O C T O B E R

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Complex Cognitive Processes

Orrin Hawke, Eric Bakker, Rudi Kronhardt, Janelle Leegstra, and Amanda High

Metacognition
Metacognition can be defined as thinking about thinking, and it
involves being aware of ones own cognitive abilities. Metacognition
in the classroom takes place when students look back on their
learning and think about what they learned and how to go forward.
Teachers apply metacognition when they journal or make
observations about their lessons. Metacognition is important for selfevaluation and can be a great motivator towards success.

Creativity
Creativity is the ability to produce original work that is
appropriate and useful. It is imaginative, original thinking or
problem solving. To be creative, an invention must be intended.
Most psychologists agree that there is no such thing as allpurpose creativity. They believe that people are creative in a
particular area. Although we associate the arts with creativity,
any subject can be approached in a creative manner. Paul
Torrance developed two creativity tests, verbal and graphic
tests. In a verbal test, you might be instructed to think up as
many uses as possible for a paperclip. On a graphic test, you
might be given twenty squares and asked to create twenty
different drawings with at least one square. These tests are
scored for originality, fluency, and flexibility. Possible
indicators of creativity include inventiveness, curiosity,
concentration, adaptability, willingness to fantasize and
daydream, and independence.
Teresa Amabile proposed a three-component model of
creativity. Individuals or groups must have domain-relevant
skills, creativity-relevant processes, and intrinsic task
motivation. Having a rich store of knowledge is the foundation
for creativity but it is not enough. Something more is needed.
There is a need to restructure the problem which leads to
insight. This process occurs after a problem has been left for a
while, and then returned to.
Creativity and Diversity
White males have been the focus of creativity research and
writing, ignoring women and minorities. It is suggested that
being bilingual or being exposed to other cultures might
encourage creativity. Multicultural experiences support creative
processes, such as retrieving novel or unconventional ideas from
memory, and creative performance, such as generating
insightful solutions to problems. Teaching students about
different cultures fosters creativity.

Creativity in the Classroom

Creativity is important for an
individuals psychological, physical,
social, and career success. Some tips
for encouraging creativity in the
classroom are:
Accept & encourage divergent
thinking
o Ex. Offer choices on
topics for projects or
modes of presentation
Tolerate dissent
o Ex. Ask students to
support dissenting
opinions
Encourage students to trust their
own judgement
o Ex. Give ungraded
assignments on occasion
Emphasize that everyone is
capable of creativity in some
form
o Ex. Recognize creative
efforts in students work
Provide time, space, and
materials to support creative
projects
o Ex. Collect "found"
materials for collages or
projects
Be a stimulus for creative
thinking
o Ex. Brainstorming or
model creative problem
solving

Brainstorming
Brainstorming is generating ideas without evaluation because evaluation often inhibits creativity. It is
beneficial for both groups and individuals. Some rules for Brainstorming are:
Feel free to "hitchhike" on other ideas by taking elements from other ideas
Encourage wild ideas as they lead way to other ideas
Defer judgement of opinions by other students
Avoid ownership of ideas as ego of ideas makes it difficult to take criticism of ideas later on in the
brainstorming process
"The Big C": Revolutionary Innovation
"Big-C creativity" or innovation that establishes a new field or revolutionizes an old one. Trying to
create prodigies and innovators. A prodigy is one that has mastered a well-established domain very early
on, whereas an innovator has changed an entire domain. To avoid inhibiting creativity in these students:
Avoid pushing so hard a child feels as if they have missed out on their childhood
Avoid freezing the child into a safe, technically perfect way of performing
Avoid pushing a child to hard to master a field
Be aware of the psychological wounds that can occur where a child is used to performing and
becomes forgotten as an adult

Critical Thinking
Being a Critical thinker is not learned in one day. A teacher should follow up lessons on critical thinking
with additional practice. A critical thinker is:
Open-minded and mindful of alternatives
Tries to be well informed
Has strong judgment of what is a credible source
Identifies conclusions, reasons, and assumptions
Judges quality of argument, including acceptability of reasons, assumptions, and evidence
Can develop and defend a position in proper manner
Asks appropriate clarifying questions
Formulates plausible hypotheses and plans experiments well
Define terms in a way that is appropriate for the context
Draws conclusions when warranted but with caution
A teacher should be able to apply principles of critical thinking into their teaching subject. Students should
learn how to verify sources, asking questions and connecting the information they read with previous
knowledge in mind. Corroboration is making connections between what is being read or viewed in one text
with that from another text. This is where students will note the differences and the similarities about what
they are researching. Contextualization has the student view the content in the context it was given,
meaning that political, economical, social, spiritual pressures from the time and area where the text was
created are additionally analyzed with the information provided.
Critical thinking is defined as evaluating conclusions by logically and systematically examining the
problem (evidence, and solution). There are several different ways to develop critical thinking in the
classroom. The most significant way to do this is to create a culture of thinking within the classroom. This
means the teacher should emphasize analysis, problem solving, and reasoning skills. Furthermore, the
teacher should encourage a spirit of inquisitiveness within the classroom.
Stand Alone teaching programs are designed to teach children critical thinking skills without the
students needing extensive knowledge of any subject matter. Argumentation is the ability to construct and
support a position and is a by-product of critical thinking. Argumentation requires very similar skills as
critical thinking and uses evidence, understanding, and reasoning to support and defend a claim. These
skills can be applied to any subject in virtually any grade.
KSA: Critical thinking relates to KSA # 6 the most. Translating curriculum into reasoned and
meaningful learning with critical thinking being the meaningful outcome.
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