Enhancing Critical and Creative Thinking Skills Bhoendradatt Tewarie Director, Institute of Critical Thinking
Enhancing Critical and Creative Thinking Skills Bhoendradatt Tewarie Director, Institute of Critical Thinking UWI St. Augustine I Some basics to stimulate discussion 2 © Institute of Critical Thinking “I think, therefore, I am” • René Descartes (1596-1650) • French philosopher, mathematician and physicist • “Father of Modern Philosophy” • In his Discourse on the Method (1637) he attempted to arrive at a fundamental set of principles that one could know as true without any doubt (a foundation of knowledge). To achieve this, he employed a method of systematic doubt, where he rejected any idea that could be doubted, i.e. everything he perceived through his senses. • Descartes then arrived at the principle: “Je pense, donc je suis” or “I think, therefore I am” (Latin: cogito ergo sum) © Institute of Critical Thinking 3 “I become what I think” © Institute of Critical Thinking 4 “High thinking and simple living” – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi © Institute of Critical Thinking 5 People, events, things, issues, ideas, concept – the mundane, material, the world around us, the meaning of things © Institute of Critical Thinking 6 The material, the philosophical, the spiritual © Institute of Critical Thinking 7 Is there any relationship between the focus of one’s thoughts and the quality of one’s existence, the quality of life? © Institute of Critical Thinking 8 II Logical thinking and lateral thinking © Institute of Critical Thinking 9 Logical thinking • A process in which one uses reasoning consistently to come to a conclusion • The ability to understand and to incorporate the rules of basic logical inference in everyday activities • Cause and effect © Institute of Critical Thinking 10 Logical thinking examples 1. A doctor diagnosing a patient’s illness 2. An engineer trying to determine why a machine is not working 3. You have six pairs of black socks and six pairs of white socks in a drawer. In complete darkness, and without looking, what is the least number of socks must you take from the drawer in order to be sure you get a matching pair? 4. A milkman has two empty jugs: a three gallon jug and a five gallon jug. How can he measure exactly one gallon of milk without wasting any? © Institute of Critical Thinking 11 Lateral thinking • “methods of thinking concerned with changing concepts and perception” - (Edward de Bono) • It is about reasoning that is not immediately obvious and about ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic • Thinking “outside the box” © Institute of Critical Thinking 12 Lateral thinking examples • Connect the nine dots below using four straight lines without lifting your pen from the paper. • How could a baby fall out of a twenty-storey building onto the ground and live? • A man walks into a bar and asks for a drink of water. The bartender thinks for a minute, pulls out a gun and points it at him. The man says, "Thank you," and walks out. What happened? © Institute of Critical Thinking 13 Deductive reasoning • In deductive reasoning one arrives at a specific conclusion based on generalizations – All apples are fruit. Some apples are red. Therefore some fruit are red. – The houses in this area vary in size so that some houses may have more rooms or larger rooms than others. © Institute of Critical Thinking 14 Inductive reasoning • In inductive reasoning one makes generalizations based on individual instances – All observed corbeaux are black. Therefore: All corbeaux are black. – All known cases of human bleeding reveal that the colour of blood is red. Therefore the colour of human blood is red. © Institute of Critical Thinking 15 • Analysis – the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it • Reason – to think in a connected, sensible, or logical manner; to find a rational motive for a belief or action • Rationality – the state of having good sense and sound judgment • Logic – the study of the principles of valid inference and argument • Analysis → Reason → Rationality → Logic © Institute of Critical Thinking 16 III Strategic thinking © Institute of Critical Thinking 17 Strategy • A long-term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal – military strategy – marketing strategy – political campaign strategy – game strategy © Institute of Critical Thinking 18 Strategic thinking • Focuses on finding and developing unique opportunities to create value – facilitated by enabling a provocative and creative dialogue among people who can affect for example, a company’s direction – solving a problem – finding new ways of doing something • Strategic thinking in an organization, involves synthesis, using intuition and creatively forming a shared vision of where the organization should be heading if it is to survive and prosper in the current and future market place. © Institute of Critical Thinking 19 Strategic thinking • Systems perspective – see the system as a whole and the linkages between the individual parts • Intent focus – convey a sense of direction and discovery • Hypothesis driven – embrace hypothesis generation and testing as core activities • Think in time – able to connect the past with the present and link it to the future • Intelligent opportunism – open to new experiences Jeanne Liedtka. (1998). Strategic thinking; can it be taught?, Long Range Planning, 31, (1), 120-129 © Institute of Critical Thinking 20 Strategic thinking SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE INTENT FOCUS STRATEGIC THINKING INTELLIGENT OPPORTUNISM HYPOTHESIS DRIVEN THINKING IN TIME Liedtka Model “Taken together, these five elements describe a strategic thinker with a broad field view that sees the whole and the connections between its pieces”. (Liedtka 1998) © Institute of Critical Thinking 21 Analytical thinking • In analytical thinking, one uses a methodical step-by-step approach to break down complex problems or processes into their constituent parts, identifies cause and effect patterns and analyzes problems to arrive to an appropriate solution © Institute of Critical Thinking 22 Strategic planning • Strategic planning is about analysis (breaking down a goal into steps, determining how the steps could be implemented, and identifying the possible consequences of each step) – An organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people © Institute of Critical Thinking 23 • Strategic implementation and the achievement of outcomes © Institute of Critical Thinking 24 IV Creative thinking © Institute of Critical Thinking 25 Creative thinking • Creative thinking – generating new ideas by combining, changing, or re-applying existing ideas • Schumpeter (1883-1950) described an entrepreneur as an individual who carries out “new combinations” such as: – Introducing a new good – Introducing a new method of production – Opening a new market – Identifying a new source of supply of raw materials – Forming a new organization of any industry Joseph Schumpeter (1934). The Theory of Economic Development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press © Institute of Critical Thinking 26 Creativity • Creativity – a mental process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts, or new associations between existing ideas or concepts © Institute of Critical Thinking 27 The creative process • One of the earliest models of the creative process is attributed to Graham Wallas (1926) who proposed that creative thinking proceeds through four phases: – Preparation (definition of issue, observation, study, information gathering) – Incubation (laying the issue aside for some time) – Illumination (emerging of the new idea) – Verification (checking it out) © Institute of Critical Thinking 28 The creative process • Several other models have been proposed, but one common theme is that the creative process involves: – Analysis (breaking down the problem/issue into smaller more easily understandable parts) – Evaluation (determining whether an item or activity meets specified criteria) – Imagination (forming images and ideas in the mind) – Synthesis (combining existing ideas/concepts into something new) © Institute of Critical Thinking 29 The creative process at work • Music • Art • Dance • Inventions – airplane, telephone • Innovations – Apple iPhone, Gateway (Dell personal computers) • Creative problem solving – using a knife/letter opener to tighten a screw when a screwdriver is not available © Institute of Critical Thinking 30 V Critical thinking © Institute of Critical Thinking 31 Critical thinking • “the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action” (Scriven & Paul, 1992) • “reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do” (Ennis, 1992). © Institute of Critical Thinking 32 Bloom’s taxonomy of the cognitive domain EVALUATION SYNTHESIS ANALYSIS High order thinking skills APPLICATION COMPREHENSION KNOWLEDGE Low order thinking skills Bloom, B., Englehart, M. Furst, E., Hill, W., & Krathwohl, D. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain. New York, Toronto: Longmans, Green © Institute of Critical Thinking 33 Critical thinking, creativity and the critical/creative process • Both creative and critical thinking involve the use of high order thinking skills • In the creative process one uses: – creative thinking skills (synthesis and imagination) in the preparation and verification phases – critical thinking skills (analysis and evaluation) in the incubation and illumination phases © Institute of Critical Thinking 34 Creative vs critical thinking Creative thinking is described as: • making and communicating connections to think of many possibilities; • think and experience in various ways and use different points of view; • think of new and unusual possibilities; and • guide in generating and selecting alternatives. Critical thinking is described as: • analyzing and developing possibilities to compare and contrast many ideas • improve and refine ideas • make effective decisions and judgments, and • provide a sound foundation for effective action. (Isaksen and Treffinger (1985), Creative Problem Solving: The Basic Course) © Institute of Critical Thinking 35 Creative vs critical thinking Creative thinking • Divergent • Right brain (global, parallel, emotional, subjective) • Synthesis Critical thinking • Convergent • Left brain (analytic, serial, logical, objective) • Evaluation © Institute of Critical Thinking 36 • Scientific thinking – using the scientific method (1. Identify a problem you would like to solve; 2. Formulate a hypothesis; 3. Test the hypothesis; 4. Collect and analyze the data; 5. Make conclusions) to study or investigate nature or the universe • Innovative/adaptive thinking – the ability to react to unexpected changes • Problem-solving – the ability to analyze information related to a given situation and generate appropriate response options • Judgment – the formation of an opinion after consideration or deliberation • Decision-making – the process of choosing between alternative courses of action © Institute of Critical Thinking 37 Summary of elements of critical thinking Critical thinking involves using the following skills to make a decision, come to a conclusion or solve a problem. – Conceptualization: forming ideas – Application: using information in new situations – Analysis: breaking down problems/issues into smaller more easily understandable parts – Synthesis: combining existing ideas/concepts into something new – Evaluation: determining whether an item or activity meets specified criteria © Institute of Critical Thinking 38 12 pillars of economic competitiveness 1. 2. 3. 4. Institutions Infrastructure Macroeconomic stability Health and primary education 5. Higher education & training 6. Goods market efficiency 7. Labour market efficiency 8. Financial market sophistication 9. Technological readiness 10. Market size 11. Business sophistication 12. Innovation © Institute of Critical Thinking 39 Global Competitiveness Index (Ranks 1-20) Country/Economy GCI 2009-2010 rank Country/Economy GCI 2009-2010 rank Switzerland 1 Hong Kong SAR 11 United States 2 Taiwan, China 12 Singapore 3 United Kingdom 13 Sweden 4 Norway 14 Denmark 5 Australia 15 Finland 6 France 16 Germany 7 Austria 17 Japan 8 Belgium 18 Canada 9 Korea, Rep. 19 Netherlands 10 New Zealand 20 © Institute of Critical Thinking 40 Global Competitiveness Index (Ranks 21-40) Country/Economy GCI 2009-2010 rank Country/Economy GCI 2009-2010 rank Luxembourg 21 Czech Republic 31 Qatar 22 Brunei Darussalam 32 United Arab Emirates 23 Spain 33 Malaysia 24 Cyprus 34 Ireland 25 Estonia 35 Iceland 26 Thailand 36 Israel 27 Slovenia 37 Saudi Arabia 28 Bahrain 38 China 29 Kuwait 39 Chile 30 Tunisia 40 © Institute of Critical Thinking 41 Global Competitiveness Index ranks in Latin America and the Caribbean Country GCI 2009-2010 Rank Country GCI 2009-2010 Rank Chile 30 Argentina 85 Puerto Rico 42 Trinidad & Tobago 86 Barbados 44 Honduras 89 Costa Rica 55 Jamaica 91 Brazil 56 Dominican Republic 95 Panama 59 Suriname 102 Mexico 60 Guyana 104 Uruguay 65 Ecuador 105 Colombia 69 Venezuela 113 El Salvador 77 Nicaragua 115 Peru 78 Bolivia 120 Guatemala 80 Paraguay 124 © Institute of Critical Thinking 42 Global Competitiveness Index ranks in some small states Country GCI 20092010 Rank Population (in millions) Denmark 5 5.52 Finland 6 Singapore Country GCI 20092010 Rank Population (in millions) Botswana 66 1.95 5.34 Estonia 35 1.34 3 4.84 Trinidad & Tobago 86 1.34 Norway 14 4.83 Mauritius 57 1.29 United Arab Emirates 23 4.60 Cyprus 34 0.80 Ireland 25 4.42 Guyana 104 0.76 Puerto Rico 42 3.98 Suriname 102 0.52 Panama 59 3.45 Luxembourg 21 0.49 Uruguay 65 3.36 Iceland 26 0.32 Jamaica 91 2.72 Barbados 44 0.26 © Institute of Critical Thinking 43 T&T Global Competitiveness Index ranks from 2001 to 2009 Year GCI rank 2009 86 2008 92 2007 84 2006 67 2005 60 2004 51 2003 49 2002 37 2001 38 © Institute of Critical Thinking 44 Trinidad & Tobago economy • GDP (ppp): $24.2 billion • GDP per capita (ppp): $18,087 [source: ECLAC (2008 preliminary figures)] © Institute of Critical Thinking 45 T&T – Share of GDP Sector Share of GDP (at current prices, 2008) Manufacturing 19.8% Oil & Asphalt including Mining & Refining 27.8% Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 0.3% VAT 3.6% Electricity, Water and Construction 10.0% Distribution and Restaurants & Hotels 14.0% Transport, Storage and Communication 4.7% Other activities including Government 19.8% [source: CSO Pocket Digest 2008] © Institute of Critical Thinking 46 T&T – Labour force Age Population (2008) (thousands) (% of total pop.) 0-14 282 21.1 15-19 120 20-24 Economically active population (2008) (thousands) (% of total pop.) 9.0 31 2.3 144 10.8 113 8.4 25-39 330 24.7 283 21.2 40-54 267 20.0 212 15.8 55-64 103 7.7 52 3.9 65+ 91 6.8 8 0.6 Total 1,338 100 701 52.2 [source: LABORSTA (ILO database on labour statistics) <http://laborsta.ilo.org/>] (2008 projections) © Institute of Critical Thinking 47 T&T – Employment by economic activity • Agriculture: 3.8% • Mining and quarrying (incl. petr. & gas extraction): 3.5% • Manufacturing: 9.2% • Construction and utilities: 19.5% • Services and other: 64.0% • Public sector: 26.5% – General government sector:23.1% – Publicly owned enterprises: 3.4% • Private sector: 73.5% [source: LABORSTA (ILO database on labour statistics) http://laborsta.ilo.org/] (2008 figures) © Institute of Critical Thinking 48 T&T Exports • Exports: $15.9 billion • Oil and gas account for 80% of exports [source: World Factbook (2008 estimates)] © Institute of Critical Thinking 49 Unemployment Relief Programme (URP) • Main objective is to provide short term employment relief while enhancing the skills of individuals in the community • Work is provided on a rotation basis, every two to three fortnights (four to six weeks) • URP workers are not entitled to any employment benefits or vacation leave • Labourers are paid a stipend of about $650 a fortnight (about $1,300 per month) • URP employs 50,000-60,000 people © Institute of Critical Thinking 50 Community Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) • Designed to facilitate social transformation in the national community through empowering communities to improve their living standards by increasing employment opportunities; enhancing and improving the environment; and developing a cadre of entrepreneurs • CEPEP has over 100 contractors who employ over 5,000 contract workers • In 2008/2009 national budget, TT$300 million allocated to CEPEP © Institute of Critical Thinking 51 CEPEP – For $300m shared among 100 contractors and 5,000 workers Contractors Workers $100m to contractors, $200m to workers $100m/100 = $1m per contractor $200m/5,000 = $40,000 per worker $200m to contractors, $100m to workers $200m/100 = $2m per contractor $100m/5,000 = $20,000 per worker $300m shared equally $58,824 per contractor © Institute of Critical Thinking $58,824 per worker 52 T&T – Tertiary education • Gross Enrolment Ratio (tertiary)*: 11% • Total tertiary enrolment*: 17,000 • Enrolment in science and technology**: – Science: 13.7% – Engineering, manufacturing and construction: 22.6% [source: UNESCO Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2009] *2005 data; **2004 data © Institute of Critical Thinking 53 Productivity © Institute of Critical Thinking 54 DAY 2 VI Non-critical thinking © Institute of Critical Thinking 55 Non-critical thinking • Prejudicial thinking – gathering evidence to support a particular position without questioning the position itself • Habitual thinking – thinking based on past practices without considering current data • Group thinking (groupthink) – “A mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members’ strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action” (Janis, 1972) © Institute of Critical Thinking 56 VII The Art of Deception and the Role of Critical Thinking © Institute of Critical Thinking 57 How to gain audience sympathy • Appeal to pity, appeal to emotions • Appeal to authority, experts • Appeal to tradition – ideals, accepted norms • Appeal to precedent © Institute of Critical Thinking 58 Presenting facts • Use of statistics – Is the source reliable? – What is and isn’t being said? e.g. “More people choose brand X than Y” How much is “more”? – How is the data being interpreted/represented? – Don’t be fooled by large numbers, don’t overlook small numbers • Organizing/classifying information – use of “all” or “some”, or implicit use of “all” • Definition of terms © Institute of Critical Thinking 59 The role of critical thinking • Critical thinking can be used to help make more well thought-out evaluations and judgements in tasks such as reading reports, listening to interviewee responses and mediating conflicts. © Institute of Critical Thinking 60 Critical reading skills • What is the problem? – How is the problem formulated? – Why is this problem important? – What is the history of this problem? – Which prominent personalities have been interested in this problem? © Institute of Critical Thinking 61 Critical reading skills • What solutions to the problem are there? – – – – What are the conclusions reached? By what argument(s) is the conclusion reached? What facts or assumptions serve as premises? When a prominent personality offers a solution, does he also argue for or against other prominent personalities? Does he raise objections to alternative solutions? Does he consider objections to his own solutions? © Institute of Critical Thinking 62 Critical reading skills • Evaluation – What are the advantages and disadvantages of the alternative formulations to the problem? – Has the importance or history of the problem ever been misrepresented? – Are the solutions logically related to the premises? – Are the facts true? Are the assumptions acceptable? Are the objections answerable? © Institute of Critical Thinking 63 VIII Some important things to appreciate © Institute of Critical Thinking 64 • Brain – the portion of the vertebrate central nervous system enclosed in the skull • Intellect – capacity for knowledge • Mind – the element or complex of elements in an individual that feels, perceives, thinks, wills, and especially reasons • Imagination – the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality; a creation of the mind © Institute of Critical Thinking 65 © Institute of Critical Thinking 66 © Institute of Critical Thinking 67 • The creative process at work • Models of creativity © Institute of Critical Thinking 68 IX Developing your thinking skills, your creativity and your mind © Institute of Critical Thinking 69 CREATE Create Relate Explore Analyze Transform Experience C O N N E C T D I S C O V E R I N V E N T Open mind A P P L Y Mind shift Closed mind From personal to global – From global to personal © Institute of Critical Thinking 70 Multiply vs divide – striking the balance © Institute of Critical Thinking 71 Body, mind, spirit – Harmony © Institute of Critical Thinking 72 A sunny virtual space for self immersion © Institute of Critical Thinking 73 • Using humor to undermine fear • Transforming fear into directed energy © Institute of Critical Thinking 74 Triumph over cynicism © Institute of Critical Thinking 75 Learn to live free by breaking free and persisting © Institute of Critical Thinking 76 • • • • • • Take control of your life Make the obvious more obvious Jump steps to success Travel the clear-unclear road to happiness Get unstuck Relax the big squeeze of life © Institute of Critical Thinking 77 • Maintain the essential tension • Resist the slides of boredom and indifference • Never pass on your passion • Call it like you see it, honestly • Remake your self-image • Take your time … and your space © Institute of Critical Thinking 78 • Hmmm…find new ideas in the paradox • “Simplexity”: See the simple in the complex • Cut the stress lines • Hunt for satisfying work • Remove the walls of your mind • Envision your creative process © Institute of Critical Thinking 79 • Fish for the bigger meaning • Add to invention • Shift your social solar systems © Institute of Critical Thinking 80 • See the whole of your creativity © Institute of Critical Thinking 81 X Complex thinking © Institute of Critical Thinking 82 Complex thinking • Complex thinking combines the basic learning and recall of accepted information, critical thinking, and creative thinking into larger, action-oriented processes. • Cohen (1971) and Presseisen (2001) described four specific complex thinking processes: – problem solving (resolve a known difficulty) – decision making (choose the best alternative) – critical thinking (understand particular meaning) – creative thinking (create novel or aesthetic ideas or products). © Institute of Critical Thinking 83 Complex thinking for public sector leaders • Although different in many aspects, public and private sector leaders focus on value for their customers/clients • The customers of the public sector are the citizens to whom services are provided © Institute of Critical Thinking 84 Complex thinking for public sector leaders Complex thinking can be used to: – Systematically solve problems by sensing, researching information, scanning the global environment, formulating the problem, finding alternatives, choosing a solution and building acceptance © Institute of Critical Thinking 85 Complex thinking for public sector leaders Complex thinking can be used to: – Produce new ideas by designing, imagining and formulating goals – Invent, assess and revise a product © Institute of Critical Thinking 86 Complex thinking for public sector leaders Complex thinking can be used to: – Make decisions – Systematically selecting between alternatives by identifying issues, generating alternatives, making choices and evaluating © Institute of Critical Thinking 87 XI Learning Community © Institute of Critical Thinking 88 Communication for a learning community • “The defining quality of a learning community is that there is a culture of learning in which everyone is involved in a collective effort of understanding.” Chris Dede, Technical Horizons in Education (2004) © Institute of Critical Thinking 89 Communication for a learning community • The use of technology enhances the capability of complex thinkers to solve problems, formulate new ideas and make sound decisions • Learning communities in the educational environment are exposed to knowledge sources embedded in real world settings © Institute of Critical Thinking 90 Communication for a learning community • The University of the West Indies is presently utilising Moodle as a communications tool to expand the University’s learning community with onsite academics and students as well as with international scholars. © Institute of Critical Thinking 91 Communication for a learning community • Facilitates the transfer from the traditional behaviourist model of learning to broader more action-oriented learning • Allows the learner to actively participate in the analysis and synthesis of data → information, information → knowledge and knowledge → power © Institute of Critical Thinking 92 Communication for a learning community • Members of the learning community are masters and creators of their knowledge • The transfer of knowledge is creative and assists in the formulation of innovative ideas • Technology can be used easily to create, communicate and innovate © Institute of Critical Thinking 93 Communication for a learning community • The learning community, through the exchange of ideas becomes a tool for development © Institute of Critical Thinking 94 XII Motivation, inspiration and team achievement © Institute of Critical Thinking 95 XIII Where do we go from here? © Institute of Critical Thinking 96
© Copyright 2024