Develop and Extend Critical and Creative Thinking Skills - Unit 1 Notes

Unit Introduction: Critical and Creative Thinking Skills

Welcome to New Students: The unit focuses on developing and extending critical and creative thinking skills. Liam is welcomed as a new student.
Course Enrollment: Liam is enrolled in three units: Provide ICT Advice to Clients, Configure and Administer Network, and Develop and Extend Critical and Creative Thinking Skills.

Unit Access: Students can access their enrolled units via the Moodle dashboard. The number of units visible depends on enrollment.
Initial Quiz: A quiz must be completed to unlock the tiles. The quiz involves watching a short video and answering questions.
Tile Restriction: Tiles are initially restricted (gray/brown with padlocks) until the quiz is completed.

Introduction Tile: Contains basic course information, including policies and procedures for VET students.
Extension Policy: Assessments have due dates after six weeks of learning and three weeks of assessment. Failure to meet the deadline results in failing the unit.
Student Responsibility: It is the student's responsibility to submit assessments on time. Instructors will not chase overdue submissions.
Extension Applications: Extensions may be granted for legitimate reasons (e.g., hospitalization) with appropriate documentation. Extensions are rare and require a valid reason.
Learning Community Tile: Contains a video discussing the course content.
Virtual Classes Tile: Provides access to Zoom sessions via a link. This tile is accessible after completing the initial quiz.
Assessment Tile: Information about assessments will be released later.
Weekly Tiles: Learning is divided into six weeks, followed by three weeks for assessment.

Pre-Class Preparation: Students are required to complete the readings, learning materials, and videos for each week before attending the Zoom session. This is to encourage preparedness.
Consolidation of Information: Pre-class preparation allows for better consolidation of information during Zoom sessions.
Questioning and Clarification: Students can ask questions and clarify doubts during the Zoom session.
Limited Assistance Without Preparation: Students who haven't completed the required activities will find the Zoom session less helpful.

Content: Week one includes reading material on thinking outside the box and a practical exercise on identifying truth.
Zoom Video: The Zoom video will be uploaded after the session.
Additional Resources: Additional helpful videos and quizzes are available.

Definition: Thinking outside the box means challenging assumptions and looking at problems from a different perspective.
Techniques: Various techniques can stimulate different perspectives, including brainstorming, changing location, and drawing.
Brainstorming: A creative problem-solving technique where individuals or groups generate many ideas to address a challenge.
Storming: The term storming refers to generating ideas rapidly. Ideas don't have to be correct during brainstorming.
Changing Location: Moving to a different environment can trigger new ways of thinking.
Drawing: Visual representation of a problem can provide new insights.
Listening to Others: Other people can provide alternative perspectives.
Talking to Children: Children often have unique perspectives due to fewer constraints.
Consulting Different Fields: Speaking to someone outside one's own area of expertise can offer a different view.
Role Playing: Acting out the solution can help in understanding problems.
Mind Mapping: Creating a visual map of ideas and connections with a central theme.
- Concept: Start with a central theme, write it down, circle it, and then write related ideas around it.
Clean Slate: Sometimes, it's best to discard existing work and start over.
Questioning Assumptions: Challenge the way things have always been done.

Overview: Scamper is a creative brainstorming technique to stimulate innovative ideas with seven steps: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other uses, Eliminate, and Reverse.
Application: Apply these steps to an object, concept, or problem to create changes.

Substitute:
- Replace plastic handle with a bamboo handle for eco-friendliness.
- Replaceable bristles.
Combine:
- Combine with a self-cleaning container.
- Combine toothpaste inside the handle.
- Combine with a robot for automated brushing.
Adapt:
- Add a better gripping material (adapted from game controller).
Modify:
- Make toothpaste less spicy.
- Foldable toothbrush.
Put to Other Uses:
- Clean small areas.
- Scratch your back.
- Apply dye or something.
Eliminate:
- Remove the grip.
- Remove the handle to have a finger-mounted head.
Reverse:
- Bristles on both ends (soft and hard).
- Rearranging non-eco-friendly material to eco-friendly material

False Advertising: Advertisements often embellish; scrutiny is needed to identify what is true.
Examples:
- Hamburger Advertisement: Burgers in ads look better than in reality due to embellishment.
- Fruit Product: A fruit product might seem healthy but can be high in sugar and lack fiber. Moderation is essential. Even though it looks healthy, it is important to see ingredients.
- Kangaroo Photo: A photo claimed to be from Kangaroo Island was actually from Lucky Bay in Western Australia. The mountains can be seen.
- Nurofen Advertisement: An advertisement claiming Nurofen is better than paracetamol was based on a single study and ruled deceptive in court.
- Network Coverage: Optus's network coverage percentage was about population access, not geographical coverage, which was misleading compared to Telstra.
- Hotel Rate: A hotel rate advertised as the cheapest might not include all available options. There could be even more that trivago don't have access to when.
Importance of Questioning: Critical to question claims, especially in advertising, due to potential biases.

Videos: The Three Little Pigs (different perspective), optical illusions.
*Example Optical illusion : All Is Vanity by Charles Allen Gilbert. It does look like a skull but it is not.

Week Two: Read "Challenging Assumptions" and complete the learning activity for next week's discussion.

Activities: Brainstorming and critical evaluation of information.
Discussion Points: Questioning mindset is crucial for recognizing truth and challenging spins.