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Essential Skills in the Age ofMachine Learning:

Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving

An IIL Whitepaperby Christa Kirby, Vice President – Global Learning Innovation

International Institute for Learning, Inc.

“These kids have no ability to think either critically or creatively,” said my friend Jack over the phone, barely audible over the chatter of his parrot, Scooter. “They are taught to pass tests, not to question their thinking or explore its validity. I’m not sure how they’re going to survive when they graduate.”

Jack recently moved to Fort Lauderdale, where he is settling into his life as a middle and high school substitute teacher. His observation is one I have heard frequently from educators – and is certainly not limited to his school district. It touches on a wider issue impacting society at large, and theconsequences are far-reaching.

The ability to think both creatively and critically is an invaluable life skill that is frighteningly close to becoming a lost art. These days, uttering a quick phrase can give us an instantaneous answer; all we have to do is say, “Hey Siri,” “OK, Google,” or simply: “Alexa!” In ten seconds, we can know the capital of Burkina Faso, the lifespan of a star, and yes – we can even hear the sound that a whale makes.

In our always-connected world, we have outsourced our memories to our omnipresent devices.At any point in time, we have billions of facts at our fi ngertips. But as Aristotle wrote in Posterior Analytics, “Knowledge of the fact differs from knowledge of the [reason for the] fact.1 ” Being able to sit with a question, devise alternative solutions, and evaluate ideas against objective standards are essential capabilities in the world today. Purposeful thinking is something that can (and should!) be taught, practiced, and improved upon – both by kids in school and adults in the “school” of life.

1 Aristotle, Posterior Analytics, Book 1, Part 13. Retrieved from http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/posterior.1.i.html, March 1, 2017.

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Why is Critical Thinking Important?Since “critical thinking” is a phrase that can mean different things to different people, let’s start with a proper defi nition. According to the Foundation for Critical Thinking, it is “that mode of thinking — about any subject, content, or problem — in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing it. 2” In other words, it is thinking about our thinking in such a way as to identify its strengths and weaknesses and improve it.

The word “critical” itself has several defi nitions, each of which is accompanied by either a positive or negative connotation. The meaning attributed to it here is “involving skillful judgment as to truth” and not “inclined to fi nd fault or judge with severity.3”

Critical thinking is necessary because unfortunately, much of the thinking that we engage in is rife with cognitive bias. We like to believe that we, as human beings, are rational decision makers, ob-jectively weighing evidence before making our choices. What psychologists and brain scientists tell us, however, is that the exact opposite is true. If left unexamined, our thinking is simplistic, distort-ed, imbalanced, and self-serving.

In his defi nitive tome, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman sheds light on the two different systems that drive the way we think.

System 1 is intuitive, or “fast” thinking. Automatic, effortless, and feeling-driven, System 1 is the main source of our explicit beliefs. System 2, on the other hand, is “slow” thinking that is deliber-ate, effortful, and orderly. It requires focus and concentrated attention, which can quickly deplete the limited amount of fuel (in the form of glucose) that goes to our brains.

Most people think they make most decisions using System 2, but the research shows that System 1 is usually in control, even when we think that it isn’t.4

This is why we need some sort of objective criteria against which we can measure the quality of our thinking. It is easy to formulate a thought or an idea about something, but how do we know if our thinking is any good?

Here is where the universal intellectual standards5 come in, andfollowing are some of the most important ones to consider whenexamining our thought processes:• Clarity – Is the thinking understandable and easy to follow? Clarity is a “gateway” standard,

meaning that if a statement is unclear, it will be hard to determine whether it adheres to any other standards.

• Accuracy – Is the thinking free from errors, mistakes, and distortions? Does it include any “alternative facts?”

• Precision – Is the thinking specifi c and exact to the necessary level of detail?

• Relevance – Is the thinking related to the matter at hand, or is it completely off the topic?2 Foundation for Critical Thinking website, Retrieved on March 2, 2017 from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defi ning-critical-thinking/766. 3 Critical [Defs. 3 and 1]. (n.d.) In Dictionary.com, Retrieved March 2, 2017, from http://www.dictionary.com/browse/critical. 4 Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow, Farrar, Straus and Giroux: New York, NY.5 Elder, L., & Paul, R. (2012). The thinker’s guide to intellectual standards: The words that name them and the criteria that defi ne them. Tomales, CA: Foundation for Critical Th¬inking Press.

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• Depth – Is the thinking thorough, and does it explore the necessary complexities?

• Breadth – Does the thinking take into account multiple viewpoints? Have all perspectives been considered?

• Logic – Is the thinking consistent, with conclusions following from evidence? Is there a reasonable progression from one idea to the next, so that it all holds together?

• Signifi cance – Does the thinking include the most important ideas?

• Fairness – Is the thinking balanced and free from bias?

Being able to think critically is important because it enables us to formulate the right questions in order to arrive at the answers we need. It helps us keep an open mind, engage in self-refl ection, and deduce likely consequences based on what we know in a given situation.

For school-aged children, it is a crucial skill that can support them in thinking through confl icting ideas and making well-informed choices about what to value and believe. It can guide them in tem-pering an impulsive action with deliberate thought, helping them avoid a potentially dire result.

For adults, the importance of critical thinking in the workplace is rapidly escalating. In this age of machine learning, we need to polish the skills that differentiate us from robots, or we may fi nd ourselves losing our relevance. As artifi cial intelligence (AI) begins to automate more managerial functions, it is in our best interest to build competencies that go beyond what we can program our inventions to do.

We need to think critically in order to translate knowledge into competitive advantage and make quick decisions with limited information. The pace of change will only accelerate from this point on, and the ability to think on our feet and seek out alternative viewpoints will help us succeed in both our personal and professional lives.

How Does Creative Thinking Relate to Critical Thinking?At fi rst blush, creative and critical thinking may seem like opposites, but on closer investigation, their intimate connection becomes apparent. Creating and critiquing are part of an ongoing gen-erative cycle. When we engage in purposeful, high-quality thinking, “the mind must simultaneously produce and assess, both generate and judge the products it fabricates. In short, sound thinking requires both imagination and intellectual standards.6”

When it comes to living a productive life, imagination and reason are an indivisible team. Envision-ing possibilities and alternatives is as essential a capability as evaluating alternatives and choosing a course of action. And since we come into the world curious, with an innate proclivity to experiment and learn, we all have the capacity to use that imagination. However, for a variety of reasons, that creative inclination is tamped down as we transition from childhood into adolescence.

The ease with which we develop creative thought begins to get stripped away by the layers of self-doubt and self-criticism that come with learning to care about what others think of us. Yet no matter our age, we always have creative potential lingering beneath the surface, waiting to be un-earthed. And part of critical thinking is having the ability to access it.

6 Elder, L. & Paul, R. (2008). The Thinker’s Guide to the Nature and Functions of Critical & Creative Thinking, p 4. Tomales, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking Press.

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Why is Creativity Important?At a very basic level, creativity is integral to life itself. The thoughts that we think – that we create – have a profound impact on the ways in which we interact with the world. Our thoughts create our beliefs, which inform our behaviors and color the meaning we make from our experiences. There is a reciprocal relationship between how we perceive the world and how we act in it. Ultimately, we have a huge hand in creating our own experience of life.

Creativity is what brings into being thoughts and ideas that are unique to us as individuals. We are creating when we express, imagine, or dream. Creative thinking helps us visualize a future state while being immersed in the present; it allows us to see windows where others see walls.

Without creativity, we quickly fi nd ourselves at an impasse with a problem. We paint ourselves into a corner with “I can’t,” without ever envisioning, “what else can I do here?” But if we don’t know we need to ask that very question, it helps to have someone show us how.

Let Me Tell You a StoryIn 2007, I went to Ethiopia with a non-profi t organization to work with HIV+ children in various orphanages in Addis Ababa. As a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist, my role was to coordinate with the medical teams and staff of the Children’s Homes to ensure that the kids’ medical and psychosocial needs were being met.

For three weeks, I was taken from place to place by my driver, a bright and exuberant young man named Mil-lion. At the beginning of my trip, he was my driver, and by the end of my trip, he had become my translator, my co-facilitator, and my friend.

The fi rst day that we arrived at one particular orphanage on the outskirts of the capital, we were greeted by shouts of joy and 46 pairs of feet rushing out into the courtyard. After playing soccer for an hour or so, we all moved inside for some refreshments and art activities.

Million and I handed out paper, crayons, and markers to the children, who accepted them with wide eyes, tiny hands, and hushed reverence. I asked them to use the art materials to create a picture of something that made them happy. Million translated my words into Amharic, and the boy and girls nodded their heads and began to draw.

Imagine my surprise when, after 5 minutes, 46 children sat quietly with their crayons down, having all just drawn what amounted to be the same exact picture. It was of a fl ower in a pot. In the drawings of the older children, the fl ower had 8 petals and a round head in the center, like that of a sunfl ower. There was one leaf symmetri-cally aligned on either side of a tall stem, which rose out of a small circular pot.

I smiled and commented on how much I loved the way they had used the colors. Then I quietly asked Million how he had translated my instructions. How could it be that this one fl ower was the thing that made all of them happy? Million told me that earlier that year, someone had come in and taught the children “the right way to make art.” So that is exactly what they tried to do. I nodded, as my understanding of what he meant sunk in.

That evening when I returned to the guesthouse, I raided my suitcase for any item with a unique shape that I could put into a small bag. I packed the bag with things like my comb, a small mirror, an aspirin bottle, a can-dle, keys, my hair gel (in a fancy round container) and my plastic travel toothbrush holder.

The next day when I arrived at the orphanage, I made a show of hiding the bag behind my back and pulling it away when the children tried to peek inside. When the younger children went to sing songs, I corralled the older kids into the main room and once again gave them paper, crayons and markers.

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This time, however, I asked them to close their eyes and put their hand inside the bag. “Feel around in the bag until your hand fi nds a shape that it likes. Then I want you to imagine what that might look like – even though you haven’t seen it – and then draw that on your paper.” This instruction was greeted with uproarious laughter from the group, and their eyes came to life in a way I hadn’t seen before.

“Me fi rst! Me next!” they said, their small bodies rapt with attention as I made my way around the room with the bag. And what happened next was magical.

After some initial hesitation, they began to draw, exploring shapes and colors on the page. They added details and some closed their eyes to remember the feeling of the object they had chosen to draw. When they fi nished their drawings, we put them down on the fl oor and did a “gallery walk.”

They made connections between the drawings, guessing which might be representing the same object. They recognized the shape of things they had felt but not selected as the thing they would draw. As a group, they started coming up with ideas about what each thing might be.

Next, we stepped away from the art and sat in a tight circle on the fl oor, with the bag in the center. Their excitement was palpable, and I slowly emptied the contents of the bag onto the fl oor. There was laughter, gasping and clapping. “Do you recognize the thing that you drew on the paper?” “Yes,” they said. “YES!!”

The item that had been drawn the most was my toothbrush holder. Turquoise in color, it was of a tubular shape with well-defi ned grooves on the surface. The two halves of the case fi t together tightly, with a barely notice-able seam at the center. I picked it up and modeled exploring its shape with my hands and looking at it from different angles. I then handed it to a little boy named Surafel and asked him, “What do you think it might be?” He shook his head and said, “I don’t know.” Then has passed it to the little girl on his right.

Curious, she held it in her hands and said, “It’s blue.” I said, “Yes, it is! What else is it?” She feigned weighing in her hands and said, “It’s not heavy.” I urged her to continue. “I think it could be a stick,” she said, holding it at arm’s length. “That’s great, Nasifae! Yes – it could be a stick!” She passed it to the next boy, and I asked him, “What else could it be?”

He gently held it up in the air. “It could be an airplane!” The next little girl took the toothbrush holder, and spying the seam in the middle, she pulled at both ends. It pulled apart with a loud “POP!” and she gasped, looking at me fearfully. I laughed and told her she hadn’t broken it – it was meant to come apart. A big smile washed across her face, and she said, “I could put some stones inside this and shake it to make music.” “Yes!” I said, trying not to cry. “YES.”

Our work (and play) reached a different level for the rest of my time at that orphanage. They had unleashed their own creativity, and it was like a fi re had been lit inside their tiny frames, shedding a brighter light on their world.

Putting It All TogetherAs with critical thinking, creative thinking – and problem solving – can be taught. There are numerous techniques we can use to stimulate brainstorming and divergent thinking. These often involve placing the “problem” inside a novel context.

Viewing problems in their customary manner is an example of a functional fi xedness bias. This kind of limited thinking can prevent us from fully seeing all the options that might be available to fi nd a solution to a problem.

The activity I did with the children at the orphanage is a variation of a type of exercise gearedtoward overcoming functional fi xedness. Creative thinking can help us move past any kind of“mental set” that is constricting and move forward on the path to innovation.

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So What Does This Mean to Me?In 2016, the World Economic Forum issued a report called “The Future of Jobs.” I shared thisexcerpt from the report with my friend Jack (the substitute teacher), and I’ll share it with you.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, which includes developments in previously disjointed fi elds such as artifi cial intelligence and machine-learning, robotics, nanotechnology, 3-D printing, and genetics and biotechnology, will cause widespread disruption not only to business models but also to labour markets over the next fi ve years, with enormous change predicted in the skill sets needed to thrive in the new landscape. 7

What skills will be most crucial? Here’s what the report predicts:Top 10 Skills in 2020

1) Complex Problem Solving

2) Critical Thinking

3) Creativity

4) People Management

5) Coordinating with Others

6) Emotional Intelligence

7) Judgment and Decision Making

8) Service Orientation

9) Negotiation

10) Cognitive Flexibility

The fi rst three spots in the list are occupied by complex problem solving, critical thinking, and cre-ativity. All are competencies that are cross-over skills, helping us at work and in our personal lives. And as much as we need these skills as adults, our children need them even more.

They need guidance in how to: become aware of perspectives and life experiences different from their own; ask substantive questions; tolerate uncertainty without jumping to a solution; strip away the fear of being different; and refl ect.

As adults, we must also do what we can to build these capabilities within ourselves. The age of AI and machine learning will continue to open up new challenges and opportunities for us in the work-place.

Will you meet those challenges with open arms or continue to do business as usual?

7 Future of Jobs Report, World Economic Forum, Retrieved on March 2, 2107 from http://reports.weforum.org/future-of-jobs-2016.

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If you want to move boldly forward, here are some suggestions:

1. Question your assumptions.

2. Dig deep and uncover your biases (and then try to dismantle them).

3. Be willing to shift your perspective in the face of evidence.

4. Seek out opinions different from your own.

5. Take meaningful risks and be authentic.

About the Author Christa Kirby heads up the Leadership & Interpersonal Skills Practice Area at IIL.She is also a senior trainer and a frequent speaker at conferences, Project Management Institute (PMI)® chapters and client events. For over fi fteen years, Christa has conducted workshops and led trainings for corporations, non-governmental organizations and foundations in countries including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Croatia, Romania, Ethiopia,

Greece and the US. Her specialty areas of focus are team-building, leadership, confl ict resolution,effective communication, cross-cultural communication and Emotional Intelligence.

About International Institute for Learning, Inc. (IIL)IIL’s commitment to improving organizational performance with Intelligence, Integrity, and Innovation has made us a trusted learning provider to global companies in more than 150 countries, for over 25 years. We specialize in training and certifi cation, coaching and mentoring, consulting, and customized course development.

Contact us today to request a free consultation.Website: www.iil.com/onsitePhone: +1-212-758-0177Email: learning@iil.com

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