Why Teach Thinking?Written by Dr. Alvin Chan
The word ‘creativity’ has so many diverse meanings and interpretations. I remember telling an audience of teachers that creating a mess is also creative as long as new things and views are being conjured up. This led to much laughter and discussion about meaning of ‘creativity’ (This notion of ‘creative mess’ was taken from master-thinker, Dr Edward de Bono). Most people feel that creativity has to garner results or products, and it is not wrong to think so. However, by giving such conscious or subconscious constraints, creativity may be unduly hindered. One must remember that many creative ideas and innovations were once considered impractical and ‘crazy’ but now, they are part of our life. Take for example, prevalent usage of computers at home. It was once doubted by Thomas Watson Sr. (the founder of IBM) as an impossibility but is now a reality. This demonstrates point that once unthinkable could one day be a fact of life in near future. Why is creative thinking an important and much talked -about topic these days? Why is government of Singapore so intent about creating ‘ Thinking Schools, Learning Nation’? Have we just begun to realise that without creativity and innovation, we cannot progress and will lose our competitive edge in global markets? I just hope we are not too late in realising this obvious fact that creative ideas, products, services, policies are forces that drive an economy like Singapore which is not endowed with natural resources. It is time we learn to enhance and manage effectively our BRAINWARE (a term taken from management guru, Tom Peters) and forge our path towards knowledge capital rather than physical capital! I am much relieved that far-sighted government of Singapore has taken steps to address this fact by initiating numerous think-tank groups to tackle this lack of innovation and competitive edge in these turbulent times. Let me rephrase my sentence for better resonance. It is for SURVIVAL!!! To survive in this global economy when your neighbours are producing at a comparatively lower cost, we have to seriously consider other ways and means to attract foreign investors in terms of knowledge and innovation to compensate for what we lack. How do we go about doing this as we are nearing end of this millennium? The answer is EDUCATION. It is imperative that we educate all Singaporeans, especially young, to see importance of being creative. In early June 1997, PM Goh Chok Thong unveiled his vision of ‘ Thinking Schools, Learning Nation’ and this fuelled a revamp of education system. This has led to numerous changes in curriculum and also training of teachers in use of thinking tools. Many schools have started their own thinking program to keep in tandem with vision. As with any new initiatives and programs, there are obstacles and problems along way that will be faced by schools. One of major obstacles faced by Singaporeans at large is that we suffer from creative paranoia. Creative paranoia is a term I coined to describe insecurity of most Singaporeans in their ability to be creative and as a result, they cease any attempts to be creative. Such negativity will definitely hamper Singapore in its pursuit to be a hub of creativity and innovation. This is a major problem in education of young on creative thinking. The courses on teaching thinking by ministry are necessary and a great help to many teachers who are meandering in ‘jungle’ of teaching thinking. In my opinion, main concern of this paradigm shift towards a thinking culture in school is not pupil’s lack of ability to absorb thinking skills. On contrary, perhaps it is educators who are imparting thinking skills to young that deserve our attention. Are educators here psychologically prepared to be vessels of thinking skills to future pillars of Singapore? Or, are we still victims of self-induced creative paranoia? We have to break shackles of creative paranoia first, before we, as educators, are able to impart thinking skills to young with fervour and passion.
| | Being Present Determines Success in e-LearningWritten by Catherine Franz
By Catherine Franze-Learning requires same six basic steps as classroom or self-study learning. Educational researchers tell us that each step, I prefer word stage, each stage is independent of other, nonlinear, and open to amount of time spent in processing. The person’s tenure in each stage depends on their state, physiologically and mentally, emotional depth, topic, presentation and environment. 1. Knowledge requires absorbing new information with openness and nonjudgment. Letting go of whether we agree or disagree with knowledge is important to success of what we learn. Our beliefs play strong resonance on whether we are open or closed when we first receive information. Past experiences, culture, and environment to which this knowledge is shared plays into how open or closed receipt of information can be. Effectiveness depends in allowing knowledge to filter in through a charge-neutral state. The information is what it is at that moment and nothing more -- at least not yet. Patience does play on outcome of this stage. 2. Comprehension is stage of interpretation. This is time to remain in present moment and still nonjudgmental. You don't want to allow past or future to be a part of this mulling process. During this stage, we compare this to previous knowledge, experiences, as well as assumptions. Assumptions, even if not clearly defined, can bubble up or stay subconscious during this stage. If information fills in a gap, it mixes easily and might or might not eliminate need to continue process through other stages. If information confuses learning, then other stages will reinforce progression. 3. Analysis is breaking down new information into smaller pieces and then measuring them individually against previous knowledge. This process isn't easiest hill to climb. This stage is easy to say, "the heck with it," and jump onto path of least resistance. Conversations with a teacher, mentor, coach, friend, or even a spouse allow us to side step path and progress quicker than we normally without this wall bouncing. For instance, a dialogue might go like this: "This is how I see, understand, or comprehend this. How do you see, understand, or comprehend it?" It is just as important to continue this stage with an open mind.
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