Thinking Approach Project 'Bringing creativity and thinking skills in educational process'

The project adopts a specific methodological approach to the development of creativity and thinking skills across the curriculum based on the ideas of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). The project is developing a framework for the professional development of teachers. The framework proposes specific guidelines to teachers of different subjects and age groups wishing to bring thinking skills dimension in their curriculum.
Teachers of different subjects from partner institutions are documenting the implementation of the framework in their teacher diaries. Together with concrete tasks used to develop creativity and thinking skills, these are serving as an illustration material for all education professionals wishing to use the framework for their own professional development.

Goals

Thus, the project aims to bring the following results:

• guidelines for education professionals wishing to introduce creativity and thinking skills in the educational process;
• a set of professional development diaries of teachers of different subjects illustrating the implementation of the proposed guidelines;
• sample materials/tasks for different subjects (languages, mathematics, science, social studies) and levels (pre-primary, compulsory, tertiary) that illustrate the practical application of the proposed guidelines.

Four workshops for project participants, two of which will be followed by open lessons and experience exchange seminars in partner countries, constitute the structure of the project. The seminars, along with the final conference attended by the key stakeholders, are seen as important dissemination events, presenting the educational community with specific examples of how creativity and thinking skills can be nurtured.

Products created as the result of the project are available on the project website and are updated as the project progresses.

The project consortium consists of 7 institutions from 4 Nordic-Baltic countries: Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, Norway.

The project is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers in the framework of the Nordplus Framework programme (Nordplus Horizontal).

Project duration

October 2010 – September 2012