1Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. Principles of AAVTC

Draw nine dots on your paper. OBJECTIVE: Connect all nine dots with only four straight lines without lifting your pen off the page! 2Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Is it possible? 3Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

4 1 The Solution

5Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 2 The Solution

Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 6 3 The Solution

Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 7 4 The Solution

Thinking Outside of the Box Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 8 What does it mean to “think outside of the box”?

What is “THE BOX”? Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 9 Stress Lack of Information Assumptions Bias False Information Emotions

Strategies for Thinking Outside of the Box Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 10 Identify the issue/problem Listen attentively and ask questions Look for new, creative ideas Never dismiss a possibility; consider everything!

Critical Thinking Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 11 What influences how you think?

How do you use critical thinking? Make observations Listen attentively to others Recognize problems Define problems Ask relevant questions Find facts using multiple resources Challenge and examine beliefs Make wise judgments Find valid solutions Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 12

Problem Solving Define the problem Analyze the problem Consider different possibilities Find a solution to your problem Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 13

Dream Vacation Disaster You are on a cruise sailing from Miami, Florida to the Isla de la Juventud in the Caribbean Sea. On the second night out at sea, there is a hurricane. Your cruise ship runs aground on an uninhabited island in the middle of the ocean. You and a few other passengers have washed up on shore, alert and unharmed. The captain, the crew, most of the other passengers, and all the lifeboats have disappeared! The wreck has destroyed almost everything in the ship. You are dressed only in your pajamas and it is hot! To make matters worse, you are in the Bermuda Triangle. Your cell phone and all other electronic devices do not work in this paranormal place. You cannot see any other ships or islands near you. Now, in groups for safety, you leave the shipwreck and search for debris along the shoreline. Each one of you finds an object washed up on the shore from the ship. Look in your group’s envelope; this is what you have found along the shoreline. You and your group collect the items that you have found and start walking back to the designated meeting place. You are discussing what you have found and how these items can help you. As your group reconvenes you realize the seriousness of the situation. You know that you must all work together to formulate a plan for survival on a deserted island. Create a survival plan using the items that you have found washed up along the shore. What items did you find? How will you use those items? Think about the part of the world where you are stranded. What local resources will help aid in your survival? Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 14