Analyze the basics and objectives of the Creative and Critical Thinking Skills training program in elementary school

Abstract

The present study was conducted with the aim of extracting the basics and objectives of creative and critical thinking skills training curriculum. this research, a qualitative approach and a qualitative content analysis method were used. The statistical sample consisted of 12 experts and specialists in educational sciences and psychology who were selected by targeted sampling method. The instrument used was a semi-structured interview. Analytical quality content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. First, the basics of the thinking skills training curriculum were divided into three sections: philosophical and value principles, psychological foundations, and sociological foundations. In all three sections, the main categories were extracted according to the opinion of experts. In the section on philosophical and value principles, the main categories were the emphasis on formal and public education, the emphasis on the values ​​of thinking, and the emphasis on the merits of thinking. The main categories for psychological foundations were the emphasis on the dimension of rationality, the application of the emotional, social dimension, and attention to participation and collaboration. Ultimately, the main categories chosen for sociological foundations were holistic, social, and self-critical criticism. For the appropriate purposes of teaching creative and critical thinking, based on the opinions of experts, the two main categories of intrapersonal skills and extrapersonal skills were selected. In the category of intrapersonal skills, principles such as technical skills, problem-solving skills and ethical skills, and in the category of extra-individual skills, the principles of emotional adequacy, cognitive adequacy and social adequacy were extracted.