The Analytical And Intuitive Thinking

Many studies prove that teaching creative thinking skills helps students gain better achievements. The result of research at Dong Hu Junior High School, for instance, presents that "The overall performance of the students was significantly better on both the academic and technical subjects compared to that in the traditional teaching" (Jeng, YC, Hsu, SL, Xie, J, Lin, R & Huang, CC 2010, P.37). In addition, applying the CASE (Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education) at King's College London, a program of teaching thinking skills, 19% of participating students achieve A-C grades in GCSE (the General Certificate of Secondary Education) science more than those using traditional methods ('Thinking skills' 2003). In English and Maths, the result amazingly varies from 15 to 16% of better achievement. Scientific guidance and lectures from facilitators will effectively motivate pupils’ process of brainstorming, mind-mapping ideas and organizing them in a logical structure, which significantly contributes to the success of their assignments. Moreover, this may even be applied much further into their life because of improving not only knowledge, but also thought processes. Furthermore, being familiar with wise thoughts, students will be confident in learning and considering things thoroughly before going to analysis and then evaluating their tasks or duties. As a result, creative thinking will really help to improve performance of people from

ability to do well in other subjects. The improvement in test scores in Mathematics and Reading

Standard for College-and Career-Readiness nor do they perform at or above grade level. Reading scores 30.4%, math scores 18.7%, and science scores 14.9%. Level 2 scores on reading, math, and science do not meet the N.C. Standard for College-and Career-Readiness but do perform at or above grade level. Reading scores 20.9%, math scores 21.5%, and science scores 12.5%. %. Level 3 scores on reading, math, and science do not meet the N.C. Standard for College-and Career-Readiness but do perform at or above grade level. Reading scores 12.3%, math scores 6.3%, and science scores 18.4%. Level 4 scores on reading, math, and science do meet the N.C. Standard for College-and Career-Readiness band do perform at or above grade level. Reading scores 23.5%, math scores 35.8%, and science scores 35.9%. Level 5 scores on reading, math, and science do meet the N.C. Standard for College-and Career-Readiness and do perform at or above grade level. Reading scores are not available N/A, math scores 12.7%, and science scores 6.8%. (NC Report Cards)

Assessment of this kind identifies strengths and weaknesses, and provides detailed diagnostic information about how students are thinking. The collection of evidence of this

81% of third grade students scored not Proficient (Level 4) or partially Proficient (Level 3). 81% of the fourth grade students scored not Proficient (Level 4) or partially proficient (Level 3). In Math 89% fifth grade students scored not Proficient (Level 4) or partially Proficient (Level 3).

The “Common Core” is a proposed set of newly design methods in academic standards in today’s subjects like Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and English / Language Arts courses. In about forty-eight states, this new academic implementation has replaced the old teaching methods to show a gain in the ability for students to be on the same path in every state. The primary focus for Common Core is to measure a fair and accurate way for student achievement for graduation regardless of the child’s state they live in. Well, at first the adopted Common Core standards demonstrated little to no problems once established however, today it has become widely controversial. This research paper will demonstrate this issue

Public education in America needs reforms to adjust to today's fast paced, technology based society. "Changing Educational Paradigms Animation" by RSA Animate and "Reinventing Education for the 21st Century" by Tony Wanger, prompted me to wonder how does teaching problem solving and critical thinking skills in schools socially and economically benefit students? Both of these videos touched on critical thinking and problem-solving skills and their importance in educating today's work force, but Tony Wanger blew me away with High Tech High, a Sandiego high, middle, and elementary school dedicated to teaching problem solving skills to a wide range of students (Wanger). This school system was an excellent model of students working on their own to create, utilize problem solving skills, and display their hard work. This gave me the idea that we need to shift our education to focus on critical thinking and problem-solving skills to better benefit students entering the work force.

A classroom with a critical and creative thinking environment provides opportunities for higher-level thinking within authentic and meaningful contexts, complex problem solving, open-ended responses, and cooperation and interaction. Many students see math as right or wrong and they don’t question or explore more. As a future math teacher, I want students to learn to question, be critical, and be creative. I want my future students to feel engage in exploration and investigation. I want to equip my students with higher levels of thinking and engagement and make mathematics more relevant and meaningful.

However, the standards set by Common Core break the chains of monotonous memorization that holds students down by relying on a combination of both multiple choice and open-ended questions that will develop necessary thought processes (“’Next-Generation’ Test” 1A). Including open-ended questions on the Common Core standardized tests encourages critical thinking in order to develop an answer to questions, allowing students’ true knowledge to shine through. Rather than taking a guess at what an answer may be or recalling temporarily stored facts, students must think questions through logically, a skill that will serve Mississippi students well throughout their lives. In addition to providing open-ended questions for deeper thinking, Common Core also targets higher level thinking that will prepare students for college courses and career training. In today’s college setting and workforce, former students are being forced to reevaluate their learning strategies after years of learning how to take a test. Individuals accustomed to rote learning fall behind in courses and job training because they do not understand how to digest material and turn it into useful information. However, Common Core eliminates the learning barrier and allows for student growth through formulated objectives directed toward a creative and insightful thought process. Because Common Core relies heavily on critical problem solving objectives, Mississippi high school

In the society of today, there are various educators who believe in assessment as proper method to measure the performance of a child in school as well as the overall achievement of a specific school system. The assessment may be presented in the form of verbal, written, or multiple choice, and it usually pertains to certain academic subjects in the school curriculum. Recently, many educators began to issue standardized tests to measure the intelligence of a common student body. (Rudner, 1989) These standardized tests were initially created to reveal the success in institutional school programs, and exhibit the abilities of students today. The standardized tests can reveal the strengths and weaknesses

Today’s education system has become focused on standardized intelligence testing and what works best for the majority. This system, although created to help the masses, is impersonal and only benefits a specific group of students who learn the best through testing. Those students who think creatively and use imagination are left behind. This is why intelligence tests are not accurate measurement of a child’s knowledge as it does not account for creativity and the child’s individual strengths. Changes need to be made within the school system. Instead of focusing on what is “correct” schools should be encouraging problem-solving through the process of making mistakes and failing. This challenges a student to learn about themselves and the world around them. When everything is already laid out for them it is easy to follow. There is no single way of thinking. By making a student have to think on their own it stimulates creativity and allows them to better connect concepts to real world situations.

There are a variety of topics that are interesting in life. This interest may then become a point of inquisition, where an individual may formulate a relationship between two variables, which may or may not influence each other. Next, a hypothesis is formed and tested. In this same manner, a school educator was interested in determining the potential relationship between grade point average (GPA) and IQ scores among ninth graders. The educator random sampled 30 ninth graders, ages 14 years old and administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). This writer will be expanding further on this topic and will formulate the null and alternative hypothesis, describe the four scales of measurement, describe whether if there is a correlation significant (positive, negative, or no correlation) enough between both variables, describe the strength of the relationship, describe what the results reveals about the hypothesis, and what conclusions can be drawn from the results.

Visualize a standardized test taken annually by millions of students in the U.S.A. that directly affects teaching methods, school budgets, and grade promotion. Presently, millions of schools are utilizing high-stakes tests to determine these major factors. The United States expects students to perform well on standardized testing, or school districts will suffer financial consequences under the No Child Left Behind Act (Au 502). This places pressure on everyone from administrators to students in a school district. Schools worldwide are stressed to succeed on these standardized tests when they only measure a fraction of a student’s intelligence. Standardized testing must be discontinued because it negatively affects school curricula,

Although schools have recently incorporated requirements to help the development of critical thinking, it remains a skill that is often learned outside of the classroom. Through the program of Common Core, schools have created an environment of higher standards and problem solving courses. Along with critical thinking, abstract thinking looks at the deeper meaning of things, and they both begin in young ages in children. The jump from concrete to abstract and critical thinking comes with time and lessons from not only the classroom, but everyday experiences. How do schools help children develop critical thinking skills and move on from concrete to abstract thinking?

The basic principles of rationalization come into play when making the education system homogenous; the elements of efficiency, predictability, calculability, and control play essential roles in the means of standardizing education. Each of the aforementioned ideals ultimately contribute to a method that can increase the overall success of an education system, sometimes with little regards to the education that students receive. By teaching children to think in a way that is identical among every individual, creative measures in regards to problem-solving are being stripped away and replaced with common and