Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving

Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving

Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving

Critical thinking and creative problem solving working together can enhance a person's creative skills. However, if there is not a correct balance between the two, a person may not find the correct resolution. To find the right balance between critical thinking and creative problem solving, one must understand the similarities and differences between the two. This paper will attempt to show those ideas.

Critical Thinking

According to Shah (2010) and the American Heritage Dictionary, critical thinking is defined as "The mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion" (Para. 1). To help understand critical thinking, I will break the definition into smaller pieces. Conceptualizing is the forming of an idea. Applying and analyzing takes the idea or concept and applies it to the situation, and then the idea is studied or examined. After these first few stages are complete, the last two can take place. Synthesize is combining analogies to form a new product. Evaluation is the stage of appraising the product or information found to determine whether there has been success or failure in reaching a solution.

Creative Problem Solving

Many experts have their own unique ideas about creative problem solving. I choose to discuss the Wallas' model. Wallas believed that most people follow four phases of problem solving: 1) preparing, 2) incubating, 3) illuminating, and 4) verifying.

A person will begin to research and gather information about the problem to be solved in the preparation stage. Once the preparation is complete, stage two (the incubation stage) will occur. During this stage, the information is processed in the mind unconsciously. If successful at this stage, then illumination can take place. The illumination stage involves the emergence of a new solution or relationship. The last phase of Wallas' model is verification or testing the solution to determine if it fits the problem (Dacey & Lennon, 1998).

Similarities and Differences

Prior to completing this paper, I thought that critical thinking and creative problem solving were very different. However, I find that they are very much alike. Critical thinking and creative problem solving follow very similar steps to reach a solution.

Conceptualizing and preparing are the beginning phases at which time one realizes there is a problem. Stage two is the applying and analyzing or incubation stage. After success has been reached at this stage, the process proceeds to the synthesizing or illumination stage. This could also be considered the Aha stage where an idea comes to light. The last stage is the evaluation or verification to determine the success of the solution.

One difference that should be discussed is that the creative process appears to be more open and looks for more than one resolution to a problem. An example of this is the story at the end of chapter nine. The question presented was "Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of barometer" (Dacey & Lennon, 1998, p. 185). The professor expected an answer using physics logic, but the student was creative and thought outside the box. By doing this, there were many answers to the question. The critical thinking process is rigid and