Transcript We are a Thinking School. That’s great, but can you

A Workshop for the AST Annual
Conference 2011
By Giles Freathy AST (RE)
Aims
• Introduction to two opposing viewpoints
on the teaching of Thinking Skills
• Activities to familiarize yourselves with the
verbs from the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy
and time to consider your own viewpoint
• My concluding thoughts
Viewpoint 1:
Thinking skills exist.
We can identify a wide range of distinct
mental tasks, which, although may rely on
the same sub-skills, have a character of
their own: recall, recognition, explanation,
inference, attribution, evaluation,
comparison etc.
These patterns of thought are
required in all subject areas and
can be performed poorly or
successfully.
If children don’t encounter these
thought patterns, aren’t required to
use them and not exposed to the
corresponding language to go with
them - they may never have these
skills at their disposal.
Deep learning occurs when a student has to think
something through. Thinking things through can
be done well or badly. There are techniques which
can be taught to ensure quality thinking. They
should be taught, because they can be learnt.
Furthermore, if children can learn what type
of thinking they are doing, then they will be
able to use and apply the skill when
engaging in new learning or when solving a
new problem.
They will be equipped for the future –
whatever that may be.
Simply a matter of alignment!
Objectives –
What are the children going
to learn to do?
(Skill plus subject matter)
Instruction - How are they going to learn
this?
Assessment - How will we know that they
have been successful?
Inferring
Explaining
Comparing
Organizing
Planning
Attributing
Summarizing
Classifying
Checking
Recognizing
Exemplifying
Implementing
Executing
Critiquing
Interpreting
Producing
Recalling
Generating
Differentiating
Viewpoint 2
Discrete thinking activities, if they
can be identified, are not
transferable between all subject
areas.
Good quality thinking is the result
of a number of factors: motivation;
the need for thought and the
necessary personal dispositions
NOT someone having learnt a
thinking skill.
Thinking may be enhanced or
dependent on: a good vocabulary,
collaboration skills, knowledge of
where to look for more information,
sufficient subject knowledge and
structured/systematic approach.
Teaching Thinking Skills which focus on the
procedure and not the outcome of the
thinking can be dangerous – trading a high
regard for truth with a high regard for the
accurate adherence to thinking procedures.
Hitting the target – Missing
the point.
‘Thinking skills present dangers: the
belittling of knowledge, the
impersonalizing and neutralizing of
thought, the neglect of truth, and the
computerization of thought.’
Stephen Johnson in “Teaching Thinking
Skills” ed. C. Winch 2010
The teaching of thinking skills
should not come at the expense of
a genuine dialogue with the
children which goes towards
shaping, not only the skills at their
disposal, but also their value
system and understanding of the
world.
Your turn…
• Group the “thinking processes” using these
•
•
processes: Remembering, Understanding,
Applying, Analysing, Evaluating, Creating
Choose three to write definitions for
What other activities could you plan for someone
to do with these “thinking processes” cards?
My conclusions so far…
Higher Order Thinking Activities and Questions:
•
•
•
•
•
Deepen understanding
Inspire and require higher order thinking
Motivate pupils through challenge and intrigue
Broaden awareness of the range of directions of
thought and mental challenges available to
learners
Enculturation of children into reflective thought
and self-regulating learning
My conclusions so far…
However,
• Don’t confuse the map with the territory
• The primacy of interaction between the subject
•
•
matter, the pupils and the teachers expertise rather
than a new meta-curriculum.
There are tools to enable pupils to think skilfully, but
the idea of ‘thinking skills’ is dubious
This is only my conclusion, and in the spirit of my
philosophy to teaching and learning, I leave you to
draw your own conclusions.
Can you meet your L.O. today?
L.O. I can evaluate the legitimacy of the teaching of
“Thinking Skills”
References:
• ‘A Taxonomy For Learning, Teaching and
Assessing’ ed. L.W. Anderson and D.R.
Krathwohl, Pearson Education
• ‘Teaching Thinking Skills,’ Ed. C. Winch,
Continuum