DOCUMENT RESUME EC 305 863 ED 461 201 Le Storti, Anthony J. AUTHOR Developing Thinking in the Gifted. PAGE Bulletin. TITLE Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education, Norristown. INSTITUTION 1997-00-00 PUB DATE 8p.; For full text: http://www.penngifted.org/. NOTE Available on the Internet at AVAILABLE FROM http://www.eskimo.comruser/pabull3.html. Non-Classroom (055) Guides PUB TYPE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE Abstract Reasoning; *Cognitive Development; Creative DESCRIPTORS Thinking; Critical Thinking; Educational Environment; Elementary Secondary Education; Family Environment; *Gifted; *Metacognition; Personality Traits; *Questioning Techniques; *Thinking Skills, ABSTRACT This bulletin offers guidelines to help parents and teachers improve the thinking skills of gifted children. It stresses the importance of encouraging thinking through the use of evocative questions, distinguishes between and defines critical thinking and creative thinking, and offers suggested questions to prompt either creative/divergent thinking or critical/analytical thinking. The need to foster such traits as persistence, open-mindedness, rationality, flexibility, and intellectual honesty is also stressed. A home which fosters thinking skills is described as one in which the family works together to solve problems. Suggestions are also offered for fostering children's metacognitive skills by prompts and questions that help them to monitor and evaluate their own thinking. General guidelines for nurturing thinking as well as criteria for classroom thoughtfulness are listed. (DB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Page 1 of 7 PA PAGE Resources Bulletin 3 Page _ . U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STE! S SO T O RP RO U C E N NI Office of Education SE TN EDR ea ch and Improvement HA SD 0 R .--1 EDUCATIONAL RES0UsRC ES INFORMATION BEEN GRANTED BY CENTER (ERIC) CN1 trL(L 0 This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization .-8 originating it. cOSINs1P,C_ T .1- 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. r21 PENNSYLVANIA ASSOCIATION 41 TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR GIFTED EDUCATION Points of view or opinions stated in this INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) document do not necessarily represent 1 official OERI position or policy. Bulletin -- Developing Thinking in the Gifted Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education (since 1953) Affiliate Chapter of the National Association of Gifted A Special Pennsylvania Association for Gifted EducationPublication by Anthony J. Le Storti, Director, Center for Creative Studies, GwyneddMercyCollege Anthony Le Storti is Assistant Professor and Director of the Centerfor Creative Studies at Gwynedd-Mercy College and Executive Consultantfor IDEATECTS, a Doylestown- based consultant firm that focuses on the developmentof cognitive skills, leadership and teamwork. Improving Thinking in the Gifted Gifted children offer special challenges in thinking skills development.Their gifts and talents cause us to believe that they already are goodthinkers and that our work is to provide educational and developmentalexperiences that expose them to greater breadth and depth of content. Inother words, we need to give them more to think about. But contemporarytheory and research on the brain, intelligence, learning styles, etc. indicatethat we have areas of natural strength and ability and other areas whereour abilities are in need of development. And research in the area of expertiseindicates that necessarydevelopmental stages to even gifted performers must pass through a number of on move from novice to expert. CP 00 The point is, while gifted children are on a fast track to mastery,that journey will likely require considerable advice, instruction and encouragementfrom parents and teachers. rn Gifted children have much to learn in orderto maximize the development of their tremendous potential. (..) 1.1) BEST COPY AVAILABLE Page 2 of 7 PA PAGE Resources Bulletin 3 Page This learning should not be limited to acquiring more content or subjectmatter knowledge. It must include the development of powerful process (thinking)skills as well thegood thinker. as the personal traits and dispositions that energize Helping Children to Think In order to help children to think, we must first let them think. As earlyas their development and maturity permit (relatively early for many giftedchildren), they should not only be allowed, but encouraged to solve theirown problems and make their own decisions. Parental guidance is of coursecalled for, especially with younger children. How can this be done without great preparation? Don't respond with solutionswhen children ask, "What should I do about X ?" Instead, answer with evocativequestions. ("What have you thought about doing?" or "What are all the thingsyou could do?") Guide them as they solve their problems on their own. Itkeeps the ownership of the problem clear, and it encourages thoughtfuland responsible action. When they ask you to make decisions for them ("What course should Itake?" or "What should I wear today?"), resist making the choice for them.Again, lead them as they move through the decision making process. Evocativequestions can again be helpful. You could ask, "What goals do you have?"or "What's important to consider in choosing a course (or getting dressed)?" In Developing Talent in Young Peoplg Benjamin Bloom and hiscolleagues wrote that the development from novice to expert requires "enormousmotivation, much support from family, the best teachers and role modelspossible, much time and a singleness of purpose and dedication. Decision Makingl. Finding the Problem Problem Solving Critical and Creative Thinking We often hear about "critical thinking" or "creative thinking," and thereseems to be a general affirmation that these are good things to develop.But these concepts are somewhat fuzzy, and that fuzziness is troublesomefor the parent, the teacher, and the student focusing on developing thinkingabilities. How does one teach or learn critical thinking if it is not clearwhat critical thinking is? Let's define these terms. "Critical" derives from the Greek kritiko4 which means able todiscern or judge. Critical thinking, then, is thinking oriented to thedetermination of the authenticity, critical thinkers when we accuracy, or value of a propositionor product. We are evaluate whether somethingis true or false, better or worse, correct or incorrect. We aid childrenin the development of their critical abilities when we teach them how toevaluate their own independent project, determine whether a politicianor a 3 Page 3 of 7 PA PAGE Resources Bulletin 3 Page television commercial is credible, and judge whether a painting ora piece of writing has artistic merit. On the other hand, creative thinking is thinking oriented to the formationand production of a novel and meaningful idea or product. When the creativeprocess results in a new form, we often label it "invention" or "composition."When the creative process reveals a new pattern or concept, we call it"discovery." In either case, the thinker must learn to sense problems andopportunities, to define them in an insightful fashion, to generate novelalternatives, to select the most promising of these alternatives, and toverify that the result "works," that is, meets whatever standards are appropriate.We help gifted children to develop their creative abilities when we respondconstructively to their tremendous curiosity, when we encourage their experimentsand artistic endeavors, and, importantly, when we teach them that set backsare part of the creative process. One can see that these two types of thinking are not mutually exclusive.They are complementary powers of the human intellect-- the ability togenerate and the ability to judge. In fact, good thinkers continuouslyblend both types of thinking in accomplishing their personal and professionalgoals. Prompts for Thinking The following are examples of questions that could be used to prompt creative,divergent thinking: In what ways might we X? What if X? How else could one X? What hypothesis can you suggest to explain X? be like in the future? What will How would a dentist, an athlete, etc. solve this problem? The following could be used as prompts for critical, analytical thinking: Explain your reasoning. Why do you think that? Can you defend your position? What are the parts that make up this problem (situation, etc.)? What criteria or tests should we use in this case? What do you think caused that? How might we prove/disprove that? Explain what the other side's position is. Page 4 of 7 PA PAGE Resources Bulletin 3 Page Traits and Dispositions In addition to helping children with thinking strategies such as problemsolving and decision making and with the creative and critical aspectsof thinking, it will be crucially important for parents and teachers toengender in children the personality traits, motivations and dispositionsthat energize good thinking. Knowing the material in a content area isimportant, and knowing the steps of good thinking strategies is also important.Without the proper attitudes and motivations, however, those things remainlargely inert. But when we aid and encourage gifted children to power their thinkingwith persistence, open-mindedness, rationality, flexibility, courage, intellectualhonesty, and an orientation to excellence, then they animate their contentand process knowledge. They enliven and direct their abilities and actualizetheir remarkable potential. The Thinking Environment If we intend to help children to become better thinkers, we must, almostliterally, set the stage for thinking; that is, we must create and maintaina "thinking environment." Some aspects of the thinking environment are physical: children needto be able to concentrate, to have the resources that aid their thinking,to eat well and get sufficient rest, etc. Many of the aspects of a thinkingenvironment, however, are psychological. The home or classroom needs toprovide a physical and psychological security. It should be an environmentof mutual respect, of encouragement, of humor, of openmindedness. Theremust be a recognition of the dignity of the individual and of the rightof the individual to develop as an independent thinker. While children help to shape their environments, the authority figurespresent (parents, teachers, administrators) have great power to promoteor inhibit thoughtfulness. As indicated previously, these adult authoritiesneed to be models of good thinking. They need to kindle in children themotivations and traits of thoughtful individuals. And they must permitand encourage growth in thinking. We see too many examples of adult studentsand professionals who still look to authority figures for permission tothink. Unfortunately, it is a lot easier to say "While you're living in thishouse, you'll do as I say," than it is to patiently work together to solveproblems. It is easier to be directive and to tell children what to dothan it is to offer advice and then be willing to accept their decisions.Of course, the maturity and development of the child are important factorsthat must be considered. But we must recognize that our roles are to "launch"the children in it is better to start earlier our care onto their own independent journeys. And in thattask, rather than later. Page 5 of 7 PA PAGE Resources Bulletin 3 Page Metacognition The thinking that we engage in to acquire or generate meaning and/or productsis called cognition. But humans have the remarkable ability to think abouttheir own thinking, to think at a higher, or meta., level. Metacognitionis that higher level of mental functioning used for planning, directing,monitoring and evaluating our own thinking. Metacognition is related to greater cognitive achievement and development.Gifted children, who may naturally be more introspective and selfaware,can benefit from focusing their attention on the quality of their thinking.We can aid their efforts to become self-directed and self-evaluative thinkersby helping them become aware of their metacognitive ability, by assistingthem in planning their thinking, and by providing them with guidelinesfor good thinking. We further help to develop their metacognition by providingprompts and questions that help them to monitor and evaluate their thinkingwhile in progress, by "debriefing" or discussing with them the thinkingthey did in completing a project, and, importantly, by providing them withexamples of these important processes. By sharing how you think in order to accomplish important tasks, bysolving problems out loud and showing how you deal with the complexitiesof solving a problem or making a decision (to include how you handle wrongturns and mistakes), you provide some important insights and examples ofhow a mature and accomplished thinker goes about their work. Developing Metacognition Metacognition is our ability to think about our own thinking.- to planit, monitor it, evaluate it. A parent or teacher can help a child to developthese abilities by: modeling or thinking aloud asking the child to think aloud guiding students in developing a thinking plan helping them to assess and critique their thinking Additionally, parents or teachers can prompt children with questions likethe following : What is your purpose or goal? What kind of end-product do you want to have? What kind of problem is this? What is your plan? What do you know/not know about this? What standards will you use to judge your work? What was strong/weak about your thinking? Page 6 of 7 PA PAGE Resources Bulletin 3 Page What did you learn for the future? Guidelines for Nurturing Thinking 1. Establish and maintain a general atmosphere that promotes thinking. o Encourage thoughtfulness. o Allow for humor. o Discuss subjects in depth. 2. Be a model of thoughtfulness. o Demonstrate the traits of a good thinker. o Share how you think, plan, decide, etc. 3. Work to remove the blocks that limit critical and creative thinking inchildren. 4. Use prompts and questions that promote and develop thinking ability. o Use divergent questioning. answering questions or during discussions. o Allow children time to think before o Be accepting without praising. 5. Teach thinking strategies and techniques. 6. Make formal use of strategies and techniques when doing family or classproblem solving and decision making. 7. Help children to build on failure. 8. Help children to develop self-evaluation skills. 9. Encourage students to express positive selfstatements about their thinkingability. 10. Teach and model open-mindedness. Criteria for Classroom Thoughtfulness There is a sustained examination of a few topics rather than superficialcoverage of many. There is a sense of coherence and continuity. Students are given an appropriate amount of time to think and respond. The teacher asks challenging questions or structures challenging tasks. The teacher is a model of thoughtfulness. Students offer explanations and reasons for their conclusions. 7 Page 7 of 7 PA PAGE Resources Bulletin 3 Page Source: Fred M. Newman, "Qualities of Thoughtful Social Studies Classes:An Empirical Profile," Journal of Curriculum Studies, V. 22 n. 3, p. 25375,May-June, 1990. Recommended Reading Developing Minds: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking ArthurCosta (Ed.), ASCD, Alexandria, VA, 1985. Dimensions of Thinking: A Framework for Curriculum and Instruction,Marzano, et. al., ASCD, Alexandria, VA, 1987. Growing Up Creative: Nurturing a Lifetime of Creativity, TeresaAmabile, Crown Publishers, NY, 1989. Effective Questions to Strengthen Thinking Marilyn A. Brown,Foxtail Press, La Habra, CA, 1986. Practical Strategies for the Teaching of Thinking, Barry Beyer,Allyn & Bacon, Boston, 1987. Techniques for Teaching Thinking, Costa & Lowery, MidwestPublications, Pacific Grove, CA, 1989. For additional information about PAGE, contact: Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education 3026 Potshop Road Norristown, PA 19403 PAGE HELPLINE: 717-774-0476 Email: [email protected] Please send any comments, additions, or suggestionsabout this web site to [email protected]. This document reprinted by permission of PennsylvaniaAssociation for Gifted Education (PAGE). Permission to redistribute thisdocument for educational or advocacy purposes is granted, provided thatno fee is charged (not even to cover costs). eturnto PAGE Main Page 0 U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement (0ERI) Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) REPRODUCTION RELEASE (Specific Document) I. DOCUMENT IDENTIFICATION: Title: PAGE Bulletin Developing Thinking in the Gifted LeStorti, Anthony Author(s): J. Publication Date: Corporate Source: 1994 II. REPRODUCTION RELEASE: In order to cfisseminate as widely as possible timely and significant materials of interest to the educational community, documents announced in the monthly abstract journal of the ERIC system, Resources in Education (RIE), are usually made available to users in microfiche, reproduced paper copy, and electronic/optical media, and sold through the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS) or other ERIC vendors. Credit is given to the source of each document, and, if reproduction release is granted, one of the following notices is affixed to the document. If permission is granted to reproduce and disseminate the identified document, please CHECK ONE of the following two options and sign at the bottom of the page. The sample sticker shown below will be The sample sticker shown below will be affixed to all Level 2 documents affixed to all Level 1 documents El PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL MATERIAL IN OTHER THAN PAPER HAS BEEN GRANTED BY COPY HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Check here Check here For Level 2 Release: For Level 1 Release: Permitting reproduction in Permitting reproduction in microfiche (4" x 6" film) or microfiche (4" x 6" film) or TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES other ERIC archival media other ERIC archival media TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) (e.g., electronic or optical), (e.g., electronic or optical) INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) but not in paper copy. and paper copy. Level 2 Level 1 If permission Documents will be processed as indicated provided reproduction quality permits. to reproduce is granted, but neither box is checked, documents will be processed at Level 1. "I hereby grant to the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) nonexclusive permission to reproduce and disseminate this document as indicated above. Reproduction from the ERIC microfiche or electronic/optical media by persons other than ERIC employees and its system contractors requires permission from the copyright holder. Exception is made for non-profit reproduction by libraries and other service agencies to satisfy information needs of educators in response to discrete inquiries." Sign Signature: Printed Name/Position/Title: here) Mildred M. Waldspurger, Executive Secretary please Thganiza ion/Address: Tefephone: Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education 215/661-0470 Date: E-Mail Address: 3026 Potshop Road Norristown, PA 19403 [email protected] 9/26/97 (over) III. DOCUMENT AVAILABILITY INFORMATION (FROM NON-ERIC SOURCE): If permission to reproduce is not granted to ERIC, or, if you wish ERIC to cite the availability of the document from another source, please provide the following information regarding the availability of the document. (ERIC will not announce a document unless it is publicly, available, and a dependable source can be specified. Contributors should also be aware that ERIC selection criteria are significantly more stringent for documents that cannot be made available through EDRS.) Publisher/Distributor: IV. REFERRAL OF ERIC TO COPYRIGHT/REPRODUCTION RIGHTS HOLDER: If the right to grant reproduction release is held by someone other than the addressee, please provide the appropriate name and address: V. WHERE TO SEND THIS FORM: Send this form to the following ERIC Clearinghouse: ERIC Ciearinghouse on Disabilities Toll-Free: 800/328-0272 and Gifted Education FAX: 703/620-2521 The Council for Exceptional Children 1920 Association Drive Reston, VA 20191-1589 However, if solicited by the ERIC Facility, or if making an unsolicited contribution to ERIC, return this form (and the document being contributed) to: ERIC Processing and Reference Facility 1100 West Street, 2d Floor Laurel, Maryland 20707-3598 Telephone: 301-497-4080 Toll Free: 800-799-3742 FAX: 301-953-0263 e-mail: [email protected] WWW: http://ericfac.piccard.csc.com (Rev. 6/96)