Development of creative thinking to discover a new phenomenon
Classes: CTL1-01, CTL1-02, CTL1-03
Prerequisites: None
Course description
Development of creative thinking process to discover new phenomena requires observation, description, questions, and hypothesis skills. The level 1 courses are focused on these basic skills.
Example
The photo above shows pine mushrooms that were freshly pulled out from ground in one of BC mountains.
Conventional teaching methods that focus on knowledge deliver knowledge similar to the description below.
“Mushrooms are fungi and fungi digests food outside their bodies and absorb. The differences of soils around the bottom of mushrooms and surround soils are because of ongoing digestion outside their bodies.”
With this teaching method, learners could gain knowledge. However, not many learners could develop creative thinking process because there is no thinking process.
Design of Level 1 classes
Level 1 classes are designed for learners to develop creative thinking process by training learners to follow systematic thinking process as shown below.
Creative thinking process Step 1: Observation and description
The (bottom) root of the mushrooms are covered with grey and dry soil (Blue circles). Also, the bottom of the holes (Red circles) is also grey and dry. But surrounding soil is dark and wet.
Creative thinking process Step 2: Questions based on the description
Do pine mushrooms grow in dry and grey soil? Or the soil characteristics has been changed due to the mushroom? If the mushrooms grow in dry and grey soil, why the surrounding soil is not dry and grey?
Creative thinking process Step 3: Create hypothesis and questions by analyzing the description and questions
Hypothesis: The grey and dry soil around the pine mushrooms is not consistent with surrounding. This means that the growth of mushrooms might be the factor that changed the characteristics of the soil.
Questions based on the hypothesis: If this is the case, how mushroom could change the soil characteristics?
Creative thinking process Step 4: Information (knowledge) search with the hypothesis and question(s) to compare and broaden concepts further
“Mushrooms are fungi and fungi digests food outside their bodies and absorb. The differences of soils around the bottom of mushrooms and surround soils are because of ongoing digestion outside their bodies.”
Creative thinking process Step 5: Summary (Organize the thinking process in writing for presentation and writing skills)
Mushrooms are fungi and digest food externally. This changes the characteristic of the soil dry and grey from wet and dark by digestive enzyme.
What differences this type of teaching methods makes for learners?
By learning knowledge, learner could repeat and use the knowledge. However, when there is a new knowledge to learn, learners must rely on knowledgeable person to be taught. This will make the learners passive. Creative thinking process-based teaching forces learners to find answers from their own observation, description, questions, and hypothesis. Thus, the learning process is proactive and independent. Remember, societies demand people who can learn and work proactively and independently.