We have defined the skills that contribute towards creative thinking in the following way. You can view these in detail by clicking on them.
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Creating Opportunities to Practice these Skills
Use the following key to work out the level of challenge of any activity you are planning to do. Simply answer yes or no to the first question. If the answer is yes then progress to the next question.
Think of a time when your teaching group had to use their own idea to solve a problem or tell a story.
Q – Were all pupils expected to present their final work in very different ways (and did they)?
If No then stop here, your activity is level 0. If YES then carry on to the next question
Q – Were some pupils surprised or pleased (in a good way!) when they saw what others in the group had created?
If No then stop here, your activity is level 1. If YES then carry on to the next question
Q – Was the classroom safe to make mistakes and come up with strange or new ideas involving ‘lateral thinking’? If people criticised it was in respectful and supportive ways.
If No then stop here, your activity is level 2. If YES then carry on to the next question
Q – Did pupils explore other’s ideas or established ideas in depth and find new angles, new twists or produce something complementary or solve a problem in an original way?
If No then stop here, your activity is level 3. If YES then carry on to the next question
Q – Did Pupils have opportunity to collect different ideas, views, beliefs, opinions, styles etc. and produce solutions that brought them together or linked them?
If No then stop here, your activity is level 4. If YES then carry on to the next question
Q – Did pupils have opportunities to solve a problem that required them to come up with new ideas and new ways to use research to check which ones were likely to work?
If No then stop here, your activity is level 5. If YES then carry on to the next question
Q – Did most pupils have the chance to create ideas or solutions that take into account other people’s emotions and views by putting themselves in other’s position and trying to see it from their context or empathise with them?
If No then stop here, your activity is level 6. If YES then carry on to the next question
Q – Did most pupils have the chance to do a project over many weeks that deals with a topic or problem that is very controversial or has very established beliefs or unquestioned customs in a constructive and useful way that adds new perspectives?
If No then stop here, your activity is level 7. If YES then carry on to the next question
Q – Did most pupils achieve a level 9 in their peer assessment or peer review using the criteria in the ladders?
If No then stop here, your activity is level 8. If YES then your activity is a level 9
Learning By Ladders 