Help children of all learning styles and strengths improve their critical thinking skills with these creative, cross-curricular activities. Each engaging activity focuses on skills such as recognizing and recalling, evaluating, and analyzing.
The fun and simple problem-solving guide that took Japan by storm Ken Watanabe originally wrote Problem Solving 101 for Japanese schoolchildren. His goal was to help shift the focus in Japanese education from memorization to critical thinking, by adapting some of the techniques he had learned as an elite McKinsey consultant. He was amazed to discover that adults were hungry for his fun and easy guide to problem solving and decision making. The book became a surprise Japanese bestseller, with more than 370,000 in print after six months. Now American businesspeople can also use it to master some powerful skills. Watanabe uses sample scenarios to illustrate his techniques, which include logic trees and matrixes. A rock band figures out how to drive up concert attendance. An aspiring animator budgets for a new computer purchase. Students decide which high school they will attend. Illustrated with diagrams and quirky drawings, the book is simple enough for a middleschooler to understand but sophisticated enough for business leaders to apply to their most challenging problems.
“An INVALUABLE RESOURCE to anyone who wants to think better.” —Gretchen Rubin Award-winning YALE PROFESSOR Woo-kyoung Ahn delivers “A MUST-READ—a smart and compellingly readable guide to cutting-edge research into how people think.” (Paul Bloom) “A FUN exploration.” —Dax Shepard Psychologist Woo-kyoung Ahn devised a course at Yale called “Thinking” to help students examine the biases that cause so many problems in their daily lives. It quickly became one of the university’s most popular courses. Now, for the first time, Ahn presents key insights from her years of teaching and research in a book for everyone. She shows how “thinking problems” stand behind a wide range of challenges, from common, self-inflicted daily aggravations to our most pressing societal issues and inequities. Throughout, Ahn draws on decades of research from other cognitive psychologists, as well as from her own groundbreaking studies. And she presents it all in a compellingly readable style that uses fun examples from pop culture, anecdotes from her own life, and illuminating stories from history and the headlines. Thinking 101 is a book that goes far beyond other books on thinking, showing how we can improve not just our own daily lives through better awareness of our biases but also the lives of everyone around us. It is, quite simply, required reading for everyone who wants to think—and live—better.
Talking math with your child is simple and even entertaining with this better approach to shapes! Written by a celebrated math educator, this innovative inquiry encourages critical thinking and sparks memorable mathematical conversations. Children and their parents answer the same question about each set of four shapes: "Which one doesn't belong?" There's no one right answer--the important thing is to have a reason why. Kids might describe the shapes as squished, smooshed, dented, or even goofy. But when they justify their thinking, they're talking math! Winner of the Mathical Book Prize for books that inspire children to see math all around them. "This is one shape book that will both challenge readers' thinking and encourage them to think outside the box."--Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review
Employees who possess problem-solving skills are highly valued in today?s competitive business environment. The question is how can employees learn to deal in innovative ways with new data, methods, people, and technologies? In this groundbreaking book, Arthur VanGundy -- a pioneer in the field of idea generation and problem solving -- has compiled 101 group activities that combine to make a unique resource for trainers, facilitators, and human resource professionals. The book is filled with idea-generation activities that simultaneously teach the underlying problem-solving and creativity techniques involved. Each of the book?s 101 engaging and thought-provoking activities includes facilitator notes and advice on when and how to use the activity. Using 101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem Solving will give you the information and tools you need to: Generate creative ideas to solve problems. Avoid patterned and negative thinking. Engage in activities that are guaranteed to spark ideas. Use proven techniques for brainstorming with groups. Order your copy today.
[Color Cover; Black-and-White Interior] Are you looking for super fun and engaging Math Puzzles, Math Riddles, and Math Brain Teasers for Kids ages 10 and up? Your kids will love solving these colorful math activities that cover a variety of topics including logical thinking, the order of operations, and some of the most famous math riddles of all time! The book includes hints and an answer key for every activity. It is best suited for students in grades 4 through 9.
A unique blend of age-appropriate tracing and writing activities are combined with puzzles to make learning fun while helping kindergarteners build logic and critical thinking skills and develop lifelong learning confidence. Developing good thinking and deductive reasoning skills is an important step toward success in school, and Highlights (TM) infuses Fun with a Purpose® into this essential learning activity. With vibrant art and engaging prompts, Thinking and Reasoning exposes kindergarteners to concepts such as sequencing and grouping and sorting through appealing activities and fun puzzles, including That's Silly!(TM) and Hidden Pictures® puzzles.
Critical thinking--the ability to approach a problem both analytically and creatively--is the bedrock of success for companies and their people. Fortunately, it’s a skill that can be learned. The Critical Thinking Toolkit gets employees thinking better and faster with training exercises that offer an invigorating departure from the everyday and the potential for big payoffs in the form of enhanced “on-your-feet” thinking, innovative problem-solving, and profitable idea generation from everyone on the team. Using hands-on activities and ready-to-use assessments, team members will learn how to challenge assumptions, brainstorm divergent ideas, and then pinpoint the ones that best benefit your organization. And they’ll learn to do it in a way that not only increases their work quality, but also their productivity. Unimaginative. Risk-adverse. Prone to groupthink. These are not just empty complaints about today’s employees. American businesses are suffering from systemic burnout resulting in a widespread lack of creativity. But this unimaginative thinking doesn’t need to plague your workplace. With The Critical Thinking Toolkit, you and your team have everything you need to think quickly, analytically, and creatively.