Catch Them Thinking: Creatively and Critically

Franny McAleer Teacher, Author, Instructor, Duquesne and Waynesburg Universities

Do you teach effective thinking strategies for students use in the classroom and in life? Creative and critical thinking tools will be presented in this workshop to ignite your students brain power. Both are needed as we teach students who will live and work in the 21st century.

A Tale of Two Teachers

Michael
Schoolhouse smart

Mark
Out-of-school smart

Loved many sports, natural athletic ability

Well behaved Peacekeeper Quiet, shy Cautious, evaluative

Loved taking things apart, putting things together, built go carts

Behavior difficulties in school Risk taker Outgoing, active Adventurous, risk taker

CREATIVE THINKING, generating tools to produce a quantity of varied possibilities

quantity of possibilities defer judgment look for combinations

CRITICAL THINKING, focusing tools to analyze, prioritize, evaluate to select options

Goal and purpose driven constructive criteria evaluate options based on goal

The Brain, the Brain!

Left Brain Corpus Collosum Right Brain

Analytical and orderly

Creativity and unpredictability

uses logic detail oriented facts rule words and language math and science knows object name reality based forms strategies practical safe

uses feeling "big picture" oriented imagination rules symbols and images philosophy & religion knows object function fantasy based presents possibilities impetuous risk taking

On line survey at http://www.testcafe.com/lbrb/lbrb.html

Conformity Monster
At birth we are brimming with joy and creative wonder, but creativity declines when structured education begins. Researcher G. M. Prince found that 90 percent of five-year-olds test highly creative. This drops to 10 percent by age seven. Past age eight only 2 percent exhibit a high level of creativity. Why do you suppose this happens?
Living Your Life Out Loud, Rasberry and Selwyn

Learning that Lasts a Life Time: the Stories 1. Interests, Strengths 2. Critical and Creative Thinking 3. Collaboration 4. Curiosity 5. Confidence 6. Self-Esteem 7. Leadership

Creative and Critical Thinking: A Warm Up Activity

Brainstorming about THINKING Prioritize by selecting three things that your group thinks is most important to WORKING EFFECTIVELY in the 21st century. Create a priority ladder, stairway, or visual of your choice.

Write a simile about the THINKING using five ideas to show the connections. _______________ is like ________________ Because 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Illustrate your simile.

Fortune 500 Companies Desirable Skills 2002 1976 Teamwork 1 10 Problem Solving 2 12 Interpersonal Skills 3 13 Oral Communications 4 4 Listening Skills 5 5 Personal/Career Development 6 6 Creative Thinking 7 7 Leadership 8 8

The Process: Start with Big Ideas

What are the BIG IDEAS?

Six Thinking Hats

THINKERS 50 Global Ranking of Business Thinkers

M.D., Ph.D., (philosophy, medicine, & psychology), Rhodes scholar Worlds leading authority in the field of thinking

Author of over 60 books in 35 languages

Six Hats Began as a Tool for the Corporate World

DuPont, Prudential Life Insurance, IBM, British Airways, Siemens, and 100 international corporations use Six Hats to: 1. Promote focused meetings and communication 2. Improve team work 3. Increase productivity and profits

What do you see in this picture?

What do you see in this picture?

Content: Living in Michigan

White hat
facts
data
Information Who, what, when, where? What do you want to know?
KNOWLEDGE Bloom

Red hat

feelings
emotions
intuition
EVALUATION - Bloom

Black hat

caution
words of wisdom

risks

ANALYSIS - Bloom

Yellow hat

value benefits the good in it optimism

ANALYSIS -Bloom

Green hat

creativity
new ideas possibilities
SYNTHESIS -Bloom

alternatives

Connect the nine dots using four straight lines without lifting your pencil. l l l

l
l

l
l

l
l

Connect the nine dots using four straight lines without lifting your pencil. l l l l l l l l l

Connect the nine dots using four straight lines without lifting your pencil. l l l

Blue hat

thinking about thinking Summarizing

organizing

process
another viewpoint

metacognition
concluding

COMPREHENSION - Bloom

The Hare and the Tortoise

A hare was making fun of a tortoise one day for being so slow. "Do you ever get anywhere?" the hare asked with a mocking laugh. "Yes," replied the tortoise, "and I get there sooner than you think. Run a race against me and I'll prove it. The hare was very amused at the thought of running a race with the tortoise, and just for fun he decided to do it. So the fox, who agreed to act as judge marked the distance for the race on a path through the woods, and started the runners off. The hare was soon far out of sight. To let the tortoise know how silly it was for him to challenge a speedy hare, the hare decided to lie down beside the road to take a nap until the tortoise could catch up.

The tortoise meanwhile kept going slowly but steadily. After a time, the tortoise passed the place where the hare was sleeping. The hare slept on very peacefully. When at last he did wake up, the tortoise was already very near the finish line. The hare now ran his swiftest, but he could not overtake the tortoise in time.

Creative and Critical Thinking The Questions

What questions might you ask for each HAT?

six thinking hats

Writing Standards and the HATS

We need more white hat information.

Use the HATS to focus, clarify, and improve your writing - Narrative Informational Persuasive

Burgettstown Middle School 7th Grade Students - Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 6 HA TS NON 6 HA TS

1- Informational 2- Narrative 3- Persuasive

BLOOMing (Benjamin Bloom) Questions and Performance Objectives

K C A A E S Knowing Remembering Applying Analyzing Evaluating Creating

Creative and Critical Thinking Add a few questions

Create performance objectives. What might your students DO?

PMI, a fixed sequence

Plus Minus Interesting

PMI, for fun everyone wearing mood indicators on OUR foreheads

Think-Pair-Write-Share
What are some public issues or global environmental problems that exist?

Sequence for Problem Solving

Public Issues or Global Environmental Problems

Problem

Solving

Sequence of Hats

Problem Solving to Invention!

From problem finding Eureka! researching - prototyping - problem solution - inventing researching marketing - profiting!

Biodegradable golf tee

Close your eyes and imagine!

Creative Thinking,
FFOE, the Cognitive domain Fluency Flexibility To think of the most To take different approaches

Originality - To think in novel or unique ways Elaboration - To add details

Creative Thinking -- the Affective

Risk Taking - Willingness to expose oneself to
failure or criticism.

Complexity Curiosity -

Delve into intricate problems or ideas. Be inquisitive and wonder.

Imagination - Visualize and build mental

images. Dream!

Creative Connections for Kids (on line)

Quick Thinking Created by Students

Its hatching! Its hatching! There it is! What could it be? It looks like a ball, a pebble, an egg! Yes, an egg! But not an ordinary egg! It must be from somewhere else, another time the Jurassic Period? Jurassic Park all over again! Oh, my, maybe not! Wait, look, it is starting to wiggle, to crack! Well soon know! Stand back! Here it comes!
What do you think they saw as the egg cracked open? Draw your ideas or write the words!

Just Think About It ?!

SCAMPER
Substitute What else instead? Combine Forced associate, a mixture? Adapt - Where else? Modify Minify, Magnify, Maxify? Put to Other Uses What would animals do? Eliminate Take away? Reverse or Rearrange Change order?

Jeff Wesolowski in 4th Grade

With SCAMPER I will always have plenty of new ideas!

Jeff Wesolowski, M.D. in 2000 In the operating room SCAMPER saves lives!

Forced Associations
Force associations combine two things that do not normally go together. Tideshake Beewagon Shaketide Wagonbee

Forced Associations
Pick a few words and create a new compound word and five definitions for it. You could also connect one word with your content. Try HAT from todays workshop. HAT_____ or _____HAT

Forced Associations
Random Word Tool
Focus

Problems Solved by Kids

Check out a few really cool Kids Inventions that came from this process!

SEBECS
Self-Extinguishing Birthday Candle for Children Problem: Birthday candles burning too long and waxing the cake

Inventor Ben Solecki Grade 2

+
Scratch and Sniff Band-Aids
Make First Aid Fun! Inventor Kelly Conley, Grade 1

+Sticks Sticky
Problem solution: Keeps chop sticks from popping out of your grip! Inventor Kristen Fischl, Grade 4

+
Flick Fork
Problem solution: Spotlights your food when eating in a dark place Inventor Kristen Fischl, Grade 3

CHINGO
Inventor Matt Hale, Grade 3
Jamie Matt

Problem: Siblings arguing about household chores. Play CHINGO, Chore Bingo, and make doing chores fun!

SETTING THE TABLE TAKING OUT THE TRASH WALKING THE DOG FOLDING THE WASH WASHING THE DISHES

FOLDING THE WASH MOPPING THE FLOORS WASHING THE DISHES CLEANING BATHROOM TUB WASHING THE CAR

TAKING OUT THE TRASH FOLDING THE WASH SETTING THE TABLE CHANGIN G THE SHEETS RAKING LEAVES

WALKING THE DOG CLEANING BATHROOM SINKS WASHING THE CAR TAKING OUT THE TRASH CLEANING BATHROOM SINKS

WASHING THE DISHES RAKING LEAVES WALKING THE DOG SETTING THE TABLE VACCUUM ING THE FLOORS

See Salt
Problem solution: Grandfather had to monitor his salt intake. Coloring the salt blue made him able to see how much he was using.

Inventor Shane Talent, Grade 4

+ Pop Up Bicycle Stand

Problem Solution: Need for a portable bike stand. The briefcase is carried on the back of the bike and when opened is a bicycle stand.

Inventor Brian Rohe, Grade 8

Foot Can
Steven added foot holders to the base of a trash can to get liners out more easily. Just hold the can down with your feet while you easily pull the filled bag out!

Inventor Steven Gojic, Grade 6 Phoenix, AZ

Problem solution: His mom was always hitting cars when she parallel parked, so George added a sensor to the front and back of their car. Today does your car have this option?

Inventor George Papuga, grade 3

Creativity Back Up Buddy, age 8, to the Corporate World, age 28

My CFO asked me to find a way to accurately project and account for rebates. It is of high importance since it will give us a competitive advantage if we are able to create a unique system. My response reflects what I learned as an eightyear-old inventor.

EUREKA!
It has been approximately 20 years since I created the BACK-UP BUDDY during our invention unit, but I live my life in shades of gray, in the realm of creativity.
Quoted in Learning That Lasts a Lifetime www.learnerslink.com and Gifted Education Press Quarterly, Spring, 2004

Forced Associations Picking Trash!

Brainstorm words from products or advertising

Shake and Bake Betty Crocker Jenny Craig

CHEERIOS

Murphys Oil Soap

S e a d o o

Purina
Starkist

Tide
Success

Webbing with Vocabulary

Spin your webs and you create an image of your new vocabulary word.

Vocabulary word Definition Paraphrase definition Key word(s) Symbol Picture Color Move like a ____ Statue of a ____ Song Quote or saying Play Book Character Poem Movie Forced Association Others

MISER

Matrixy Maneuvers Creative (Generate) Thinking

Matrixy Maneuvers Critical (Focus) Thinking

Matrix a Street Name

ELEMENT 1 a bird, flower, plant, tree, or critter Eagle Tulip Cactus ELEMENT 2 a geographical feature Creek Lake Mountain ELEMENT 3 a place Estates Mall Office Park

Oak
Otter Octopus ?

River
Valley Ditch ?

Ranch
Street Farm ?

For a truly memorable name, add an adjective such as Weeping or Soaring to the beginning.

Concept Mapping shapes and lines to present a concept

Mind Mapping pictures, color and lines to present a concept

THINKING

Artifact Hunting
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Observe the artifacts, the materials, and design! What might be its general category? What environment would you create for the artifact? What do you think its function was? Value? Name or draw four examples of objects from the same category which you could include in an exhibit to show its development in time. Name or draw four objects from other categories which could be used for a display showing one period in time. What possible cross-cultural comparisons could you make in a display or exhibit? How might it be used in other countries? Time period? Are there any particular influences in the design of the artifact?

Two Horses, How Many Ways?

Just roping around!

Tie the ends of the rope around your wrist. Loop your rope over your partners. The Problem: Without cutting the rope or taking the ropes off of your wrists, unloop yourselves. Identify the hats as you work. Start with

ABCs of Creative and Critical Thinking

Catch Them Thinking!

Our futures belong to those we teach to think, create, problem solve, work together, be independent, and reach for the stars

Six Thinking Hats!

For more information contact Franny McAleer www.learnerslink.com 321 Lorlita Lane, Pittsburgh, PA 15241