Thinking Skills 1 of 23. Why teach thinking skills? Is it really that important? Creative and critical thinking abilities are not inborn as was once believed

Thinking Skills

1 of 23

Why teach thinking skills?Is it really that important?

Creative and critical thinking abilities are not inborn as was once believed. Research has shown that these skills can be taught to pupils.

Instruction in thinking skills promotes intellectual growth and can lead to academic gains.

2 of 23

These thinking skills are vital for pupils to thrive in our technologically advancing world.

It has been found that generally pupils do not have naturally well-developed thinking skills.

What can thinking skills do for our school?

Raise standards/end of Key Stage test results.

Raise pupil confidence and self-esteem.

Equip children with life long information processing skills.

Create a positive learning environment.

Keep OFSTED happy! 3 of 23

Is there any proof?Considerable research evidence to support this claim… One study conducted in Queensland in 1997 took 3 groups of children. 1 group used the thinking skills approach to learning whilst 2 control groups were taught as normal.

All the children took their national reading and writing tests at the age of 12.

The results were compared between the 3 groups to see if there had been any significant impact on the achievement of the children.

Here are the results…4 of 23

Reading SATTarget Group

Control Group 1

Control Group 2

% meeting or exceeding

targets87% 50% 67%

% exceeding targets

80% 42% 42%

% reaching or exceeding

National Average (3b+)

73% 25% 50%

% reaching Level 4

53% 17% 33%

Reading Results

5 of 23

Reading SATTarget Group

Control Group 1

Control Group 2

% meeting or exceeding

targets80% 67% 25%

% exceeding targets

67% 17% 17%

% reaching or exceeding

National Average 26% 10% 17%

Writing Results

6 of 23

7 of 23

Further Results

Any Internet search will find similar studies and findings reporting the success of using thinking skills and the 6 thinking hats.

In fact, so impressive are the results that OFSTED now look favourably on any schools who are employing a thinking skills approach to their curriculum.

8 of 23

Do OFSTED really see thinking skills as important? YES!

Searching through successful OFSTED reports revealed the following statements:

“Throughout the school, teachers use the Thinking Hats very well to encourage focused thinking on all

aspects of work. This system has become integrated very well into the way in which English

is taught in all classes and groups and impacts very positively not only on pupils’ attitudes but

also on how they approach learning in all aspects of literacy. As one parent, said, ‘they not only

teach my child facts, but they also teach him how to think.”

Salfords Primary School OFSTED report 2003

9 of 23

Do OFSTED really see thinking skills as important? YES!

“Learning is good because teachers work hard to develop a range of learning styles. For example,

pupils learn about different 'thinking hats' and they talk about how this helps them to give a balanced

view when writing a report.”

Brackenbury Primary School, London OFSTED report 2005

10 of 23

What ‘makes’ a thinking skills lesson?

The main components to a thinking skills lesson…

Concrete Preparation – This is the introduction in which learning objectives, key vocabulary and outcomes are outlined to the children.

11 of 23

What ‘makes’ a thinking skills lesson?

Cognitive Conflict & Social Construction – This is the individual or group task which offers them a

challenge to help develop their thinking skills and move their learning on. When working in pairs or small groups, thinking skills lessons can help to

build vital social skills and collaborative working.

Metacognition – Throughout the session and at the end of the task children should be encouraged to

think about and talk about their own through processes and how they went about their learning.

12 of 23

What are these different thinking skills strategies?

Each activity in this resource uses one or more thinking skills strategies to teach

children.

13 of 23

What are these thinking skills strategies?

Causality

Causality is the understanding of knowing ‘what causes what’. Children need to learn the link between cause and effect in their learning

especially within a scientific experiment. Young children need to learn that not watering a plant

has the effect of stunting the growth etc. Activities which link to causality skills help develop this vital

understanding of ‘cause and effect’.

14 of 23


Seriation and Sequencing

By the time children have reached the concrete operational stage of Piaget’s developmental

stages, their ability to seriate has emerged. To seriate means putting things in a series e.g. from smallest to largest. This cognitive skill is vital in many areas such as maths and science and can even effect children’s understanding in literacy

e.g. ordering stories.

15 of 23


Classification

Classification is the skill of sorting and ordering different objects or items on the basis of different variables. It also involves defining and describing

things in order to better understand their characteristics. This is a vital skill for children and improves as children’s working memory develops.

Classification can be a vital skill in many mathematical activities such as sorting shapes and

in science when using identification keys etc.

16 of 23


Spatial Perception

This is the cognitive skill of how different people see things differently. Children often have difficulty

imagining other people’s points of view or understand things from perspectives other than

their own. Activities to improve spatial perception are designed to help children heighten this

perception of the world around them and also develop an appreciation of what other people see.

17 of 23


Theory of Mind

This is similar to spatial perception in that it is concerned with looking at another person’s point

of view. However, this is more concerned with how that person is thinking and feeling rather than just understanding what they can see etc. This is linked

to red hat thinking as it makes us take on board the feelings and thoughts of others.

18 of 23


Creating new ideas

We always want to encourage children to be creative in their thinking. Posing open ended

questions and challenges can enable children to think and create new ideas and solutions. Creating

an environment where children feel free to experiment and there is no “fear of failure” also

enables creative thinking skills to emerge. Many of the activities in this resource offer children the

chance to create and make their own games. In this way, they take control of their own learning and the

experience is far more enjoyable, engaging and ultimately more beneficial to them.

19 of 23


Posing and Solving Problems

Problem solving is an integral part of education as it requires many different cognitive skills ranging from

sorting the information through to justifying a response. As teachers, we often set children

problems to solve, especially in lessons such as maths and science. However, it is often rewarding

to allow children the chance to pose their own problems. Many of the activities in this resource

enable children to solve problems. Some are set by the teacher but many are set by the pupils

themselves for their peers.

20 of 23


Verbal Reasoning

Verbal reasoning is often defining along the lines of thought processes that use verbal mediation to organize, compare, and analyze, as well as self-control and self-criticize. In children, it is often

useful to encourage verbal reasoning in pairs or groups. Organising them into thinking partners can be invaluable for class question-answer sessions.

21 of 23


Verbal Reasoning (cont.)

It is also an extremely useful tool for helping children to learn new skills by asking them to explain their thinking to other children. For

example, when answering a maths problem, ask the child to explain their reasoning and how they came to the solution. Then ask other children to

comment on what they thought to this method and explain how they might go about it. This sort of

verbal reasoning is far more valuable than simply moving onto the next question.

22 of 23

How to use these lesson plans

23 of 23

Conclusion

It is important to note that the activities contained in this resource are only a starting point…

Hopefully using these activities will give you the confidence to develop your own ideas and lessons

which will inevitably be more suitable to the individual needs of your school.

Documents

Thinking Skills 1 of 23. Why teach thinking skills? Is it really that important? Creative and critical thinking abilities are not inborn as was once believed