How to Use Thinking Tools
Contents
0. Lesson Design for Generating Ideas
1. Generating Ideas
2. Sharing Ideas
3. Building Ideas
4. Explaining Ideas
0. Lesson Design for Generating Ideas
Divergent and Convergent Thinking
When teaching students how to come up with ideas, we need to understand and use two distinct thinking processes:
Divergent Thinking
This involves students exploring ideas freely and thinking expansively. They can use visual tools like Y-charts, fishbone diagrams, and mind maps to capture and expand their thoughts.
Convergent Thinking
This involves students organizing and refining their scattered thoughts into clear concepts. Step charts, coordinate axes, and pyramid charts can help them structure their thinking logically.
Divergent and Convergent Lesson Design
Students need to repeatedly use both "divergent" and "convergent" thinking as they develop their ideas. Teachers can design lessons that help students come up with their own original ideas by using our Thinking Tool switching feature..
By incorporating both "divergent" and "convergent" stages equally, students can more easily construct their own thoughts.
If the lesson is too focused on "divergent" thinking, students’ ideas may become too broad, making it difficult for them to organize their thoughts. Conversely, if it focuses too much on convergent thinking, creativity can become limited, and new ideas are less likely to emerge.
https://gyazo.com/4e7d06c2ebdf3f7a63c80bcec137b214
1. Generating Ideas
Setting the Topic and Perspective
When using Thinking Tools to generate ideas, start by presenting a discussion topic and establishing a specific perspective for students to consider from.
Having a clear perspective in mind can help students generate ideas more freely, helping them achieve their learning goals.
https://gyazo.com/d35f9c44594118dd2eb8c88c47388342
Write Down Ideas from the Perspective
Write down ideas based on the established perspective. Using a Shared Note will help groups brainstorm more easily.
Organizing ideas visually will help students see the big picture of their thinking, making it easier for new ideas to emerge.
https://gyazo.com/c4a36835304cd0ab3b6bc6a40b504713
Gathering and Organizing Information
For independent problem-solving, it's important to gather information through observation, experiments, and research, then organize and analyze it according to purpose.
Thinking Tools help students understand how to arrange their collected information effectively, making organization and analysis easier.
https://gyazo.com/527420b09365e5f65f5c26393956d121
Take a Bird's-Eye View
Look at all ideas and information laid out on the Thinking Tools to identify what can help solve the problem.
Examine the connections between ideas and consider what insights and conclusions can be drawn from them.
https://gyazo.com/527420b09365e5f65f5c26393956d121
2. Sharing Ideas
Case 1: Share via Submission Box and Using Classmates' Ideas
When students share their completed Thinking Tools in the Submission Box, they can learn from each other's ideas and deepen their understanding.
Students can incorporate their classmates’ responses or ideas into their own notes by utilizing the “Use” sharing feature in the Submission box. By combining their own thoughts with others' ideas, they can develop deeper insights and move toward focused conclusions.
https://gyazo.com/c13f64464b93bc7b99c2352e407808d6
Case 2: Share Ideas Using a Shared Note
Using a Shared Note allows groups to collaboratively edit a single Thinking Tool. Multiple students can simultaneously contribute and organize ideas together.
This eliminates the need for individual idea presentations, making collaborative learning more time-efficient.
https://gyazo.com/1e4a02c5ed93f46d7907ac9169a5df62
Case 3: Exchange Cards with Friends
When students receive Cards from others, they can incorporate their classmates' ideas into their own Thinking Tool.
Since Cards can be shared effortlessly, students can expand their thinking by considering diverse perspectives.
https://gyazo.com/a641169f70d981403d8a8e0b19b9b648
3. Building Ideas
Switching Thinking Tools
When students switch between Thinking Tools, they can reorganize their ideas from different angles, leading to new insights.
The same idea can be considered from a new perspective when organized with a different tool, helping students discover new meanings and connections.
Using the tool-switching feature, students can change the background Thinking Tool while preserving their existing ideas. This enables them to efficiently reorganize their thoughts and move between divergent and convergent thinking.
https://gyazo.com/7b1d53a8076d91dc605b0994fd5ee998
4. Explaining Ideas
Organizing and Presenting Ideas
Students can create presentations by connecting Cards together.
By linking Cards while organizing their thoughts, they can structure their presentations clearly and effectively.
https://gyazo.com/ab9118bdf5ba9132c2d6881d60301d3d
Sharing Ideas with Others
When students present to groups or the whole class, they learn from each other's perspectives, promoting collaborative learning.
Since Thinking Tools help visualize and organize ideas, students can explain their thoughts more smoothly and clearly.
https://gyazo.com/25138072998642386935ce94902653c4
Comparing Ideas
Using the same Thinking Tool to organize different ideas makes comparison easier.
This clarity makes explanation smoother, leading to more active discussion and communication.
https://gyazo.com/de68c7cc146b154719ce651b64820653
Through visualizing thoughts with Thinking Tools, students can recognize, develop, and create new ideas.