Model+Overview

= Model Overview =

The Incubation Model of Teaching was created by Ellis Paul Torrence. It is a three stage instructional model, geared towards gifted children, but can also be used in a regular classroom. The three stages are used to push the children's level of creative thinking.

**Stage 1: Heightening Anticipaton** This stage is designed to prepare the students to make connections between what they are about to learn and something meaningful in their lives. The main purpose of this stage is a warm up. This warm up process encourages creative behavior and prepares the students for the beginning of their lesson. A few examples of possible warm up tasks include, 1) heightening concern about a problem or future need, 2) looking at the same information from different viewpoints, or 3) making the strange familiar or the familiar strange.

**Stage 2: Encountering the Expected and Unexpected, And Deepening Expectation** There are 8 steps in this next stage. Each step is named with a metaphor to describe the action that pertains to that step. The steps include, 1) digging deeper, 2) looking twice, 3) listening for smells, 4) crossing out mistakes, 5) cutting holes to see through, 6) cutting corners, 7) getting in deep water, and 8) getting out of locked doors. //Digging deeper//: This step encourages students to think harder and analyze the information they are learning. The students are to look for the difficult information, going beyond the surface layer, essentially "digging deeper" through the new material they are learning. //Looking twice//: During this process, the students are to look over the information a second, or even third time. After learning about the information the first time, the students are to go over the information again, this time looking for new insights and re-evaluating their first thoughts. //Listening for smells//: This step is intended for the students to process the information using a variety of senses. They should visualize the information, while also imagining sounds, smells, or textures of the material. //Crossing out mistakes//: During this stage, the students should discover, evaluate, and correct their mistakes. They should make guesses, check and correct their thoughts, and then re-examine the material in order to refine their solutions. //Cutting holes to see throug//h: This stage is used to get the students to focus more intently on the problem to be solved. The students learn to summarize, simplify, and discard unnecessary information. //Cutting Corners//: Students learn to avoid useless information and create new insights by eradicating the unnecessary material. //Getting out of locked doors//: During this final stage, the students sole the unsolvable. They think deeper to create new insights and new and better solutions to existing problems.

Stage 3 includes 5 more steps, each including a metaphor to describe the intention of the step. These steps are to encourage the students to continue the learning and keep thinking processes working even after the lesson is over.The steps are 1) having a ball, 2) singing in one's own key, 3) building sand castles, 4) plugging in the sun, and 5) shaking hands with tomorrow. //Having a ball//: This step is to remind students that learning can be fun. There are several fun uses of the mind, including humor and fantasy. This step utilizes educational games and strategies to keep learning fun! //Singing in one's own key//: This step gives the information a personal meaning. The students relate their personal experiences to the information they are learning about. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//Building sand castles//: During this step, the students use the information they have learned as the basis for imagining new solutions to problems and creating new ideas. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//Plugging in the sun//: This step encourages the students to "plug in" to new sources (such as a library, other people, or different places) in order to find new information and create new solutions. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//Shaking hands with tomorrow//: Finally, this stage allows the students to use their newly learned information, and relate it to their future career or aspirations.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Stage 3: Going Beyond and "Keeping it Going" **