Geometry for Middle School Teachers/ Module 3: Logic and Reasoning

Key InfoUsing Lateral Thinking in Geometry

As students prepare for the world of work, it is important that they have cultivated higher-level thinking skills.  Real-world situations are ofter unpredictable, especially in the fields of engineering, computer programming, and data analysis. Lateral thinking can assist in problem solving because it can provide a unique way of looking at unknowns, and logical thinking can provide a strong basis for justifying a solution.           

Edward De Bono, author of the Six Thinking Hats, developed the term lateral thinking to refer to a type of thinking that incorporates changing or unorthodox concepts and perceptions. When one applies lateral thinking to a problem they are looking at a problem from different points of view or even looking to unrelated subjects in order to solve the problem.

Lateral thinking is another great activity to encourage students to think. Observing patterns and drawing conclusions is important; lateral thinking problems in Geometry remind us how not to get "stuck" in our patterned way of thinking and promote "thinking outside of the box."

Here are a few examples of lateral thinking puzzles using Geometry:

Take the first example of the Sheep Pens. There are several solutions to this problem. In solving this puzzle, students can rearrange the hurdles to create a visual representation of the solution. Some of these solutions shown in the links above demonstrate creative applications using the 12 long hurdles and 6 half length hurdles. The real object of this exercise is to see how many different solutions there are to the problem rather than finding one 'expected' result.

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