Teaching Critical Thinking through Dance-Making

The Thinking Tools

• Based on the book Sparks of Genius: The 13 Thinking Tools of the World’s Most Creative People

• By Robert & Michele Root-Bernstein• Published by Houghton Mifflin in

1999

The Thinking Tools to Be Discussed Include . . .

• Observing• Recognizing

patterns• Empathizing • Body Thinking• Imaging

• Transforming• Abstracting• Playing• Forming patterns• Modeling• Synthesizing

Selected & arranged in this way because . . .

• They can be easily applied to the creative process in movement & dance.

• This order of arrangement follows the order of operations in dance-making.

Creative Movement Dance-Making Process

• Inspiration • Observing inspiration • Responding to inspiration • Felt-thoughts + Imagination • Transforming & abstracting =• Movement +• Playing around =• Final product or dance

Observing

• Means active observation• Making sense of the sensation• Learning to see in new & different

ways• Seeing details such as colors,

separate parts of picture or foreground & background

What details can you observe in this picture?

Recognizing Patterns

• Noticing relationships• Using various viewpoints to reveal

different patterns• Patterns recognized can be visual,

auditory, tactile, kinesthetic• Culture influences pattern

recognition

What patterns do you see in this picture?

Empathizing

• Being able to see the world through the eyes of others

• Having personal knowledge• Becoming the animal, plant or

object • Imagine what the object of your

attention is sensing

What feelings do you get from the two photos below?

Body Thinking

• Usually hidden from us• Using movement to solve problems• Felt-thought• A heightened physical awareness• Kinesthetic empathy

How would your body feel in each of the two positions below?

Imaging

• Seeing pictures in the mind or visualizing

• Thinking about sounds• Being able to recall a body feeling• Seeing movements in the mind• Being polysensual—synesthesia • A virtual experience

What mental images can you create from the two cut paper designs below?

Transforming

• Changing from one sense to another

• Using diverse methods to solve a problem

• A blurring of lines between fields• Transformations are not always

exactly equivalent

Transforming body shapes . . .

Abstracting

• Begins with the real• Representing the essence of • The core• A simplification of • A tool for artists• Can be interactive across

disciplines (visual arts & high speed photography)

An abstraction of a forest . . .

Playing

• Experimenting• Fooling around• Treating work like a game• Breaking the rules & testing limits• Encouraging the unexpected• Limited sloppiness• Invoking a make believe world

Playing around with a photo

Forming Patterns

• Combining structural elements or operations

• Can be spontaneous or planned• Spans sensory modalities &

disciplines• Embodies relationships & meanings• Leads to innovations

Forming a Pattern . . .

Modeling

• Simulations• A physical representation of • Helps teach imaginative skills• Capturing the essence of operations• Embodying concepts• Supplies control of situation• Reveals problems

Models of Dances - floor patterns for 2 dancers (L) & changes in energy quality (R)

Synthesizing

• Bringing together sensory impressions, feelings, knowledge & memories

• Creating unity & wholes• An integration of the thinking tools• Trans disciplinary & multimodal• A necessity in solving problems

A whole dance is the result of synthesizing.