Metacognition, thinking skills and whole-school improvement Module 4

Metacognition, thinking skills and whole-school improvement

Module 4

Module aim

• Understand the concept of developing a whole-school approach to using metacognition and thinking skills as effective pedagogy to deliver whole-school improvement.

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Module objectives

• Discuss the importance of effective pedagogy.• Consolidate knowledge regarding metacognition

and thinking skills.• Explore ideas for practice that have the potential

to contribute to the development and implementation of a whole-school approach to metacognition and thinking skills.

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Recap

• Metacognition is . . .• Thinking skills are . . .

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Metacognition is . . .

Thinking about your own thinking.• Reflection – appreciating what we know/prior

knowledge.• Self-regulation, managing learning and the

application of previous knowledge/experience to a new learning situation.

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Thinking skills are . . . • Making connections, within and across texts,

within and across themes and across a range of personal experiences.

• Gaining deeper understanding and making reasoned judgements to achieve improved learning.

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Plan Develop ReflectAsking questions Generating and developing ideas Reviewing outcomes and

success criteriaActivating prior skills, knowledge and understanding

Valuing errors and unexpected outcomes

Reviewing the process/method

Gathering information Entrepreneurial thinking Evaluate own learning and thinking

Determining the process/method and strategy

Thinking about cause and effect and making inferences

Linking and lateral thinking

Determining success criteria

Thinking logically and seeking patterns

Researching context, other precedents, exemplar material and applying it

Deciding on a time scale Considering evidence, information and ideasForming opinions and making decisionsMonitoring progress

Deciding on a time scale

Thinking skills in the context of PISA

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Informed pedagogy

• How does our understanding of metacognition and thinking skills inform pedagogy?

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Task 1:Effective pedagogy

Effective pedagogy

• In your groups, think of as many words as you can to define the term ‘effective pedagogy’.

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Academic

Creating the learning

environment

Standards

Craft knowledge

Personal/personal and social

development of learners

Abilities

Skills

Challenging

Knowledge

Methods of teaching

Pastoral

Teaching skills

Commitment

Learning dispositions

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Informed pedagogy

• What are the links between metacognition, thinking skills and effective pedagogy?

• What is a whole-school approach?

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Whole-school approach

… an organisational approach with the aim of integrating metacognition and thinking skills within the ethos, culture, routine life

and core business of the school.

National Children’s Bureau, 2006

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Whole-school approach involves:

• leadership, management and managing change• policy development• learning and teaching, curriculum planning and

resourcing• school culture and environment• giving children and young people a voice• provision of support services for children and young

people• staff continuing professional development (CPD) needs,

health and well-being• partnerships with parents/carers and local communities• assessing, recording and reporting the achievement of

children and young people.

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Task 2:The whole-school

approach

The whole-school approach

Watch the video clip where a teacher discusses their experience of developing a whole-school approach to metacognition and thinking skills.

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• Identify three key aspects that are important to you in taking the whole-school approach forward.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llu5w6S1nAM&feature=youtu.be

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AngYsMofYzw&feature=youtu.be

Reflecting upon current practice

• What are you already doing? • What needs to be done differently?

• What are the challenges?

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Professional learning communities (PLCs)

A PLC is a group of practitioners working together using a structured process of

enquiry to focus on a specific area of their teaching to improve learner outcomes and so

raise school standards.

Welsh Government, 2011 (page 7)

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PLCs• Building the school’s capacity to contribute to

continuous improvement.• Supporting the Welsh Government in:

– improving standards of literacy– improving standards of numeracy– reducing the impact of poverty on educational

attainment.

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Welsh Government, 2011

Whole-school approach to improvement

• Whole-school learning environment.• Metacognition and thinking are explicit.• Common language/learning strategies for

metacognition and thinking.• Coherent and well-planned approach.• Applied across primary and secondary

school.

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Kestral Education, 2013

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SWOT audit

SWOT analysis: audit of current provision

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Moving forward

The road ahead . . .

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Action planning• What actions need to be in place?• Who needs to responsible for these actions?• How can these actions be resourced?

References• Kestral Education (2013),Creating a Thinking

School. [Online]

www.thinkingschool.co.uk/ • National Children’s Bureau (2006), A whole-

school approach to Personal, Social and Health Education and Citizenship. London: NCB.

• Welsh Government (2011), Professional Learning Communities. [Online] http://wales.gov.uk/docs/dcells/publications/120112plcen.pdf

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Further reading• DCELLS (2008), Framework for Children’s Learning for 3

to 7-year-olds in Wales. Cardiff: Welsh Assembly Government.

• OECD (2009), PISA Take the Test: Sample Questions from the OECD’s PISA Assessments. [Online] www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/pisa2000/41943106.pdf

• OECD (2010), PISA 2009 at a Glance. [Online] www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/pisa2006/41943106.pdf

• OECD (2012), A Guide To Using PISA as a Learning Context. [Online] http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/13915/1/120229pisabookleten.pdf

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