the concept of creativity in classroom
4. Select some strategies that can stimulate complex thinking in students

Creativity in Classroom

According to social psychologists, creativity is a function of social and psychological environment. Creativity must be fostered because many social, environmental and economic problems require creative solutions. Teacher can promote creative thinking in their students by creating classroom environment for creative thinking. Often teachers consciously or unconsciously discourage creative ideas of students without realizing that they are doing so. Teachers are in excellent position to encourage or discourage creativity through acceptance or rejection of the unusual and the imaginative ideas of students.

Here are some ways to foster creativity in the classroom:

1. Accept and encourage divergent thinking. Expect and demand creativity from students. For instance, during class discussion, ask, “Can any one suggest a different way of looking at this problem?” Reward attempts are imperfect.
2. Tolerate disagreement. Ask students to support their dissenting (rebel) option. Make sure non-conforming students receive equal privileges and rewards. Find out something positive even in apparently stupid and irrelevant answers. Follow-up bad answers with questions to help student think through the problem.
3. Encourage students to trust their judgment. If students questions can be answered by them, rephrase the question and direct it back to the class. Strange and odd questions from students should not be discouraged.
4. Expose the class to creative models. Model creative thinking and creative problem solving by suggesting unusual solutions for class problems.
5. Provide opportunities for students to solve problems through brainstorming. The basic principle of brainstorming is to allow the students to give as many solutions to the problem as possible. Delay evaluation of those solutions till maximum number of solutions are given. Separate the processes of creating ideas and evaluating them. Simultaneous evaluation inhibits creative production.
6. Encourage students to think around the problem and give them time to produce divergent or lateral thinking solutions.
7. Minimize use of extrinsic rewards and stimulate students to find intrinsic satisfaction in their efforts.
8. When possible, allow students choices in writing stories, in science projects and other areas of interest. Use all curriculum areas to encourage creative thinking. Help them not only in seeking new solutions but also in finding new problems.

Instructional Strategies that Stimulate Complex Thinking

Teacher-directed Instruction

As the name indicates, teacher-directed instruction includes any strategies initiated and guided primarily by the teacher. A classic example is exposition or lecturing (simply telling or explaining important information to students) combined with assigning reading from texts. But teacher-directed instruction also includes strategies that involve more active response from students, such as encouraging students to elaborate on new knowledge or to explain how new information relates to prior knowledge.

Lectures and Readings

Lectures and readings are traditional staples of educators, particularly with older students (including university students). At their best, they pre-organize information so that (at least in theory) the student only has to remember what was said in the lecture or written in the text in order to begin understanding it (Exley & Dennick, 2004). Their limitation is the ambiguity of the responses they require: listening and reading are by nature quiet and stationary, and do not in themselves indicate whether a student is comprehending or even attending to the material.