LIFE SKILLS: CREATIVITY & CRITICAL THINKING

FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL (SUMMER COACHING, AUGUST – SEPTEMBER 2015)

Creativity and Critical Thinking Day One:

Introduction The goal of having secondary education is to prepare you for the future—to equip you with

skills for professional and personal success while at the same time developing your awareness

of diverse human conditions. Creativity and critical thinking are fundamental to students

becoming successful learners. The ability to think critically is an essential life skill; as the

world changes at an ever-faster pace and economies become global, young adults are entering

an expanding, diverse job market. To remain relevant in the highly competitive world that we are

today, it is necessary now more than ever before to ensure that you possess the thinking power to flexibly

and creatively solve problems on a daily basis.

Responding to the challenges of the twenty-first century – with its complex environmental, social and economic pressures – requires young people to be creative, innovative, enterprising

and adaptable, with the motivation, confidence and skills to use critical and creative thinking purposefully. Thinking that is productive, purposeful and intentional is at the centre of effective learning. By applying a sequence of thinking skills, students develop an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the processes they can employ whenever they encounter problems, unfamiliar information and new ideas. In addition, the progressive development of knowledge about thinking and the practice of using thinking strategies can increase your motivation for, and management of, your own learning. You become more confident and autonomous problem-solvers and thinkers. You develop capability in CREATIVITY and CRITICAL THINKING as you learn to generate and evaluate knowledge, clarify concepts and ideas, seek possibilities, consider alternatives and solve problems. Critical and creative thinking are integral to activities that require you to think broadly and deeply using skills, behaviours and dispositions such as reason, logic, resourcefulness, imagination and innovation in all learning areas (whether at school and/or in your lives beyond school). What is Creativity? Creativity is the process of making something of value that hasn't been made before - be it a painting, an idea, a solution, a relationship or a new dance move. It is a set of beliefs and attitudes as much as it is a toolbox of skills and knowledge.

Creativity is often associated with certain human performance such as dance, modeling, poetry, drama however; creativity is not limited to a particular activity but can be found in all facets of human lives.

Creativity is built on positive thinking / attitude.

Creativity exists beyond the arts. It's a set of beliefs, attitudes and abilities that manifest in all areas of life and in the minds of all people.

BELIEFS ATTITUDES ABILITIES

creative potential is inside everyone and can be found everywhere

it is positivity towards surprising and unexpected events

you actively seek out new ideas and experiences

creativity can change things and improve things

it is openness to new ideas and experiences when they appear

you see familiar things in new and different ways

mistakes are to be celebrated, learned from and used

it is ‘smart risk-taking’ you use both analytic and holistic thinking

creativity can be a natural response to pain, suffering and boredom

it is non-judgment

you make, think or do things that haven’t been made, thought or done before

Creative Thinking Every human being is endowed with the power to THINK. Just as we can all SEE, HEAR, TALK, etc., we all have the capability to THINK. However, we think differently – how we think, what we think about and what we do with our thinking are very important. Qualities of Creative Thinking

Curiosity – the desire to know more about a thing

Unconventional thinking – thinking out of the box

Mental flexibility – willingness to change opinion

Open mindedness – thoughtful and insightful

Intensely goal focused – ready to go the whole hog

Clear foresight – ability to see ahead

Make mistakes – accepting mistakes but learning from them

Continuous improvement – willingness to get better

Generating new ideas – never rest on your oars

Create or add value – expanding possibilities

Persevere - persist and wait for success

EXERCISE ONE ‘The Roots’ Brainstorming Exercise

Divide the class into small groups (4-6 students) for some problem analysis. First have the groups compile lists of problems their members face, such as poor grades or neighborhood vandalism. By way of analysis, have the group ask (and answer) the following questions: Where does the problem happen? When does it happen? How does it happen? To whom does it happen, and who causes it? Have the groups finish by using the Toyota Suggestion System and asking Why? four times.

For example, using the problem of poor grades: Why did I receive a poor grade on the history test? (The teacher is a hard grader.) Why is the teacher a hard grader? (She expects a lot of her students.) Why does the teacher expect a lot of her students? (She knows we can do it if we study hard.) Why does she know we can do it if we study hard? (She has seen students like us do it in the past.)

OR The ‘What If?’ Brainstorming Exercise Divide the class into brainstorming groups of about ten students each. Ask the students to come up with the most unique "what if" question and answer they can think of. (In other words, start with "what if" and finish with some unusual situation.) Here are some examples: What if people didn't need to sleep? What if we "elected" presidents by lottery? After the groups have settled on their particular questions and answers, have the class compare them and vote on the most creative. Thank participants and encourage them by making them understand that they have just created new, valuable learning.

Creative thinking involves you in learning to generate and apply new ideas in specific contexts,

seeing existing situations in a new way, identifying alternative explanations, and seeing or

making new links that generate a positive outcome. This includes combining parts to form

something original, sifting and refining ideas to discover possibilities, constructing theories and

objects, and acting on intuition. The products of creative endeavour can involve complex

representations and images, investigations and performances, digital and computer-generated

output, or occur as virtual reality.

As a man thinks…

Proverbs 23:7 tells us about the importance of thinking. Everything starts with our thoughts.

Human thought is the foundation of every invention i.e. product and service – the phone,

computer or the Facebook platform you use for communication. That product started as a

thought when it was first conceived as an idea. Pay special attention to what you think about.

The leaning of your perception: is it positive or negative.

Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motors said ―whether you think you can, or you can’t, you are

right. The mental picture you create in your mind will go a long way to determine what you

will get.

Day Two: What is Critical Thinking? Critical Thinking is a mental process of analyzing or evaluating information, particularly

statements or propositions that are offered as true Critical thinking can be described as a

―gradual progression from the shallow to the increasingly complex.

Critical thinking is at the core of most intellectual activity that involves you in learning to

recognize or develop an argument, use evidence in support of that argument, draw reasoned

conclusions, and use information to solve problems. Examples of thinking skills are

interpreting, analyzing, evaluating, explaining, sequencing, reasoning, comparing, questioning,

inferring, hypothesizing, appraising, testing and generalizing.

Why Critical Thinking?

Critical Thinking is a mental process of analyzing or evaluating information, particularly

statements or propositions that are offered as true. Critical thinking can be described as

a ―gradual progression from the superficial to the increasingly complex.

Critical thinking is that mode of thinking—about any subject, content, or problem—in

which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully analyzing,

assessing, and reconstructing it

Critical thinking does not come naturally and it does not develop in conjunction with

maturation or mere aging, it is essential for you to learn and practice critical thinking

just like you learn and practice any other skill.

Benefits of Critical Thinking

It helps you to improve your classroom performance

It gives you the ability to analyze and creatively adapt to new situations

It helps you know how to think: clearly, accurately, precisely, relevantly, deeply, broadly,

logically, significantly, fairly

It helps you to inquisitively examine a concept and attempting to fuse it into your lives

It helps you to identify and analyze a problem while thoughtfully evaluating potential

solutions

It helps you to select the most appropriate strategy for learning a task

It helps you to better understand self and the society

It helps you to know little about everything.

EXERCISE TWO A. How Old Are They Now?

Eight years ago, Mary was half as old as Jane will be when Jane is one year older than Tim will be at the time when Mary will be five times as old as Tim will be two years from now. Ten years from now Tim will be twice as old as Jane was when Mary was nine times as old as Tim. When Tim was one year old, Mary was three years older than Tim will be when Jane is three times as old as Mary was six years before the time when Jane was half as old as Tim will be when Mary will be ten years older than Mary was when Jane was one-third as old as Tim will be when Mary will be three times as old as she was when Jane was born. How Old Are They Now? Answer:

B. The Farmer A farmer buys a horse for $60. He sells it to his neighbor for $70. Then he discovers he could have made a better deal. He borrows $10 from his wife, and buys the horse back for $80. He then sells it to another neighbor for $90. How much money did he make? Answer:

Day Three Human Thought Process

We need to pay attention to some activities that affect, influence and improve our thinking

What you SEE – we are strongly affected by what we see, so aspiring Entrepreneurs should

engage in activities that can expose them to entrepreneurial engagements.

What you PERCEIVE – though we see physically with our eyes, the mind interprets and

establish the point of view which ultimately influence the thought and final opinion reached by

the individuals.

What you READ – textbooks, journals, online materials etc. will go a long way to affect your

thinking. So pay special attention to the books you read.

What you SAY – Your utterances especially when you meet challenges of life and business.

Aspiring Entrepreneurs must be strong willed, persistent and never daring. Take note of words

like, I WON’T, I CAN’T, I WILL NEVER, etc.

What you HEAR – In our day-to-day activities we hear both positive and negative or relevant

and irrelevant information. We need to control what we hear.

The five basic human senses have strong influence of human thinking. The thought of an

idea/action can come from what we see, what we hear, what we touch or feel, what we say and

what we smell. All these ultimately have ways of shaping our thoughts and actions.

Do You Think?

If you think, then how do you think?

What do you think about?

What are the decisions you make from your thinking?

The critical and creative thinking learning set is organized into four interrelated elements, each detailing differing aspects of thinking. The elements are not a classification of thinking. Rather, each makes its own contribution to learning and needs to be explicitly and simultaneously developed.

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organizing information and ideas

Generating ideas, possibilities and actions

Reflecting on thinking and processes

Analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating reasoning and procedures Inquiring primarily consists of pose questions, identify and clarify information and ideas, organize and process information. Generating primarily consists of imagine possibilities and connect ideas, consider alternatives, seek solutions and put ideas into action.

Reflecting primarily consists of think about thinking, reflect on processes, transfer knowledge into new contexts. Analyzing primarily consists of apply logic and reasoning, draw conclusions and design a course of action, evaluate procedures and outcomes. EXERCISE 3: BRAIN TEASERS

S/N QUESTION ANSWER Brain Teaser 1: This brain teaser focuses on the use of dates and common numbers. The questions are presented as riddles.

1 Does England have a 4th of July? Yes. It comes after the 3rd of July.

2 7 months have 31 days in them. 11 months have 30 days in them. How many months have 28 days in them?

12

3 How many birthdays does the average person have? One

4 A woman gives a hobo 50 cents; the woman is the hobo's sister, but the hobo is not the woman's brother. How can this be?

The beggar is her sister.

Brain Teaser 2: This brain teaser uses a great deal of logic mixed with basic street smarts. It seems like you either know the answers or you don't.

1 What do you bring to the table and cut, but never eat? A deck of cards.

2 Is it legal for a man from New Jersey to marry his widow's sister? Why or why not?

No - because he is dead. There is an actual law that says you can't marry dead people.

3 What is not inside or outside a house, yet no house would be complete without it?

A window

4 Divide 30 by 1/2 and add 10. What answer do you get? 70

Brain Teaser 3: This brain teaser worksheet comes across like a fun series riddles. These all require deep thought.

1 See if you can explain this one... Two men play five games of chess. Each man wins the same number of games. There are no ties.

They aren't playing each other.

2 What is pronounced like a single letter, written with 3 letters, and most animals have two of them?

Eye

3 A man builds a rectangular house. All sides of the house are exposed to the south. A huge bear walks by. What color is the bear? Why?

White. The house is at the North Pole so it is a polar bear.

4 What is the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space; the beginning of every end, and the end of every race?

The letter E

5 What is lighter than a feather, but cannot be lifted? A bubble

Brain Teaser 4: This set brain teasers hit you with everyday common scenarios.

1 If there are eighty-five marbles and you take away 2, how many do you have?

2 (you took 2)

2 What can overpower you completely, but not hurt you? Sleep

3 What is the one question you can never say "Yes!" to? If you were able to the answer would be "No!" Hint: This one is related to question #2.

"Are you asleep?"

4 When is longhand quicker than shorthand? On a clock

Brain Teaser 5: This set puts students in situations that may actually find themselves in one day. The questions are slightly longer than past sheets.

1 You have only one match. You walked into a room where there was an oil burner, a kerosene lamp, and a coal burning stove. Which one would you light first?

The match

2 There are two letters of the alphabet that mean zilch, zero, nothing? Which two are they?

MT (empty)

3 Your doctor gives you three pills. She tells you to take one every half hour. How long would the pills last?

One hour

4 Why do you always find something in the last place you look?

Because when you find it, you stop looking

Brain Teaser 6: You are going to have to think fast with this series of teasers. This set looks for one word responses

1 Guess the vegetable that you treat like this: A. You throw away the outside. B. Cook the inside. C. Eat the outside. D. Throw away the inside.

Corn on the cob

2 A man and a dog were walking down the street. The man rode, yet walked. What was the dog's name?

Yet

3 How do you make "seven" even? Take away the letter S

Conclusion Critical and creative thinking can be encouraged simultaneously through activities that

integrate reason, logic, imagination and innovation; for example, focusing on a topic in a logical,

analytical way for some time, sorting out conflicting claims, weighing evidence, thinking

through possible solutions, and then, following reflection and perhaps a burst of creative

energy, coming up with innovative and considered responses. Critical and creative thinking are

communicative processes that develop both flexibility and precision. Communication is

essential to each of the thinking processes. By sharing thinking, visualization and innovation,

and by giving and receiving effective feedback you learn to value the diversity of learning and

communication styles.

THANK YOU!

Material Put Together & Classes Taken By:

Yetunde Macaulay

Centre Manager, MyDreamConnect Learning Centre

https://ng.linkedin.com/in/myetunde

www.facebook.com/yyetunde.macaulay

@myetunde

+2348025852568

ymacaulay@mcvconnect.com

yymacaulay@gmail.com

Materials sourced online from various websites.