Enhancing Critical and Creative Thinking Skills

Enhancing Critical and Creative Thinking Skills Bhoendradatt Tewarie Director, Institute of Critical Thinking UWI St. Augustine

ISome basicsto stimulate discussion © 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

“I become what I think” © Institute of Critical Thinking

“High thinking and simple living” – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi © Institute of Critical Thinking

People, events, things, issues, ideas, concept – the mundane, material, the world around us, the meaning of things © Institute of Critical Thinking

The material, the philosophical, the spiritual © Institute of Critical Thinking

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

IILogical thinking and lateral thinking © Institute of Critical Thinking

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

Logical thinking examples • A doctor diagnosing a patient’s illness • An engineer trying to determine why a machine is not working • 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? • 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

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

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 onearrives 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

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

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

IIIStrategic thinking © Institute of Critical Thinking

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

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

Strategic thinking Jeanne Liedtka. (1998). Strategic thinking; can it be taught?, Long Range Planning, 31, (1), 120-129 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 © Institute of Critical Thinking

Strategic thinking “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

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

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

Strategic implementation and the achievement of outcomes © Institute of Critical Thinking

IVCreative thinking © Institute of Critical Thinking

Creative thinking Joseph Schumpeter (1934). The Theory of Economic Development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press • 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 © Institute of Critical Thinking

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

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

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

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

VCritical thinking © Institute of Critical Thinking

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

Bloom’s taxonomy of the cognitive domain 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

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

Creative vs critical thinking (Isaksen and Treffinger (1985), Creative Problem Solving: The Basic Course) 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. © Institute of Critical Thinking

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

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

12 pillars of economic competitiveness Institutions Infrastructure Macroeconomic stability Health and primary education Higher education & training Goods market efficiency Labour market efficiency Financial market sophistication Technological readiness Market size Business sophistication Innovation © Institute of Critical Thinking

Trinidad & Tobago economy [source: ECLAC (2008 preliminary figures)] • GDP (ppp): $24.2 billion • GDP per capita (ppp): $18,087 © Institute of Critical Thinking

T&T – Labour force [source: LABORSTA (ILO database on labour statistics) <http://laborsta.ilo.org/>] (2008 projections) © Institute of Critical Thinking

T&T – Employment by economic activity [source: LABORSTA (ILO database on labour statistics) http://laborsta.ilo.org/] (2008 figures) • 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% © Institute of Critical Thinking

T&T Exports • Exports: $15.9 billion • Oil and gas account for 80% of exports [source: World Factbook (2008 estimates)] © Institute of Critical Thinking

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

Enhancing Critical and Creative Thinking Skills