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DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL THINKING AND CREATIVITY AT THE STUDENTS

OVERVIEW

In pursuing of preparing students for real life, for their careers and challenges and, as well, equipping them with the skills required for these times, we often forget that as educators, we have a duty to create the necessary conditions where everyone to have the opportunity to be creative and give out the best of themselves.

The goal of this course is to raise confidence and enlarge the knowledge of educators, teachers and adult trainers in order to use and, as well, to in adopt various techniques and methods to encourage the students to become more creative and develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills, either being in school or in real life.

 

MAIN OBJECTIVES

This training course aims to teach participants to use different strategies, tools and ideas tailored to needs and realities in their environment in order to inspire learners’ creativity and critical thinking through innovative and interactive teaching methods based on experiential learning.

The general aim of this course is to encourage excellence in education by empowering teachers, headmasters, trainers, and other education staff to find strategies and ideas to foster creative learning while sharing best practices and experiences with fellow participants and trainers throughout all Europe.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this course the participants will be able:

  • to develop a greater understanding of the differences between formal, non-formal and informal learning as well as the basic non-formal education principles;
  • to extend the knowledge about the importance of developing creativity and critical thinking;
  • to learn and practice activities and games aiming at shaping creative thinking;
  • to develop and use tools adapted on their students’ realities and concerns;
  • to learn how motivate and to engage students and so they have an effective collaboration and develop problem solving skills as well as their self-esteem;
  • to learn how to lead and deliver experiential activities to stimulate the students’ creativity in problem-solving;
  • to get to know and practice ICT tools stimulating creativity and critical thinking;
  • to exchange good practices and discuss challenges with fellow colleagues and the course trainers.

DAILY COURSE AGENDA

MONDAY

  • introductory meeting, explanation of practical arrangements, presentation of timetable;
  • self-introducing the participants and the sending institutions (PowerPoint presentations);
  • icebreakers, introduction to the course; needs and expectations;
  • the importance to develop and reinforce innovation skills;
  • overview of creativity and critical thinking: key concepts and principles;

 

TUESDAY

  • what is creativity; understanding the creative process, the level of individual creativity, technics of improving creativity;
  • barriers of creativity: how to identify and to overcome the barriers; how to discover the benefits of creativity;
  • creativity-based pedagogies and experiential learning activities to stimulate learners’ motivation, participation and collaboration.

WEDNESDAY

  • what is critical thinking; how it is expressed?
  • universal intellectual standards; do we have critical thinking skills? what they are?
  • reasoning, questioning and debating; how to use them in order to have a critical thinking?
  • practical group exercises and non-formal activities to stimulate critical thinking and superior thinking;

 

 

THURSDAY

  • skills of solving problem; fundamentals of problem solving: principles and models of reference;
  • critical thinking in problem-solving; non-formal methods and procedures to strengthen creativity by critical thinking;
  • what is my creative style? discovering your creative problem solving style and preferences.

FRIDAY

  • how ICT tools target and stimulate creativity and critical thinking; the power of new technologies to enrich our creativity and critical thinking;
  • tools for assessing and validating creativity and critical thinking through non-formal activities, in a creative way;
  • designing and practice the lessons using creativity ways skills and tools.

 

 

SATURDAY

  • project summary;
  • were the learners expectations been fulfilled?
  • final evaluation;
  • validation of the learning outcomes;
  • certification ceremony;

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

  • By this course we target teachers, trainers of adult learners, educational and career counsellors, school psychologists, headmasters, other education staff working in primary schools, secondary schools, vocational schools, training centers, adult education schools, higher education, kindergartens and NGOs.
  • A course group may include teachers and trainers with different levels of professional backgrounds or teaching experience.
  • If there are participants who would like to attend a session tailored for a specific level, please contact us to establish together a dedicated session.
  • The standard indicative daily programme which is mentioned above can be personalized and adapted to the participants needs and their professional profiles.

 

 

 

 

  • The standard program comprises six days of courses and starts usually Monday and ends Saturday. 
  • If there are specific request we can organize longer or shorter versions of this course.
  • Please, have in mind that we always do our best to be at the participants disposal for accommodate the specific needs of them, being flexible and open to their sugesstions, including to matters linked to accommodation, travel, cultural visits and so on.
  • If the participants would like to arrive one day before the start of the course and/or to leave one day after the end of it, in order to enjoy the cultural deeper moments, we can provide an individual to assist them.