A System for Stimulating and Developing Students’ Creative Thinking Skills

Abstract

The analysis of the current state of the Bulgarian school education outlines the main problem – orientation towards memorizing and reproduction instead of provoking thinking, independence and developing skills. Can thinking be taught? How far can this possibility reach? The real practice of nowadays school differs more and more from that kind of education led by the illusion that thinking appears itself in the process of education. Creativity is a matter of value. A new idea is really creative when it is useful or adds some real value for someone. According to prof. Edward de Bono creative thinking is most of all a skill but not a matter of a personal talent or a sudden dawn of inspiration. Cognitive Research Trust program (CoRT) gives the opportunity to teach thinking in the extra-curricular activities at school. Mental methods and tools of thinking form an effective system for stimulating and developing students’ creative thinking skills.