Education; Vertical Thinking – Lateral Thinking | Peek-A-Boo Parenting “You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper.” Edward DeBono In the last post “Race to NOwhere – NOWhere” our students are falling asleep in their one dimensional learning rooms. What the chalkboards and rows of desks lack is creativity and excitement in thinking and problem solving. We are a nation whose public school system is churning out vertical thinkers in an age of 21 year old internet multi-millionaires, who are thinking laterally, way ‘outside the box’. These lateral thinkers are changing the millennium. Vertical thinking, which is the primary thinking method practiced in the American public school system, is a method of the Industrial Age, not the High Tech Age. A way of understanding lateral thinking is through its opposite, vertical thinking. Knowing that there can only be one passenger in your car, whom would you choose? Lateral thinking is thus very much about standing back, looking at the big picture and understanding concepts. Like this:
Techniques for Creative Teaching – Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching Creative teaching In order to teach creativity, one must teach creatively; that is, it will take a great deal of creative effort to bring out the most creative thinking in your classes. Of course, creativity is not the only required element for creative instructors. They must also know their fields and know how to create an appropriate learning environment. Because answers to these questions are so diverse — even for individual instructors teaching different courses or at various times of the semester — no one technique will fit all needs. General Techniques These creative thinking techniques were culled from the Internet and summarized by Yao Lu, a graduate student in AESHM (Apparel, Educational Studies, and hospitality Management). Assumption Busting What: An assumption is an unquestioned, assumed truth. Benefits: Everyone makes assumptions about how the world around us, which in creative situations, can prevent seeing or generating possibilities. Brainstorming Concept Mapping Laddering
Thinking Methods: Lateral Thinking His contra-logical approach has become a well established part of most, if not all, of today's creative thinking methods and approaches. Description: Lateral Thinking is a deliberate, systematic creative-thinking process that deliberately looks at challenges from completely different angles. By introducing specific, unconventional thinking techniques, lateral thinking enables thinkers to find novel solutions that would otherwise remain uncovered. Recognize the dominant ideas that polarize the perception of a problem.Search for different ways of looking at things.Relax rigid control of thinking.Use chance to encourage other ideas Seven techniques or mental tools help carry out these directives with the goal of eliciting unpredictable ideas, which may turn out to be novel and useful solutions to the problem being addressed. An interesting aspect of de Bono's lateral thinking method is its relationship to humor. Where to Learn Lateral Thinking
How to Apply Lateral Thinking to Your Creative Work Pretend that you’re trapped in a magical room with only two exits. Through the first exit is a room made from a giant magnifying glass, and the blazing hot sun will fry you to death. Through the second door is a room with a fire-breathing dragon. The first door, of course. The answer to this puzzle is an example of what psychologists call “lateral thinking.” [Ed. note: this post is inspired by Shane's book Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success, available on Amazon now.] Like our magical room, marketers have a bad habit of charring great terms to death. “We assume certain perceptions, certain concepts and certain boundaries,” explains Edward de Bono, who coined the term in 1967. Breakthroughs, by very definition, only occur when assumptions are broken. Breakthroughs, by very definition, only occur when assumptions are broken. The trouble for most of us is that even if we’re “creative,” our default setting is “linear thinking.” 1) List the assumptions
Lateral Thinking - What Is Lateral Thinking? Lateral thinking is a term developed in 1973 by Edward De Bono, with the publication of his book Lateral thinking: creativity step by step. Lateral thinking involves looking at a situation or problem from a unique or unexpected point of view. De Bono explained that typical problem-solving attempts involve a linear, step by step approach. More creative answers can arrive from taking a step “sideways” to re-examine a situation or problem from an entirely different and more creative viewpoint. For example: Imagine that your family arrives home from a weekend trip to find Mom’s favorite vase broken on the floor beside the dining room table. The logical assumption would be that the cat was walking around on the table and had knocked the vase to the floor. De Bono suggests that lateral thinking is necessary for coming up with solutions that aren’t so straightforward. Students can find that lateral thinking is an especially useful technique for the creative arts.
Creativity Processes, Creative Thinking and Lateral Thinking from MindTools.com © iStockphoto/pavlen The tools in this section can help you to become more creative. They are designed to help you devise creative and imaginative solutions to problems, and help you to spot opportunities that you might otherwise miss. Before you continue, it is important to understand what we mean by creativity, as there are two completely different types. The first is technical creativity, where people create new theories, technologies or ideas. This is the type of creativity we discuss here. Many of the techniques in this chapter have been used by great thinkers to drive their creativity. Approaches to Creativity There are two main strands to technical creativity: programmed thinking and lateral thinking. The other main strand uses 'Lateral Thinking'. Programmed Thinking and Lateral Thinking Lateral thinking recognizes that our brains are pattern recognition systems, and that they do not function like computers. Unfortunately, we get stuck in our patterns. Taking the Best of Each...
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Creative Europe: Frequently Asked Questions European Commission Brussels/Strasbourg, 19 November 2013 Creative Europe: Frequently Asked Questions (see also IP/13/1114) What is the Creative Europe programme? Creative Europe is the new EU programme to support European cinema and the cultural and creative sectors, enabling them to increase their contribution to jobs and growth. Why does Europe need a Creative Europe programme? Culture plays a major role in the EU economy. Creative Europe responds to this need and will target investment where the impact will be greatest. The new programme takes account of the challenges created by globalisation and digital technologies, which are changing the ways cultural works are made, distributed and accessed, as well as transforming business models and revenue streams. Which countries can apply for funding from Creative Europe? Can individuals apply for funding? What will Creative Europe exactly support? Virtually all of the projects receiving support will have a cross-border dimension.