Rationale for the inclusion of critical and creative thinking in a christian/public school
Critical and Creative thinking are important aspects to include in students learning across all years. As teachers it is best to promote and initiate these skills in the classroom to allow the students to achieve success in learning across all learning areas.
In both catholic and public schools it is important to include:
• Challenging and engaging tasks that entail some sort of transition between different ways of thinking.
• To foster this skill it is essential to include a balance between independent and collaborative tasks. Allowing the learner to be able to work independently or as part of a team.
• Challenge the students to think logically, and encourage them to be open-mined, be innovative risk takers and use their imagination.
• Allow them to generate ideas, actions and possibilities
• Encourage critical analysis, synthesising and evaluating of their work
• Reflection on thinking and different ways to interpret meanings
• Have the ability to explore, identify and organise information and ideas
It is evident that both catholic and public schools have implemented this capability. In catholic schools with the increased use of technology this capability can be further established through the use of I-pads, laptops and smart boards. Teachers believe critical thinking activities promote effective skills for students to be able to live in today's society. In both catholic and public schools teachers can help students become 21st century problem solvers by introducing them to a broad range of thinking tools. in teaching this capability, we need to give students cognitive skills and teach students to use these tools systematically to solve real-life problems and to manage change.
Teachers are generating many ideas to incorporate them in their own classroom, for example: Brainstorming is highly recommended, Generating many and varied opinions that are open minded and inventive to a open task. This skill allows students to express their own view while thinking critically and also creatively.