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Strategies for Developing CreativityAnd Critical Thinking
Myrna SkeenProfessor TorresSecondary Teaching Methods6 March 2017
Creativity is found in all areas of life and is not limited to the arts,
to geniuses, or to the talented. Creative thinking should be structured
into the curriculum andencouraged through open-ended challenges.
Lang and Evans 2006
Let’s look at some ideas for encouraging creativity
Encourage students to explore their environment
Have them use all of their senses and combinationsOf senses. Have them describe the things they
Find interesting. Let them discover how to look at thingsWith fresh eyes.
Lang and Evans 2006
Encourage students to become interested in many things.
Vary activities, take students on field trips, bring in speakers,
and use media to help students “stretch their minds.”
Lang and Evans 2006
Provide school time to encourage creativity
Structure activities or exercises that require originality or problem solving.
Have students suggest new uses for old things.Make frequent use of brainstorming and creative activities.
Let them know that creativity is sought.
Lang and Evans 2006
Help students believe they can learn to become more creative.
Few inventors, scientists, or artistswere very creative at first.
Reward students who show evidence of creativity, and reward improvement.
Lang and Evens 2006
Teach students what is involved in creativityHelp them learn that creativity is influenced
by the types, number,and originality
of alternatives produced.Train students to use specific thinking skills
and inquiry and problem-solving processes and how to transfer knowledge of
these into new situations.Lang and Evans 2006
“To become critical thinkers, students need
Instruction on what is involvedin doing critical Thinking,
interesting content, opportunity to practice
It, and assessments of their attempts at critical thinking” (Lang and Evans 2006).
Let’s look at some ideas you can use to Encourage your students
to be critical thinkers.
Comparing
Comparing activities lead students to additional insights and awareness.
As a result of many experiencesin making comparisons, students learn
how to observe perceptively and compare before drawing conclusions.
Lang and Evans 2006
ObservingWhen we are observing, we can
make visual observations of data. Observing also can involve
listening, touching, or smelling. The sense evidence used
must be checked for accuracy. Students must be made aware of the
possibility of distortion and thus
false inference and misinterpretation.
Lang and Evans 2006
ObservingContinued
We want perceptiveness, acuity, and accuracy. Reporting is needed for the accuracy
of observation to be checked. Observing should lead to more
accurate data on which to base conclusions, and to greater understanding.
Like any other skill, practice is required for proficiency.
Lang and Evans 2006
ClassifyingClassifying involves examining an assortment of items
and sorting them into related groups.Each grouping is given a name.
When they are classifying, students can process data mentally
and organize them systematically.Ability to classify helps us bring order into our lives.
Lang and Evans 2006
Imagining
For imagining, students are asked to let their minds travel to whatever vistas they can invent,to create freely and to exercise that
part of the mind that often goes untapped. In imagining there is a release from rules and regulations
and unbinding from data.
Lang and Evans 2006
ImaginingContinued
Divergent thinking is promoted. Imagining leads to creations and
inventions; it brings humor, joy, spontaneity,
and beauty into our lives. A feeling of accomplishment and
enhanced self-concept can result from this rich inner resource.
Lang and Evans 2006
Criticizing
Criticizing lets students use a higher level of cognition and
sharpen the thinking skillsthat will improve the quality of their lives.
Lang and Evans 2006
ReferencesLang, H. R., & Evans, D. N. (2006). Models, strategies, and methods for effective teaching . : Allyn and Bacon, Inc.