Thinking skills How well is Your Mind Developed Stuart Pedley-Smith

Contents Thinking creatively Traditional view Creative view Thinking is a skill Interested? “ When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the flight of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge." Albert Einstein

Thinking creatively To pass the TOPCIMA you have to think!!!!!!!!!! Think creatively Much of the thinking done in formal education emphasizes the skills of analysis and logic The traditional view

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Traditional thinking Follow or create a logical argument, figure out the answer, eliminate the incorrect paths and focus on the correct one. Western thinking is determined by “What is” Which is determined by: Analysis Judgement and Argument.

Lateral thinking The man in the Elevator A man lives on the tenth floor of a building. Every day he takes the elevator to go down to the ground floor to go to work or to go shopping. When he returns he takes the elevator to the seventh floor and walks up the stairs to reach his apartment on the tenth floor. He hates walking so why does he do it?

The gang of three Socrates – Art of critique Plato – Subjective experience Aristotle – Put ideas in box’s The so called gang of three have had a major effect on traditional thinking styles

The creative view However, there is another kind of thinking, one that focuses on exploring ideas, generating possibilities, looking for many right answers rather than just one. Designing a way forward. Consider “what can be? Both of these kinds of thinking are vital to a successful working life, yet the latter one tends to be ignored until after college.

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Thinking is a skill “If intelligence is the horsepower of the car then thinking is the skill of the driver” The performance of the car does not depend upon the horsepower but upon the skill of the driver Edward de Bono

Thinking is a skill In an activity like problem solving, both kinds of thinking are important to us. First, we must: Analyse the problem Generate possible solutions Choose and implement the best solution Evaluate the effectiveness of the solution

Thinking is a skill As you can see, this process reveals an alternation between the two kinds of thinking, critical and creative. In practice, both kinds of thinking operate together much of the time and are not really independent of each other

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