I have 20 years’ experience in providing direct care to disabled and able bodied adults as a direct carer and as a psychologist. A more agile mindset allows us to evaluate and adjust to the different jobs, roles and responsibilities we have each day. I've helped people with a wide range of issues: Depression, Anxiety, Substance Use, Loss and Grief, PTSD and Critical Incident Debriefing, Work … DIFFERENT WAYS TO THE SAME ANSWER. Open, flexible, tolerant, adaptable . Skill to Practice: Discriminate and demonstrate flexible thinking versus rigid, egocentric “rock: thinking Scene: (read by the Director): You are in gym class and the teacher wants you to choose a partner. Posted Sep 17, 2014 Help students become fluent and flexible thinkers. Learn to toilet independently and learn to sleep (for the love, yes, learn to sleep). This is especially true for students with […] How to Make Toast via DrawToast. Divergent thinking. It's not always easy to discern. Critical thinking is more than just a simple thought process. Actor #1 really wants to be a partner with a boy named Chad. Teach Emotional Regulation . Mindfulness Meditation. Actor #2 has already chosen Chad as a partner (Example of Flexible Thinking) Actor #1: Say: “Hey! Albert Einstein once said that if given an hour to solve a problem, he would spend five minutes on the solution and the rest of that hour defining the problem. Play Flexible Thinking games and activities . It is inflexible, and is much more vulnerable to being broken and blown down as a result of strong winds. 4 Resilience Activities for Adults. The 10 activities I share below can be done with any age group, and they are a lot of fun! 10 Terrific Critical Thinking Activities 1. ORGANIZING YOUR THOUGHTS. They practice using flexible thinking skills. The following team building games improve cooperation and communication skills while developing critical thinking. Wine tasting isn't just for someone who lives next to Sonoma or Napa Valley; American Viticultural Areas exist in 33 U.S. states (even where you would expect it, like Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, and Rhode Island). Sharp Brains: An award winning top 50 collection. 2011-05-22. Defining the Problem. The abundance of available information makes it more important than ever for students to develop critical thinking skills. Three free brain games for your phone can help with memory, attention, and flexible thinking. The activities are separated into five sections: CROSSING THE MIDLINE. This list contains some of the most renowned and representative lateral thinking puzzles: 1. Critical Thinking Exercise 2: Fact or Opinion . Concept: DrawToast workshops are a great way to get groups to think freshly about mental models. We’ll provide several resources for building resilience, but first, let’s take a look at what the American Psychological Association has to say about building resilience. Psychoeducational Group Therapy Activities. STOP-A-BILITY. Design thinking provides a great structure for people of all ages to go through the creative process. Lesson Planet. These are just a few innovation activities that teams in your organization could use to improve their creative thinking. Stress Management and Team Building Activity; Stress Kit Handouts; Flexible Thinking Activity; For book recommendations for clinicians as well as clients, see my recommended Bibliography page. Learn to read and learn to pick up after themselves. It involves thinking on a much deeper underlying level rather than just at the surface. Mindfulness is a compelling way to enhance self-awareness. Below is a list of 20 realistic lateral thinking puzzles designed to flex your brain and test your critical thinking skills. It is big, strong, stiff and unyielding. Mental agility is also related to our perceptions, emotions, actions and motivations. The oak tree is mightier than the palm tree. Get Free Access See Review. Page content. Certainly these differences can get in the way of many day-to-day situations such as social interactions, transitioning to less preferred activities, managing differences/change, and flexible thinking (“big picture” thinking). Visit me on Facebook at my new Tips and Tools Facebook Page where we can share resources with one another! Flex & Flux. It’s not uncommon; the fact is that executive functioning skills are a very broad set of skills. This material is meant to help students learn to use flexible thinking. To teach the eight-dimensional methodology we use many hands-on activities. The Flexible Thinking Program includes activities that build flexible thinking skills. 10 Team-Building Games That Promote Critical Thinking. Parents and teachers often find themselves responding to the behavioral outcome of the stress and anxiety involved with this “inflexible thinking,” rather than teaching flexible thinking in a systematic way. As kids with these challenges move into adulthood, some areas that we might expect to develop just never seem to change. And it's not an activity that's just for wine connoisseurs. While you can use brain training activities to help students develop lateral thinking, in most instances, games are a better option. This is a trait that helps us adjust more easily to new circumstances, challenges and situations as they arise. You need to be open-minded, flexible and creative in your questioning and able to put lots of different clues and pieces of information together. Use 6 popsicle sticks to make 4 equilateral triangles. Resource Management. Think outside the box. Each of these exercises helps to promote more flexible thinking, making them great activities for improving the innovation of your work teams. That's why it's important for students to analyze, think effectively, and understand that not everything is black and white. Give students the opportunity to demonstrate divergent thinking with these easy-to-use activities. There is so much information available to us in this world that we don't know what is true and what is not. 2 Self-Awareness Activities for Adults. I spend a lot of time trying to find ways to help my sons learn. This page as PDF. Apr 22, 2020 - Video Clips for the classroom or with Social Thinking® groups. CHANGING THE RULES. This activity comes with a page explaining rigid What flexible thinking does. One study even highlighted creativity as one of the most desirable traits for an employee amongst 1500 CEOs. Being able to “go with the flow” and be flexible in your thinking is a necessary skill for dealing with life’s inevitable changes. Variation: Have the students draw pictures of themselves being a flexible thinker and hang the pictures up. Jan 14, 2016 - Executive function is an umbrella term that includes a variety of brain processes that help students to carry out goal-directed behaviors to complete a task (ie., following multi-step directions). Social Thinking®, and Superflex® are by Michelle Garcia Winner, CCC-SLP. B) Activities for learning new concepts in thinking The following activities help to understand the so-called “out-of-the-box” concept and to get into “unexpected thinking” mode. And unlike with other games, there's research to back up the benefits. 1. Whether it’s starting a new job, taking a new class or getting married, being cognitively flexible helps us to grow and get along better with others. See more ideas about social thinking, flexible thinking, social skills groups. Then take it to the next level by picking up a copy of our Pupils create self confidence by thinking together in groups. In this creative thinking lesson, students examine different shapes and drawings and discuss what it makes them think of. Check out part one of this post here. The Swaying Palm . Hopefully by this example you will understand how to solve lateral thinking puzzles. When you visit websites, do you believe everything you read? We define cognitive flexibility as the ability to think flexibly and to shift approaches easily. Although there are several specific executive function skills, cognitive flexibility is an area where many of my students struggle. Divergent thinking activities can help prime the brain for problem solving as students b Become a More Flexible Thinker Learn about types of flexible thinking and how you can boost your skills. One of education’s primary goals is to groom the next generation of little humans to succeed in the ‘real world.’ Yes, there are mounds of curricula they must master in a wide breadth of subjects, but education does not begin and end with a textbook or test. Pupils develop their creative abilities. Learn more at www.socialthinking.com. Flexible Thinking. Critical thinking. 5 Ways to Help Your Child with Autism Learn Flexible Thinking Children with autism are often frustrated with changes in their daily schedule, or the unexpected actions of another person. The palm tree is smaller and flexible. I have been relatively successful at… Read More Activities To Help Children With Rigid Thinking Learn to manage time and learn the multiplication tables. Games and Description of Free Brain Games: Free Brain Games from Arkadium: (the creator of the solitaire games that come pre-installed with Microsoft Windows) Bridge, mahjongg, sudoku, card games, puzzles, chess and more.These games are of excellent quality. by TeachThought Staff. The Flexible Thinking Program. The Mighty Oak . This is lateral thinking! You may also ask periodically if students are being "flexible" or "rock" thinkers. Group Creativity Exercises: Tools for Thinking Outside the Box. Perhaps the most convivial of fun group activities for adults is to visit the local winery and try a few varietals. So it is with Solution Fluency, the first stage of which is—you guessed it—defining the problem! Sometimes it works to be more rigid, to follow specific rules; sometimes it’s better to be more open and loose, Maisel says. It’s long since been debunked that creativity is just about paints and pencils: this mode of thinking is thought to be as critical for those working in STEM industries as much as it is for those employed in the arts sector. For additional information on Flexible Thinking please refer to Michelle Garcia's book Thinking About You, Thinking … Stuck, rigid, closed, vulnerable. Shifting, or cognitive flexibility, is one of the key principles of good executive function and one of the cornerstones of the SMARTS program. Many students struggle with flexible thinking, and see things in only one way. Things like organization, planning, and flexible thinking can be a real struggle. Try them out in your classrooms for a critical thinking and collaboration boost. Once you reach a viable solution you keep going in order to refine it or replace it with a better solution. #1. Flexible thinking is the ability to take another's perspective and adapt to changes gracefully. 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