Thinking Outside the Bubble

Thinking outside the Box Bubble

We've all heard the phrase, "out of the box" thinking. Wikipedia describes the concept as,

"Thinking outside the box is a metaphor that means to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel or creative thinking. The term is thought to derive from management consultants in the 1970s and 1980s challenging their clients to solve the "nine dots" puzzle, whose solution requires some lateral thinking. The catchphrase, or cliché, has become widely used in business environments, especially by management consultants and executive coaches, and has been referenced in a number of advertising slogans. To think outside the box is to look farther and to try not thinking of the obvious things, but to try thinking of the things beyond them."



However our schools, in large part as a result of an increased accountability movement based on what can be scored more efficiently (i.e. electronically scanned answer sheets as opposed to essays and written responses) have confined thinking to responses on high stakes tests that can be answered by filling in a bubble.


Assessing the higher order thinking skills that are necessary to address the complex issues we encounter requires us to move "outside the bubble."