Clearly Outside the Box

 I love how this graphic (provided thru our discussions in the PIDP 3250 forums) shows clear and relevant examples of questions which develop and expand a students critical and creative thinking skills. 

There seems to be a lot more ideas on how to develop critical thinking than creative.  In my searches I came across a superb article Think Outside your Caged Imagination by Michael Michalko.  He explains how the brain develops pathways for thinking, making shortcuts and overtime these limit our regard to alternatives.

 "Habits, thinking patterns and routines with which we approach life gradually accumulate until they significantly reduce our awareness of other possibilities. It’s as if a cage is built up around our imagination over time and its effects slowly become obvious."

Towards the end provides a workable technique he calls BLUEPRINT which can be used to build new creative thinking pathways in our brain.