Session content

1. DEVELOPING THINKING SKILLS
BA PT PPP Directed Task
Week 15

2. Aims of Session
• To consider different ways to link thinking, talking and
learning.

3. We can never have direct contact with a child’s thinking.
Children’s talk will often give a better indication of their
thinking than their writing can.
Smith (2010)

5. What are your thoughts about the following?

7. How many ideas can you think of?
How are you the same as
a lettuce?
How are you different
from a lettuce?
Taken from a similar activity devised by Robert Fisher

8. Higher or Lower Questions
Think of 5 questions that you could ask about this image.
How can this be explained?
What sort of questions are needed for thinking to be purposeful?
Can we make links to Bloom’s taxonomy and the higher order questioning and
thinking.
Can they think of higher order questions for this image in small groups?

9. Developing a lesson from a
newsfeed/photo-stimulus through
questioning.

10. http://www.slideshare.net/andyfisher/thunks
Thunks
Gilbert, I. (2007) The Little
book of thunks. Carmarthen:
Crown House Publishing

11. Setting up cognitive conflict
Discuss:
Is it wrong to steal? If so, was Robin Hood right to steal?
What if…
• Books were banned in school?
• Cars were outlawed?
• Everyone had to move house once every three years?
Ideas taken from Nottingham, J. (2013) Encouraging Learning. Routledge: Oxon

12. What are the key skills involved in thinking?
We need thinking skills in order to think, Nottingham (2013,
p.60) Lists them as:
• Processing information
• Reasoning
• Inquiring
• Creativity
• Evaluation

13. How can we support the development of
thinking skills?
http://www.journeytoexcellence.org.u
k/videos/expertspeakers/teachingthin
kingskillscarolmcguinness.asp

14. More thoughts….
‘Too often we give children
answers to remember rather
than problems to solve.’ – Roger
Lewin, Ph.D., British anthropologist and
science writer
‘The important thing is not to
stop questioning.’ –
Albert Einstein
‘I cannot teach anybody
anything. I can only make them
think.’
Socrates
‘Children must be taught how
to think, not what to think.’
Margaret Mead
‘There is not adequate theoretical
recognition that all which the
school can do for pupils, so far as
their minds are concerned . . .is to
develop their ability to think.’
John Dewey (Democracy and Education.
1916)

15. Can thinking skills be taught and
developed in schools?
http://www.thinkingschool.co.uk/resources

16. Part of reflective writing is about
making our thoughts, experiences
and actions explicit…
It is also helpful to consider
your feelings and responses
to these things too, but…
Just describing our experiences
and our feelings / responses to
them is not enough in itself. We
need to be able to ‘turn the mirror
on ourselves’ and critically
consider, analyse and interpret
our responses to the
experience.
What might these experiences, thoughts and feelings tell you about the things that you think are
important in learning?
What might this thought / action / feeling / response tell you about yourself?
What might this response tell you about your assumptions about this kind of learning context / activity?
What additional information might help you make sense of this?
What might your response tell you about your own values or principles?
What might this tell you about your own values or principles
What might these experiences, thoughts and feelings tell you about the things that you
think are important in learning?
What might this thought / action / feeling / response tell you about yourself?
What might this response tell you about your assumptions about this kind of learning
context / activity? What additional information might help you make sense of this?
What might your response tell you about your own values or principles about
education / teaching / learning?

17. Reconsidering your reflections:
Right side – left side?
2) Later, you can add your
additional thoughts on the
left hand side
1) Write your initial
reflection on the right
hand side of a page
3) Re-draft your reflection, to incorporate new insights. Or use something
like the approach above to show the clear progression in your thinking.
Ensure that you have critically analysed your responses, recognised
assumptions and gone significantly beyond description.

18. To recap…
• Information is expanding and changing at an enormous
rate and we cannot can store all the information required
• We now have a better understanding of how the brain
works
• Research has shown that specific interventions focusing
on developing thinking has led to significant
improvements in learning

19. Intersessional Reading
• Hewlett, C. (2012) ‘Why and how can we engage
children in their learning?’ in Sangster, M. (Ed)
Developing Teacher Expertise London: Bloomsbury
Use the reading to:
• clarify your understanding of learning,
• share the points that resonate with you,
• make links between thinking, learning and practice.
• Share your learning from the stimulus text.
• Record key elements of your discussion.

20. A thought…
• Since we cannot know what knowledge will be needed in
the future, it is senseless to try to teach it in advance.
Instead our job must be to try to turn out young people who
love learning so much, and who learn so well, that they will
be able to learn whatever needs to be learnt’
(John Holt, 1972)

21. Developing engaging pedagogy
• Using film story starters to engage learners interest
…watch the video clip through the first time and make
notes about your feelings and engagement as the clip
progresses.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac7I6UDSuOQ
• After watching the clip and making notes answer the
following questions (overleaf).

22. Analysing the use of the story starter film
resource
• Identify ways you might develop the use of this strategy with a
class of learners.
• Identify how the use of a film story starter could be
motivational for diverse learners.
• Why do we need to use such resources?
• In what ways could you use it to assess children’s learning and
understanding?
• How might it support positive behaviour for learning?
• What might the teacher's role be when planning?
————

23. Using an artefact as a lesson stimulus
• Identify an artefact and a context to use as a lesson starter.
• Explore how you could engage learners through the use of the
resource (be imaginative in your choices!)
• identify 2 principles of practice: how could develop aspects of
these principles in your own practice when using your artefact?
• Post your ideas up in the discussion board provided (see below
these slides), you can do this in any way you like, text, pictures,
sound recording or even a film..
• Leave a comment on someone else's resource and their uses,
for example, how would you use it in a way that would be
different, or for a different age range?

24. Follow up reading
Maybin, J. and Woodhead, M. (Eds)
Dowling, M. (2013) Chapter 1 ‘Thinking about young
children’s thinking,’ in Young children’s thinking London;
Sage (also available on BB under session readings
attributed to

25. References
Corden, R. (2000) Literacy and Learning through Talk: Strategies for the Primary
Classroom, London: Open University Press.
Dewey, J. (1916) Democracy and Education New York: Macmillan
Dowling, M. (2013) ‘Thinking about young children’s thinking,’ in Maybin, J. and
Woodhead, M. (Eds)Young children’s thinking London; Sage
Fisher, R. (no date) ‘Thinking to Learn’, Learning and Teaching Reflection
Framework. Scotland: The Highland Council
Gilbert, I (2007) The Little Book of Thunks. Carmarthen: Crown House
McGregor, D. (2007) Developing thinking; Developing Learning. London: Open
University Press
Mercer, N. (2000) Words and Minds: how we use language to think together.
London: Routledge.
Nottingham, J (2013) ‘Learning to think for themselves’ in Encouraging Learning,
Oxon: Routledge
Perkins, D. (1992) Smart Schools: From Training Memories to Educating Minds.
New York: Free Press
Smith, J. (2010) ‘Classroom Strategies to Develop Thinking and Philosophy’, in
Talk, Thinking and Philosophy in the Primary Classroom. Exeter: Learning Matters