Introduction
When a student is asked to "invent" a solution to a problem, the student must draw upon previous knowledge, skills, and experience. The student also recognizes areas where new learnings must be acquired in order to understand or address the problem. This information must then be applied, analyzed, synthesized, and evaluated. Through critical and creative thinking and problem-solving, ideas become reality as children create inventive solutions, illustrate their ideas, and make models of their inventions. The inventive thinking lesson plans provides children with opportunities to develop and practice higher-order thinking skills.

Throughout the years, many thinking skills models and programs have been generated from among America's finest educators, seeking to describe the essential elements of thinking and/or to develop a systematic approach to teaching thinking skills as part of the school curricula. Three such models/descriptions are illustrated in this introduction. Although each uses different terminology, each model describes similar elements of either critical or creative thinking, or both. A review of the models of Bloom, Taylor, and Isaksen, and Treffinger show how the inventive thinking lesson plans provides an opportunity for students to "experience" most of the elements described in these models.