HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
PART A Task : Creating thinking schools to prepare learners for the future
INTRODUCTION
Throughou Throughoutt history, history, philosop philosophers, hers, politici politicians, ans, educator educators s and many others others have been concerned with the art and science of astute thinking. Some identify the spirit of inquiry and dialogue dialogue that characteri characterized zed the golden golden age of ancient ancient Greece Greece as the beginning beginning of this interest. Others point to the Age of Enlightenment, with its emphasis on rationality and progress. In the twentieth century, the ability to engage in careful, reflective thought has been viewed in various ways as a fundamental characteristic of an educated person, as a requirement for responsible citizenship in a democratic society, and, more recently, as an employability employability skill for an increasingly wide range of jobs. Perhaps most importantly in today's information age, thinking skills are viewed as crucial for educated persons to cope with a rapidly rapidly changing changing world. world. Many Many educators educators believe believe that specific specific knowledge knowledge will not be as important to tomorrow's workers and citizens as the ability to learn and make sense of new infor informat matio ion. n. Robi Robinso nson, n, in her 1987 1987 practi practicum cum report report stated stated that that ‘Teach ‘Teaching ing childr children en to become effective thinkers is increasingly recognized as an immediate goal of education. If studen students ts are to functi function on succes successfu sfully lly in a highl highly y techn technica icall societ society, y, then then they they must must be equip equipped ped with with lifel lifelong ong learni learning ng and thinki thinking ng skill skills s necess necessary ary to acqui acquire re and and proces process s information in an ever-changing ever-changing world’ 1. What comes to our mind when discussing about thinking school? Do terms such as : Bloom’s Bloom’s Taxonomy Taxonomy,, Cogniti Cognition, on, Metacogn Metacognitio ition, n, Critical Critical and Creative Creative thinking thinking,, Infusion Infusion,, familiar and related? Though not universally accepted by theorists and program developers, but for this t his present report the given terms t erms are applicable, or somehow related. It is hard to encompass a definition for a thinking school in one short, concise sentence. A Thinki Thinking ng School School is an educat educatio ional nal commun community ity in whic which h all all member members s share share a common common understanding understanding and vision of the nature of the high quality learning and teaching for all pupils, and are committed to working together together to make this vision a reality. They think deeply about their work, reflectively, critically and creatively, and spend time discussing the best ways to co-construct both a meaningful and purposeful curriculum and associated activities, drawing on a wide range of learning learning opportunities. opportunities. They are committed to their their own learning, keep abreast of research, learn from each other and are open to new ideas,
1
(Cotton, 1991)
Page 1
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
consider considering ing these carefully carefully before before deciding deciding whether whether they will usefully usefully contribut contribute e to their vision for a thinking school. Another definition of thinking school is ‘an educational educational community in which all members share share a common common commitme commitment nt to giving giving regular regular careful thought thought to everythi everything ng that takes place’. This will involve involve both students and staff learning learning how to think reflectively, reflectively, critically and creatively, and to employing these skills and techniques in the co-construction of a meaningful curriculum curriculum and associated activities. activities. Successful outcomes will will be reflected in student’s student’s across across a wide wide range range of abilities abilities demonstratin demonstrating g independ independent ent and co-opera co-operative tive learning skills, high levels of achievement and both enjoyment and satisfaction in learning. Benefits will be shown in ways in which all members of the community interact with and show considerati consideration on for each other other and in the positive psycholog psychological ical well-being well-being of both students and staff.’ (Burden, 2006) In short, a thinking school is a school that puts teaching of thinking at the heart of learning. A school which is successfully developing as a thinking community will strive to ensure that all pupils are developing and demonstrating independent and co-operative learning skills using using a range range of thinking thinking tools tools and strategies strategies.. The school school will generate generate high levels levels of achievement achievement and an excitement and enthusiasm for lifelong lifelong learning. All members of the community will interact with and show consideration consideration for each other, in a way as to enable the positive positive psychologic psychological al wellbei wellbeing ng of both pupils and staff to flourish flourish.. (Knapp, (Knapp, 2006). 2006). The success of the approach is that schools take a whole-school approach to the teaching of thinki thinking. ng. This This means means that that thinki thinking ng become becomes s centra centrall and expli explicit cit and all teache teachers rs and students develop a common thinking language and toolbox. As students move from lesson to lesson and teacher to teacher they will be using the same tools and strategies as part of a coherent and well-planned approach. This applies to both primary and secondary schools. Each school will identify and select specific thinking tools which can be used across the curriculum. These tools will develop specific types of thinking and thinking processes. The students will develop an understanding of how they think and be able to articulate how they think. Teachers will talk about thinking with their students.
Page 2
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
WHY THINKING SCHOOL?
Recently in Bernama, March 13 2012, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that transformation of the national education system is necessary to create a younger generation which can think and adapt knowledge to face future challenges. He said education had previously emphasised memorisation and this has to be changed to give emphasis to the thinking process so that students can use the knowledge gained to their advantage. "We have to bring about an education transformation where the essence is to motivate students to think because we want to create a generation which can think creatively, innovatively and critically. He said this when launching the i-Think education programme at the parliament house. The i-Think programme is a joint venture between the Education Ministry and the Malaysia Innovation Agency, and is aimed at instilling the capacity to think creatively and innovatively at the level of the primary and secondary schools. schools. Earlier this year, 10 schools were selected to be in the the pilo pilott proj projec ectt to intr introd oduc uce e the the thin thinki king ng proc proces ess s in scho school ol chil childr dren en.. The introduced programme not only benefits students but also educators. He said 700 teachers have been trained to handle the programme, and 10,000 pupils and students were involved in the pilot project. 2 The concepts of thinking school have big political implications implications for building and district-level information management skills curricula that have been integrated with other content areas. From From a politi political cal persp perspect ective ive,, there there has has never never been been a more more propi propitio tious us time time for media media specialists to define and articulate the role that information management skills curricula and programs can serve in teaching critical thinking skills. For reasons well known to educators declining test scores, critical national reports, and improved research on teaching critical thinking, the impetus to teach children to think critically has never been greater. As a result, the attention of administrators and other educational decision makers is easily directed to any vehicl vehicle e withi within n the educa educatio tional nal settin setting g that that shows shows potent potential ial for delive delivery ry of a critic critical al thinking skills component. Since research indicates that activities for teaching students to think critically should be incorporated into many curricular areas, no better vehicle exists to deliver a thinking skills initiative than an information management skills curriculum that has already successfully demonstrated its ability to function as an integral part of various other curricular areas, such as English or known as ICTL in primary school. One of the most pervasive myths about success in school and in life has been that it mainly depends upon the level of a person’s IQ. For many years this was an assumption 2
(BERNAMA, 2012)
Page 3
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
perpe perpetua tuated ted by educat educatio ional nal psycho psycholog logist ists, s, whose whose first first react reactio ion n was was to reach reach for an intelligence test in seeking to explain educational success or failure. Various government and educational establishment initiatives underscored this approach. Efforts to identify the so-called ‘gifted and talented’ have been largely based upon high measured IQ, whist at the other end of the scale, a diagnosis of ‘moderate learning abilities’ abilities’ has continued to be largely dependent dependent upon low intelligence test scores. Meanwhile, Meanwhile, most secondary schools across the country continue to draw upon the results of Cognitive Abilities Tests (CAT) to predict their students’ future success or failure in public examinations. examinations. This situation would give little cause for concern if it did not have profound implications for children’s educational opportunities and even later life choices. And yet, countless research studies have shown that, whilst undoubtedly a significant factor in contributing to academic succ succes ess, s, meas measur ured ed IQ cont contri ribu bute tes s no more more than than 40% 40% to the the fina finall outc outcom ome. e. Wher Where e sociolog sociologists ists tend to point point to socio-eco socio-economi nomic c factors factors as playing playing a signific significant ant role, role, most psychologists now agree that, when it comes to individual learning, motivation is the key. Nevertheless, what remains unrecognised in many schools is that the secret of successful learning lies at least as much in children’s motivation as in their innate ability, however that is measured. Every experienced experienced teacher can immediately immediately provide a host of examples examples of highly talent talented ed youn youngst gsters ers who who failed failed to achie achieve ve their their full full potent potential ial becaus because e they they lacke lacked d the inte intere rest st,, the the desi desire re or simp simply ly the the conf confid iden ence ce to do well well when hen face faced d with with lear learni ning ng opportunities. opportunities. At the same time, they will be able able to identify others who who appeared to have little more than average ability but who went on to do well in examinations or later life because they believed in themselves and were prepared to work hard to achieve their goals. 3 As psychological research has increased our understanding of the motivational process, it has become become clear that our self confidenc confidence e to succeed succeed and the explanatio explanations ns that we give ourselves for our success and failures play a vital part in the learning process. If we want to unders understan tand d bette betterr why childre children n do well well at schoo school, l, or someti sometimes mes fail to live live up to our expectations, it would be helpful to gain some insight into their views of themselves as learners learners.. What we we need to tap into, into, in effect, effect, is their learning their learning self-concept self-concept..4 One of the main problems problems about the whole whole self-concept area area is its very complexity. complexity. Thus, the widely widely used measures, such as the American based scales of Marsh and Harter, usually contain a large number of items in order to cover as many aspects of self-concept as possible, making them time consumin consuming g to administe administer, r, score and analyse. analyse. Their Their efforts efforts to meet meet standard standard 3
(Burden, 13 October 2010)
4
(Burden, 13 October 2010)
Page 4
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
psychometric criteria criteria of reliability and validity validity also leave little room for flexible interpretation interpretation of any individual’s responses. Comparing total scores on such scales may be useful when appli applied ed to large large group groups, s, but but may tell you you little little that is meani meaningf ngful ul about about ways ways in which which individual individual respondents see themselves as learners. Also, in seeking to cover a wide range of different self perceptions, only a few items may relate directly to one specific area. 5 Dissatisfaction Dissatisfaction with those aspects of available measurement scales led to the construction of the MALS MALS (Mysel (Myself-A f-As-a s-a-Le -Learn arner er Scale) Scale) as a means means of focusi focusing ng direct directly ly on schoo schooll students’ perceptions of their learning abilities 6. A number of considerations were taken into account. The new scale had to be simple to administer and score for busy teachers, whilst containing sufficient items to ensure that different aspects of the learning self-concept were taken into account. MALS MALS is applicable to students between between the ages of 9 and 16, provided that suitable precautions are taken with younger and less able children to ensure that they fully understand each item and how to t o respond appropriately. One of the great advantages of the MALS is that it was designed to represent a range of psychological theories about people’s self perceptions. These include Bandura’s notion of self-effi self-efficacy cacy,, Seligma Seligman’s n’s ideas ideas about about learned learned helpless helplessness ness and learned learned optimism optimism,, and Wiener’s theory of attribution. Thus we can tell from the pattern of a person’s responses whether they are confident in their ability to succeed on learning tasks, whether they are optimistic or pessimistic about themselves as learners, and whether they see success or failure in learning as in their personal control or that of others. The fact that the learning self concept appears to be open to change also reflects Carol Dweck’s ideas about static or flexible conceptions of intelligence and how this can affect a person’s achievements. 7 The nature of the association between a person’s learning self-concept and learning outcomes is both complex and in a constant process of change. There are undoubtedly some young children who arrive at school with both the confidence and ability to do well. For the most part, however, children’s views of themselves as learners will be shaped by their early learning experiences. By the time they reach secondary school, their learning selfconcepts will be well on the way to becoming quite firmly established.
THINKING SKILLS IN TEACHING On August 14, Jon Taylor wrote a blog piece for the Guardian Teacher Network in praise of the Socratic method, and its application in teaching. teaching. The comments on the article focused 5
(Burden, 13 October 2010)
6
(Burden, 13 October 2010)
7
(C.S., 2000)
Page 5
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
on the lack of any form of assessment for rational thought, or the ability to assess critical thinking as a skill within the framework of most subjects. The truth is, critical thinking and teaching through the Socratic method have been around for years. But why are they not used and recognised?8 One of the most overused quotes in any liberal teacher's hymn book is that the majority of jobs students will work in their adult lives, have yet to be invented. This is often used as a lynchpin for the teacher to justify their avant-garde teaching techniques that are politely indulged indulged by line managers managers as a harmles harmless s exercise exercise in career career developm development, ent, before their their results come in under target, and they get on with the serious business of getting the students to pass the exams. If not nationally, nationally, then locally. By contrast, critical thinking as a subject has been around in schools for many years. It was brought in as a replacement to the brilliantly terrible general studies in the hope that students might get something specific and useful, rather than well, general. And with the speed at which the world is developing, the need for the ability to rationalise argument, and synthe synthesis sising ing new infor informat matio ion n into into a cogen cogent, t, refle reflecti ctive ve and logica logicall action action is surel surely y at a paramount. In assessing and revising a curricular document, one follows the st eps used to develop the document document initiall initially. y. Represe Representati ntatives ves of the groups groups original originally ly involved involved in the develop development ment should be included in the assessment and revision. The first step in the revision process is the analysis of the overall goal statement with the specific intent of rewording the statement, if necessary, to accommodate a critical thinking skills skills emphasis emphasis and process process orientati orientation. on. To achieve achieve such an accommod accommodatio ation, n, the goal goal statement must address analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of information. An example of a goal statement that meets such criteria is the student will identify, locate, utilize, analyze, and evaluate an information source, regardless of format, to meet a specific need or to create new information. The second step is to review the conceptual groupings of skills to ascertain that there are grouping groupings s that accommod accommodate ate the higher-l higher-level evel thinking thinking skills. skills. For example, example, in addition addition to identification, identification, location, and utilization skills categories, there should be conceptual groupings to reflect analysis, evaluation, and synthesis skills. Establishing a conceptual category of production skills is a good method of addressing the synthesis of information. If desirable, some some of thes these e grou groupi ping ngs s can can be comb combin ined ed unde underr gene genera rali lize zed d head headin ings gs,, such such as "Comprehension "Comprehension of Information."
8
(Teachernetwork, 2012)
Page 6
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
The third step in the curriculu curriculum m revision revision process process is the assessme assessment nt of the informati information on management management skills scope and sequence for the t he purpose of modification, specifically deletion, addition, and leveling changes. Of these three possible actions, deletion is the easiest to address. Examine the list carefully to identify skills statements that do not contribute directly to information management. A good indicator of skills that are candidates for deletion is failure to support any of the conceptual groupings groupings determined in the previous step. The next phase of t he modification is the addition of skills where appropriate. Given recent techno technolog logica icall devel developm opmen ents ts and resul resultin ting g enhan enhanced ced access access possib possibili ilitie ties, s, this this phase phase becomes becomes most challeng challenging, ing, especially especially in the context of critical critical thinking thinking.. Several Several areas of skills addition should be carefully considered, with final determination reflecting the local situation. Specifically, Specifically, skills categorized as study skills, computer literacy skills, thinking skills and search strategy skills, including online retrieval skills, should be scrutinized to identify those skills that directly affect a student's ability to manage information. The fifth step in the revision process is a final examination of the scope and sequence to ensure that skills grouped under a conceptual heading do indeed support that concept. A break out of the conceptual groupings that deal with analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of information will begin to address process orientation characteristic of critical thinking. Such as breakout also becomes an effective way to communicate to administrators and teachers how, when, and where the information management skills curriculum delivers to students some very vital components of a critical thinking skills initiative. 9 When the steps above have been completed, and all who were involved in structuring the original information management skills curriculum have reached agreement on suggested changes, the revised scope and sequence should be formalized by submitting it to the curriculum approval agency at the local level. Once the revised skills scope and sequence has been approved, mastery levels and evaluation strategies should be determined for the added skills in accordance with local policy. In assessing mastery, it is crucial to examine the process, process, including including appropriate appropriate use of resources, resources, that a student student applies to complete complete an assignment as well as the end product produced. Therefore, it becomes more important than ever for librarians and subject area teachers to work as a team in determining mastery. Such an approach approach is a direct direct applicati application on of the novice/ex novice/expert pert dimension dimension discusse discussed d above. above. In assessing process the librarian will be looking at the student's search pattern as well as examining actual use of resources in terms of observable elements that are or are not congruent with those an expert might consider appropriate in seeking an answer to a similar information related problem. 9
(ASSOCIATION, 1997-2012)
Page 7
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
The sixth and final step in the revision process involves the analysis of existing teaching activi activitie ties, s, as well well as the creation creation of activi activitie ties s for the added added skill skills, s, to ensur ensure e that that skill skill statements are addressed at the appropriate cognitive levels. This enables elementary age students to practice these thinking patterns often and in a variety of contexts. Then, as students mature developmentally and are ready to evaluate their own information seeking behavior, they have already practiced patterns of thinking they are now ready to apply consciously in meeting information needs. 10 Thinking skills are important because mastery of the basics in education however well taught, are not sufficient to fulfil human potential, or to meet the demands of the labour market or of active citizenship. Countries across the world are recognising that a broad range of competencies are needed to prepare children for an unpredictable future. These ‘higher ‘higher order’ order’ thinking thinking skills are required required,, in addition addition to basic basic skills, skills, because because individu individuals als cannot ‘store’ sufficient knowledge in their memories for future use. Information is expanding at such a rate that individuals require transferable skills to enable them to address different problems in different contexts at different times throughout their lives. The complexity of modern jobs requires people who can comprehend, judge and participate in generating new knowledge and processes. Modern democratic societies require its citizens to assimilate information from multiple sources, determine its truth and use it to t o make sound judgements. The challenge is to develop educational programmes programmes that enable all individuals, individuals, not just an elite elite,, to become become effect effective ive thinke thinkers rs becau because se these these compe competen tencie cies s are now requi required red of everyone. everyone. A thinking thinking skills approach approach suggests suggests that learners learners must develop develop awareness awareness of themselves as thinkers and learners, practise strategies for effective thinking and to develop the habits of intelligent intelligent behaviour that are needed for lifelong learning. 11 HOW TO CREATE THINKING SCHOOL?
Researchers have identified a number of teaching strategies that can be used to help stimulate children’s thinking in the classroom12.
A. Cognitive acceleration acceleration approaches approaches – example example of Science education education (CASE)
The following is a typical format of a CASE lesson for thinking format that builds in time for cognitive and metacognitive discussion: 10
(ASSOCIATION, 1997-2012)
11
(Fisher, 2006)
12
(Fisher, 2006)
Page 8
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
1. Concrete preparation stimulus to thinking, introducing the terms of the problem 2. Cognitive conflict creates a challenge for the mind 3. Social construction dialogue with others, discussion that extends thinking 4. Metacognition reflection on how we tackled t he problem 5. Bridging reviewing where else we can use this thinking and learning
CASE lessons have also been developed for young children, called ‘Let’s Think!’ which aims aims to raise raise achie achievem vement ent by devel developi oping ng Year Year 1 pupil pupils' s' genera generall thinki thinking ng patter patterns ns and and teachers’ understanding of children’s thinking. During ‘Let’s Think’ lessons young children work with a teacher in groups of six and each activity takes about 30 minutes. The session is completely oral, with discussion based on a range of objects. At the beginning of the session the teacher helps agree a common language language to describe the objects being used. used. Having established the vocabulary and the concepts involved, the teacher sets the challenge of the activity. One popular activity in this schema is called the ‘hoop game’ when children are required to put orange toy dinosaurs in one hoop and T-Rex dinosaurs in another hoop. The challenge is that one of the dinosaurs is an orange T-Rex. This is very perplexing for our preoperational children because they have to utilize two pieces of information about the dinosaur and find a solution to the problem. The children work together as a group to come to a solution or a number of possible solutions to solve the task. They discuss their ideas and make suggestions. The teacher guides them, without being obvious, towards the idea of overlapping overlapping the hoops and putting the wayward dinosaur in the intersection. As in other discussion-based discussion-based approaches children are encouraged to state whether they agree or disagree with each other by giving a reason. For example, they are taught to say, ‘I think… because’ or ‘I disagree with you because…’ The activities are designed as problems to be solved thus creating a context for developing thinking thinking . Children are given a challenge, are required to work collaboratively ; to plan and evaluate their own and others thinking stra strate tegi gies es,, and and the the teac teache herr then then gets gets the the chil childr dren en to thin think k abou aboutt thei theirr thin thinki king ng (metacognition) through asking such questions as ‘What do you think we are going to have to think about?’ and ‘How did you get your answer?’ rather than ‘Is your answer correct?’ Of course you do not need the ‘Let’s Think’ materials to apply this teaching strategy to any area of the curriculum. What the ‘Let’s ‘Let’s Think!’ Think!’ approach approach aims to do is to accelera accelerate te cognitive cognitive developme development nt betw betwee een n two two type types s of thin thinki king ng.. The The firs firstt type type of thou though ghtt is what what Piag Piaget et call called ed ‘pre ‘pre-operational’, when children still find it difficult to engage in what adults perceive as rational though thought. t. The next next stage, stage, which which Piaget Piaget descri described bed as ‘concr ‘concrete ete opera operatio tiona nal’, l’, invol involves ves
Page 9
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
manipulating at least two ideas in order to produce a third, new idea, which is what the sessio sessions ns encou encourag rage e the child children ren to do. do. ‘Let’ ‘Let’s s Think’ Think’ aims aims to accele accelerat rate e the transi transitio tion n between the two types of thought in order to help pupils make better sense of their learning and improve general achievement. They do this, as you might, by ensuring their teaching includes cognitive challenge, collaborative collaborative activity and children thinking about how they think t hink and learn.
B. ‘Brain-based’ ‘Brain-based’ approaches
Many educationalists are influenced by recent research into how the human brain works and draw on some of the implications of this research for teachers and schools. Accelerated Learning and Multiple Intelligence approaches all draw on these broad ideas together with research into learning styles. The common feature is the reliance on brain research to inspire teaching techniques in the classroom. There are many theories of learning styles. They are rooted in a classification of psychological types and the fact that individuals tend to process information differently. Different researchers propose different sets of learning style characteristics, but many remain unconvinced by their claims children learn best through using one preferred style. For example in teaching her class to spell a word a teacher might show them how t o chunk the word into three pieces, and emphasise this by using different colours for each section of the word and to visualise it in their heads. She might also ask them to write the word in the air with their fingers. ‘Accelerated learning’ emphasises the importance of including a range of learning experiences, visual, verbal and physical, in your teaching, so that children are challenged challenged to think in different ways.
C. Philosophical approaches
A pioneer of the ‘critical thinking’ movement in America is the philosopher philosopher Matthew Lipman. Originally a university philosophy professor, Lipman was unhappy at what he saw as poor thinking in his students. They seemed to have been encouraged to learn facts and to accept authoritative opinions, but not to think for themselves. He became convinced that something was wrong with the way they had been taught in school when they were younger. He therefore founded the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (IAPC) and developed with colleagues a programme is called Philosophy for Children, used in more than 40 countries around the world. Lipman believes that children are natural philosophers
Page 10
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
because they view the world with curiosity and wonder. Children’s own questions from the starting-point for an enquiry or discussion, which can be termed ‘philosophical’. The IAPC has produced a number of novels, into every page of which, strange and anomalous points are woven. As a class reads a page, with the teacher, the text encourages them to raise queries. These questions form the basis of guided discussions. The novels provide a model of philosophical enquiry, in that they involve fictional children engaging in argument, debate, discussion and exploratory thinking. 13
Stories for Thinking Many Many resou resource rces s have have been been devel develope oped d in recent recent years years to adapt adapt Matth Matthew ew Lipma Lipman’ n’s s approach to Philosophy for Children to the needs of children and teachers in the UK; ‘Stories for thinki thinking’ ng’ is one one such such appro approach ach.. The aim, throu through gh using using storie stories s and other other kinds kinds of stimulus for philosophical discussion, discussion, is to create a community of enquiry in the classroom. In a typical ‘Stories for Thinking’ lesson the teacher shares a ‘thinking story’ with the class. They have 'thinking time' when they are asked to think about anything in the story that they thought was strange, interesting or puzzling about the story. After some quiet thinking time the teacher asked for their comments or questions, and writes each child's questions on the board, adding their name after their question. The children then chose from the list of questions which one they would like to discuss. The teacher then invites the children to comment, and who agreed or disagreed with particular comments made. If children do not give reasons or evidence from the story for their opinions then teacher asked 'Why do you think that?' or 'Have you got a reason for that?' When asked the value of a 'Stories for Thinking' lesson one child said: 'You have to ask questions and think hard about the answers.' Another said: 'Sometimes you change your mind and sometimes you don't. A third reply was: 'It is better than just doing reading or writing because you have to say what you really think.' Teachers note that in 'Stories for Thinking' lessons, in which they may also uses poems, pictures, objects or other texts for thinking, the children have become more t houghtful, better at speaking and listening to each other, at asking questioning and using the language of reasoning, more confident in posing creative ideas and in judging what they and others think and do and are more confident about applying their thinking to fresh challenges challenges in learning and in life.
D. Computers and thinking
13
(Fisher, 2006)
Page 11
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Research shows that there are several ways in which ICT could particularly enhance the teaching and learning of thinking skills. There is evidence that the use of computers can lead to improved information-processing information-processing skills. ICT enables multiple and complex representations representations of information, allowing learners for example to think with a richer knowledge base. The main criticism of the computer as a tutor model is that directed computer teaching does not allow children to be creative learners, able to think and make connections for themselves, and so is unlikely to support the development of higher order thinking. This can be transformed however by collaboration around ICT activities, which has been shown to have the potential to enhance the learning of transferable thinking skills. Effective collaborative collaborative learning still needs to be structured. Learners should be taught how to reason and learn together before they are asked to work collaboratively collaboratively with ICT, because having to articulate and explain strategies to others is more likely to lead to transfer than just doing things without thinking or talking them through. Computers can help develop children’s thinking skills when used as part of a larger dialogue about about thinking and learning. learning. But as for teacher it is our responsible responsible to find ways to use the computer to encourage thinking with and discussion between children. children.
THE EFFECTS OF THINKING SCHOOL SCHOOL
Some students and teachers may be satisfied to teach and learn at a level that is just enoug enough h to get get by. by. Train Training ing studen students ts to think think critic critical ally ly is a slow slow and labor laborio ious us proce process. ss. Students often have difficulty accepting teaching to a higher cognitive level because they may be accustomed to passive learning and do not want to exert the intellectual effort to stretch themselves mentally. Despite the difficulties, it is advantageous to promote critical and
creativ tive
thinking,
and
it
is
becoming
more
prevalent
in
classrooms.
Beechwood Beechwood Primary School provides an outstanding quality quality of education. Its identity as a 'Thinking School' is at the heart of its work, whether it is encouraging children children to think about
Page 12
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
others others or to think think things things out for themse themselve lves s 14. Staff Staff and pupil pupils s compl complete ete indep independ enden entt research and reflective learning journals that lead to high quality teaching and learning throughout the school. Everyone is seen to learn together. One parent summarises what many say, 'I feel my child is receiving a very special opportunity to learn about real life skills, values, how to think and question effectively and how to prepare for a happy and successful life.' life.'15 Inspection reports reveal that the Thinking School approach supports children to make good progress and learn effectively, particularly in the key skills of writing, communication and mathematics. The children work very well in groups; in all key stages, they share and work through their ideas effectively and are able to select from a range of thinking maps to structure their reasoning in a logical way to develop further their mathematical thinking. thinking. 16 The direct and systematic teaching of thinking including questioning skills and collaborative learning approaches significantly contributes evidence to this aspect of an inspection. A unique ethos of aspiration, reflection and improvement permeates the school at all levels. Staff and pupils complete independent research and reflective learning journals that lead to high quality teaching and learning throughout the school. Everyone is seen to learn together. Confrontation17 in the classroom can be a good thing. When teachers raise issues that create disagreements that lead to discussion and resolution, they are encouraging critical thinking. To produce positive results, teachers can create materials and activities to help students develop debating skills. A popular issue, such as banning smoking in public places, can be posed as a way to interest students in reading, writing and discussing discussing the topic. Creative people are curious18 . In order for creativity to flourish, students must be open to learning about a wide variety of issues. They enjoy learning about things they do not know and question assumptions behind ideas and statements. They do not take things at face value; instead, they want to know why and how. They may produce new ideas or solutions because of constructive discontentment with the status quo , thereby finding new solutions and improvement.
14
(Studio, 2012)
15
(Studio, 2012)
16
(Studio, 2012)
17
(Wade, 1999-2012)
18
(Wade, 1999-2012)
Page 13
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
When When teache teachers rs value value stude students nts'' effort efforts s to think think critic criticall ally, y, it increases increases students' students' confidence19 and motivates them to build critical thinking skills. Pupils must feel secure that they can contribute in the classroom without being reproved for giving the wrong answer. Students who interact with others in group discussions learn to use higher level thinking skills and to become more fluent in critical thinking and more adept at analyzing, explaining and evaluating Self-regulated learners20 are active particip participants ants in their their own learning. learning. The process involves critical and creative thinking skills that help them connect ideas to things they already already know, know, look for obscure obscure meanings meanings or develop develop deeper deeper understan understanding ding of subjects subjects across the curriculum. It encourages students to choose gratifying topics that are driven by their own ideas and interests and to proactively regulate their own learning. When investigating on the educators/ staff, their morale is high21 and teamwork is a streng strength, th, with with excell excellen entt opport opportun uniti ities es to work work collab collabora orativ tively ely.. For examp example, le, the lead lead professional for developing the school as a thinking community has provided invaluable support and inspiration for all staff. Training as part of the ‘Thinking School’ initiative has influenced the way in which subjects are taught with a greater emphasis on improving unders understan tandi ding. ng. There There are are good good opport opportuni unitie ties s to share share best best teachi teaching ng practi practice ce acros across s subjects. Teachers have a high degree of subject knowledge and through their commitment to personal and whole school professional development have an excellent understanding of how pupils’ learning learning styles differ and how important it is that their teaching styles reflect this. Teachers and teaching assistants use questioning very well ( good questioning skills) skills) to guide children in their discussions, and by the time they leave the school, children are very effective effective,, indepen independent dent learners learners.. Effective Effective question questioning ing technique techniques s ensured ensured that all were were suitably suitably challeng challenged ed and encourag encouraged ed to develop develop their thinking thinking skills. skills. Question Questioning ing allows allows teachers teachers to ascertain ascertain prior knowledg knowledge e and also develop develops s pupils’ pupils’ higher higher order order thinking. thinking. Through strategies such as Habits of Mind pupils become more independent independent in their learning and surer of how to improve the way they work. Also, more able children become more challenged in their learning 22. Being part of a community which encourages enquiry skills has enabled pupils to discuss debate and question their teachers and each other. Consequently, pupils not only have welldeveloped speaking and listening skills but are also able to reflect, to make connections in 19
(Wade, 1999-2012)
20
(Wade, 1999-2012)
21
(Studio, 2012)
22
(Studio, 2012)
Page 14
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
their learning and to think through the consequences of their behaviour and that of others. In the best lesson, challenging and active tasks can provide pupils with real problems to solve, And these give many opportunities opportunities to develop their thinking skills, and excellent opportunities opportunities for them to work collaboratively. collaboratively.
IS THINKING SCHOOL SCHOOL - A MALAYSIAN CULTURE? CULTURE?
As Edward de Bono said in his discussion ‘Thinking about thinking’- Information Information is very important. Information is easy to teach. Information is easy to test. Just observe the common practice of teaching mathematics in Malaysia , as an example. What actually is being taught to the students?23 I
noti notice ce
that that
with withou outt guid guidin ing g
our our
Mala Malay ysian sian
them them to thin think k
stud studen ents ts
thro throug ugh h
the the
were ere only only info inform rmat atio ion. n.
trai traine ned d
to acce accept pt
Teac Teachi hing ng
and and
info inform rmat atio ion n lear learni ning ng
of
mathematics, for instance are perceived by most teachers and learners as the teaching and learning of procedures and blindly applied to solve problems. Students were not exposed to activities such as how to analyze problems, how to compare and contrast, how to reason inductively and other thinking skills that are necessary to develop thinking culture among 23
(Othman, 2012)
Page 15
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
learners. Sadly said that that most of the Malaysian Mathematics Mathematics teachers focusing focusing more on the knowledge
level
of
Bloom’s
taxonomy
and
very
little
on
the
level
of understanding and application. application. What is more obvious is that, there is almost nothing being done to develop students’ skills at the level of analysis, synthesis and evaluation which form very important components of critical thinking. Thus Thus it look looks s as if math mathem emat atic ics s has has noth nothin ing g to do with with thin thinki king ng,, reas reason onin ing g and and communication. I have view this scenario for the past 7 years of teaching, since the process of mathematics education seem to discard the fact that teachers are supposed to educate the students in mathematics (such as developing critical and creative thinking ) and not just maki making ng fals false e assu assump mpti tion on that that stud studen ents ts are are there there in the the clas classr sroo ooms ms to be dril drille led d in mathematical knowledge knowledge for the sake of passing public examinations. Teachers of the 21st century should learn how to think critically and creatively. They should extend their pedagogical pedagogical knowledge knowledge beyond content-based approach. approach. They should view view proces process-b s-base ased d approa approach ch as an alter alternat native ive or as compl compleme ementa ntary ry appro approach ach in the teac teachi hing ng of math mathem emat atic ics s in orde orderr that that thei theirr stude student nts s coul could d perf perfor orm m bette betterr in thei their r mathematics grade and at the same time could think skilfully. They should be more openminded to accept new ideas on the teaching and learning learning of mathematics especially when when such ideas allow their students to gain skills in thinking and problem solving. In conclusion, it is hard to convince the heads of schools in Malaysia of the importance of thinking thinking as a culture culture in the classroo classrooms, ms, since since most heads of schools schools were themselve themselves s unclear of its importance and its relevance to the process of the learning. As a result most of them will tend tend to get the advice of their their teachers as to whether to allow allow their students students to get get exposed to such program. program. In many cases, teachers teachers would would reject such program program due due to their ignorance about the importance of thinking thinking and metacognition metacognition in learning. In partnersh partnership ip with Kestrel Kestrel Education Education,, Thinking Thinking School School Internati Internationa onall is working working with with Malaysian government on a major project to create thinking schools across the country. Working with the Agensi Inovasi Malaysia, six trainers will be training teachers in ten pilot schools during November and December prior to the pilot programme beginning in January 2012. In addition a team of Malaysian trainers will be trained to provide on-going support to schools 24.
24
(Studio, 2012)
Page 16
HMEF 5073 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Page 17