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THINKING FOR LEARNING TEACHING THINKING CERTIFICATE SESSION FOUR THINKING FOR LEARNING • Share one positive outcome from using the strategies we learned in Session 3 (1 minute each) • Jointly formulate one question arising from what we learned in Session 3 (or Sessions 1 and 2) (3 minutes) THINKING FOR LEARNING HOW MANY ‘Fs’? THINKING FOR LEARNING THINKING FOR LEARNING We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are. Anais Nin THINKING FOR LEARNING PERCEPTION Things are not always what they seem! THINKING FOR LEARNING FACT OR OPINION ? Read the following statements and decide whether each one is a FACT or OPINION. If you think it is a FACT, put F after the statement. If you think it is an OPINION, put O. Look carefully, it may not be as simple as you think – there may be several ways of understanding the statements ! THINKING FOR LEARNING London is the capital city of England London is a really interesting place to visit. Friday is the best day of the week because we finish college. Today is Friday. Newcastle United is a brilliant football team. Newcastle United is a football team. We learn about Space in our science lessons. I really enjoy learning about Space. Daffodils are yellow flowers. Daffodils are lovely because they remind us that Spring is coming. 2 x 2 = 4 I find Maths very difficult. King Henry Vlll couldn’t make up his mind about what he wanted. He must have been very difficult to live with. King Henry Vlll married 6 times, annulling his first marriage and beheading his second. He only had one legitimate son. THINKING FOR LEARNING EDWARD De BONO AND THINKING SKILLS Question : Is thinking a learnable skill or is it innate ability ? “ The teaching of thinking is NOT the teaching of logic but the teaching of perception. “ THINKING FOR LEARNING The Cognitive Research Trust (CoRT) Thinking Tools PMI OPV (Plus, Minus, Interesting) (Other People’s Viewpoint) CAF (Consider All Factors) EBS (Examine both sides) C&S (Consequences and Sequel) APC (Alternatives, Possibilities, Choices) THINKINGPMI FOR LEARNING Using the PMI as a deliberate operation gives students a means of by–passing the natural emotional reaction to an idea. They tend to carry out a formal operation with more skill and thought. Once the PMI has been practiced as a tool it can be asked for in subsequent lessons – “Do a PMI on that idea…”. A PMI is a very useful way to evaluate something… THINKING FOR LEARNING Please do a PMI on… The Thinking Strategies you have used since our last meeting. At least THREE pluses and minuses… At least TWO interesting… plus C D minus interesting THINKING FOR LEARNING •Empowering children to take risks •All opinions are valued •Engaging activities •Children listen to and respect others’ viewpoints •Interactive and ‘hands-on’ •Develops vocabulary •Whole class discussion •Teacher benefits from artificial structure for own thinking development •Develops understanding •Active learning •Raises self-esteem •Thought-provoking •Collaborative. •Some have difficulty listening to opinions of others •Finding curriculum time •‘high flyers’ can find this approach hard to adapt to •Has potential for losing focus •Another thing to ‘fit in’ •Little written work •Time needed to plan and develop •Requires focus from teacher •Much is verbal – sustaining interest ? •I hadn’t appreciated how much fun it is. •It can be adapted across the curriculum •Teacher gets better insight into child(beliefs/values) •Eliminates teacher assumptions •Child understands self better •No ‘right’ or’wrong’ answers •Children have freedom to choose and explore unexpected criteria. FIRST AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS FROM HAYDON BRIDGE PARTNERSHIP THINKING FOR LEARNING Here are some examples to try… 1. By law all cars should be painted yellow. 2. People should wear badges to show whether they are in a good or bad mood that day. 3. Every adult should spend one week in the police force. 4. All school students should spend 3 months a year earning money. 5. School students should be allowed to wear what they like to school. 6. Television should be banned for children until they are 11. THINKING FOR LEARNING Six Thinking Hats THINKING FOR LEARNING The six thinking hats are a tool devised by Edward de Bono to allow for a more thorough approach to problem solving. Each hat represents a particular aspect of thinking Red Hat – Feelings and Opinions White Hat – Facts Yellow Hat – Positive Black Hat – Negatives and costs Green Hat – Creativity and Ideas Blue Hat – Planning, Focus, Reflection THINKING FOR LEARNING RED I cannot explain why but I am not happy about this idea. WHITE The numbers of teenage pregnancies has been rising consistently over the last ten years. BLUE YELLOW So this is where we have got to so far. I suggest we stop and consider the way forward from here. I think what you have suggested has some real advantages and needs to be included in the action plan. GREEN BLACK We have looked at all the other angles, so let’s try considering a different way of looking at the issue, however unlikely. It seems like a good decision, but have you considered the costs involved ? THINKING FOR LEARNING They can be introduced one at a time. A visual aid to thinking - follow a similar pattern to PMI (P would be the yellow hat, M would be the black hat, I might be the beginnings of green hat thinking). If real hats are available or colourful pictures of hats it makes the process more interesting and easier to grasp. A good practice run for introducing the hats might be the sort of ideas presented on the PMI sheet. THINKING FOR LEARNING Heighley Gate Hill THINKING FOR LEARNING Question: Should Green Energy plc be allowed to build a wind farm on Heighley Gate Hill? THINKING FOR LEARNING Use Thinking Hats to generate ideas reflecting a wide range of views that people might have towards the wind farm eg what feelings might be involved, whose feelings ? what are the facts in this particular situation that need to be considered ? what are the positive and beneficial aspects of this development? what are the negatives and costs of this decision ? are there any other possible ways of looking at the issues that arise from this choice ? where does that leave us ? THINKING FOR LEARNING According to De Bono, there are two main purposes behind the six thinking hats concept.. • To simplify thinking by allowing a thinker to deal with one thing at a time – emotions, logic, information, hope, creativity… • To allow a ‘switch’ in thinking eg if a person has been persistently negative they can be asked to take off the ‘black thinking hat’ or to put on the ‘yellow thinking hat’. This is hopefully less threatening to someone personally because of the element of role playing involved. THINKING FOR LEARNING Time to Reflect... KEY FEATURES OF TEACHING THINKING THINKING FOR LEARNING • Talking FOR thinking • Talking ABOUT thinking THINKING FOR LEARNING Mediation is an essential part of teaching. Students’ intelligence is not fixed. It can be modified. Develops explicit learning strategies. TEACHING THINKING Some Principles & Characteristics Students and teachers are thinking and talking about learning. Challenge and interest are essential. Collaborative learning and talk are important. Encourages the transfer of skills. THINKING FOR LEARNING learning as a social activity (“…the learning behaviour for thinking is talking…” Matthew Lipman) being reflective developing reasoning powers and cognitive skills being critical and creative Teaching TEACHING THINKING thinking INVOLVES… involves… seeing connections, inferences, meanings, patterns, relationships…beyond the immediate developing language and the understanding of how to use it appropriately complexity (thinking about procedures AND subject matter) THINKING FOR LEARNING FRAMING FRAMING – beginning the lesson by giving the ‘big picture’ or setting the challenge. COGNITIVE CHALLENGE MEDIATION COGNITIVE CHALLENGE – the task needs to be taxing, pushing the learners beyond (but not too far beyond) their normal ‘comfort zone’. MEDIATION – the teacher supports, prompts and questions the process of learning, rather than giving answers. DEBRIEFING – talking about thinking. Can happen at end of strategy or in small doses at points during the strategy. “How DEBRIEFING did we do this ?” TRANSFER AND BRIDGING – “How might we use this thinking again/elsewhere ?” “ Could we do TRANSFER AND BRIDGING this better next time ? How ?” “Where else do we do this kind of thinking ?” THINKING FOR‘Moral LEARNING Philosophy and Purpose’ 1. We are ALL learners. 2. Human beings all have a capacity to go beyond expected limits (Vygotsky – ZPD). 3. Learning is for life and is enriched by being a shared experience. 4. Teaching should start with the learner (Dewey & Constructivism). 5. The learner should be aware of, and have ownership of, their own learning. 6. Ambiguity deliberately built into learning strategies mimics ‘real life’ thinking and decision making. 7. A genuine spirit of learner enquiry is to be encouraged. THINKING FOR LEARNING SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW ? Some ideas to get you thinking … THINKING FOR LEARNING The Effective Learning Power Project Professor Patricia Broadfoot Professor Guy Claxton Dr. Ruth Deakin Crick (Bristol School of Education) identified Seven underlying dimensions of learning power (based on a sample of 1,600 between 7 and 25 years old) THINKING FOR LEARNING Dependence & Fragility : The contrast to all the other positive dimensions Strategic Awareness: The capacity to be aware of how learning is happening Growth orientation: a commitment to growth and change over time Seven underlying dimensions of learning power Learning Relationships : Being able to learn with and from other people. Guy Claxton : ‘Building Learning Power’ 2002 Meaning Making : The capacity to make personally meaningful connections Critical Curiosity : The tendency to want to get below the surface and find things out Creativity : The capacity to use imagination, playfulness and intuition. THINKING FOR LEARNING LEVELS OF LEARNING Professor John West-Burnham SHALLOW MEANS Memorisation OUTCOMES Information EVIDENCE Replication MOTIVATION Extrinsic ATTITUDES Compliance RELATIONSHIPS Dependence DEEP PROFOUND Reflection Intuition Knowledge Wisdom Understanding Meaning Intrinsic Moral Interpretation Challenge Independence Interdependence THINKING FOR LEARNING MED 20 credits NEW COURSES Emotional Intelligence (same format as TTC) Creating a TLC (Thinking and learning community) 2 days Thinking about Thinking (action research same format as TTC) Coaching THINKING FOR LEARNING Dr Vivienne Baumfield “Tools for Pedagogical Inquiry: the impact of teaching thinking skills on teachers.” 2004 • Study based on evidence drawn from thirteen empirical, classroom-focussed studies covering all phases of compulsory education and across a range of curriculum subjects. THINKING FOR LEARNING “POWERFUL PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGIES...” “...Two aspects of thinking skills approaches have been suggested as key factors in their role as powerful pedagogical strategies : the access they give to positive feedback from students and their support for curriculum planning.” (Vivienne Baumfield – “Tools for Pedagogical Inquiry : the impact of teaching thinking skills on teachers.” 2004) THINKING FOR LEARNING “Teachers working on the infusion of thinking skills into the curriculum often cite the regaining of a sense of professional autonomy as they take control of teaching and learning in the classroom as an important motivating factor.” THINKING FOR LEARNING “ It is teachers who, in the end, will change the world of the school by understanding it.” Lawrence Stenhouse 1975 THINKING FOR LEARNING 10 SUGGESTIONS FOR MOVING FORWARD BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE OF OTHERS... 1. Decide what you actually want! – time spent doing this is invaluable. 2. Create a map or plan of action. 3. Look at the values and ethos of the organisation – will it conflict with/ support what you want to do ? 4. Start with the people who are already enthusiastic. 5. Consciously decide to have a ‘failure is part of learning’ policy to allow people to ‘play’/practise. THINKING FOR LEARNING 6. To begin with, deliberately plan ‘thinking lessons’ into the timetable. 7. Start looking at schemes of work – where could some of these strategies be usefully planned in ? 8. Create ‘action research’ pairs or teams within and across colleges. Allow them to work together, watch each other’s lessons, reflect, develop resources, report back... 9. Involve parents and governors so that they know what is going on – workshops, ‘thinking days’... 10. Create opportunities for cross-curricular work to encourage bridging and transfer – thinking lunches, etc. AND......HAVE SOME FUN !!