The importance of Critical and Creative Thinking
статья по английскому языку (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 класс)

          This article  is devoted critical and creative thinking in teaching students  for the development  of creative skills.                                              

               The English  teacher  A. Ahkalinskaya

The importance of Critical  and Creative Thinking.

The way we work and live today is much different than in the recent past. Increasingly we are an information- based, high-tech society.

 Our knowledge base is increasing at a mind- boggling speed.

We entered a new millennium. Marked by enormous changes: new discoveries, new inventions, new technologies, new jobs. Many of our students will be employed in position we can only dimly imagine. How do we best prepare our students for this uncertain future- a future in which the only constant will be change? In information explosion, information becomes more and more prized. Developing our students critical and creative thinking skills prepares them for the future. The capacity to analyze, apply, associate, evaluate, experiment, make decisions. predict, prioritize, problem  solve , sequence,  substitute, synthesize are indispensable  skills. Thinking sklls are a gift for a lifetime .

                                   Questions Develop Thinking Skills.

Research revels as teachers we ask hundreds of guestions  everyday.

Questions are one of the best strategies we have to develop students thinking skills. However the overwhelming majority of questions teachers ask stimulate lower level  thinking  skills. This is unfortunate. By focusing mainly on knowledge comprehension, memorization, and understanding  guestion we are missing a wonderful opportunity to foster the full development of students’ thinking  skills. In our classrooms, we can include higher order critical  and creative questions to develop the full range of students ’thinking skills.                                        

                             The guestion Generator.

Develop different types of Critical and Creative Thinking

Analyzing

How could you break down….?

What are the parts of….?

 Augumenting / Elaborating

                              What ideas might you add to…?

                               What more can you say about…?

                               How could you improve…?

Categorizing/Classifying/Organizing

                             How might you classify__belong to? Why?

                             What else could you add to this category?

                             How else could you organize…?

Comparing /Contrasting

                                    How would you compare…?

                                    What similarities…?

                                    What are the differences Between…?

                                     How is____ like____?

                                     How  is____different from____?

Decision Making

What are the pluses and minuses of choosing…?

What would be a better decision…? Why?

Defining

                                       How would you define…?

                                       In your own words, what is …?

                                       Describing/Summarizing

                                       How could you summarize…?

                                       If you were a reporter, how would you describe…?

Determining Cause/Effect

What are the causes of…?

 How does_____effect_____?

What impact might…?

Eliminating

                                         What part of____might you eliminate?

                                          How could you get rid of…?

Evaluating/Assessing

What is your openion about…?

Why did you like or dislike…?

How would you rate/grade..? Why?

Would you prefer/rather…?

What is your favourite…? Why?

Do you agree or disagree with…? Why?

 Is it better or worse…? Why?

What are the positive and negative aspects of…?

Generalizing

                                          What general rule can…?

                                          What is common to all…?

Investigating

   How could you find out more about…?

   If you wanted to know about…?

Observing

                                            What did you notice about…?

                                            What observations did you make about…?

                                            What changes…?

Planning

What preparations would you…?

How would you plan to…?

Predicting

                                              What would you predict…?

                                               If you were going to guess…?

Problem solving

 How would you approach the problem?

 What are some possible ways to solve…?

Reflecting

                                               What… were you thinking whan…?

                                               How has  your thinking changed on…?

                                               How could you describe what you thought about…?

Role- Taking /Empathizing

If you were ( someone/something else ) …?

What would it feel like to be…?

Symbolizing

 How could  you express it with a drawing/symbol/song/                                           movement/poems?

Synthesizing

                      How could you combine/put together…?

                      What could you make using…?