He who learns but does not think is lost
(Chinese proverb)
In a future of change and unpredictability students need to be able to think creatively, critically and analytically to solve problems in original, interesting and divergent ways, to critique and challenge decisions and to develop new ideas.
All students can learn to think more creatively and critically in order to become the entrepreneurs, decision makers and problem solvers of the future. At Kurwongbah, we believe that students can be TAUGHT to THINK. We know that learning and thinking involves more that the gathering, memorising and regurgitation of facts and information. We believe that it involves the whole school developing a thinking culture, by talking about thinking strategies and skills and by using these to solve problems, develop ideas, work divergently and think in different ways within authentic contexts.
The Whole School Thinking Skills Program at Kurwongbah is about equipping our students for life long learning. It is concerned primarily with teaching for thinking, the teaching of thinking, teaching with thinking and teaching about thinking. It is about equipping our students with the critical and creative thinking skills that they will need for an ever-changing future where the skills of thinking will be highly valued.
At Kurwongbah State School we believe that each student is smart in their own unique way and that their dominant "smart" or intelligence as well as their other "smarts" can be developed further by discussing, explicitly learning, using and building on a range of thinking skills within the classroom environment. Our curriculum programs are built around experiences and learning journeys that will allow students to think within and beyond their own smart and to shine as thinking individuals and productive group members.
What is a Thinking Skill?
In addition to helping us think clearly, thinking skills help us to critically and creatively collect information to effectively solve problems. As a result of learning thinking skills, students will also become aware of decision making processes.
Improved thinking encourages students to look at a variety of ideas, search to greater depth, practise more critical decision making, challenge accepted ideas, approach tasks in decisive ways and search for misunderstandings, while keeping the aims of the task clearly in mind.
The end results will be decisions that are more reliable, a deeper understanding of concepts, contributions that are more creative, content that is examined more critically and products that are carefully crafted.
Shapiro, S (2000). Thinking Skills: Lower Primary, Glebe, NSW: Blake.
There are many ideas and strategies from educators and other professionals that have shaped our Whole School Thinking Skills Program. Ideas from leading thinkers including Michael Pohl, Edward deBono (Six Thinking Hats), Tony Ryan (Thinker’s Keys), Howard Gardner (Theory of Multiple Intelligences), Eric Frangenheim, Benjamin Bloom (Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives), Robert Marzano et al. (Dimensions of Learning), Lorin Anderson (Blooms Revised Taxonomy) and others have impacted considerably on our professional development, our thinking journey and our productive pedagogies.
Our Whole School Thinking Skills Program is supported by extensive teacher professional development. Over the first two years of development a Thinking Skills Enrichment Teacher (Denise Tarlinton, currently our Curriculum Support Teacher) and Enrichment Coordinator and classroom teacher (Di Marsden) were employed to support students and teachers in class, with planning, resource development, modeled lessons, with provision of resources, and the development of this online digital environment for sharing strategies and student work. The members Effective Teaching Team now manages the Whole School Thinking Skills Program, annual Quality Teaching Conference and GATE Program as part of their role.
We sincerely thank Hercules Road State School, who generously shared resources and ideas and started us on this exciting journey of quality thinking.
Please feel free to use the ideas that have been developed here to enhance your own Thinking Skills Program or feel free to contact us for more information.