Session Objectives

• Identify the benefits of good thinking (even though we often don’t like it)

• Identify the key brain barriers to learning (and thinking)

• Identify the key types of thinking and how they work

• Identify how to improve your thinking capability

What’s the difference between Memory and Thinking?

Memory is what’s left after Thinking

“Humans don’t think very often because our brains are designed not for thought

but for the avoidance of thought”

(Willingham, 2009, p.4)

That’s why many students don’t like school

Sadly

• It is no exaggeration to say that almost every aspect of private and public life is driven by our ability (or inability) to use thinking skills effectively, and to ‘think straight’.

(Petty, 2008, p.325)

• “Thought is the key to knowledge. Knowledge is discovered by thinking, analyzed by thinking, organized by thinking, transformed by thinking, assessed by thinking, and, most importantly, acquired by thinking”

(Paul, 1993 vii)

Are our bodies naturally designed to look like this?

So – what needs to be done to get it like this?

Some things you need to do (LEARN) for your modules

• Chemical Engineering Principles & Simulation5.7 Apply critical thinking in making recommendation on the choice of utility suitable for the manufacture of a product6.3 Compare and contrast the two types of fuel combustion systems: fuel gas and fuel oil9.5 Compare and contrast the different types of cooling towers

• Introduction to Chemical thermodynamics3.5 Infer and interpret experimental data to evaluate the behaviour of a solution using solution laws9.3 Apply critical thinking skill by inferring and interpreting experimental data obtained from practical activities9.4 Apply critical thinking skill by analysing and evaluating vapour-liquid equilibrium data for a flash drum under different operating conditions using simulation software9.5 Formulate hypothesis and conduct experiment inquiry for knowledge discovery through practical activities How do I make sure I can do this?

What do I need to do?How best to do this?

What Do Chemical Engineers Do?

Diagnose & Predict - so how do they do that?

How do Humans LEARN?

• To learning anything, it must Involve:

• Acquiring the necessary knowledge (Involves Memorization of key facts and procedures)

• Understanding how these facts and procedures are connected (Involves Thinking)

• If a skill is to be learned, it requires practice (Involves Doing the skilled activity

• And, of course, you must be motivated to do all of the above (Involves Desire)

MUDD: A Mnemonic for how we learn

Memory

Understanding

Doing

Desire

Putting things into your memory, keeping them there and being able to get at them

When you need them

Making meaning of acquired knowledgeand seeing how they fit together –

results from thinking

Developing actual skills through practice

Having the motivation and persistence to learn

To learn well is to mix MUDD well

But there are problems – lets see what they are

The Serial Position Curve80

70

60

50

40

30

20

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Position on List

Pro

port

ion

Cor

rect

Primacy Effect

Recency Effect

von Restorff Effect

Two more mental teasers for You

• How many capital letters in the English alphabet are curved? (e.g., C)

• A bat and ball cost $1.10 • The bat costs one dollar more than the ball• How much does the ball cost?

What do you see, and how do you feel about it?

Magic Eggs - Story

“Mum, Mum, you don’t have to buy eggs anymore coz I’m laying them”

“We forget that beliefs are no more than perceptions, usually with a limited sell by date, yet we act as though they were concrete realities”

(Adler, 1996, p.145)

Beliefs

Brain Barriers to Learning (and Thinking)

Restricted Working Memory & Slow processing SpeedDespite Long Term Memory having unlimited capacity for information – Working Memory can only deal with around 7 bits of information at once.Furthermore, the actual processing speed of the brain is slow compared to its capacity and organising ability.

Inherent Design Features The mind is inherently ‘lazy’ when it comes to mental effort (thinking); it typically relies on what has already been learned, rather than doing good thinking and using empirical evidence.

Interference from out Emotions & BeliefsOur emotions often interrupt or prevent good think and cause us to react quickly but not necessarily rationally. Equally our beliefs typically shape what we will think about and how we perceive things

A Model of Human Memory

SensesSight

HearingTouchSmellTaste

SensesSight

HearingTouchSmellTaste

Working Memory

Where Conscious Thought goes on

Limited Capacity5-9 bits of

information

Long-TermMemory

ENVIRONMENT

Infinite CapacityForgetting

IntegratedConsciously,

Subconsciously&

Unconsciously

Our Memory Systems are fundamental to all learning – how these are managed affects the rate and quality of learning

The Importance of Long-Term Memory

Research clearly shows that a major factor that differentiates experts from novices is that expert problem-solvers are able to draw on the vast knowledge bases in their long-term memory and quickly select the best approach and procedures for solving a given problem.

We are skillful in an area because our long-term memory contains huge amounts of information concerning that area. That information permits us to quickly recognize the characteristics of a situation and indicates to us, often unconsciously, what to do and how to do it. (Kircher et al,2006, p.4)

What is thinking?

Thinking is goal-directed mental activity we do in order to solve problems

Thinking occurs consciously, subconsciously and unconsciously

“Thinking occurs when you combine information (from the environment and long-term memory) in new ways…That combining happens in working memory

(Willingham, 2009, p.11)

The result of successful thinking is better Understanding

I want goodThinking on

this

This involves Critical Thinking – have I seen

this problem before, what are the likely causes, what information do I

need to clearly interpret what’s occurring....?

Good thinking, what’s that?

A Model of Thinking

Metacognition

Comparison& Contrast

Inference &Interpretation

Evaluation

Generating Possibilities

Analysis

22

Analysis

What do we do when we analyse?

• Identify relationship of the parts to a whole in system /structure/model

• Identify functions of each part

• Identify consequences to the whole, if a part was missing

• Identify what collections of parts form important sub-systems of the whole

• Identify if and how certain parts have a synergetic effect

Meta-cognition

Comparison& Contrast

Inference &Interpretation

Evaluation

Generating Possibilities

Analysis

23

Comparison and Contrast

What do we do when we compare and contrast?

• Identify what is similar between things -

objects/options/ideas

• Identify what is different between things

• Identify and consider what is important about both the

similarities and differences

• Identify a range of situations when the different features

are applicable

Meta-cognition

Comparison& Contrast

Inference &Interpretation

Evaluation

Generating Possibilities

Analysis

24

Inference and Interpretation

What do we do when we make inferences and interpretations?

Meta-cognition

Comparison& Contrast

Inference &Interpretation

Evaluation

Generating Possibilities

Analysis

• Identify intentions and assumptions in data

• Separate fact from opinion in data • Identify key points, connections, and

contradictions in data• Make meaning of the

data/information available• Establish a best picture to make

predictions

25

Evaluation

What do we do when we evaluate?

• Decide on what is to be evaluated

• Identify appropriate criteria from which evaluation can be made

• Prioritize the importance of the criteria

• Apply the criteria and make decision

Meta-cognition

Comparison& Contrast

Inference &Interpretation

Evaluation

Generating Possibilities

Analysis

26

Generating Possibilities

What do we do when wegenerate possibilities?

• Generate many possibilities • Generate different types of possibilities • Generate novel possibilities

Meta-cognition

Comparison& Contrast

Inference &Interpretation

Evaluation

Generating Possibilities

Analysis

27

All creative products involve thecombining of old ideas or elementsin new ways

What is Creativity?

A product or response will be judged creative to the extent that it is novel, useful or a valuable response to the task at hand. (summarized from Amabile, 1996, p.35)

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One dark foggy night in Halifax, as Percy Shaw was driving home, he saw two small green lights, very close together near the edge of the road. He was curious so he stopped and saw the ‘lights’ were a pair of cats eyes reflecting the light from his head lights. This triggered off his thinking, making some new connections in his brain – subsequently he invented a small device involving two marbles placed close together in a rubber casing; this would then be set in the road at intervals between the lanes of traffic.

After a year of experiments, Percy patented the invention and then, in 1935, formed his company, Reflecting Roadstuds Ltd. (That’s Innovation & Enterprise)

Creativity: Not Thinking out of the Box

It all happens Inside the Head, it’s just a question of what’s in there, what you do with it and how

Little in there, little desire and effort to keep making new neural connections -especially across knowledge areas – expect little by way of creativity

Creativity results from conscious (and subconscious) neural restructuring that results in

NEW PERCEPTIONS

Reframing

“How your perceive something makes all the difference andyou are free to see things from any perspective you wish”

(Adler, 1996, p.145)

Slimy Pond Life or

Tasty Dinner?

Metacognition

What are we doing when we are metacognitive?

• Aware that we can think in an organized manner (and the barriers to it)

• Actively thinking about the ways in which we are thinking

• Monitoring and evaluating how effective we are thinking (including how our emotions and beliefs may be impacting the thinking process)

• Seeking to make more effective use of the different ways of thinking as well as any useful learning strategies, tools and resourcesMeta-

cognition

Comparison& Contrast

Inference &Interpretation

Evaluation

Generating Possibilities

Analysis

Metacognition plays a central role in learning by monitoring the quality of the overall (and specific aspects) of the thinking process, our emotionaldispositions, as well as the choice and application of learning strategies and skills

It operates at both conscious and sub/unconscious levels.

Good Thinking is…

… the ability to use Critical, Creative & Metacognitive thinking in an highly competent

manner to solve problems:This involves:

• Using (and practicing) each type of thinking effectively and efficiently

• Using them together to get maximum capability

• Managing barriers to the thinking process

BIG TIPS

“If it bleeds we can kill it”

Yes, but you need to make it visible first:

Ask your teachers to make their thinking visible - so how do you do that?

Make Your Thinking Visible: The Power of Questions

“Questions are the primary way we learn virtually everything”

“Thinking itself is nothing but the process of asking and answering questions”

(Anthony Robbins, 2001, pp.179-8)

“All answers come out of the question. If we pay attention to our questions, we increase the power of meaningful learning”

Ellen Langer