introduction

It emphasizes the importance of cultivating innovative talents, points out the core position of creative thinking in basic education, and emphasizes the role of English curriculum in improving students' thinking quality and innovation ability based on the "National Curriculum Standards for High School English". At the same time, it is pointed out that textbooks play a crucial role in cultivating creative thinking, and there is currently a lack of systematic research on the cultivation of creative thinking in English textbooks. The purpose of this study is to analyze three sets of high school English textbooks, explore their effectiveness in cultivating students' creative thinking, and provide suggestions for teachers to use the textbooks.

Creative Thinking and Textbook Analysis

Deeply explored the definition, composition, and importance of creative thinking in education. Creative thinking is described as an intellectual quality that includes the dialectical unity of divergent thinking and convergent thinking. Divergent thinking emphasizes multi-dimensional thinking and the generation of new ideas, while convergent thinking focuses on the integration of system analysis and effective solutions. Students can showcase their creativity through both verbal and nonverbal forms, promoting knowledge advancement and problem-solving. Textbooks, as an important tool for educational reform, are crucial for cultivating creative thinking. However, there is a lack of systematic analysis on the cultivation of creative thinking in English textbooks in existing research. This study is based on the cognitive process and manifestation of creative thinking, combined with the characteristics of English teaching, to construct a creative thinking framework for analyzing learning activities and problems in English textbooks, and to describe in detail the application of divergent thinking and convergent thinking in teaching activities.

research design

This article introduces the purpose of setting up compulsory high school English courses, selects three widely used textbooks as research objects, and explains how the research team uses a creative thinking analysis framework to independently analyze, code, and negotiate the final coding process of textbook content.

Research Results and Discussion

Detailed analysis was conducted on the specific practices and characteristics of three sets of high school English compulsory textbooks in cultivating students' creative thinking. Firstly, all three sets of textbooks attach great importance to the cultivation of creative thinking, with over one-third of learning activities and problems related to creative thinking, which is in line with the requirements of the new curriculum standards. Secondly, the textbook focuses on divergent thinking in creative thinking tasks, with a particular emphasis on cultivating students' fluency and flexibility, encouraging them to think from different perspectives and generate diverse answers.

Conclusion and Inspiration

The importance of the new round of curriculum reform in cultivating creative thinking was emphasized, and it was pointed out that all three sets of high school English textbooks have incorporated activities and issues to promote the development of creative thinking. Research has found that textbooks encourage students to think divergently, stimulate the fluency and flexibility of thinking, while emphasizing the cultivation of convergent thinking, encouraging students to analyze and integrate information, and explore language and cultural patterns. The study provides the following insights for teachers: encouraging diverse responses and seeking novelty and uniqueness; Encourage exploration and collaboration to create a relaxed classroom atmosphere; Design diverse and multimodal teaching activities to encourage creative expression. These insights can help teachers better utilize textbooks to implement new curriculum teaching and cultivate students' creative thinking.