Page 27 - Journal 2018B FINAL

Cat Stone, Feresh Agahi Pizzaro and Marcus Roberts Australian School of Mathematics and Science (ASMS)
Critical and Creative thinking is described by the Australian Curriculum as:
“...students thinking broadly and deeply using skills, behaviours and dispositions such as reason, logic, resourcefulness, imagination and innovation in all learning areas at school and in their lives beyond school.”
The ability for citizens to be able to undertake cognitive processes in these zones is highly desirable for now and the future because it fosters a society with the capability to be
“...creative, innovative, enterprising and adaptable, with the motivation, confidence and skills to use critical and creative thinking purposefully.”
In order to strategically strengthen the critical and creative thinking skills of our students at the Australian Science and Mathematics School, we have designed a new Central Study focusing
on these methods of thinking in the context of entrepreneurship.
A Central Study at the ASMS is a semester-long interdisciplinary subject. It is designed for both
Year 10 and 11 students, who share classes together. The broad learning objectives for both year levels are the same but differentiation occurs to support students at each year level to succeed.
The following is a description of Dream Design Develop (3Ds). This Central Study was run in Semester 1, 2018:
Part 1 - DREAM
The subject began by aiming to engage students in the world of inspired inventors, entrepreneurs and the problems that they have aimed to solve.
Students undertook an investigation into an historical invention and linked it to the social conditions that drove its need. For example, the microwave (although developed for space travel) became popular in the 1980s as the number of
women in the workforce increased, necessitating time efficient cooking methods. Students were encouraged to reflect on the ten most critical world problems (according to the World Economic Forum) to spark an interest in how these problems (or problems relating to these topics) might be tackled through creative approaches. Guest speakers from a range of Adelaide industries
and government departments were invited to present to students as ‘Problem Providers’. They spoke to students about problems within their own industries on topics including the need for fast communication, information management, environmental concerns and creation of urban landscapes.
Students were introduced to the cycle of ‘Design Thinking’ and began to consider how they might
impact on problems, large or small.
Modifications were made to surfboard designs
Part 2 - DESIGN
Students used the cyclical process of Design Thinking to collaboratively investigate how they might tackle a chosen problem. Methods for idea generation were utilised such as an ‘Inspiration Walk’, suggested by the Design School at Stanford
University. Graphic organisers were used to record and organise ideas.
Number 02 / 2018 | 25
Exploring Critical and Creative thinking: Dream, Design, Develop