THINKING SKILLS

Thinking skills are cognitive processes that enable us to make meaning from and create
with information. Basically thinking is a mental activity of the super organ called the
BRAIN. The beauty of this organ is that, even though brain conveys the pain and pleasure
to the entire part of the body, it does not have pain for itself. Thinking is formed deep
inside this organ and manifests into thoughts , ideas and consequently results in actions.

The various types of thinking are :

1. Critical thinking is reflective reasoning about beliefs and actions. It is a way of

deciding whether a claim is always true, sometimes true, partly true, or false.Critical
thinking is an important component of most professions. It is a part of the formal
education process and refers to application of formulae, ideas, concepts .

2.Lateral thinking is solving problems through an indirect and creative approach,

using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be
obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic. Lateral thinking deliberately
distances itself from standard perceptions of creativity as either "vertical" logic (the classic
method for problem solving: working out the solution step-by-step from the given data) or
"horizontal" imagination (having a thousand ideas but being unconcerned with the detailed
implementation of them) .
3. Creative Thinking is a way of looking at problems or situations from a
fresh perspective that suggests unorthodox solutions . Creative thinking can be stimulated
both by an unstructured process such as brainstorming, and by a structured process such
as lateral thinking.

4. Out of the Box Thinking is that moves away in diverging directions so as to involve a
variety of aspects and which sometimes lead to novel ideas and solutions; associated with
creativity

In decision making, it is very essential that all the above types of thinking have to be put to
use, depending upon the situations. It is not necessary to use any particular type of
thinking while implementing your thoughts, since if you find that the critical thinking is
not working in a particular task, change enroute to creative thinking. So a best decision
maker should be shrewd enough to change course from one type of thinking to the other
very easily.

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Difference between Critical Thinking and Creative Thinking :

Critical Thinking Creative Thinking

analytic generative

convergent divergent

probability possibility

objective subjective

answer an answer

left brain right brain

verbal visual

linear associative

reasoning richness, novelty

yes but yes and

In an activity like problem solving – the primary reason for us to think - both kinds of
thinking are important to us. The steps involved are

 First of all, we must analyze the problem

 We must generate possible solutions

 We must choose and implement the best solution

 Finally, we must evaluate the effectiveness of the solution.

As we can see, this process reveals an alternation between the two kinds of thinking, critical
and creative. In practice, both kinds of thinking operate together much of the time and are
not really independent of each other.

The ability to think critically involves the following steps:

 raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;
 gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it
effectively
 comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant
criteria and standards
 communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems;
without being unduly influenced by others thinking on the topic.

STEPS TO BE CREATIVE.

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  Commit Yourself to Developing Your Creativity
 Avoid Getting Cluttered
 Get Rid Of Lazy Thinking Habits.
 Look for Hidden Meanings.
 Avoid Making Assumptions.
 Have the enthusiasm of a child
 Engage in Creative Pursuits.
 Be Willing to Make Mistakes.
 Avoid Judging
 Be Willing to Make Mistakes.
Suggested Activities :
1.Give a case study, a life like scenario and ask the students to come with a solution using all
types of thinking.
2. Tell a story and do not tell the end. Ask the students to come out with possible ends.

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