Thinking for the future: developing higher-level thinking and creativity for students in Japan - and elsewhere.

The fundamental goal for educators today is to prepare children to be self-sufficient and successful. To achieve this goal, students must receive training in higher-level thinking, personal motivation, inquiry, and creativity. Children should be encouraged to question why they are studying a given subject, or whether certain information is true or not. To use information constructively, students must learn to ask the right questions, something that schools can encourage in children by teaching creative problem solving. Teachers might ask questions that require critical consideration of information: "In what ways might you use this information in your daily life?" "Do you agree or disagree with this information, and why?" " What questions come to mind as we discuss this topic?"

Japanese educators do an excellent job of helping students learn facts and information. It is important to remember, however, that "students cannot possibly learn everything of value by the time they leave school, but we can instill in them the desire to keep questioning throughout their lives" (Wiggins, 1989, p. 44). Teachers all over the world must remember that school is just one component of children's lifelong learning experience. It is not the teachers' responsibility to teach students everything, nor would it be possible to do so. Teachers' pivotal role, then, is to help students find for themselves what they need to know. If students ask significant questions and find information on their own, they will test their own resourcefulness, instead of falling back on memorization. This ability will be useful throughout life.

Currently, Japanese students need to study basic information in order to pass university entrance examinations. Unfortunately, many students appear not to have thought about what they really want to do with their lives; consequently, the drop-out rate of Japanese students in higher education has increased significantly (Tokai Koto Kyoiku Kenkyujo, 1991). This article suggests that making creativity a part of students' education experience, and encouraging them to question or ponder the significance and personal value of what they learn, may help lower the drop-out rate.

Methods that help children develop their abilities to think and learn creatively are especially important for Japanese children, whose culture typically emphasizes memorization. Two specific models, the Autonomous Learner Model (Betts, 1991) and the Enrichment Triad Model (Renzulli, 1986), can facilitate such creative thinking and personal development.

The Autonomous Learner Model

The Autonomous Learner Model, developed by George Betts (1991), is designed to help students take responsibility for their own learning by engaging them in creative activities according to their individual needs. This model involves five major dimensions: orientation, individual development, enrichment activities, seminars, and in-depth studies.

* The Orientation Dimension directs children to define their personal abilities and needs, a focus particularly important among Japanese children. Students research information, and attend presentations, about eminent people in their respective cultures. Through this process they realize the advantages, characteristics, and responsibilities involved with being highly creative and capable. Education, then, becomes a personal responsibility and quest, rather than something imposed on students. To be effective, the students must understand both why and how the program will benefit them as creative individuals.

Many Japanese educators believe that individual struggle is part of the learning process. High drop-out rates, however, are evidence that students need at least some guidance. If students receive instruction in creative thought and problem-solving early on, then they will be able to apply their learning to their own thinking, needs, and life circumstances.

To help students orient themselves according to their personal needs and desires, Japanese educator Satoshi Shinzato (1997) recommends the students write down the reasons they are undertaking the class. This activity prompts students to think creatively about what they want to gain, and to set individual goals. Periodic appraisal of opinions and progress on individual goals adds to the effectiveness of this orientation system.

* The Individual Development Dimension provides students with the opportunity to develop cognitive, emotional, and social skills. As they attain these skills, students learn concepts and develop creative attitudes necessary for lifelong learning. Betts divides Individual Development into four basic skill areas: 1) learning skills, 2) personal understanding skills, 3) interpersonal skills, and 4) career involvement. Each area is then broken down into more specific skills, which are designed to develop selected abilities. For example, in developing learning skills, teachers may select a specific area from the following: 1) problem-solving, 2) organization, 3) creativity, 4) thinking, 5) writing, 6) decision-making, 7) goal-setting, 8) photography, 9) research, 10) computers, 11) study habits, and 12) additional skills chosen jointly by the teacher/facilitator and students (Betts, 1985, p. 45).

Masakazu Watabe, Coordinator of Japanese Language Courses at Brigham Young University, recommends that educators go beyond teaching subject content in order to facilitate their students' speaking and thinking skills. Following up on Watabe's ideas, Shinzato (1997) suggests that teachers should encourage students to use higher levels of thought. For example, a teacher might ask students to apply textbook concepts to everyday situations. When a specific cultural situation is presented (e.g., unsnarling a city's overloaded transportation system), the teacher can encourage students' creativity and problem-solving abilities by asking questions that begin with "in what ways might . . .," "in your opinion . . .," "what might happen . . .," and "what if . . . ."

Such questions, sometimes referred to as "higher-level thinking questions," can stimulate students' interests and motivate them to think about people, events, or conditions from different perspectives. Through such discussion experiences, students can find ways to relate classroom knowledge to their own lives, and develop lifelong creative approaches to thinking.

Answering higher-level thinking questions also reveals students' thinking styles and interests. Once the teacher is able to discern each student's interests and preferred thought processes, he or she can then adjust the classroom approach, as well as specific questioning techniques, toward meeting those various interests. Students who already have developed creative thinking skills could then be asked more difficult questions, while others can receive help in further developing their thinking capacities.

* The Enrichment Activities Dimension allows students to decide what they want to investigate, as well as how to do the research. This autonomy allows students to explore their own interests in a variety of creative ways.

Although the parameters of topics suitable for independent student research can be virtually unlimited, students should clearly outline and implement the research methodology. They may find research topics by brainstorming what they already know about a given subject, then further brainstorming what they would like to know and where they might find the necessary information. Frequent communication with each other may help students develop critical and creative thinking acuity.

Portfolios can help students monitor their own progress. Such portfolios may contain selected assignments, quizzes and tests, project plans, independent study reports, and individual goal forms. These portfolios also enable teachers to quickly assess each student's progress and ability in a variety of areas, and to provide appropriate help. Some students can skillfully write papers, while others can express themselves better through the visual arts. The portfolio provides a means of self-assessment and accountability: Students can meet with their teacher and use their portfolio materials to report on their learning and progress, and to ask questions.

By using enrichment activities, teachers provide opportunities for students to learn things they really want to learn. In addition, such activities enable teachers to understand each student's ability level and learning style and, consequently, to help each student develop individual talents.

* The In-Depth Study Dimension allows students to pursue areas of particular interest more creatively, and in more depth. The specific activities for this dimension are very similar to those for the Enrichment Activities Dimension.

* Typically, the Seminar Dimension calls for groups of three to five students to investigate a given issue. After the students have researched a topic they find meaningful, they present their results, seminar-style, to the class. The seminar provides an opportunity for students to move from the role of student to that of a teacher (Betts, 1985). The students learn to creatively present their findings so that their own, as well as other students', understanding of a subject is enriched. Japanese students, in particular, benefit from this type of presentation.

The Renzulli Model

The renowned American educator Joseph Renzulli (1977) wrote, "When students are invited into [education] programs, they should have an opportunity to pursue their own interests to whatever depth they want" (p. 29). The opportunity to pursue things that have personal meaning, in creative and thoughtful ways, is particularly important for helping to make each individual responsible for his or her life. Students may come to realize that the power to learn truth is in themselves; that they are ultimately responsible for their own learning and creativity, as well as for other aspects of their lives.

The Enrichment Triad teaching model is a popular methodology in the United States and Canada. Its original purpose was to provide varied learning experiences for capable students. This model consists of three stages: 1) Type I enrichment activities, in which students are introduced to topics and encouraged to become involved with them; 2) Type II enrichment activities, which are structured to help students develop their thinking processes to the highest levels through direct personal involvement; and 3) Type Ill enrichment activities, which are designed to place students in charge of their own learning and to help them pursue topics of their own interest. The movement from Type I to Type III activities is a process of developing students' ability to think, learn, and create: Type I provides motivation, Type II involves training, Type III puts learning into actual practice.

Over a period of four semesters, the second author implemented the Enrichment Triad model while teaching Japanese history to young students in the United States. On one occasion, as a Type I enrichment activity, he invited a native Japanese speaker to speak to the class about Japanese history. The unique cadence of the language inspired one student to use the school's language lab to listen to additional native speakers (a Type II activity). Later, he sought opportunities to communicate with native speakers (a Type III enrichment activity).

Shinzato found that the process of adapting his language classes to the Enrichment Triad model involved him personally in all three levels of creative experience. As he was teaching his classes in Japanese history and considering principles of creativity, he sought to further educate himself (Type I); he used portfolios and other interactive practices involving student choice in his Japanese classes (Type II); and he developed a Teaching Assistant Manual (Shinzato, 1997), a handbook for other instructors teaching Japanese history and language (Type III).

Summary

Developing the mindset to critically question learning will increase students' learning abilities and creativity throughout their lives (Wiggins, 1989). Once students have developed skills for questioning, they will be more apt to continue learning by themselves. As a Chinese philosopher once said, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" (Tripp, 1970, p. 76). Covey (1995), building on a statement by Rousseau (1979), writes, "The goal is less to teach [someone] a truth than to show him how he must always go about discovering the truth" (p. 29).

The authors hope that teachers of all nationalities will be able to gain some important insights from the two approaches discussed in this article. Shinzato advises educators to be: 1) a facilitator who motivates students to learn, creatively and independently; 2) a leader and a researcher in discerning each student's needs; 3) a creative educator by providing students opportunities to learn; and 4) a teacher who acknowledges that learning is a lifelong process, and that a teacher need not feel responsible for teaching everything possible.

These practices provide students with opportunities to learn how to think and be creative. Once students learn these skills, their higher-level thinking, personal inquiry, and creativity skills will increase throughout their lives. Educators will come to realize that learning is a lifelong process for them, as well.

References

Betts, G. T. (1985). The autonomous learner model for the gifted and talented. Greeley, CO: Autonomous Learning Publications and Specialists.

Betts, G. T. (1991). The autonomous learner model for the gifted and talented. In N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of gifted education (pp. 142-153). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Covey, S. R. (1995). The 7 habits of highly effective people. Provo, UT: Covey Leadership Center.

Renzulli, J. S (1977). The enrichment triad model: A guide for developing defensible programs for the gifted and talented. Wethersfield, CT: Creative Learning Press.

Renzulli, J. S. (Ed.). (1986). Systems and models for developing programs for the gifted and talented. Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press.

Rousseau, J.J. (1979). Emile. (A. Bloom, Trans.). New York: Basic Books.

Shinzato, S. (1997). Teaching assistant manual: A handbook for instructors of Japanese history and language. Unpublished instruction manual.

Tokai Koto Kyoiku Kenkyujo. (1991). Daigaku saisei no joken: Daigaku kyouju ni Atarashii Kaxe o. Tokyo: Bunkyo-ku.

Tripp, R. T. (Ed.). (1970). The international thesaurus of quotations. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell.

Wiggins, G. (1989, November). The futility of trying to teach everything of importance. Educational Leadership, 47, 44-59.

Sally M. Todd is Assistant Dean, Student Services, David O. McKay School of Education, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Satoshi Shinzato is serving with the Franklin-Covey Institute in Tokyo, Japan.