At the moment, education in New Zealand is even more political than usual. The push for higher standards has the potential to “standardise” learning as we conform to an agenda we may not trust. What might the consequences be? Will it be more of the same and/or striving to do the same better?
Take literacy for example. How has the teaching of literacy changed? Has it changed in your opinion? Is it possible that we might be repeating cycles we trust, instead of innovating? Innovation is important for the many children who do not enjoy reading and writing and those children who view literacy learning like a mirror, which reflects back to them on a daily basis that they are failures.
The key to educating students in the 21st century might be the “competencies.” The “competencies,” when deliberately and explicitly woven throughout our curriculum, have the potential to genuinely transform learning. Our educational goals should be founded on the desire to empower learners so that they have the aptitudes of a lifelong learner.
Steps for the implementation of a thinking curriculum:
- Research and describe thinking. This isimportant because the clearer we are about the concept of thinking, the more capable we will be teaching skillful thinking to our students.
- Generate ideas about how to deliberately and explicitly teach the concepts, steps and strategies of thinking to your students. Our goal must be to make thinking visible.
- Adapt unit and lesson plans to ensure you will teach thinking concepts, steps and strategies in multiple contexts.
- Plan for how you will enable your students to habituate thinking: attitudes, values, dispositions and behaviours.
We learn thinking behaviours through observation, imitation and emulation of models. The mascot I use for thinking is the world’s most intelligent parrot, the “kea.” Check out the lesson ideas that follow to see what I mean.
Some points to consider when planning:
1. Activate and unlock prior knowledge, thoughts and feelings. I call this the emotional hook.
2. Make meaning and co-construct understandings with students.
- Chunk learning within sessions and plan your reflective questions to help students make connections.
- Build on – think “where to next.”
NOW TRY IT
Purpose of this lesson: to explore how our brains work when thinking and the types of thinking we do.
STEP ONE: ACTIVATE AND UNLOCK PRIOR KNOWLEDGE, THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS
• Place an assortment of items in the
classroom e.g. blankets, rope, newspaper, tape, poles etc.
• Challenge the students (in small groups) to build the best inside hut they can by using any items they can find within the classroom.
• Rove, take photos and record what the students are saying (this is important as you will want to use their words to make links to the types of thinking the students were doing).
STEP TWO: MAKING MEANING AND CO- CONSTRUCTING UNDERSTANDINGS
• Use big sheets of paper with words and/or
photos for students to record their ideas. E.g. the word ‘curiosity’ and a photo of the items
• Use reflective questions to help the students make links between what they did and the types of thinking they did and used. BE EXPLICIT!
• As you help the students clarify the types of thinking they did you might use a Y chart as a tool to holistically synthesize their ideas. E.g. thinking feels like… sounds like… looks like…
STEP THREE: BUILDING ON
• Play the YouTube video from BBC World, Wheelie Bin Raid. Analyse the types of thinking you see the kea doing and relate these descriptions to the ideas you have from the hut building activity.
• Emphasise ideas such as: our intelligence grows when we seek problems to solve; curiosity helps us become skillful thinkers.
• Skillful thinkers generate ideas, test ideas and adapt them in order to solve problems or to create and innovate.
• Skillful thinkers use logic and reasoning skills, can sequence ideas, compare and contrast and evaluate, so can keas.
• Create a wall display to act as a visual cue and tool to help everyone be more mindful of how to think skillfully.
• Adapt plans to incorporate these ideas. Use the correct thinking words within your learning intentions and ensure students are aware of how they are thinking.
I am passionate about the key competencies. Taught well they have the potential to transform learning. The keys include: quality time, shared focus on improving student learning, placing the student at the centre, developing teacher and student assessment capability, building capacity and sustainable practices within school communities, acquiring and using quality resources and critical inquiry.