Growing Future Skills

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is about being an active learner rather than a passive recipient of information.

It’s a vital skill that enhances your ability to navigate complex issues, make rational choices, and engage in meaningful conversation.

A well cultivated critical thinker:

• raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;
• gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively and comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;
• thinks open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognising and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and
• communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.

Creativity

Creativity is not a rare ability. It is not difficult to access. Creativity is a fundamental aspect of being human. It’s our birthright. And its for all of us.

To create is to bring something into existence that wasn’t there before. It could be a conversation, the solution to a problem, a note to a friend, the rearrangement of furniture in a room, a new route home to avoid a traffic jam.

Through the ordinary state of being, we’re already creators in the most profound way, creating our experience of reality and composing the world we perceive. Regardless of whether or not we’re formally making art, we are all living as artists.

We perceive, filter and collect data, then curate an experience for ourselves and others based on this information set. Whether we do this consciously or unconsciously, by the mere fact of being alive, we are active participants in the ongoing process of creation.

Words by Rick Rubin.

Curiosity

Curiosity is the desire to learn, understand, and explore new things.

It involves asking questions, seeking out new experiences, and being open to discovering more about the world around you. You don’t teach curiosity – you cultivate it. You provide strategies that foster curiosity in the learner.

Strategies such as:

• Asking a thought-provoking question or surprising statement up front.
• In facilitated sessions creating an atmosphere of questions – using polls to generate discussion.
• Introducing one or more of the following to arouse curiosity:
  
  • Contradictions
  • Novelty
  • Surprise
  • Complexity
  • Uncertainty.
• Providing choices and autonomy.
• Allowing for gaps and space in your design.