Mark Barkan | On 22, Sep 2015

Written by: Mark Barkan and Anatoly Guin, 2015

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Foreword for the English edition

Renowned physicist Leo Szilard proposed a simple, yet elegant image: Let’s represent all human knowledge as a ball. Then the space outside of the ball is unknown territory. The surface of the ball symbolizes the border with the unknown. The larger the amount of knowledge, however, the greater the area of contact with the unknown, and each point of the interface with the unknown is a problem that needs solving in order to acquire new knowledge.

In most cases, existing knowledge is insufficient to solve these problems and the ability to think differently is critical in order to deal with them. Thus, the more we know as a society, the more we need thinkers and problem solvers. Yet, with these challenges, our schools fail at all levels to develop creative and critical thinking skills.

Success Factor is a recently released book dedicated to one of the most effective methods for teaching creative and critical thinking skills. The authors view this book as a primary guide for teachers and parents on how to teach solid thinking skills; the exercises provided combine a variety of methods, TRIZ a primary one, to help teachers, parents, and students alike with this very difficult task.

 

Abstract

This book is something new – it’s not another book on the traditional approach to education. It encourages us to pay attention to changes in the content of education; to change the emphasis from a teaching model that is oriented toward assimilating facts to one that incorporates how to develop creative thinking. The book also provides a clear understanding of this approach to learning – learning through open problems. The book serves as an excellent starting point for all educators interested in the development of creative thinking in children. I suspect that it will also help teachers of middle school students change the way they think, fostering their own creativity. This book will be useful for leaders in education who are concerned about the current status of the field.