Creativity For Critical Thinkers

This first Canadian edition is a concise introduction to the art of expanding possibility through creativity. Covering such practical methods as multiplying options, brainstorming, lateral thinking, and reframing problems, the text offers provocative and effective techniques for constructiveand expansive kinds of thinking, demonstrating how reason and creativity can work together. Specifically designed to supplement more traditional critical thinking texts, this book shows readers how to use creativity to construct innovative, 'outside of the box' arguments and solutions to problems.Written in a clear, engaging style and incorporating a wealth of Canadian sources and examples, Creativity for Critical Thinkers, first Canadian edition, is the ideal supplemental text for any critical thinking course.

What do we mean by creativity? What is the link between creativity and critical thinking? How can creativity and critical thinking be incorporated into classroom practice and what are the benefits for students? Creativity and critical thinking are central to effective teaching and learning and have a significant impact on students’ attainment, engagement, attendance and behaviour. This book draws on recent research and policy to provide teachers with a clear framework for understanding creativity and critical thinking and practically demonstrates how they can be incorporated into classroom practice. Bringing together an expert team of contributors with a wide-range of experience of bringing creative approaches into the classroom the book includes: an analysis of the issues associated with creativity and critical thinking clear guidance on how schools can develop dynamic thinking and creative learning strategies and use them with all learners advice on using external agencies to bring the creative perspective into schools case studies alongside examples of current activities and practice in schools links to resources and organisations who can offer support. Providing clear guidance on the underpinning theory and policy and drawing upon current initiatives in schools, this book is essential reading for trainee and practising teachers that want to provide the best possible learning experience for their students.

A valuable guide on creativity and critical thinking to improve reasoning and decision-making skills Critical thinking skills are essential in virtually any field of study or practice where individuals need to communicate ideas, make decisions, and analyze and solve problems. An Introduction to Critical Thinking and Creativity: Think More, Think Better outlines the necessary tools for readers to become critical as well as creative thinkers. By gaining a practical and solid foundation in the basic principles that underlie critical thinking and creativity, readers will become equipped to think in a more systematic, logical, and imaginative manner. Creativity is needed to generate new ideas to solve problems, and critical thinking evaluates and improves an idea. These concepts are uniquely introduced as a unified whole due to their dependence on each other. Each chapter introduces relevant theories in conjunction with real-life examples and findings from cognitive science and psychology to illustrate how the theories can be applied in numerous fields and careers. An emphasis on how theoretical principles of reasoning can be practical and useful in everyday life is featured, and special sections on presentation techniques, the analysis of meaning, decision-making, and reasoning about personal and moral values are also highlighted. All chapters conclude with a set of exercises, and detailed solutions are provided at the end of the book. A companion website features online tutorials that further explore topics including meaning analysis, argument analysis, logic, statistics, and strategic thinking, along with additional exercises and multimedia resources for continued study. An Introduction to Critical Thinking and Creativity is an excellent book for courses on critical thinking and logic at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The book also serves as a self-contained study guide for readers interested in the topics of critical thinking and creativity as a unified whole.

Creativity and critical thinking are key skills for complex, globalised and increasingly digitalised economies and societies. While teachers and education policy makers consider creativity and critical thinking as important learning goals, it is still unclear to many what it means to develop these skills in a school setting. To make it more visible and tangible to practitioners, the OECD worked with networks of schools and teachers in 11 countries to develop and trial a set of pedagogical resources that exemplify what it means to teach, learn and make progress in creativity and critical thinking in primary and secondary education.

This unique book is a concise introduction to creativity--the art of expanding possibility. Covering such practical methods as multiplying options, brainstorming, lateral thinking, reframing problems, and many others, it offers provocative and effective methods for constructive and expansive kinds of thinking. These methods are illustrated and reinforced through exercises and applications that range from science and technology to the arts; from the small aggravations of everyday life to the largest difficulties in politics, the family, and the future; and from "creative good citizenship" to "creativity to change the world." Creativity for Critical Thinkers is an ideal supplement for any general course in thinking skills, and in particular for courses in critical thinking, as it frees them from a preoccupation with "critical thinking" as merely criticism. It can be used in creative writing and design courses as well, and provides a quick and engaging introduction to creative thinking for workshop participants and general readers. It shows readers who have been trained to think "in the box" how to think "out of the box"--freely and imaginatively. By looking at the world or some part of the world as it could be, creativity offers an entirely new view of the world as it is.

Political philosophy is dominated by a myth, the myth of the necessity of the state. The state is considered necessary for the provision of many things, but primarily for peace and security. In this provocative book, Gerard Casey argues that social order can be spontaneously generated, that such spontaneous order is the norm in human society and that deviations from the ordered norms can be dealt with without recourse to the coercive power of the state. Casey presents a novel perspective on political philosophy, arguing against the conventional political philosophy pieties and defending a specific political position, which he identifies as 'libertarian anarchy'. The book includes a history of the concept of anarchy, an examination of the possibility of anarchic societies and an articulation of the nature of law and order within such societies. Casey presents his specific form of anarchy, undergirded by a theory of human action that prioritises liberty, as a philosophically and politically viable alternative to the standard positions in political theory.

Should we stop teaching critical thinking? Meant as a prompt to further discussion, Critical Condition questions the assumption that every student should be turned into a “critical thinker.” The book starts with the pre-Socratics and the impact that Socrates’ death had on his student Plato and traces the increasingly violent use of critical “attack” on a perceived opponent. From the Roman militarization of debate to the medieval Church’s use of defence as a means of forcing confession and submission, the early phases of critical thinking were bound up in a type of attack that Finn suggests does not best serve intellectual inquiry. Recent developments have seen critical thinking become an ideology rather than a critical practice, with levels of debate devolving to the point where most debate becomes ad hominem. Far from arguing that we abandon critical inquiry, the author suggests that we emphasize a more open, loving system of engagement that is not only less inherently violent but also more robust when dealing with vastly more complex networks of information. This book challenges long-held beliefs about the benefits of critical thinking, which is shown to be far too linear to deal with the twenty-first century world. Critical Condition is a call to action unlike any other.