Innovative thinking paves the way for students to be fl xible and adaptable
At Pickering College, building the foundation for innovative thinking begins with our youngest learners. In the classroom, faculty ensure the lessons have the flexibility to reach all students so that they are engaged and excited to learn. “Education is constantly changing and, as teachers, we are continuously finding new instructional strategies that support student thinking, asking questions and risk taking,” explains Sarah Demarco, Grade 3 teacher. “It is important for our students to learn to be innovative thinkers because the world we live in changes quickly in a short period of time and our students need to be flexible and adaptable.”
I-Think Tools One of the ways the faculty is supporting this approach to learning is by introducing an integrative thinking approach to problem solving. Students in Grades 3 to Grade 5 have begun using a wealth of I-Think tools including using the Ladder of Inference, Causal Modelling and Positive Problem Solving with a Pro-Pro Chart. Demarco says she finds that integrative thinking really helps teachers to facilitate student learning and readies them to take on larger more complicated challenges, such as their participation in Rotman School of Management’s I-Think Challenge 2019.
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