The basic premise of this paper is that effective teacher training programs need to assist students in reaching beyond competence in subject matter and instructional methodology to focus on developing the prospective teacher's capacity to recognize and utilize the cognitive processes underlying the respective categories of the curriculum. A description of the various definition of creative thinking is followed by a discussion on the thinking skills that need to be applied to the basic curriculum. The relationship of different kinds of creative thinking and four curriculum components is examined: (1) language and arts--subjective evaluation; (2) mathematics--deductive reasoning; (3) science--inductive thinking skills; and (4) social studies--objective evaluation. It is suggested that teacher training should focus on confirming the acquisition and use of these cognitive skills. (JD)