In this educational strategy, students learn through interacting freely with the physical world including the environment or society. They get to acknowledge and appreciate their society and their learning environment while creating newer concepts and understanding. The strategy is based on the ability of learners to generate knowledge and understanding by relating their experiences to ideas. Learners are engaged in practical lessons requiring them to use various learning skills and imaginations in order to create meaning and knowledge.
Higher order thinking is the ability to use information to solve problems, predict, argue, negotiate or analyze arguments. It involves examining theories and assumptions, assessing conclusions or evaluating evidence. To help learners improve their ability to use higher order thinking skills, teach them different skills that broaden or lead them to think more clearly. For example, formulate questions allowing the learners reasonable time to think before responding, while at the same time providing leads that encourage them to respond faster.
Independent practice, commonly known as homework, is any work assigned to learners to complete individually. This strategy gives learners an opportunity to understand new ideas and processes in addition to enabling them to practice new skills and ideas. The positive effects of this strategy can be increased when learners are assigned homework regularly (although in small amounts).
Mind mapping is a visual means of representing information. Make the learner link concepts they've learned with new concepts. In a nutshell, it enables learners to make connections between the information they already know with new information. This teaching strategy enables learners to clarify their understanding of new concepts as well as add new ideas in their thinking. It may involve organizing topics in exciting pictures, images or graphics.
Brainstorming is a technique of putting learners in a group so they can come up with a solution for a specific problem. As part of the strategy, learners must then use the information they know regarding a certain topic to generate new ideas or rouse creative thinking. A list of ideas spontaneously gathered by each member of a particular group is gathered and sorted out. A decision is then reached on which idea requires further research.
Formative assessment involves giving out tests that require creative thinking to learners. Give out chapter and unit tests, continuous assessment tests, end-of-year tests or standardized tests. Use this strategy to adjust an on-going teaching process while at the same time improving the student achievement. Give learners timely feedback. Delays in doing so may cause learners to lose the purpose of the strategy – measuring timely creative learning processes.