The Critical Thinking Toolkit: Spark Your Team's Creativity with 35 Problem Solving Activities

223 Pages·2011·1.52 MB·English

by  Dr. Marlene Caroselli

The Critical Thinking Tool Kit
American Management Association / www.amanet.org
American Management Association / www.amanet.org
The Critical Thinking Tool Kit
Spark Your Team‛s Creativity with
35 Problem Solving Activities
Marlene Caroselli
New York • Atlanta • Brussels • Chicago • Mexico City • San Francisco
Shanghai • Tokyo • Toronto • Washington, D.C.
American Management Association / www.amanet.org
Bulk discounts available. For details visit:
www.amacombooks.org/go/specialsales
Or contact special sales:
Phone: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
View all the AMACOM titles at: www.amacombooks.org
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter
covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other
professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional
person should be sought.
This is a modi! ed version of a text previously published by HRD Press as 50 Activities for Developing
Critical Thinking Skills.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Caroselli, Marlene.
The critical thinking tool kit : spark your team’s creativity with 35
problem solving activities / Marlene Caroselli.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8144-1740-9
1. Creative ability in business. 2. Critical thinking. 3. Teams in
the workplace. I. Title.
HD53.C376 2011
658.4"036—dc22
2011000972
©2011 HRD Press
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission
of AMACOM, a division of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
About AMA
American Management Association (www.amanet.org) is a world leader in talent development, advancing the skills
of individuals to drive business success. Our mission is to support the goals of individuals and organizations through
a complete range of products and services, including classroom and virtual seminars, webcasts, webinars, podcasts,
conferences, corporate and government solutions, business books, and research. AMA’s approach to improving
performance combines experiential learning—learning through doing—with opportunities for ongoing professional
growth at every step of one’s career journey.
Printing number
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
American Management Association / www.amanet.org
Contents
Preface ................................................................................................................................. vii
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1
Quick Thinking ................................................................................................................ 11
#1 Attending to Attention ............................................................................................... 13
#2 Rhymed Reductions ................................................................................................. 19
#3 The Endless Question .............................................................................................. 25
#4 The Questionable Question ..................................................................................... 29
#5 The K-W-I-C Technique ............................................................................................ 33
#6 Juxtaposed Pairs ..................................................................................................... 37
#7 Presidential Pursuits ................................................................................................ 41
#8 The Umbrage Not Taken .......................................................................................... 45
#9 Brainteasing/Brainsqueezing ................................................................................... 51
#10 Perceptual Shifts ...................................................................................................... 57
#11 Organizational Oxymorons ...................................................................................... 65
#12 Stratifi cation ............................................................................................................. 71
Creative Thinking .......................................................................................................... 77
#13 Particular Virtues ...................................................................................................... 79
#14 Perspicacious Perspectives ..................................................................................... 85
#15 Turnarounds ............................................................................................................. 89
#16 Left Is Right. So Is Right. ......................................................................................... 93
#17 Ms. Matches and Mr. Matches ................................................................................. 97
#18 Cre8—Get N2It ........................................................................................................ 103
#19 Thinking Outside the Locks ...................................................................................... 107
#20 Thinking Is an Art ..................................................................................................... 113
#21 A Kin to Kinesthesia ................................................................................................. 119
#22 Low and High Logos ................................................................................................ 123
#23 Blues on Parade ...................................................................................................... 127
#24 Scrambled Pegs ....................................................................................................... 131
v
American Management Association / www.amanet.org
The Critical Thinking Tool Kit
Contents
Analytical Thinking ....................................................................................................... 135
#25 Crisis Critiques ......................................................................................................... 137
#26 Trend Spotters ......................................................................................................... 141
#27 The Triple-A Approach ............................................................................................. 147
#28 A Foolery of Fun ....................................................................................................... 151
#29 Patterned Organization ............................................................................................ 157
#30 Pro Con’D. ............................................................................................................... 163
#31 Direct Responses ..................................................................................................... 167
#32 In Your Sights ........................................................................................................... 171
#33 Giving Problems a Why’d Berth ............................................................................... 175
#34 Resource-Full ........................................................................................................... 179
#35 Living Problems, Lively Solutions ............................................................................ 183
Appendixes ....................................................................................................................... 185
Appendix A Test of Creativity: A Self-Assessment Exercise............................................ 185
Appendix B Analytical Thinking Test: A Self-Assessment Exercise ................................ 189
Appendix C Test of Creativity: Answer Sheet and Feedback .......................................... 193
Appendix D Analytical Thinking Test: Answer Sheet ....................................................... 199
Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 205
Index ................................................................................................................................. 207
Electronic fi les for the Handouts, Transparencies, and Worksheets, as well
as the Table of Contents and the Matrix of Exercises, are to be found at
www.amacombooks.org/go/CriticalThinking
vi
American Management Association / www.amanet.org
Preface
As the economy dramatically shifts and settles, fundamental questions are being raised about
the readiness of the workers to handle the jobs of the future. Is your company ready to handle
international competition? Is it agile enough to deal with rapid change? What skills will the new
economy require?
Traditional education with a focus on a profi ciency in reading, writing, and arithmetic has worked
in the past, but the new workplace requires more from its employees. Employees need to think
critically, solve problems, innovate, collaborate, and communicate more effectively—and at
every level within the organization. According to the AMA 2010 Critical Skills Survey, many
executives admit there is room for improvement among their employees in these skills and
competencies.
In an effort to assess how “top of mind” these skills and competencies are, the American
Management Association (AMA)—in conjunction with P21, a national organization that
advocates for 21st-century readiness for every student—surveyed 2,115 managers and other
executives in AMA member and customer companies about the importance of the four Cs to
their organization today and in the future.
The American Management Association 2010 Critical Skills Survey defi ned the
skills as follows:
• Critical thinking and problem solving—the ability to make decisions, solve problems, and
take action as appropriate
• Effective communication—the ability to synthesize and transmit your ideas both in written
and oral formats
• Collaboration and team building—the ability to work effectively with others, including those
from diverse groups and with opposing points of view
• Creativity and innovation—the ability to see what’s NOT there and make something happen
For more information on the fi ndings and a copy of the survey, visit http://www.amanet.org/
training/articles/3727.aspx.
The Critical Thinking Tool Kit
This book is designed to help you improve the critical thinking and problem-solving abilities of
your team. Complete with 35 activities and assessments to determine an employee’s progress,
this tool kit makes it easy for managers to quickly and effectively teach their teams how to think
quickly, creatively, and analytically.
vii
American Management Association / www.amanet.org
American Management Association / www.amanet.org
The Critical Thinking Tool Kit
American Management Association / www.amanet.org