Enabling Children To Think Beyond the Ordinary
While learning using memory is a common way of teaching children in most schools, enabling children to think beyond the ordinary is not as common. However, it is imperative that children be taught to think creatively and beyond the ordinary, if they are to not only learn new skills but also apply them to everyday life. In this article, we'll talk about how our schools, teachers, and parents, can help children think beyond the ordinary…
What is thinking beyond the ordinary?
Thinking beyond the ordinary is coming up with new and creative ideas in different fields. It is a way to encourage creative thinking. This is an extremely sought-after skill. By thinking beyond the ordinary, students can come up with new ideas in the fields of technology, music, and even their day-to-day lessons. Educators say that thinking beyond the ordinary is one of the most difficult skills to master, as a student has to use all of her cognitive skills in thinking in this way.
When designing a curriculum that helps students think beyond the ordinary, teachers can provide students with varied tools to give students different options, choice, and a voice, in order that they can think in such a way. It is imperative to foster this skill in the formative years of children. These imagination and thinking skills of enabling children to think beyond the ordinary are not limited to artistic or musical expression. It extends to almost every field, including science, mathematics, linguistic, spatial, naturalist, bodily-kinaesthetic, and social and emotional intelligence.
How to help children think beyond the ordinary
There are several strategies to help children think beyond ordinary….Here are some of them…
1) Allow children to question things: You can and should urge children to wonder. Ask them questions, such as, why is the sky blue? Why does ocean water have waves? How does gravity work? Explaining such things to them will help them become more curious. This will further enhance their imaginative skills and help develop and inculcate problem-solving abilities.
2) Provide children with opportunities to express their intelligence: Psychologist Howard Gardner said that there are many different types of intelligence. All of these can be developed over time in your child. It may be difficult to recognize a child's natural inclination towards a certain form of intelligence. If this is so, you can give them ample opportunities to express all the forms of intelligence and then help pick up on and develop what they do best.
3) Teach children multiple ways to solve a problem: Whatever be the problem, whether it be math or music, or then, even an emotional problem, you must make children understand that they can solve a problem in many different ways. This will help them develop different perspectives for looking at everything.
4) Trigger curiosity in children: All children are born curious and they want to know and get into the details of everything. Parents and teachers should provide interesting and relevant indications to drive their curiosity in the right direction. For example, you can talk to them about the deteriorating environmental conditions and how this can affect the lives of human beings and animals around. By involving children in such meaningful discussions, you can help trigger and satisfy their curiosity, so that they would want to know more about most subjects.
5) Engage children in creative games and activities: To help children think beyond the ordinary you can engage them in creative games and activities. This will help them think beyond the obvious, develop their problem-solving skills, and will also help them in developing various other skills as well, such as coordination, self-expression, fine-motor, and so on.
6) Encourage children to read for pleasure: Limit TV time for your child and encourage them to read instead. Reading encourages thought activity, which in turn, enables children to think beyond the ordinary. Reading can help your child understand, develop, and express better. It can also help them develop logical thinking and can help them focus on learning new things. You can visit the local or school library if you have access to one, and discuss with your child all about their favorite books and authors. This will give you a unique insight into your child's thinking. It will also increase higher-order thinking in your child.
7) Give children free time and space: While building skills systematically is important, it is also very important to give children the time and space to freely explore their imagination. This will help them think beyond the ordinary. You can encourage your child to spend a few hours at home doing nothing, during which time they can run their imagination wild in whatever it is that they are doing. This will help enhance their thinking skills.
8) Avoid giving rewards to children for demonstrating out-of-the-box thinking: Offering incentives and rewards to your children for demonstrating out-of-the-box thinking can actually reduce the quality and flexibility of their thoughts. As a parent and a teacher, you should allow children to master the creative activities that they are innately motivated to do, rather than motivating them with incentives and rewards for these activities.
At the Epistemo Vikas Leadership School, a top international school in Hyderabad, we always encourage children to think beyond the ordinary. We also work closely with parents to encourage creative thinking in children. We also teach our students a curriculum that fosters thinking beyond the ordinary. We are one of the top schools in Hyderabad, and we pride ourselves on fostering creativity in thinking among our students.
We, as one of the best CBSE schools in Hyderabad, view our students as holistic beings and we encourage each child to develop fully depending on his or her potential. At Epistemo, a brilliant student can uncover deeper layers of learning, while differentially-abled students are supported by a curriculum structured to suit their unique needs. Being one of the best schools in Hyderabad, also means that we possess the infrastructure and the resources to encourage our students to think beyond the ordinary.
We are also one of the best Cambridge Schools in Hyderabad and do not just teach children the curriculum, but we also encourage several co-curricular activities, whether it be music and dance, or then, robotics or entrepreneurship. Our students do not just think beyond the ordinary but apply their learnings to develop futuristic life skills that will help them deal better with life. It also helps them increase their higher-order thinking.
So, if you want your child to think beyond the ordinary, do consider enrolling your child at Epistemo, an international school in Hyderabad, and know that you have made the absolute right choice!
For more information about how to enable your child to think beyond the ordinary and any other queries, contact the Epistemo Vikas Leadership School at +91 7702800800 or at info@epistemo.in or visit our website at https://epistemo.in/