Thinking Flexibly

Strategies to Help Grow Your Perspective

Your incredible brain has the ability to ‘rewire,’ repair, change and grow smarter. Now commonly referred to as ‘neuroplasticity,’ your brain can adapt and sculpt in response to different stimuli and experiences. This is great news and one of the reasons humans keep advancing as a species.

The ability to think flexibly is essential when faced with problems or challenges when the answer isn’t immediately apparent. It means generating alternatives, looking at a solution from different perspectives and being open to changing your mind to facilitate better problem-solving.

According to Habits of Mind founders, Prof Art Costa and Dr Bena Kallick, people who have a flexible mind can look at a situation from all angles without getting stuck on assumptions or past experiences. They can suspend judgment and what they think they know, to generate alternative ideas and solutions.

People who don’t demonstrate flexibility in their thinking are often set in their ways and can only see one solution to a problem. They insist that their way is the only way to move forward when stuck. You might hear someone say, “My mind is made up,” or, “We have always done it this way.”

Conversely, someone proficient at flexible thinking is comfortable leaving a problem unresolved, can tolerate confusion and ambiguity and have faith in their intuition and subconscious brain to come up with ideas and solutions. Art Costa refers to this as putting your brain on ‘auto-ponder.’ These people think more broadly and globally, create, and seek novel approaches. They often have a well-developed sense of humour.

Edward de Bono described having a sense of humour as one of the highest forms of intelligence. He explained that being able to hold two ideas simultaneously in your mind and doing what he referred to as “pattern-switching,” (moving from the familiar patterns of what is known to new and unexpected patterns of the unknown) creates humour. He called this “lateral thinking,” and it is a great way of thinking flexibly!

One of my favourite quotes is, “If plan A doesn't work there are 25 other letters in the alphabet.” This points strongly to having a flexible mindset and being able to think flexibly. People with this disposition can deal with several sources of information simultaneously. Their minds are open to change based on new data, information and even reasoning that conflicts with their current understandings.

The benefits of promoting the ability to think flexibly include being open to more opportunities which help with learning and growing. Thinking of multiple ways to solve a dilemma means you could get to the solution faster. It also helps you stay positive instead of getting frustrated or upset.

Here are some ways to help students develop a flexible mindset:

• Encourage students to develop a repertoire of problem-solving strategies so when one approach doesn’t work, they have others to try.

• Ask students, “Who has another way to solve this?” or, “How else might we solve this?”

• Invite students to look at a situation or problem from another point of view.

• Promote the ability to pause and step back to look at a problem from the big-picture perspective rather than the macro view.

• Use Project Zero tools such as Circle of Viewpoints, Compass Points and Same-Different.

• Assist students in finding three ways to solve each problem.

• Show students pictures of mind-bending illusions so they can feel their brain looking a different way.

• Use wordplay, jokes and read Amelia Bedelia with younger students.

• Play ‘What if?’ scenarios and retell a fairy story from a different character's perspective.

• Change the rules of a game. For example, in the game Snakes and Ladders, go up the snakes and down the ladders.

• Encourage students to think aloud so they are more aware of their thoughts and strategies.

• Use an idea generator app to create seemingly random words into a story, product or game. The next time you are faced with a challenge, in what ways could you look at it in another viewpoint, generate alternative answers or consider different options?

Karen Tui Boyes is a champion for Lifelong Learning across nations, industries and organisations. Winner of the NZ Educator of the Year 2017 and 2014 and the NZ Speaker of the Year award in 2013 & 2019, Karen is a sought after speaker who continually gets rave reviews from audiences around the world. Her dynamic style and highly informative content—which turns the latest educational research into easy-to-implement strategies and techniques — sets her apart from others in her field.

Find out more at: www.spectrumeducation.com