Creative Thinking
By Ria Mastromatteo, Educational Technology Consultant
"The challenge we face is not to do things differently, but to do different things." David Thornburg
"The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can't be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it." Elbert Hubbard
Do these quotes sound like something you might say (or at least agree with)? They seem to me to engender a whole philosophy of thought. They say that not only must we teach concepts, but we must work to teach children critical and creative thinking skills, problem-solving strategies and cognition.
We need to encourage our students to be better thinkers to be creative. It's said that one either is or is not creative that creativity is an innate ability you either have or don't have. I think rather that there are skills that can be learned and strengthened through an environment that is conducive to creative thinking.
The basic assumptions are that all people can be creative and that the "air of possibility" is present in your classroom. Let the Web help you in encouraging your students to be creative. Here are some places you can go:
We can no longer be satisfied with teaching kids "what to think." Instead it is necessary to teach them "how to think"!
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