Creative & critical thinking tests

Why should tests of creative and critical thinking be useful for identifying gifted learners? Well, synthesis (creative thinking) and evaluation (critical thinking) are the most difficult and challenging forms of thinking according to Bloom's Taxonomy. Gifted thinkers should do much better at these two kinds of higher order thinking than the average thinker.

Very few normed pencil and paper tests of creative and critical thinking have been developed for younger students who we wish to identify for gifted programs. The purpose of this article is to introduce a pencil and paper test for both of these forms of thinking. The questions in the tests should give teachers some examples of question types that they can then weave other curriculum content into for the purpose of developing these kinds of thinking with their students.

Critical thinking involves the making of judgements about information. Critical thinkers judge C.A.M.P.E.R., that is they make judgements about such things as the Consequences, Assumptions and Accuracy, Meaning and Main point, Prejudice or bias, Evidence and Examples, and Reliability and Relevance of information. They use relevant criteria to make such judgements. Over twenty core thinking processes have been identified that are associated with critical thinking. Some of these appear in the test introduced in this article. The test items usually ask students to identify, or distinguish, examples and non-examples of information that is prejudiced, irrelevant, factual, inconsistent, and so on.

Creative thinking is different from critical thinking in that it basically involves the learner being prepared to "break away" from usual or dominant patterns stored in their brains. They need to have a personality and an attitude that allows them to think flexibly in this way. Creative thinkers usually have to take risks, incubate ideas, fantasise, have a sense of humour, and be sensitive to creativity about them. On the other hand, critical thinkers have to be objective, open-minded, and clear minded.

Creative thinkers ask themselves different questions to critical thinkers as they try to change, rather than judge, things and ideas. They C.R.E.A.T.E., that is they often Combine, Reverse, Alternate, Twist, and Elaborate things and ideas.

The two tests here have been designed for students in about grades 4 to 9. In order to create grade level norms for the tests that will then help teachers select say the top 5 percent of students in their class for creative and critical thinking, we need to get plenty of student scores. Blank tests for you to photocopy, with my permission, and some possible answers for the items, can be obtained from me at the address ending the article. The total cost is five dollars. After giving the test, if you can provide me with the grade level, and the number of students in your class obtaining scores out of 20 for creativity and out of 30 for critical thinking, I will forward to you the scores obtained by the top 5 percent of students at each grade. A correlation between students scores for the test of creativity and the test of critical thinking would also be of interest. Are students generally good at both these kinds of thinking?

General intellectual ability

·         is an avid reader

·         has avid interest in science or literature

·         provides very alert, rapid answers to questions

·         has a wide range of interests

·         is secure emotionally

·         is venturesome, wanting to do new things

·         tends to dominate peers or situations

·         is an entrepreneur - readily makes money on various projects or activities

·         needs little outside control - applies self discipline

·         is resourceful - solving problems by ingenious methods

·         is creative in new ideas, seeing associations, pursuing innovations

·         displays a great curiosity about objects, situations or events

·         has the capacity to look into things and be puzzled

·         is involved with many exploratory type activities

·         reveals originality in oral and written expression

·         is perceptually open to his or her environment

·         displays a willingness to accept complexity

·         has the capacity to use knowledge and information other than to memorise

·         shows superior judgement in evaluating things

·         is a good guesser

·         makes good grades in most subjects

·         learns rapidly, easily and efficiently

·         uses a lot of commonsense

·         retains and uses information which has been heard or read

·         uses a large number of words easily and accurately

·         asks many questions of a provocative nature

·         has a power of abstraction, conceptualisation and synthesis

·         has an interest in cause-effect relations

·         has a liking for structure, order and consistency

·         has a power of concentration, an intense attention that excludes all else

·         is persistent

·         has a high energy level

·         is independent

·         is friendly and outgoing

Specific academic aptitude

·         shows similar characteristics to general intellectual ability but concentrated around one or a few fields

·         has a long attention span in areas of interest

·         learns rapidly, easily and with less repetition in one or a few specific areas (probably not all subject areas)

·         likes or loves one or a few areas of knowledge

·         likes to study some subjects more than others

·         spends time voluntarily beyond ordinary assignments on projects of interest to him or her

·         is able to extend learning from these key areas to various situations somewhat unrelated in orientation

·         is able to show broad perspective on one or more subject areas

·         is able to judge own and others' relative abilities in key areas of interest

·         seeks assistance of others beyond his or age peers in extending knowledge in areas of interest

Creative thinking and production

·         is fluent in producing and elaborating on ideas

·         makes unusual associations between remote ideas

·         is flexible in thinking patterns

·         senses when problems exist

·         acts spontaneously, intuitively

·         tolerates ambiguity and uncertainty

·         senses inconsistencies and discontinuities

·         readily guesses and makes hypotheses

·         juggles or redefines elements of a problem or task

·         can show intense concentration on a task

·         retains own ideas in a discussion or collaboration

·         provides mulitple solutions or responses to problems

·         is uninhibited in expression, sometimes radical

·         is intellectually playful, interested in fantasy, imagination

·         always trying to adapt or improve things

·         has a keen sense of humour, seeing humour in situations others don't

·         doesn't mind being different

·         doesn't accept authoritarian pronouncements without own judgement

·         asks provocative questions, challenges parents, teachers, written and other authorities

·         is bored with memorisation and recitation

·         displays energy, somtimes disruptively

·         produces unexpected, sometimes "silly" responses

·         is considered, and perhaps resented, by some peers as "crazy"

·         can show unusual degrees of originality, concentration and persistent hard work on projects that capture their interest and imagination

Leadership

·         can stimulate and arouse others

·         organises others

·         recognises skills and abilities possessed by others

·         interacts with others easily showing social skills

·         recognises and can articulate the goals of a group

·         can articulate ideas clearly

·         can listen to others empathetically

·         understands how people feel and how groups function

·         can give directions clearly and effectively

·         exercises authority reliably and responsibly

·         can adopt non-leadership roles within a group

·         can establish the mood of a group

·         supports others in a group when appropriate

·         can coordinate the work of several individuals

·         is often asked for ideas and suggestions

·         is looked to by others when something must be decided

Psychomotor ability

·         is rhythmic

·         is athletic

·         likes to play physically

·         has a suitable body build

·         is coordinated, balanced and confident in physical activities

·         is inventive in constructing or modifying games

·         is energetic

·         is able to understand the intellectual aspects of psychomotor activities

·         demonstrates endurance, stamina and persistence in physical activities

·         demonstrates prowess in physical activities common amongst age peers

Visual and performing arts

Music

·         has good sense of rhythm

·         is well-coordinated

·         discriminates musical and other sounds well

·         understands musical relationships

·         enjoys musical activities and demonstrates musical feeling

·         shows tonal memory

·         responds readily to rhythm, melody and harmony

·         uses music to express feeling or experience

·         makes up original tunes

·         enjoys dance and dramatic activities with musical elements

Dramatics

·         demonstrates interest and enjoyment in dramatic activities

·         readily shifts into role of another character, animal or object

·         uses voice to reflect changes in mood

·         demonstrates understanding of conflict when acting out a dramatic event

·         communicates feelings by means of facial expressions, gestures and bodily movements

·         enjoys evoking emotional responses from listeners

·         demonstrates ability to dramatise feelings and experiences

·         brings a dramatic situation to a climax with a well-timed ending when telling a story

Art

·         draws a variety of objects

·         puts depth into drawing, showing planning and good proportion

·         treats art seriously and enjoys it

·         shows originality in modes of undertaking art

·         is willing to try out new materials and experiences

·         pursues art in spare time

·         uses art to express feelings and experiences

·         is interested in other people's art, both appreciating it and criticising it

·         likes to model three dimensionally with clay, soap carving, plasticine etc

Dr John Langrehr 2002