Smart Thinking

A Programme for Developing Thinking Skills in 7 to 12 Year Olds

Jeni Wilson, Lesley Wing Jan

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780415487009, 9781138414532
• eBook ISBN: 9781136607790
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Smart Thinking helps primary school teachers to develop their pupil's capacitiesto becomedeep thinkers and independent learners. Supporting the creation ofa thoughtful classroom that provides opportunities for pupil's negotiation, goal setting and decision making, this book encourages the teaching of reflection and metacognition, providing pupils the tools they needto be able to evaluate and regulate their own thinking.

Packed with ideas, planning tools and photocopiable proformas, this book will help teachers work with their pupils to help develop skills and dispositions which arebeneficial and transferableto pupils of all ages and abilities.

Key aspects of teaching and learning covered include:

• planning for learning by setting individual goals
• selecting, using and monitoring appropriate strategies
• identifying own thinking processes
• making reasoned judgements
• asking powerful questions
• being careful observers.

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This comprehensive resource isessential for all teachers whowish to empower their pupils to take responsibility for their learning andtheir interpersonal relationships.

If schools are to develop and implement effective teaching of how to think, within pupil-centred, constructivist classrooms, across and within all areas of the curriculum, it is advisable that teachers acknowledge, discuss and act upon four aspects relating to school culture: beliefs and understandings, teaching choices that promote reflective practice, a shared language, and assessment.

School cultural issues

Beliefs and understandings

It is important that all teaching practices are based on a pedagogy that supports effective teaching and learning. If teachers are not clear about the reasons for, and evidence that supports advocated teaching practices, quality programs may be compromised. One obstacle for implementing a curriculum that enhances pupils’ thinking is that teachers may underestimate the value of teaching thinking or may not believe that thinking can be taught and optimised. The argument of content versus process will no doubt be raised, but this is an unnecessary dichotomy. Covering both content and thinking in the classroom should not be seen as oppositional or competing for valuable time.

We believe that reflection and metacognition should be integrated into the learning process, and frequently demonstrated, practised and recognised across teaching programs, not treated separately in some. When this happens learning is thorough and deep, rather than superficial, and transferable rather than context-specific.

Where it is necessary to conduct explicit teaching sessions on a thinking type, skill, strategy or activity, it is recommended that the lessons focus on subject matter that is familiar to the pupils. Such a session structure should offer opportunities for the pupils to practise and apply the thinking, and reflect on what they have learnt, their thinking processes and conclusions.

If we want pupils to employ metacognition and reflective, broad and deep thinking, it is important that teachers demonstrate and model it effectively in the classroom. An analogy might be useful here: no one would assume they could teach mathematics without a deep understanding of its elements and how these are related to each other, and a range of strategies to teach and assess it, yet few people could claim that they have such a grasp on the teaching of metacognition. Without these basics, a curriculum enriched with metacognitive experiences seems impossible.

Making teaching choices that promote reflective practice

Developing appropriate curriculum and thoughtful classrooms means flexibility and responsiveness to pupils, shifting the focus onto them as lifelong learners and independent thinkers who are reflective, critical and creative. Teacher support and timely and thoughtful intervention and application are also important.

When planning for reflective teaching and learning we need to make strategic choices about activities, grouping and assessment. Development of thinking may be inhibited within traditional classroom cultures and by tasks that require low levels of thinking and little or no metacognitive activity, such as recall or automatic response. While the knowledge demands of the tasks should fall within pupils’ capabilities, metacognition is unavoidable when tasks are appropriately challenging and engaging and require higher-order thinking or sustained problem solving. At the same time, such tasks are more likely to stimulate reflection and metacognition.

Problem solving, decision making, collaborative group work, authentic assessment and higher-order thinking are integral to and should be integrated into the teaching and learning of thinking. Inquiry-based curriculum and problem solving are two approaches that reflect these elements. A curriculum that promotes thinking is more than a bunch of disjointed activities. In addition, no activity or practice – such as the use of graphic organisers – can, in itself, guarantee deep thinking or better understanding.

Reflective activities promote:

action planning

analysis and evaluation of learning

decision making

goal setting

hypothesising, considering/generating alternatives

linking experiences to past/current and predicted events

making connections between ideas

questioning and self-questioning

reflection on pupils’/teachers’ thinking and learning

self-assessment.

A shared language

Teachers need to understand their own thinking, as well as thinking and learning in general, if they are to teach about and for thinking. They need a shared language for discussing, modelling, assessing and interacting with pupils about thinking in order to enhance it. When teachers are explicit about the teaching and learning of thinking, for example: citing purposes, skills, strategies etc, pupils are more likely to make connections between ideas and to independently apply these ideas, strategies and skills. Classroom conversations that include references to thinking processes are useful for in...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Planning guide
• CHAPTER 1 Laying the groundwork
• CHAPTER 2 Planning for thinking
• CHAPTER 3 Questioning
• CHAPTER 4 Making connections
• CHAPTER 5 Self-assessment
• CHAPTER 6 Goal setting
• Appendix – Additional proformas for reflection and metacognition
• Glossary
• References and further reading