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Life orientation

Grade 9

Thinking skills

Module 2

Thinking

Cogito ergo sum (i think, therefore i am)

If you had to explain to a person what "thinking" means, what would you say?

We take the ability to think for granted. After all, people say, it is a natural process, as natural as breathing, walking, running... Yes, it is partly true. But - all people do not walk or run equally well or fast. A toddler has to crawl, then try to walk and then try to run. A fit athlete will run faster and jump higher than somebody who never tries or practises. This is also true of thinking. One can improve one's natural ability through exercise - by practising thinking skills.

How effective your thinking is, depends on various factors, but one thing is sure, knowledge and mastery of thinking skills, will make your thinking more effective. Compare your thinking and use of thinking skills to the use of a pair of glasses, a pair of binoculars, a telescope, and a microscope. These instruments have different functions, but they all help you to see.

A very simple way of describing thinking could be: knowing and understanding. But it is much, much more than this too. What about the ability to apply your knowledge, the ability to see relationships between things, the ability to create new and original things...

I cannot even conceive of a world without thinking, can you?

To do:

Let's do a "what if" exercise in small groups. The topic is: "What if everybody had the same thoughts"

This kind of exercise depends on the ability of the thinkers to give their imaginations free rein without really bothering with too much logic. A "what if" exercise stimulates the right brain functions and improves creative thinking.

  • Guidelines
  • Set a time limit of 5 to 7 minutes
  • One person jots down the "what if" thoughts
  • Do not criticise anybody's contribution, let the ideas flow
  • You may take over and expand on an idea

Have fun!

Read on...

Did some of you find this exercise difficult to get into? Don't worry, practise makes perfect!

The most important thing to remember is that thinking does not always consists of a "right or wrong" factor. It is important that your facts are correct, but what you decide to do with the facts... that's something else. Everybody is so scared of being "wrong" and to think differently from their friends and teachers that many good and valuable thoughts and ideas get lost forever.

It is therefore very important that we develop the ability to think laterally. Lateral thinking is much wider than "right and wrong". This kind of thinking helps us to think of plans, alternatives, new ideas.

On to another "what if" exercise:

Choose one of the topics:

  • What if all window panes were made of glass?
  • What if all people had 7 fingers on each hand?
  • I dare you to think!
  • Write down some of the best ideas. You may also give these ideas a "make- over" with drawings, colour, etc.

Topic: _______________________________________________

[LO 3.6]

Assessment

Learning outcomes(LOs)

LO 3

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

The learner will be able to use acquired life skills to achieve and extend personal potential to respond effectively to challenges in his or her world.

Assessment standards(ASs)

We know this when the learner:

3.3 responds appropriately to emotions in challenging situations;

3.4 explains what has been learned from a challenging personal ineraction by critically reflecting on own behaviour;

3.6 critically evaluates own application of problem-solving skills in a challenging situation.

Questions & Answers

the diagram of the digestive system
Assiatu Reply
How does twins formed
William Reply
They formed in two ways first when one sperm and one egg are splited by mitosis or two sperm and two eggs join together
Oluwatobi
what is genetics
Josephine Reply
Genetics is the study of heredity
Misack
how does twins formed?
Misack
What is manual
Hassan Reply
discuss biological phenomenon and provide pieces of evidence to show that it was responsible for the formation of eukaryotic organelles
Joseph Reply
what is biology
Yousuf Reply
the study of living organisms and their interactions with one another and their environments
AI-Robot
the study of living organisms and their interactions with one another and their environment.
Wine
discuss the biological phenomenon and provide pieces of evidence to show that it was responsible for the formation of eukaryotic organelles in an essay form
Joseph Reply
what is the blood cells
Shaker Reply
list any five characteristics of the blood cells
Shaker
lack electricity and its more savely than electronic microscope because its naturally by using of light
Abdullahi Reply
advantage of electronic microscope is easily and clearly while disadvantage is dangerous because its electronic. advantage of light microscope is savely and naturally by sun while disadvantage is not easily,means its not sharp and not clear
Abdullahi
cell theory state that every organisms composed of one or more cell,cell is the basic unit of life
Abdullahi
is like gone fail us
DENG
cells is the basic structure and functions of all living things
Ramadan
What is classification
ISCONT Reply
is organisms that are similar into groups called tara
Yamosa
in what situation (s) would be the use of a scanning electron microscope be ideal and why?
Kenna Reply
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is ideal for situations requiring high-resolution imaging of surfaces. It is commonly used in materials science, biology, and geology to examine the topography and composition of samples at a nanoscale level. SEM is particularly useful for studying fine details,
Hilary
cell is the building block of life.
Condoleezza Reply
what is cell divisoin?
Aron Reply
Diversity of living thing
ISCONT
what is cell division
Aron Reply
Cell division is the process by which a single cell divides into two or more daughter cells. It is a fundamental process in all living organisms and is essential for growth, development, and reproduction. Cell division can occur through either mitosis or meiosis.
AI-Robot
What is life?
Allison Reply
life is defined as any system capable of performing functions such as eating, metabolizing,excreting,breathing,moving,Growing,reproducing,and responding to external stimuli.
Mohamed
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Source:  OpenStax, Life orientation grade 9. OpenStax CNX. Sep 15, 2009 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11065/1.1
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