Thinking Skills The Network Learning Community ... share our

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Thinking Skills

• The Network Learning Community
• Mind Friendly Learning

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Welcome!

• This staff meeting is going to be a snapshot of
  some activities which promote ideas gained from
  the Network Learning Community Thinking Skills
  group and Mind Friendly Learning techniques
  course.
• You may have experienced some of these activities
  before but I am not here to reinvent the wheel!
• We are here to celebrate the good practice that
  takes place in our classrooms, share our positive
  experiences and hopefully experience some more
  multi-sensory ways to encourage learning!

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The Big Picture

• What will you be doing and why?
• There will be some listening, some talking,
  and some doing! Hopefully these will encourage
  thinking, collaborative work and speaking and
  listening skills.

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Objectives and Outcomes

• WALT
• Consider the importance and value of planning for
  structured activities based around multiple
  intelligences and learning
• To explore a range of material which promote a
  framework for thinking and speaking and listening
  skills
• Work cooperatively

• WILF
• Positive participation
• An increased awareness about the importance and
  value of planning for various VAKE approaches in
  lessons

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There is direct reference to 5 Thinking Skills
in the National Curriculum

• Information Processing
• Reasoning
• Enquiry
• Creative thinking
• Evaluation
• We should be explicitly teaching children to
  become more effective thinkers, to learn
  meaningfully, to think flexibly and to make
  reasoned judgements.

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THE THINKING CLASSROOM

• Our Aims
• For children to develop
• Increased confidence in expressing ideas
• Enjoyment of exploring ideas
• A positive response to each others ideas
• Use newly acquired skills in other areas of the
  curriculum and school life.

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Edward de Bonos Six Thinking Hats

• Provides a framework for thinking

Facts what do we already know?
Emotions how do we feel about this?
Creativity, new ideas
Optimism, good points
Caution, bad points
Process thinking about thinking
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Edward de Bonos Six Thinking Hats

• Directing pupils thinking
• Avoids emotions taking over our thinking
• Thinkers can switch roles and use all 6 modes of
  thinking one at a time
• Particularly useful in an argumentative culture
• Hats can be used in sequence simple or
  sophisticated
• Why hats?
• Put your thinking cap on!
• For children the connection is already there
• Hats are easy to put on and take off
• Hats indicate a role e.g. soldiers, police so as
  we put the hat on we take on that role
• The Six Hats method allows pupils to think more
  richly and more comprehensively

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Thinking Frameworks

• PMI
• CAF

• RULES
• AGO

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As teachers.

• We need to adapt our teaching approaches to take
  account of the various needs of all our children.
• We need to identify their learning styles in
  order to provide suitable and relevant activities.

• We should try to build on the knowledge and
  skills which children already have and reinforce
  their learning through relevant contexts and
  activities.

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Valuing talk!

• Aids clarification of ideas
• Promotes learning through debate, feedback and
  cognitive conflict
• Promotes collaborative skills
• Gives teachers space to teach
• Helps reduce less productive, off-task talk.

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Activity 1 The Number Is..

• Working in pairs (or groups of 3 or 4!) choose a
  set of cards and take turns in turning over the
  top card.
• Read the clue out aloud and decide which numbers
  can be eliminated from the 100 square and explain
  to the group why. If the group agrees, cross out
  the numbers.
• When all of the 6 clue cards have been used,
  there should only be one number left on the
  square.
• Repeat the activity with another set of cards.

• Differentiation sets A, B easier and sets E, F
  harder.
• Ask children to find missing number without the
  aid of a 100 square.

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Get group work going!!

• Consider
• What are the features of good group work? Are
  roles needed?
• What are the criteria for arranging pupils into
  groups?
• What is the role of the teacher during a group
  work activity?

• Does classroom organisation support pupil
  independence?
• Does classroom organisation support pupil
  interaction?

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Activity 2 Who Sits Where?

• Deal out the cards and work cooperatively as a
  group to complete the task of Who Sits Where?

• I would like you to work in groups of 4 if
  possible and take on the role of either
  encourager, reporter, manager or recorder. There
  are prompt cards on the table if you are unsure
  of the roles.

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Activity 3 Treasure Hunt

• Working in 2s or 3s, one person reads the
  instructions and the others listen carefully and
  position the objects at the given coordinates
  you may have to ask for further information from
  the clues!
• I have adapted this activity for you and youll
  find a KS1 and KS2 example on each table.

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Consider language

• Misinterpretation of a question does not
  necessarily imply lack of understanding of a
  concept.

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Brain gym!
Brain Gym!

• 18 36 45
• L R T R T L
• 81 99 108
• T L L R L T

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Mind Friendly Learning and thinking strategies

• These should be applied routinely and
  selectively throughout the learning cycle to
  sustain the climate for learning and thinking and
  ensure inclusive and creative learning
  experiences.
• e.g. snowstorm
• post it wall of knowledge
• networker
• card match up activity

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More Mind Friendly Learning
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How will we know when we are developing effective
learners?

• Pupils will talk about the process of how they
  learn as well as what they learn
• Pupils will transfer their learning skills across
  subject areas
• Pupils will demonstrate the 5 Rs
• Resourceful
• Resilient
• Responsible
• Capable of Reasoning
• Reflective

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Finally the Plenary!

• WILF
• Positive participation
• An increased awareness about the importance and
  value of planning for various VAKE approaches in
  lessons

• Have I succeeded?
• No slackers having a chat at the back!?
• Increased learner responsibility for and control
  of the learning process
• Makes learning fun!
• Less marking!