As your final online assignment, you are to reflect on your experiences in this class and explain how the class has improved the way you think. Before you answer this question, look at your lab notebook and online entries. You are to use these as the evidence to support your answer. Be detailed and specific when responding (no generalizations).
A few rules:
1. The length of your response should be at least 300 words.
2. You should read the people who posted before you, and, within your post, agree, qualify, or
disagree with some of their statements.
3. Your response should be written in first person, but it should not be casual. No text-
message speak, emoticons, or low-level words.
Due: Thursday, May 28th by 3rd period
Your Possible Creative Strengths
Emotional expressiveness reflects a person’s ability to communicate feelings and emotions verbally and nonverbally.
Storytelling articulateness indicates a person’s ability to clearly and powerfully communicate an idea or tell a story by providing some kind of environment and sufficient detail to put things in context.
Movement or action reflects a person’s perception and depiction of movement through titles and the speech and bodily posture of figures in his/her drawings.
Expressiveness of titles notes a person’s use of titles that go beyond simple description and communicate something about the pictures that the graphic cues do not express without the title.
Synthesis of Incomplete figures/circles: Combining two or more figures is quite rare and is found in a person whose thinking departs from the commonplace and established. This is a person who is able to see relationships among rather diverse and unrelated elements, and who, even under restrictive conditions, utilizes whatever freedom is possible.
Unusual visualization reflects an individual who sees things in new ways as well as old familiar ways and who can return repeatedly to a commonplace object or situation and perceive it in different ways.
Internal visualization indicates that a person is able to visualize beyond exteriors and pay attention to the internal dynamic working of things.
Extending or Breaking Boundaries suggests that a person is able to remain open long enough to permit the mind to make mental leaps in order to get away from the obvious and commonplace and to open up or extend boundaries or limits.
Humor reflects a person’s ability to create strong, sharp, distinct pictures in the minds of others causing amusement.
Richness of imagery reflects a person’s ability to excite and appeal to the senses.
Fantasy reflects a person’s use of imagination in imagery and titles.
Your Possible Critical Strengths
Comprehension: Grasping (understanding) the meaning of informational materials.
classifies; cites; converts; describes; discusses; estimates; explains; generalizes; gives examples; makes sense out of; paraphrases; restates (in own words); summarizes; traces; understands.
Application: The use of previously learned information in new and concrete situations to solve problems that have single or best answers. acts; administers; articulates; assesses; charts; collects; computes; constructs; contributes; controls; determines; develops; discovers; establishes; extends; implements; includes; informs; instructs; operationalizes; participates; predicts; prepares; preserves; produces; projects; provides; relates; reports; shows; solves; teaches; transfers; uses; utilizes.
Analysis: The breaking down of informational materials into their component parts, examining (and trying to understand the organizational structure of) such information to develop divergent conclusions by identifying motives or causes, making inferences, and/or finding evidence to support generalizations. breaks down; correlates; diagrams; differentiates; discriminates; distinguishes; focuses; illustrates; infers; limits; outlines; points out; prioritizes; recognizes; separates; subdivides.
Synthesis: Creatively or divergently applying prior knowledge and skills to produce a new or original whole. adapts; anticipates; categorizes; collaborates; combines; communicates; compares; compiles; composes; contrasts; creates; designs; devises; expresses; facilitates; formulates; generates; incorporates; individualizes; initiates; integrates; intervenes; models; modifies; negotiates; plans; progresses; rearranges; reconstructs; reinforces; reorganizes; revises; structures; substitutes; validates.
Evaluation: Judging the value of material based on personal values/opinions, resulting in an end product, with a given purpose, without real right or wrong answers.
Comprehension: Grasping (understanding) the meaning of informational materials.
classifies; cites; converts; describes; discusses; estimates; explains; generalizes; gives examples; makes sense out of; paraphrases; restates (in own words); summarizes; traces; understands.
Application: The use of previously learned information in new and concrete situations to solve problems that have single or best answers. acts; administers; articulates; assesses; charts; collects; computes; constructs; contributes; controls; determines; develops; discovers; establishes; extends; implements; includes; informs; instructs; operationalizes; participates; predicts; prepares; preserves; produces; projects; provides; relates; reports; shows; solves; teaches; transfers; uses; utilizes.
Analysis: The breaking down of informational materials into their component parts, examining (and trying to understand the organizational structure of) such information to develop divergent conclusions by identifying motives or causes, making inferences, and/or finding evidence to support generalizations. breaks down; correlates; diagrams; differentiates; discriminates; distinguishes; focuses; illustrates; infers; limits; outlines; points out; prioritizes; recognizes; separates; subdivides.
Synthesis: Creatively or divergently applying prior knowledge and skills to produce a new or original whole. adapts; anticipates; categorizes; collaborates; combines; communicates; compares; compiles; composes; contrasts; creates; designs; devises; expresses; facilitates; formulates; generates; incorporates; individualizes; initiates; integrates; intervenes; models; modifies; negotiates; plans; progresses; rearranges; reconstructs; reinforces; reorganizes; revises; structures; substitutes; validates.
Evaluation: Judging the value of material based on personal values/opinions, resulting in an end product, with a given purpose, without real right or wrong answers.
appraises; compares & contrasts; concludes; criticizes; critiques; decides; defends; interprets; judges; justifies; reframes; supports
Entries (RSS)
[...] Final Blog | Critical аחԁ Creative Thinking [...]
[...] Final Blog | Critical аחԁ Creative Thinking [...]
[...] Final Blog | Critical and Creative Thinking [...]
[...] Final Blog | Critical and Creative Thinking [...]
[...] Final Blog | Critical and Creative Thinking [...]
[...] Final Blog | Critical аnԁ Creative Thinking [...]
[...] Final Blog | Critical аחԁ Creative Thinking [...]
[...] Final Blog | Critical and Creative Thinking [...]
At the beginning of Critical and Creative Thinking, I was confident in my creative and critical thinking abilities. However, this course proved that I had much further to go! On the first few assignments, I tried to force creativity. I would come up with ideas, then quickly throw them away, never expanding on one idea. Through the many activities we participated in, I feel that my personal brainstorming and decision-making skills have improved greatly.
During the first couple Washington Post Challenges, I would spend long periods of time attempting to come up with the most creative answer possible. But over time, I have found that if you stop trying to think so hard, stop stressing over finding an answer, and just let the creativity flow, a response will come much easier. I also had this realization between the in-class creativity and attention to detail drawing tests. In the first test, I spent too much time thinking, whereas in the next test, I let my mind wander and give me inspiration. Needless to say, the second test was much more successful.
I believe that my decision-making skills have sharpened immensely. Being given a task to complete in a short amount of time, and working with a team, it is essential that decisions be made quickly and effectively. Creating a new board game, my team and I spent awhile brainstorming. Soon, we had many ideas, but no plan. We were forced to crack down, choose and develop an idea, and decide if it was worthwhile. I took the leadership position in the decision-making during this project, and others; making sure everyone had a say and moving the group along so we were not sidetracked.
Critical and Creative Thinking has helped me recognize my strengths. I have found that once I relax and set my mind open, I am very successful in synthesis of incomplete figures/circles. Details and thinking out-of-the-box come naturally and I am able to produce very creative and unique pictures. Also, the critical aspect of synthesis applies to me as well. I used planning, negotiations, organization, substitution and more when editing the two videos and the photography project. Editing requires all of those skills and I manage very well with details and revision. I might never have realized my strengths if not for the projects and activities of this class. Thank you for the opportunity to discover and broaden my thinking skills.
I feel as if this class has pushed me, both creatively and critically, towards becoming a better thinker in groups and individually. Working in groups or teams has allowed me to focus my strength as a leader, while also learning when it is best to let the team work without one: In Minute To Win It, I learned that the team worked better collaboratively. I also learned how efficient my unusual visualization was. During the re-purposing project, I looked at the baby food jars not as a solid whole, but as something broken. From this idea of broken glass came the group’s idea for a mosaic. I’ve learned, in the re-purposing project and the final, how valuable a creative tool synthesis can be. The need for a high quality of work pushed me to think in new ways: how can I make these coasters or cards look professional? One of the most important advances of my assessed strengths, due to taking this class, is my application – I learned to organize, assess, brainstorm, predict and evaluate. I realized how everything being organized makes it much easier to accomplish goals. During Project 2, my notebook held all of my plans and mathematics. My notebook allowed me to focus on the problem at hand, rather than try to remember what the problem was. I also assessed projects through the eyes of those who might observe it. For all of my project presentations I would predict what question might be asked, and evaluate the overall product. In Project 2, I made sure that the neighborhood was aesthetically appeasing and that I would want to live in any of the given houses. Overall I have advanced in my skills of self-control, analysis and evaluation of problems, synthesis of products and presentations, and unusual visualization.
**Note: Lauren posted her comment while I was writing mine, and the page did not update to show it, which is why I did not respond to any of her comments or put mine in a format similar to hers.
I remember the beginning of this year where I wasn’t even assigned this class, I’m glad I ended up in this class though. I took this class because it was the last thing available, it was either this or sign language. I came into this class thinking it was an easy A, but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Through having this class I have learned how to deal with other people more then I’ve ever learned in any other class. This is a quality I can utilize passed by high school days and onto when I’m an adult. I’ve made new friendships and actually increased prior friendships by having this class. For ex. people like Andrew Idell, Kevin Hannum, and Jordan Deshon. They all were in my Java class first semester but I didn’t know them that well until I got in this class. I’ve ended up working with all of them on a project in this class. Some people I didn’t know at all that I’ve gotten to know are Savannah, Jeremy, Kennedy and Zach Flynn. Savannah through the Science Safety video and Jeremy through the project we’re currently working on. Kennedy is in my homeroom and I’d never talked to her ever until I got in this class and Zach Flynn I got to know through minute to win it. Everything we’ve done in this class with the exception of one assignment, the snow assignment, has been group oriented. I like the fact that everything was group related because you can always depend on someone else. When your in a group theres not just your mind thinking everyones ideas come into play which I like. You hear one of your group mates ideas and maybe you extend on that idea, without that person you may have not even thought of the idea in the first place. With all these minds working the final product is sure to be great. Personally I’d rather work in a group any day then individually. Usually every time I work individually there comes a time when I hit a wall and just get frustrated. When your in a group you have people all supporting each other which helps you get through phases like that. This class has taught me to think outside the box. Don’t just act on the first thing that comes to mind you have to thoroughly think everything out and dissect every little portion of an assignment. My favorite assignments were minute to win it and as much as I hate to say it The Impact of Music. I liked minute to win it because it incorporated a competitive standpoint while having strategy involved at the same time. As much work as I had to put in I still have to say The Impact of Music was my favorite. The first day after being assigned it and my group telling me my part was country music I thought I was going to hate it. But through researching country music I ended up liking it. I want to thank Bryan Kelly for that because if it wasn’t for him telling me I was doing country music I would’nt of realized how much I actually like it.
I accidentally submitted before I was completely finished. This is the complete version.
I remember the beginning of this year where I wasn’t even assigned this class, I’m glad I ended up in this class though. I took this class because it was the last thing available, it was either this or sign language. I came into this class thinking it was an easy A, but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Through having this class I have learned how to deal with other people more then I’ve ever learned in any other class. This is a quality I can utilize passed by high school days and onto when I’m an adult. I’ve made new friendships and actually increased prior friendships by having this class. For ex. people like Andrew Idell, Kevin Hannum, and Jordan Deshon. They all were in my Java class first semester but I didn’t know them that well until I got in this class. I’ve ended up working with all of them on a project in this class. Some people I didn’t know at all that I’ve gotten to know are Savannah, Jeremy, Kennedy and Zach Flynn. Savannah through the Science Safety video and Jeremy through the project we’re currently working on. Kennedy is in my homeroom and I’d never talked to her ever until I got in this class and Zach Flynn I got to know through minute to win it. Everything we’ve done in this class with the exception of one assignment, the snow assignment, has been group oriented. I like the fact that everything was group related because you can always depend on someone else. When your in a group theres not just your mind thinking everyones ideas come into play which I like. You hear one of your group mates ideas and maybe you extend on that idea, without that person you may have not even thought of the idea in the first place. With all these minds working the final product is sure to be great. Personally I’d rather work in a group any day then individually. Usually every time I work individually there comes a time when I hit a wall and just get frustrated. When your in a group you have people all supporting each other which helps you get through phases like that. This class has taught me to think outside the box. Don’t just act on the first thing that comes to mind you have to thoroughly think everything out and dissect every little portion of an assignment. My favorite assignments were minute to win it and as much as I hate to say it The Impact of Music. I liked minute to win it because it incorporated a competitive standpoint while having strategy involved at the same time. As much work as I had to put in I still have to say The Impact of Music was my favorite. The first day after being assigned it and my group telling me my part was country music I thought I was going to hate it. But through researching country music I ended up liking it. I want to thank Bryan Kelly for that because if it wasn’t for him telling me I was doing country music I would’nt of realized how much I actually like it. During the project were currently working on I’ve really became creative by making a 3d board game. I agree with both Lauren and Pamela. I agree with Lauren about how my decision making skills have gotten better and I agree with Pam on how the class has pushed her.
I’d like to thank both Mrs. Holstein and Dr.Fleetwood for helping me become for creative and make me think of creativity in a whole new way.
I agree completely with Pam, this Critical and Creative Thinking class has really pushed me to explore new things within my mind. I have developed great new ways to brainstorm, new methods for completing tasks, and a great sense of competition through the Minute to Win It challenges. This class has also greatly improved my ability to work with other people in small or large groups. Being randomly assigned to a group forced me to adapt to different people with a variety of ideas. I have met some great people and made some lasting friendships.
I also agree with Lauren. When I was coming into Critical and Creative Thinking, I came in thinking that this class was going to be a breeze. I thought that I was the most creative person out there; I thought I knew everything. This class has shown me that I was not. Now, after going through a semester exploring so many new things, I feel as though I have truly developed the strong creativeness that I thought I had coming in. Similar to Lauren, I too had a difficult time coming up with creative answers and solutions to the Washington Post challenges. I often spent great stretches of time in front of my computer attempting to rack my brain for the most creative answer. Through working with the teachers and other students, I have developed a new mindset that allows me to think creatively quickly.
Dr. Fleetwood and Mrs. Holstein, you have taught me to think critically as well. During presentations, you would both point out little things in our presentations that many groups would forget to mention or even take into consideration. Your constructive criticism has taught me to look at all aspects of a project and find flaws before they occur. In addition to your criticisms, your warm, creative personalities made it fun to come to class everyday. I enjoyed the creative games that we played and the difficult brainteasers that made us think. I loved everything about Critical and Creative Thinking, and I am so glad that I took the course. I would like to thank Dr. Fleetwood, Mrs. Holstein, and my hardworking classmates for a great class.
I would have to say that this class was nothing as I expected it to be. Last year, when Mrs. Benzing suggested to my English class that we take Critical and Creative Thinking as a class to let us relax and have a break from the normal school day, I imagined a class where we did small challenges where we were given something like an object and had to create something out of it. Well, it was a complete shock when we received that first project. Having expected this class to be somewhere I could release my worries from school, I was dumbfounded when I realized how hard it is to brainstorm about a topic so broad. In writing, we brainstorm about what we want to write about, which is normally a certain topic, but in this class the topic is just the description of the challenge or project. I found it very difficult to move away from typical thinking and into a creative and expressive way of thinking. A great example of this issue would be when I had the Teach It project to do. We had to create games or puzzles that taught high school students about an organism. This was one of the most difficult challenges to brainstorm for in my opinion. I remember sitting at the table with my group and not having any idea what to do until three days after we were given the assignment. It was so difficult to pull an idea out of my mind about a random topic. This struggle that I had in brainstorming led to the development of new ways of thinking and ultimately, a development of new creative strengths.
Within the first month of Critical and Creative Thinking, I could identify some of my weaknesses but I didn’t see the exact strengths I had. Looking back, I can tell that all along I had great storytelling abilities. In the project where my group had to study music and its changes over time, I used many stories of my personal experiences to relate back and support my original statement. Another strength that I wasn’t aware of was my ability to analyze. In my groups, I always seemed to be breaking down ideas into plans and down into the original idea it branched from. I did this a lot in the baby food jar project. I broke down the ideas my group came up with into categories to see what was the most abstract, do-able, and original. By breaking down the ideas, I could come up with more ideas from that some base idea, stay organized, and better understand my group members’ ideas. I noticed my major weakness early on in the class; my major problem was breaking boundaries. I noticed this most in the activity where we were given the pear shaped object and had to create something out of it. Within the allotted time, I changed my idea twice and spent about eighty six percent of my time brainstorming. While the other people at my table were finishing, I was just starting. In the end, I didn’t get to complete the entire picture and I wasn’t completely happy with my idea. So every time we were given a new project, I stressed during the brainstorming portion because it was so difficult for me to come up with creative ideas, but overall I would have to say that this is one thing that I improved so much in through the semester. I noticed this while brainstorming for the final project ideas. I was churning out new and creative game ideas that were very original and competitive. I went from struggling to come up with one idea for a small challenge, to coming up with many new ideas for a large project. I’m really glad too, because now when I hear the word “brainstorm”, I don’t want to go run and hide.
I definitely agree with Lauren in the sense that, in the beginning of this class I thought that I was super creative. A few years ago I was an Odyssey of the Mind team and I had so many creative ideas, and my group and I ended up going to the national competition. So, when I took this class I was really amazed at how much I was lacking creativity. I also agree with her because most of my best ideas in this class as well as in other classes were discovered when I just let my mind wander. Imam also pointed out another great point. I really enjoyed working in groups during the project. This really helped when one person was stuck and needed more ideas.
Overall, even though sometimes I struggled and stressed a lot in this class I am really glad that I took it as an elective because learned many new ways of thinking as well as the strengths that I have as a thinker.
The biggest thing this class has taught me is that I am much, much more of a creative thinker than I am a critical one. Coming up with new ideas and ways to do things, or things to make and do has always been a passion of mine, so the cookbook project was very fun for me. I got to show off some of my creative talents by coming up with a look and binding out actual cookbook, making something I though was pretty and functional. When it came to out second project where we were able to choose our project, I was rather put out to come back from being sick and find out we weren’t allowed to pick any of the especially creative projects.
I have always been better at creating such problems than solving them, so I think my ultimate grade for the neighborhood project reflected that. It did teach me that I need to become more apt at pushing past my dislike of such problems and using my creativity to solve them. So I think this class has taught me to use my creative strengths to help blend with and develop my critical areas.
Like Imam, I feel the class has also taught me a bit more about teamwork. I have always been a leader, and 90% of the time I did a group project in other classes, the rest of the group had no problem going along with that. I don’t want this next statement to seem rude, or finger-pointing, I just would like to use it to illustrate a point. But Pam and I are working together (along with Megan) for our final project, and I think both of us are generally accustomed to being the leader in a group project. I know we butted heads a few times so far while working on our project (in fact most of the class probably heard us), and I’ve had to work on backing down and compromising even when I still feel supportive of my idea.
While I did not come into this class feeling it would be an easy A, I still did have to work harder than I expected. Honestly, I was slightly disappointed at not really being able to express my creative talent in the way I most enjoy, I recognize not only that this class is not just about creativity, but also that my hobby is also not very popular these days, and therefore there probably wouldn’t have been a project for it. I really did enjoy this class however.
Critical and Creative Thinking was not what I thought it would be like. I thought we would just be asked to make arts and crafts, but this class makes you use your brain in a way you do not use throughout a normal day. In the beginning of Critical and Creative Thinking, I believed I was a good thinker and was very creative. This class taught me that I can use my brain beyond of what I knew I could do. I learned the correct way to brainstorm, use a lab notebook, record my data, and work as a team. During many of the challenges we worked with groups of people and we had to work equally. Before the class I did not like being the leader, but this class showed me that I have to voice my opinion and allow others to voice theirs too. The Washington Post contest challenges were a good way to use your brain and think out of the box. The first challenge I did took me a long time to accomplish because I did not know how to attack the problem, but after doing many other challenges I learned to use my brain in a different way.
My favorite assignment was making the cookbook. I worked with Kev Neff and Emily Putscher. We worked well together and we produced a creative and attractive cookbook. We all got different recipes and made the dishes. We had to be creative in the choices for the recipes and what we put in the dishes. We also had to work together very well, which we did.
Critical and Creative Thinking challenged me. Sometimes I would be stumped for hours on a project and would have to use different ideas to accomplish the goal. It taught me that sometimes while doing a project or anything in life you can not just accomplish something the fist time all the time, it may take trial and error to reach a goal. I also learned how to work in a group and also to be more organized. I agree with Chelsea on how she thought the class would be and I agree with Lauren on how at the beginning of the class it took her hours to accomplish the goal, but at the end of the class she learned how to attack the problem in a new way.
I would like to thank Dr. Fleetwood, Mrs. Hollstein, and my classmates for pushing me and teaching me how to be a better thinker and use my brain. i really enjoyed this class!
When I first started in this class, I figured that there was no possible way to fail. How could anyone fail at being creative? Then we had to start all of the projects. In the beginning with the Washington Post Challenges, I spent a lot of time just trying to interpret the challenge. Nothing seemed to click with me. Once we started getting involved with the group projects, my critical and creative thinking levels definitely changed. I am now thinking more in depth and outside of the box. No longer a concrete thinker, I am now more abstract. I really agree with Jordan on how this class has pushed me to think in a completely different manner than before. I realized that my creativity was not too high and that I was thinking too critically and not enough creativity. Now that I have finished this course, my way of thinking has changed. My synthesis of incomplete circles/figures and application have undergone a severe altercation. I am now able to see more of a relation between things. I can now also apply what I have previously learned and use that knowledge for the task at hand. For example, the photography and science safety video have taught me that I can’t think in one direction. I have to think in all directions and move away from my comfort zone. Some of the outlandish features in the video have been applied to the game board project now. In fact, my group and I have taken an entirely new approach to the project and re-defined the term, “board” game. When I look through my lab notebook, I can’t believe some of the crazy brainstorming ideas that my groups have come up with. This class’s impact is clearly evident in my lab notebook. Besides a change in thinking, I have also made many new friends along the way. I started in groups with people I had never worked with before. It wasn’t long after until I was working with them like I’ve known them forever. I have also had a look at how others view creativity and applied that to my own thinking processes. Now that this class is over, I am hoping to continue to express my creativity and newly found ways of thinking in all of my school projects. I’d like to thank Dr. Fleetwood and Mrs. Hollstein for giving me a chance to express my creativity and learn how to think in a new manner compared to my previous state of thinking.
I have become much more creative as this course has progressed. At the start of the semester, the only thing that mattered was what I wanted to do, I never tried to think outside of the box and see what has never been done before. This has changed greatly though, as over the last couple projects I have not only examined what I like, but I have put some thought into what has never been done before, and the best way to combine these two views.
I have also learned how to build off of group member’s ideas when we are working on projects as a group. A great example of this was during the project where we were supposed to repurpose the baby food jar. Someone, I honestly cannot remember who, mentioned breaking the jar and using the broken pieces to make wind chimes. Then Pam mentioned using them to make coasters, and from there the ideas just started flying from every group member. At the end we created a great product that was very original, and showed how four creative minds can work collectively to make a fantastic product.
Like Lauren, I too came into this class feeling like I was already a critical and creative person, but I soon realized how much room I had to improve. I realized this when I submitted my first Washington Post assignment. I struggled greatly to find a creative answer to the prompt, and when I finally thought of a decent answer, it was not all that creative either. However, by the end of the course I could look at the prompt, and ideas would start flying into my head. The hardest I had to think was deciding which idea would be my final idea.
I believe that throughout this course, I have grown tremendously creatively and critically. Coming into this class, as Emily had said, I definitely had to work harder than I originally thought. I first decided to take this class from the recommendation of my sister, who took CCT last year and told me she had a blast. I am so glad that I took her advice because I learned I can not only be a leader but work in a team also as Emily had stated above. After the many strenuous hours of projects, the Monday night blog challenges, and the argumentative class discussions that were always intriguing and compelling, I can honestly say this has been one of my favorite classes at charter so far.
To comment on my growth in creative strengths, I believe in this class I have excelled in Storytelling articulateness; an example of this would be my first project as a group (which I would like to say was my favorite group of people to work with) that decided to make a dinosaur extinction parody. I believe that through the combined efforts of my group members and myself, we had made a hilarious and communicated our idea very well. Expressiveness of titles is a personal creative strength because I believe that throughout my last project of the science safety video, I have shown great ability to communicate something more meaningful than the frames themselves. Also I believe a creative strength that I have shown in this class is breaking boundaries and richness of imagery as well as my use of fantasy from my last project because when I designed the board for my final board game project, I decided that to make it different and new, we should have it stand up and make it an office type board game. Usual offices are boring, but our game will be filled with excitement and strategy!
Although I believe I show stronger creative strengths than critical strengths in this course, I believe that I have shown effort and growth in my critical abilities throughout this class. One of these is comprehension. At the beginning of the course, challenges were difficult because sometimes I could not understand what the assignment was, but now that I have been in the class, my ability to comprehend complicated instructions have become much easier for me. I also believe that I have gotten a lot better at application and analysis. Before this class, I used to rush into projects and work out the minor details while I was working on the final draft. After this class I have realized it is more about the minor details, not the big picture that makes your idea great. If you cannot go that extra step, your results will not be up to par.
In conclusion I believe this class has helped me in ways I could not ever imagine. As Hannah had said above me I believe that you must take trial and error into account into your projects because in life you have to fail over and over to finally succeed, but once you finally do, it is more rewarding than you could ever image.
Thank you so much Dr. Fleetwood and Mrs. Hollstein for this class. I look forward to coming into your classes next year reminiscing the times we have had together this year and I can not wait for all the new adventures we will have in the next two years. I would also like to thank my classmates for pushing me so hard to succeed in everything I do. I will never forget this class and all the memories I have had.
I agree with Tom M, throughout the course of my critical and creative thinking class I have learned how to bounce ideas off of other people more easily. I now find that working in groups is a much more productive way to be creative and to make bigger and better projects. I have learned that I am a more creative person than I once gave myself credit for. I have also enjoyed the many different projects that we were assigned, because it allowed me to get to know many of the different people in my class that I otherwise would not have gotten to know.
This course has also taught me how to “think out side of the box”. I would have never thought, going into this class that I would be able to come up with even half of the ideas that I came up with from the different projects that we did. I have to say that my favorite project was the one that we had over the unexpected snow days. I really enjoyed taking pictures of the snow and finding different ways to hold the camera in order to get a mood across to the people that were going to be watching my slide show. I also enjoyed putting the slide show to the appropriate music to further the mood I wished to convey with my project. The positive feed back I received from my slide show made me feel so accomplished, I then decided that I wanted to give every project I was assigned my very best effort.
When I first joined critical and creative thinking I thought that I would just breeze by without a care, but I began to realize that it would take much more work than I originally thought it would be. While the work load was not overbearing, I found myself focusing more on the small details in my projects, which I would normally overlook. I believe that my new found attention to detail is mainly due to the ideas we were taught in this class. I find that I now take more pride in my work, and I settle for nothing less than my best. For those reasons I thank Dr. Fleetwood and Mrs. Holstein, for making this class one of the most enjoyable classes I have ever taken during my four years at Charter. I am so happy that I was able to take this class before I graduated, it made my last marking period at Charter that much more enjoyable.
This critical and creative thinking course has changed a lot of the view I had on how I approach a question and on how a question can be answered. At the beginning of this course like Jordan and Pam said I was not as creative as I have been pushed by this class to become, yet throughout the course I found there were still many experiences that I haven’t had that really stopped me from thinking in a way that was individualistic and unique.
Numerous times I found that on tasks that would spark an instant creative thought now, I was simply at a loss for any ideas that were in any way what I would now consider original and creative. For instance, on the jar project, my group and I had no ideas as to what the jar could be manipulated into that would allow for it to be something that served a different purpose then just holding an object. I realize now that I did not approach the way of thinking correctly. I sat back stared at the jar in front of me and though as hard as I possible could to connect things to a jar in a way that changed what it needed to be. What I should have done is take a minute, not think as hard, and work the jar into any idea I wanted. In a sense, think less so I could achieve more. By trying so hard to push myself to something creative I effectively prohibited myself from coming up with a creative idea. Allowing ideas to just flow and be spur of the moment thoughts allowed for much more creative and productive thoughts that were some of my most creative ideas. This way of thinking is not only limited to this class but has benefited me in numerous other classes in problem solving and evaluation of problems that have allowed me to exceed points that I would previously hit a stop at. I agree with Lauren that my decision-making skills are far better then what they were in the past and now, with the skills I have acquired through this class, better achieve whatever I set out to do in my life ahead of me.
All in all this class has really helped to develop me into a person who can go at any problem whether it be in Math, English, or a simple everyday situation with multiple views of thinking and come out with a solution that will solve the problem with the most efficient way or working along with the simplest way of working. I can also now go at things with a view that is unique and in the future will help me become better person in any scenario I get stuck in.
When I signed up for Critical and Creative Thinking, I had mixed feeling about the amount of success that I would have. As I entered the class on the first day, I felt much like Lauren did; I felt confident in my creative skills, but was quickly proven that they were not quite up to the standards of the class. However, what I really lacked was the critical thinking aspect of the projects. My ideas, though they did not come quickly, were somewhat creative; I did not think through these ideas, though, leading to problems in projects and in challenges. For example, for the It’s-Not-A-Jar Challenge, I introduced several ideas that seemed viable when I said them. However, while discussing with my group, I realized that there was no way to make my idea come to life without serious flaws and restrictions.
I believe that my ability to think through ideas and projects has greatly improved throughout the course. Also, my creativity and ability to think creatively more quickly has expanded past my previous mental barriers. For example, my role in the Parody project and the Science Safety Video were much different. In the Parody project, I was unable to think of ideas during the brainstorming due to over thinking. Also, any idea I had been not realistic. Therefore, I contributed little to the ideas that went into that project. However, in the Science Safety video, ideas came much easier and more fluidly than before; I could contribute more to the group. I could think though ideas and other possibilities, while also thinking through the video as a whole. This caused more ideas to come to me.
Another important thing I have learned in this class is to be confident in my ideas and opinions. For instance, during brainstorming for the first couple projects that were done in the class, such as the parody video, I would often come up with an idea, but not share it with the group for fear of it being ridiculed or for fear of being embarrassed. I would also not comment negatively on another’s idea, even if I did not agree with it, because I did not want to hurt anyone. Through lots of group projects and interaction with the people in the class, I have grown more confident to speak my mind and let my ideas flow naturally. I no longer withhold an idea because someone may think it silly; I have learned that even a silly idea can be a useful trigger for someone else to bounce an idea off of.
By taking Critical and Creative Thinking, not only has my creativity gotten sharper, but my way of thinking in general has shifted. I now think much more thoroughly when contemplating ideas. Also, this class has given me confidence in myself that will carry over to other classes and will help me during the rest of my life. This class was defiantly the best class I could have taken this year.
Well, as I type this, my time at Charter has just about come to a close. I agree with what most people here have said about this class expanding one’s ability to think creatively. At the beginning of the second semester, I was unsure if I even was going to stay in this class, but I am happy I did. I felt that thinking critically and creatively was not one of my strong suits, but I believe that I have improved my ability to do both tremendously, which I credit with my participation in CCT. One major thing I have gotten better at is working with others in a group. I concur with Jordan that this class made students think outside the box and improvise. I also concur with Hannah that this class made everyone want to be a part of the team. One thing that CCT did well was encouraging us to think on the go. For example, with the minute to win it challenges, if one strategy didn’t work during the competition, the competitor had to think of a new strategy right away. Also, the re-purposing project taught me how to reuse something in a creative way. Before that project, I never would have envisioned. Also, I think in a much less fragmented way than I did before, which I credit to my participation in this class. I also agree with Maria that the work load for this class was greater than I had thought, but nonetheless, do-able. The course also enhanced my ability to synthesize my thoughts, which was very important, as most projects required one to. Group projects were very interesting- some people were great communicators (and workers), others didn’t work as hard unless they were included. I think that some projects, like minute to win it were great at including everyone. I think other projects, such as the cookbook, sparked a creative flame inside of everyone. As did the WaPo Challenges. This class lit the fire of creativity in all of us. I am also greatly appreciative for having two wonderful teachers, who enabled me to think in new ways and also for challenging me to be unconventional.
P.S. Please show future generations of Charter students the lab safety videos- the ones from this class definitely are worth showing.
This class has brighten my horizons in what i am capable to do. I always thought I was very creative because I enjoy painting and drawing, but CCT took me to another level of creativity. I enjoy this class very much. I think that this class as taught me to look out more and around the corners of the box. The number one project i enjoyed doing was the winter slide show. I loved editing and taking unique and different pictures. I would say that i have to agree with Maria and Tom. I enjoyed thinking about different ideas that i would probably not have thought of before. I think that it was a very good idea to put the students in different groups because the people that i was in groups in, I never talked to them before. The work load of this class was resonable and unexpected. I agree with k neff because the work load was greater than I thought. I enjoyed thinking of ideas and putting them together. The most creative thing that I have done in this class was probably thinking about another way to represent those baby jars. Breaking the glass and making costars was very fun. It was one of the most unique ideas that i have seen. I have become confident in putting my ideas out there and not be jugded by who does not like my ideas.
Putting together everyones ideas that were in my groups was very helpful. An example is when my group and I had to make a cook book. This was harder than I expected, but also fun. I enjoyed making food and putting my own touch on other foods. I think that this class is one of the best classes I have taken in Charter. Thanks for the creativity and confidence boost.
The experiences in Critical and Creative Thinking have helped me in many ways the last two marking periods which is not what I expected. I agree with Hannah. Coming into this class I was worried it would be something I would not want to do and as Jeremy said I didn’t think I could fail at being creative. I learned that I could fail and had to actually try and show effort in our class projects which is something I sometimes have trouble with. The skills that we have learned, like thinking in different ways and using strategies to solve different problems I have applied to my other classes and has helped me excel in them. Instead of giving up on a problem that seems hard to me, I think about it from a different stand point and usually can figure them out. This class has also helped me write essays and papers a lot better then I used to be able too. I think it is because I have a better view on things. The activities and group projects we do in class is a great way to experience different ways of learning. This class has challenged me and my favorite assignment was the baby jar challenge, in my opinion this challenged my mind the most. I really enjoyed working with my group and the idea we had. At first I would get frustrated with the criticism and feedback Dr. Fleetwood and Mrs. Hollstein would tell me, but I soon realized it was just to improve the way I thought. This class is a lot different then I expected it to be, and I’m so glad I had the chance to experience it. I feel I am now a better student and can think in many different ways. It has also gave me confidence to not be afraid of what people think about me and my ideas. I would like to thank Dr. Fleetwood and Mrs. Hollstein for helping me improve my work ethic and giving me helpful feedback.
Coming into this class, I was a expecting a laid back, easy “A “class. I was wrong.
Critical and Creative Thinking has opened my mind to thinking in many new ways. All the activities we have done taught me that there is more than one way of thinking in every situation. The projects we did were challenging and fun and let us show both our artistic abilities and talents, something most classes don’t less us do. I agree with Imam that this class really encouraged the dealing with other people. For example, the very first day of class, we had to introduce ourselves to the whole class and memorize everyone else’s name. I probably never saw half the class before the first day, but I got the chance to meet a lot of new people. I also agree with Lauren that as time passed by in this class, some of the creative thinking project and blogs became a lot easier for me. The first couple blogs we had to do, I took some time to come up with the best possible idea. But after much practice, I learned to not shut down some of my bad ideas and instead build off of them. I found that this way saves a lot of time. Lastly, I agree with Pam and Jordan. This class has really pushed me into coming up with new methods and brainstorming methods to reach better ideas even quicker. Now that this class is over, I am hoping to use all of my new methods of thinking and continuing to express them in college.
I’m glad I took this class and I have definitely changed mentally through taking this class.
I greatly enjoyed this year at The Charter School of Wilmington. I’ve always been a hands-on person who finds pleasure in tinkering and thinking about multiple solutions to a problem, so the Critical and Creative Thinking class offered at school appealed to me. Many of my friends had taken the course, and many had herd about the interesting projects and games that constructed the class’s curriculum. So naturally I decided to take the class.
In reflection the course passed by so fast, it seems like last week that I was up at three in the morning completing the first project for the course. I particularly liked the aspect of the class that challenged me mentally. The way the projects were set up I, as a student, was given more respect. In my English classes ever since the 8th grade I was always given a ridged rubric in which failure to adhere meant failure. In Critical and Creative Thinking my undiagnosed ADHD brain was aloud to wonder off topic, I was aloud to alter the project to how I saw fit, or something I found interesting. And isn’t that how school should be? School prepares you to be a productive member of the work force. Without passion, in school, the days begin to seem the same, school becomes unlinked and it loses its benefit. I, at least, feel I absorbed and retain the most information when I am working, or doing something I enjoy.
I Agree with Kennedy, who said failure ultimately breeds success. The way the Critical and Creative Thinking Class was set up, it did just this. We learned from our mistakes and received firsthand input, which is much better than receiving it months later when you finally get your grade, it’s more relevant. I also liked sharing my work with the class and playing games with everyone. Overall I made friends and learned some stuff, I couldn’t ask for more.
To be honest, I took this class because I was thinking, wow, what a way to end high school taking a smooth sailing easy class. I was completely wrong. This class has changed my perspective of myself in many ways. First, I used to think I wasn’t really creative at all. However, when the class was introduced to new projects, ideas were always flowing in my head like never before. For example, two of the projects, the baby jar and the board game, the group used my ideas for the concept from Day 1. When working on the location, location, location project, I hit a dead end in the scheme. Then, just thinking much more critically, I started to crunch some numbers and results started to flow throughout the group. Using what I’ve learned from this class, I was able to think hard and critical like never before. Next, let me highlight on a specific example where I used my newfound skills to the fullest. This came during the game password. I developed a strategy while playing this game that was extremely helpful to my partner and I. The simple strategy was to make each clue fit together like a phrase, for example, one of the words was “bar”. I then said, “lawyers”, my partner responded incorrect, then I said “exam” and he got the answer as if I asked him what is the lawyer’s exam. Playing Password, Scattegories, and Minute to Win It was the best part of the class. The reason for this is because each game requires creativity, critical thinking, and competition. I believe that last part, competition, helps motivate students to think more creatively and critically. This course took a lot more effort than I expected it to be but it was definitely worth the time I put in.
I was surprised to find that this class has actually improved the way I think. I agree with the things Bryan Kelly said. Things like thinking this class would be a breeze and I could sail through it with no problems. Just like Bryan, I was wrong. I have been challenged day after day in this class, but have also had a lot of fun in doing so. I think my favorite part of this class was that one day where we had to complete the challenge of putting the scenes together of a mouse trying to get the cheese and the contraption that followed. I forget what the name of that type of contraption is but I thoroughly enjoyed putting the pieces together. I believe it was my favorite part of this class because I was the first to finish and for that one day I felt smarter than most people in the class. It was a victory.
What I have learned during the course of this class is to properly get through brainstorming situations in the most efficient way possible. When we made the class brainstorming rules, I really took that in and now I will use our rules every time I brainstorm with a group. This class has taught me to be creative by thinking outside of the box. These various projects have required me to think about different ways of approaching different tasks. For example, the “Minute to Win It” challenges helped make my group and I strategize properly before making the decisions of who will perform the task.
I have also made many new friends through the course of this semester because of all of the various group projects that made me interact with people who I normally would not have. For example, I did not know O.J. Juhl before this class. But because of the group projects we have became good friends in the process.
honestly, this class was nothing that i was expecting. i was told that it was a lot of hands on work and that it was an easy A. As Bryan said, and so many others, i was completely wrong. this class was one of the most difficult classes i’ve ever had. first off, the notebook thing. i am horrible at keeping track of my work. i never keep/use my agenda or any such thing. the notebook made us wirte every little detail we did each day, which killed me in the longrun of a lot of this class. second, there was hardly any hands on work at all. the only building we did was the candles and create a classroom, so my presumption was wrong. lastly, the blogs. no offense, but i hate knowing about a hw assignment a week before its due because, honestly, ii will forget about it. and its basically the only reason my grade drops in this class, and they are usually pointless. again, no offense, just the way i feel.
now, i am a horrible student, especially at the beginning of this class. i never did any blogs or journal entries, but after a while i realized that there are only about 4 grades per marking period so i better get organized and all. towards the end of this marking period i have put a lot of time and effort into the notebook, the blog entries still surprise me. the final for the class is very hands on so i am also hoping ill do better in that too.
What i have learned from this class is that i should do work,even if it is the smallest bit of work to do, how to work well with others and how to be efficient in that work, how to teach myself things(the packet we did in the beginning), and the ways i think.
for me the class has taught me to think about every aspect of everything/everyway possible to complete a goal, and also to think about what other people would want, for instance the baby jar project. i literally wanted to make some sort of launcher or catapult out of them because that is what i am interested in. i never in a million years would have thought to make a candle, but as my group was brainstorming i realized that all of my ideas were very bizzare or random(robot, catapult), so i think this class has taught me to think about what other “normal” people think of and to really focus on an achieveable and sane goal.
i dont exactly know if this was what you were looking for but i hope it serves its purpose as my thoughts on this class.
At first I enjoyed the class; I liked doing the different thinking small things everyday. However, the class was not was I expected it to be. I already have a busy schedule and I did not pick the class thinking it would add to it. I think the blogs were a good idea but some of the time I just did them to get them done, also the blog page freezing every time I try to do anything on them was pretty annoying, especially cause I could not get another browsers or computer to do them on. The projects I disliked the most, I do not like any assignment that is long term, especially projects, to get them done I had to not do other homework, or skip swim practice to meet up with a group. Both things which were inconvenient for me and annoying. The snow project was probably the only good project because it was more fun and we had a week off, the project seemed mostly to celebrate the break, which was different.
I do not feel that my creativity has changed at all. It seemed like it was not stressed for most of the time, the beginning it was probably the most challenging it though. When we did the projects it seemed that my creativity was not challenged, such as when we did the create a class room, I do not think there should be aloud to have any searching the web for ideas, but that we should have to come up with everything by our selves.
The notebooks I did not like. I rather then being forced to write all the ideas on paper for a good grade, I would like to think about them more and keep it all in my head. It seemed like a waste to write it all down.
[...] Final Blog | Critical аnԁ Creative Thinking [...]
Brilliant, thank you, I will bookmark you now!
addpoi uitrybb lluroid!
Hi
What do you thing about below diet supplement? I’m going to buy something good for muscle growth. Please give me a piece of advice.
Gaspari Nutrition Anavite
Just try to smile…
for about 2-3 mins then you can get back to work…