Exploring Animal-like Images in NASA Photos of Mars Using de Bono’s CoRT Thinking Skills: Alternatives, Possibilities, and Choices, Compare, and Decisions

Authors

Kurt M. J. DeVore, University of Northern IowaFollow
Allyson Rafanello, University of Northern IowaFollow
Nicholas Rafanello, University of Northern IowaFollow

Abstract

The use of de Bono’s CoRT Thinking Skills of “Alternatives, Possibilities, and Choices,” “Compare,” and “Decisions” create opportunities for students to critically think about ideas using a new lens of thinking. The lesson was designed to accommodate twice-exceptional students, gifted students with the disabilities of dyslexia and/or dyscalculia, through three of the de Bono’s strategies integrated with activities. Gifted graduate students in this lesson were presented with an opportunity to explore and analyze the animal-like images from Mars using the three CoRT thinking skills. The photographs used in this lesson were provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). They compared the Martian object resembling a groundhog and a crablike object with animals from Earth, while generating creative ideas regarding what these images might represent. Additionally, students participated in an arts-integrated crayon-rubbing activity. This component of the lesson provided an opportunity to practice the Compare thinking skill while identifying similarities and differences between the artwork and the photograph of the Martian crablike object and to gather ideas to support a decision. After analyzing the artwork and the photograph of the object, students used Edward de Bono’s Decisions thinking skill to decide which image was more realistic, the student-created art image or the photo. The results of this lesson support the premise that the three de Bono CoRT Thinking Skills called “Alternatives, Possibilities, and Choices,” “Compare”, and “Decisions” help meet the needs of twice exceptional students and promote development of critical thinking skills.

Citation

DeVore, K. M. J., Rafanello A., & Rafanello, N. (2018). Exploring animal-like images in NASA photos of Mars using de Bono’s CoRT thinking skills: Alternatives, possibilities, and Choices, Compare, and Decisions. Journal of STEM. Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions, 3(1), 46-60.