Teaching creative thinking
Using compare contrast as accelerant

Comparison thinking is a sophisticated tool for uncovering ideas worth exploring. Although our emphasis as writing teachers tends to be written products, we ought to think of comparison topics for writing as a training ground for creative thinking (which is not the same as creative writing) on real-life topics.

Comparisons are purposeful

The first step in the process is to teach students how to develop a purpose for a comparison. The purpose is going to be a question to be answered.

To teach this vital step, you need to give students ample practice responding to this question:

What questions could be answered by comparing A and B?

If you don't connect what you are about to teach to students' experience, you risk having them think comparisons are "just another dumb, English teacher thing."

Everyday comparisons

Begin making the connections by asking students to identify what questions—plural—might be answered by comparing some out-of-school items:

• A slice of pizza and a bagel with cream cheese

• A live concert and a concert on TV.

• Studying engineering and studying accounting.

• Community college and 4-year college

• Solar energy and wind energy

There are many different questions that could be answered by these comparisons. The point of the activity is to engage students in examining their world more closely than they normally do.

Academic comparisons

When students show they can identify questions that could be answered by everyday comparisons, move on to topics within the academic curriculum.

Your colleagues might provide you with some paired topics so you can have a variety of disciplines represented. In fact, they would probably be delighted to know you are doing this activity.

Some of the questions students develop might become the basis for:

• An original experiment.

• An essay or research paper.

• An oral presentation.

• A video or podcast.

• A saleable product or service.

Be sure you have a sampling from English language arts. Within the English language arts curriculum, you might ask students to develop questions that could be answered through the compare contrast process for such items as:

• Studying a vocabulary book and learning vocabulary through reading.

• Learning my first language and learning a second language.

• Prose and poetry.

• Watching a play on TV and watching a play in a theater

• The setting of To Kill a Mockingbird and the setting of Pride and Prejudice.

In many arenas of life, the ability to come up with good questions is a far more valuable asset than the ability to solve problems. People who ask good questions can change the world.