Critical Thinking Skills and Problem Solving

Course Summary

This course looks at the challenges of working with 21st Century learners and the living in a VUCA world (with Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity), and the need to promote Critical Thinking and Problem Solving skills (Novel and Adaptive Approaches) with learners, as well as developing their own skills.

Target Audience

This course is for his course is aimed at teachers of English and subject teachers using English in class, who wish to combine the chance to further develop their own English language skills with the opportunity to explore alternatives to traditional, transmission-based approaches and look at ways of promoting Critical Thinking and Problem Solving skills (Novel and Adaptive Approaches) with their students, and in their own approach to teaching.

Preparation

After registration, participants on this course programme will receive:

• a pre-course questionnaire which will enable trainers to learn about the participants’ teaching backgrounds
• information about the Europass Mobility Certificate
• a recommended reading list to prepare participants for various aspects of the course
• information about York to prepare teachers for their cultural experience

Objectives

By the end of the course participants will:

• be able to indentify practices to promote creative thinking and innovation
• have a knowledge of the link between creativity and innovation
• be able to understand, explain, and identify practices that create an innovative working environment
• have developed an understanding of the techniques involved in the creativity process
• be able to develop their own creativity techniques and apply them in the teaching environment
• be better able to develop ways of generating new ideas to solve problems
• have the ability to apply these techniques in real-world situations for optimum effectiveness

Methodology

Sessions demonstrate and train the promotion of Critical Thinking and Problem Solving skills and the different approaches, methodologies, techniques and knowledge. An interactive communicative approach is applied, which provides participants with their own experiential learning of the activities and methodologies. Input sessions are in the form of hands-on workshops and involve brainstorming, analysis, problem-solving, and role-play, both in pair work and group work. Participants are actively involved in the sessions to maximize their learning and to experience activities from their learners’ point of view.

Teachers are asked to reflect on the activities, inviting discussion with regard to their own knowledge and experience, teaching methods and contexts, and on adaptation of activities to their own teaching and learning situations. Participants are also introduced to key resources related to the further development of their teaching skills and personal professional development. Both theory and practice are explored, analyzed and discussed, further enabling the participants’ use and development of their teaching and classroom management skills regarding the Promotion of Future Thinking Skills.

Sample Course Programme

21 hour teacher development courses may use a 8.00- 12.30 or 13.30 -17.30 time slot. Afternoon programmes will finish earlier on certain days for social programme options.