by Dr. Manoj Chandra Handa | Jun 6, 2015 | Creativity, Gifted Students, Higher-order Thinking, Questioning, Teacher Effectiveness
Always the beautiful answerwho asks a more beautiful question. – E. E. Cummings While higher-order thinking processes are effective for all learners, research in the education of gifted students shows that the power of inquiry is crucial for promoting their learning (VanTassel-Baska & Brown, 2007). Effective questioning as a deliberate strategy enhances gifted learners’ thinking, provides the means for exploring novel possibilities and meaning making, and challenges them to learn about their world in more rich and complex ways (VanTassel-Baska, 2014). The abilities and attributes of gifted learners, outlined below, indicate that they understand the potent appeal of questioning that challenges their thinking: Highly inquisitive and curious (Clark, 2013; Renzulli et al., 2002; Rotigel, 2003) Abstract and conceptual thinkers (Feldhusen, 1986; VanTassel-Baska, 1989) Outstanding ability to solve problems in diverse ways (Clark, 2013; Kanevsky et al., 1994) An unusual capacity to integrate and synthesise information or skills (Kanevsky et al., 1994) Greater metacognitive ability (Barfurth et al., 2009; Davis et al., 2011). Thus, asking thoughtful, rigorous questions is critical to engage gifted learners and elevate their thinking. There are many useful questioning models such as Guilford’s Model (1967), Maker Model (1982), Williams Model (1986) and Paul’s Reasoning Model (1992). I shall discuss three questioning frameworks below that range from hierarchical to more divergent approaches for engaging gifted learners: revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, three levels of feedback (Hattie, 2012), and “Describe/Disrupt the Territory” framework (Dyer et al., 2011). The revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (Anderson et al., 2000) uses a hierarchical approach and is commonly used for framing questions from lower to higher-order levels. Gifted learners should be challenged with higher-order questions and learning tasks. Refer to Table 1 which contains a few suggested action...
by Dr. Manoj Chandra Handa | Feb 8, 2015 | Creativity, Gifted Students
One must still have creative chaos in oneselfto be able to give birth to a dancing star.– Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher (1844-1900) Synectics has been described by its creator, William J. J. Gordon, as “the joining together of different and apparently irrelevant elements” (Gordon, 1961, p.5). The term Synectics, from the Greek “syn” and “ektos”, refers to the fusion of diverse ideas (Nolan, 2003, p. 25). The process of Synectics is a “metaphor/analogy-based technique for bringing different elements together in a search for new ideas or solutions” (Starko, 2010, p. 151). This creative connection-making process has been used by businesses and research organisations, and has been the inspiration behind the ideas for Pringles potato chips, magnesium-impregnated bandages, disposable nappies, the space-saver Kleenex box, and a host of other innovations. Working with gifted learners, I found this strategy to be very effective because the students relished the potent power of bringing contraries together to conjure new meanings. The basic processes of Synectics are “making the strange familiar” and “making the familiar strange” (Prince, 1968, p. 4). Although inventors most often engage in “making the familiar strange”, students benefit more from “making the strange familiar” (Gordon, 1973, p. 11). These two processes are facilitated through the creation of various types of analogies. Here are the steps for using Synectics to foster creative mindsets: Step 1: Students explore the given situation, task, or problem. They create direct analogies, select one, and explore it in greater depth. Direct analogies are the simplest types of comparison in which similarities between two ideas are examined. In a direct analogy, individuals look for parallels between one idea, object or situation,...
by Dr. Manoj Chandra Handa | Oct 29, 2014 | Creativity
We may accept finite limitations of logic, but we must never lose faith in the infinite possibilities that stem from developing creative habits of mind.~ Manoj Chandra Handa Creative habits of mind Creative people demonstrate some habits of mind that, taken together, form the acronym CREATE: Curiosity Risk-taking Embracing paradox and ambiguity Attentiveness and adaptability Thinking bigger Experimenting and problem-solving (Chandra Handa, 2012, 2014) Curiosity Creative practitioners demonstrate an unrelenting quest for continuous learning. It is the ability to question oneself and others; the relentless pursuit of knowledge and truth; learning to ask better questions; and the ability to solve the most challenging problems by keeping an open mind (Fisk, 2011). Risk-taking or “creative courage” Risk-taking enables one to try new things. It is about having the courage to stumble, fail, and, after rejection, try again. The psychologist Rollo May (1975) calls it “creative courage” which is finding, through imagination, what is possible. The creative artists and scientists unsettle what is. Creative writers are well known for their creative courage. Risk-taking is the willingness to try difficult things and expose oneself to failure or criticism. It is a trait that teachers can observe when high levels of aspiration are sought after and tried out by a student. It involves feeling as well as doing; making guesses as well as taking chances (Williams, 1972). Embracing paradox and ambiguity Creative practitioners are willing to embrace ambiguity, paradox and uncertainty. They seek ambiguity in everything they explore – in the learning of students, in product composition, in ways of thinking and more. They explore possibilities by asking questions to which there...
by Dr. Manoj Chandra Handa | Aug 31, 2014 | Creativity
“Innovation education is about tapping into the inner entrepreneur.” – MCH Click here to listen to the podcast, “Innovative Habits of Mind”. At the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) Conference in Brisbane, I presented a paper, “Creating innovators by choice and not by chance”, in October 2013. At the presentation, I proposed that one of the fundamental goals of 21st century learning for our young people is innovation, not just creativity. It is about providing innovation education and fostering entrepreneurial mindsets (Shavinina, 2009, 2013). Through an exploration of (a) research-based case studies of gifted learners, and (b) a Framework of Innovation Pedagogy that I had developed, I shared with the audience what it means to innovate, and how we can develop the capacities of young people to become entrepreneurial. My research findings revealed that “innovation education” should be embedded into curriculum at all levels through problem-based, multidisciplinary, collaborative learning, encouraging “design thinking”, and promoting the development of real-world designs (“prototyping”). By fostering “play, passion, and purpose” among young learners, we help them become innovation-ready (Wagner, 2012). To achieve this goal, we require “teacherpreneurs” who have innovative habits of mind. Research shows that teachers—who work in radically diverse multidisciplinary teams, and model innovative habits of mind—can share and mould young students into innovators of the future. We require “leaderpreneurs”, i.e., leaders who create conditions in schools and systems that inspire and encourage educators and students to imagine, experiment, and innovate. After my presentation, I was invited by Rosanna Stevens, a Canberra-based writer, to record a podcast, “Innovative habits of mind”, that I share with you in this post. The drawing, “Le bonhomme à fleurs”, is by André François (1915-2005),...
by Dr. Manoj Chandra Handa | Aug 4, 2014 | Creativity, Gifted Students
Creativity is a basic human need to make something new. Creativity is the ability to generate ideas, products, or solutions that are considered novel and useful for a given problem, situation or context (Amabile, 1996; Beghetto, 2008; Plucker et al, 2004; Runco, 2004). Evidence indicates that highly productive creative thinking is generated by thinking productively, not reproductively. With productive thinking, the aim is to generate many different approaches. The least obvious must be considered as well as the most likely approaches. With each new approach or perspective, understanding deepens and one begins to understand the essence of the problem. In order to find creative solutions, one may have to abandon the initial approach that stems from past experience and reconceptualise the problem. By adopting more than one perspective, highly productive creative thinkers solve existing problems and even identify new ones. Reproductive thinking, on the other hand, can produce too rigid thinking. This can produce an inability to solve a problem that resembles past experiences only in superficial ways. Interpreting such a problem through past experience will not be productive. Reproductive thinking produces solutions which we have employed before and not original ones. The ability to tolerate ambivalence between opposites or two incompatible subjects is thought to characterise highly productive creative thinking. Edison’s invention of a practical system of lighting involved combining wiring in parallel circuits with high-resistance filaments in his bulbs, two things that were not considered possible by conventional thinkers at the time. As Edison could tolerate the ambivalence between two incompatible things, he could see the relationship that led to the breakthrough. Teachers play an important role...
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