COMPLEX THINKING

WELCOME Complex Thinking: DOE: TS 167844 BRANDMAN: EDDU 9193 COMPLEX THINKING

Look at the following words on the next slide and read the words aloud as soon as the slide appears. COMPLEX THINKING

RedGreenBlue YellowBlackWhite COMPLEX THINKING

Now read the words on the next slide as soon as it appears. COMPLEX THINKING

BlueRedGreen BlackYellowWhite COMPLEX THINKING

When the next slide appears, we want you to say the color of the font used for the word, not the word. COMPLEX THINKING

Yellow BlueRed GreenBlack White COMPLEX THINKING

Now on the left hand column read the word and in the right hand column read the color of the word. Keep reading horizontally, not vertically. COMPLEX THINKING

Left (word) Right(color) Yellow Blue RedGreen Black White COMPLEX THINKING

So what did we prove in this activity other than we have the ability to give you a headache first thing in the morning? The activity really didn’t prove anything, but did demonstrate how we were able to influence your thinking. By the way we framed the activity, we made you become slow thinkers. COMPLEX THINKING

In the first slide where the color of the font matched the name of the color… Red It was easy. Your brain was receiving congruent signals related to both the word and color of the font and you had to put very little effort into the activity. COMPLEX THINKING

In the next slide you read the word, but the font color was different. Green This required your brain to slow down and deal with the mixed signals it was receiving. COMPLEX THINKING

The same dynamic was true of the next slide where you said the color of the font and not the word. Red This too created problem for your brain based upon the mixed signals it was receiving. COMPLEX THINKING

Some of you might have done well on one or the other of those slides. You might have been able to block out the color and simply say the word, or block out the word and say the color. It is very difficult for someone to do well on both sets of slides. COMPLEX THINKING

The final slide provided an even greater challenge as you had to constantly switch back and forth between word and font color. Left (word) Right(color) Yellow Blue COMPLEX THINKING

This prevented you from getting into any type of pattern and required your brain to stop and refocus on the task after each line. Get out a piece of paper and answer the following 3 questions. COMPLEX THINKING

1. What types of people(men or women, professions,etc.) do best when asked to read the word that is in a different colored font? Yellow COMPLEX THINKING

2. What types of people do best when asked to say the color of the font when it is different than the word? Green COMPLEX THINKING

3. Which type of people did best when asked to go back and forth between word and font color? Left (word) Right(color) Yellow Blue COMPLEX THINKING

1. Read the word…individuals who are strong in English, science and math, people who are more left brain in their thinking, men, concrete thinkers COMPLEX THINKING

2. Color instead of the word….Artists, creative types, decorators, women COMPLEX THINKING

3. Switch between the two….women. Men can do it, but are much slower. COMPLEX THINKING

At your tables, introduce yourselves and talk about which of the four slides was the easiest and hardest for you to read. Also, how good were you at identifying the different types of people who did well on the activity and was that consistent with how you did on the activity? COMPLEX THINKING

Logistics… 1. We need an Information Sheet from everyone in the class. I will be sending them to Joe and if we don’t have one for you, Joe will be dropping you from the roster. 2. We don’t use the payment tab on the PDE3 website, so it will always show you as not having paid for the class. COMPLEX THINKING

3. You can download this Powerpoint and all the Powerpoints used in the class, as well as the Portfolio on Joe’s website. JoeLoVerde.com 4. You can turn in your Portfolio in either a hard copy or electronically. Email your electronic Portfolios to: loverdeportfolios@gmail.com COMPLEX THINKING

5. We will be taking a hour break for lunch around 11:30. 6. We have a certain amount of material to cover today. When we are done covering that material, you will be free to go. Since this is the first time presenting this class, we’re not sure when exactly that will be. COMPLEX THINKING

7. Don’t leave today’s class without being certain about the 10 activities you created in relationship to the 10 strategies or a clear idea on what 5 activities you will be using in your classroom. COMPLEX THINKING

Goals for today… Review a. Fast and Slow thinking b. The activities you created for each of the 10 strategies. Go over the 5 activities you will design and implement in your classroom. COMPLEX THINKING

Let’s start… COMPLEX THINKING

Fast Thinking Fast thinking involves coming up with an answer quickly and with little or no thought. Somewhat of “knee-jerk” reaction of the brain. It involves little reflection or thought. COMPLEX THINKING

Fast thinking is not a bad thing, in fact it is needed at times. Some decisions require an immediate response and others are so trivial that you should not be spending much time thinking them over. An individual can think fast if they have a tremendous amount of experience in a particular field. COMPLEX THINKING

Slow Thinking This is when you use one or more of the 10 strategies of a complex thinking we are presenting in this class. It takes time and requires reflection. COMPLEX THINKING

Is fast thinking or slow thinking needed in the following situations. Agreeing to go on a date with someone. Buying a car. Buying a shirt or blouse. Deciding where to go for an anniversary dinner. What to pack for your lunch. COMPLEX THINKING

A true slow or “complex thinker” would not have answered these questions quickly. In the first question, what other information would you have wanted to know before making a decision about going out on a date? COMPLEX THINKING

Is it a date for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dancing, a movie, etc? Have I ever seen or met this person? Are there any romantic expectations associated with this date? What are the expectations of who is going to be paying for things on this date? Are you doing a friend a favor by going out with this person? COMPLEX THINKING

Will I be alone with this person or will there be other people around? Is he/she younger/older, taller/shorter/ bigger/smaller, than myself? COMPLEX THINKING

Even in the shirt or blouse question… What if the shirt/blouse cost $100? What if the shirt/blouse cost $10? You might invest some time into deciding if the item cost $100, but not much if the cost was $10. COMPLEX THINKING

It is good that our brains can fast and slow think. One of the greatest skills of any individual is the ability to know when to fast think and when to slow think. COMPLEX THINKING

Let’s look again at the 10 skills of a slow or complex thinker. COMPLEX THINKING

Identification Complex thinkers are good at defining the problem, decision to be made, etc. They look beyond the obvious and ask questions of themselves and others to make sure they are on the correct track. COMPLEX THINKING

Albert Einstein said, “If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it,” COMPLEX THINKING

2. Evaluates Assumptions Complex thinkers look at what they believe and know about a situation. They are careful because we all have a lot of ideas and information in our brains that we think is accurate and it isn’t. COMPLEX THINKING

Don’t go swimmer for at least an hour after eating? Did any of you grow up with that bit of mythical information? COMPLEX THINKING

3. Suspends Judgment Complex thinkers wait until they get all the information they need before solving the problem, making a decision, etc. They avoid the temptation to think “fast” and get it over with. They can “slow” down. COMPLEX THINKING

What percentage of people in the US believe in the existence of angels? What percentage of people in the US believe in the existence of ghosts? COMPLEX THINKING

What percentage of people in the US believe in the existence of angels? 70-80% based upon different surveys What percentage of people in the US believe in the existence of ghosts? About 33% based upon different surveys What would a complex thinker answer when ask about the existence of angels or ghosts? COMPLEX THINKING

“We have no empirical evidence proving the existence or non-existence of angels or ghosts at this time.” “So my belief in their existence is based upon faith or a personal experience.” Or “So my belief that they don’t exist is based upon that lack of scientific evidence.” COMPLEX THINKING

4. Additional Information Complex thinkers determine what they know and what they don’t know about a situation. They then decide what additional information they need to solve the problem, make a decision, etc. COMPLEX THINKING

Complex thinkers are always seeking additional information. What… Where… Why… How… Who… When… COMPLEX THINKING

5. Assesses Credibility of Information Complex thinkers evaluate the sources of their information. They look for any bias the provider of that information might have towards influencing what people believe or think. COMPLEX THINKING

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