Creativity and Critical Thinking

Creative thinking is not just for inventors and artists, thinking creatively is about challenging assumptions, and making connections - a synthesis of ideas that often leads to something new. In a recent half-day Pathways session entitled Creativity and Critical Thinking, participants were introduced to a number of activities to help them practice creative and critical thinking.

One of the activities included a challenge to the participants to come up with a strategy to advance one of the four cornerstones presented in Dare to Discover: A Vision for a Great University. Each table group selected two random objects from “Jim & Dale’s Box of Goodies”. The challenge was to use the objects as a catalyst for discussions, and to identify a target audience for their strategy on the assigned D2D theme. And what a lively discussion it was!

It was a fun and challenging exercise that encouraged people to stretch their thinking boundaries. Tools introduced earlier in the session, such as Edward de Bono’s “6 Thinking Hats” were helpful to spark new insights and possibilities. Some of the ideas that our participants came up with included the following:  



Cornerstone; Learning, Discovery, and Citizenship
D2D Theme; CREATE an exceptional and life-changing university experience for students through curricular and extra-curricular offerings that integrate learning, discovery, and citizenship to develop the intellect and the imagination, educate leaders, and enhance a global perspective.  
Strategy; create student practicums and extracurricular activities that reach out and connect to the city’s homeless and others in need of assistance within the scope of health and wellness.

Cornerstone; Transformative Organization and Support 
D2DTheme; BUILD, enhance, and maintain classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and museums, as well as athletic, social, and residential facilities to provide a transformative university experience.
Strategy; students were to be selected from the campus community to capture their “key spaces” on campus with digital photographs. They would mark their spaces in such a way that they could articulate what made these spaces special and meaningful to them. In their documentary they would pay particular attention to how more of these spaces could be created, and what improvements could be made to enhance them in some way.

We hope that in some small way, this Pathways session lives up to something attributed to Albert Einstein; “Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Workplace Learning

Image
The purpose of Workplace Learning (WL) is to provide faculty and staff members with learning opportunities to enhance their skills and perform their work effectively. The Workplace Learning Workshops consist of courses and events that are open to all Support Staff, Faculty, and other Academics. Workplace Learning workshops are typically: short, free, diverse, tailored to U of A environment, and provide employees with the opportunity to network with other U of A Employees. On July 17 OLE ran two sessions on Generational Differences in the workplace . The sessions were well attended by a diverse group of 40 participants.   Quotes from the evaluations included: “It was nice to participate in a class offered by the University for staff.   Bill and Cynthia put "a face" to the fact that the University cares about me as a staff member, and wants to equip me to not just to know about generational challenges, but learn to engage all of those around me, not just those who are mo
Read more

An introduction to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

Image
As leaders of change, transformation and personal development, it is only fitting that a significant portion of our programming is focused around self-awareness and behaviour. We know that personality and preferences do not define character or behaviour, but they do impact actions, mind sets, and how people view the world. One tool that OLE uses to enhance individual and team awareness and to support inclusive team processes and communication is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The indicator was developed by Katharine Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, and based on theory originally proposed by Carl Jung. This Type Indicator tool relies on a series of questions designed to provide insight into individual personality preferences by categorizing and theming people’s choices into four areas of behaviour: E/I = Focus and direction of attention and energy, (where one prefers to focus to re-energize – from outside their person, or from within),  S/N = Ways people u
Read more

Unleash YOUR Inner Radical!

Image
Excuse me, but is that your inner radical showing? This is not a question that you are likely to run into every day and probably not a good conversation starter at a party. But it is one that we might want to ask ourselves from time to time. When I first heard the challenge from the University of Alberta President, Dr. Samarasekera, to unleash our inner radical, I assumed she was speaking to a handful of brilliant, thought-provoking, world-class ideators, who are capable of uncovering the secret to success for the next decade or so. My first thought was “this is ridiculous!” I seldom have a good idea, never mind a radical one that is so powerful it can reshape the life of our students or those around us at work. To help me understand what relevance this challenge might have for me and why I should care, I searched for a definition that would resonate more closely with something I am capable of. It turns out that radicals are wildly popular. The term is used in several science
Read more