Techniques and illustrative cases for fostering
critical and creative thinking and reflective practice developed by
Thinking for Change associates in courses and other forums

Table of Contents

Active Learning in Art Museums:

Computers in Education?: Notes towards guidelines about specific situations and specific ways in which specific technologies are of significant pedagogical benefit.

Critical Thinking Manifesto: a synthesis of elements from the course selected and organized so as to inspire and inform your efforts in extending critical thinking.

Dialogue Around Written Work: Creation of a mandala that captures the tensions people face in learning to take themselves seriously as lifelong learners.

Effective Teamwork: Why thinking together superceeds individual thinking.

Gallery Walk: an icebreaker that affirms that people coming to a course or workshop already know a lot.

Guidance Requested: a problem-based learning (PBL) unit about new developments in human reproduction.

Guidelines for Dialogue: For the Dialogue process to work, there needs to be a "container" which states the guidelines for the group. If a conscious effort is made by members of a group to follow these guidelines, a special environment will emerge which will allow the Dialogue process to take place.

More Assessment, Less Grading: a system that helps teaching/learning interactions stay focused on the student's process of developing through the semester.

Multiple Intelligences: The language people use to communicate ideas, particularly verb choices, are indicators of which intelligences they may prefer to use. An instructional model is presented that demonstrates how such language can be utilized to design lessons that promote thinking and understanding through eight different intelligences.

Problem-based Learning in Science: Conversations with leading biomedical scientists are catalysts for students to conduct their own interest-based inquiries using a ten step instructional model for guiding them in the process of problem-based learning.

Small Group Roles: that don't divert participants from participating and ensure everyone reflects on the activity.

Suspending Judgement: How Critical and Creative Thinking can lead to more effective business communicatin and decisions.

Thinking Steps: Six steps to follow in the thinking process.

What Produces Re-seeing?: how do questions that retrospectively seem obvious ever occur to us?