Motivating our Childen Towards Creative Thinking

Motivating our Children towards Creative Thinking:

Motivating our Children towards Creative Thinking Everyday Activities to teach our children higher order thinking

Most people,( Schafersman) suggests, indulge in wishful, hopeful, and emotional thinking, believing that what they believe is true because they wish it, hope it, or feel it to be true. (He) concluded that children are not born with the power to think critically, nor do they develop this ability naturally beyond survival-level thinking. Critical thinking is a learned ability that must be taught. :

Most people,( Schafersman ) suggests, indulge in wishful, hopeful, and emotional thinking, believing that what they believe is true because they wish it, hope it, or feel it to be true. (He) concluded that children are not born with the power to think critically, nor do they develop this ability naturally beyond survival-level thinking. Critical thinking is a learned ability that must be taught. "Critical thinking is essential if we are to get to the root of our problems and develop reasonable solutions.... the quality of everything we do is determined by the quality of our thinking.” The Center for Critical Thinking

Overview:

Overview It starts with taking in information Encouraging higher order thinking Creating an atmosphere of critical thinking

Let’s think about thinking:

Let’s think about thinking Do you think of your child’s mind as… ☐ a vessel to be filled? ☐ an active processing machine Our mental model of the mind affects how we provide children with information. spoon feeding vs. active discussion The information in the mind is the material that will be used for making sense of information (critical thinking!)

Taking in Information:

Taking in Information Semantic Network Theory All new information must be linked to previously obtained information Ex. a kamote is a root crop Does your child’s mind have already a concept of root crops? Ex. to “betray” is to be disloyal to another by acting on the interests of the enemy The more connections, the better the retention

Taking in Information:

Taking in Information Piaget’s accommodation theory we change our way of thinking because of new knowledge The world is flat The world is round The world is a flat pancake Incremental changes in knowledge in-take leads to better retention

Encouraging Higher Order Thinking:

Encouraging Higher Order Thinking Asking questions and Gathering Relevant Data Problem-solving thinking Taking in a wider perspective Creative thinking

Encouraging Higher Order Thinking:

Encouraging Higher Order Thinking Prioritizing DISCUSSION Making children cognizant of MENTAL MODELS of higher order thinking

Asking Questions and Gathering Relevant Data:

Asking Questions and Gathering Relevant Data Watch YouTube together Watch the “Pop corn with cell phone” video Do experiments together Discuss people, events, situations Be co-detectives and ask questions like: What are some questions we should ask? How could we check on that? How could we find out if that is true? How could test that answer?

Gathering Relevant Data:

Gathering Relevant Data Our goals are: To encourage children to produce questions To encourage children to question data To encourage children to experiment and seek truth To create a skeptical attitude towards presumed knowledge To make children cognizant of their mental models

Problem-Solving :

Problem-Solving Operators/Actions Path Constraints Initial State Goal State Problem Space

Problem-Solving :

Problem-Solving * Use movies, books, stories The Story of Camp Rock Starts lying about Her background Becomes popular But also gets into trouble Problem Space Girl wants to be popular What else could she have done? What was her goal? Did she achieve it? What went wrong? What are the consequences Of her actions? If she did something else, what Could happen then? Everyone rejects her

Problem-Solving :

Problem-Solving I hit my classmate. He cries Problem Space I am angry When classmate Teases me What else can I do? If I did it, what could happen? What is my goal? How can I achieve it? What are the consequences of my actions? I get punished I turn around and shout loud! I run and tell my teacher

Problem-solving:

Problem-solving Our goals are To teach our children to widen their problem solving space To make children cognizant of a problem-solving space To teach children “if-then” thinking To introduce the concept of implications and consequences in decision-making To make problem-solving processes a force of habit/a natural process

Taking on a wider perspective:

Taking on a wider perspective When riding in the car Why do you think he is driving so fast? Why do you think he is driving so slow? Why does that jeepney driver just stop anywhere he wants? Stories in class Why did stepmom hate Cinderella? How did stepsisters feel in the ball? How did the duke feel going from house to house with the glass slipper?

Taking on a wider perspective:

Taking on a wider perspective Our goals are To teach unprejudicial , unbiased thinking To teach children to appreciate other points of view and frames of references To avoid attribution bias

Creative Thinking:

Creative Thinking Riddles in a restaurant If I didn’t have arms, how could I eat my food? What else can I do with a salt shaker besides use it as a container for salt? If I find out I have no money in my wallet, how can we pay for our food? For class presentations Using unorthodox materials to make a project Creating a metaphor for a person, situation, fact For class discussions How is this connected to your life?

Creative Thinking:

Creative Thinking Our goals are To teach children to think “out of the box” To teach children to think flexibly To teach children to be innovative To teach children to widen their understanding by creating more knowledge To teach children to make connections with old and new knowledge

Creating an Atmosphere of Critical Thinking:

Creating an Atmosphere of Critical Thinking Enter their world – watch Ben Ten and Hannah Montana, know about video games with them Marvel at their wrong answers/wrong behaviors – take it as an opportunity to understand their way of thinking Keep it calm. Keep it fun. Prioritize incremental thinking and scaffolding: not perfection MODEL Critical Thinking!

Thank You!:

Thank You! Karina Galang Fernandez, Ph.D. Faculty, Ateneo Psychology Department Tel. no. 426-5905, 4266-001