A Thinking School is an accreditation organised through the University of Exeter. Schools are noted for the use of thinking tools. Thinking schools are a fusion of work on cognitive development and the work on managing educational change in schools.
Thinking schools adopt two or more existing thinking strategies such as Feuerstein's theory of Structured Cognitive Modifiability, Lipman's Philosophy for Children, or De Bono's Six Hat Thinking. But Thinking schools must have the written backing of governors, management, ownership by the staff and to broadcast their adoption on the school website. They must appoint a senior manager to drive the changes. The problems are institutional and schools can slide back to a 'regurgitation of information by means of timed assessment tasks' approach. [1]
The focus must embrace planning through lesson integration, assemblies, the reward system and the pastoral house system if one is in place. [2] This develops and enhances the pupil/student's self confidence, increase motivation and ultimate academic achievement. [3]
It is a whole school process that starts with the planning.
Accreditation is organised through the University of Exeter.
Thinking Tools and Strategies taught to and used by the students
They were worked up by Terry Heick in 2017 to describe strategies for classroom practice. [6] These are not exclusive: there are many approaches one can use in the classroom with the aim of supporting the student.
The Thinkers Keys are twenty powerful strategies for generating intellectual rigour, and developing advanced learning strategies. These are usually shown as a set of twenty cards, which are divided into two groups: [7]
Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences in intelligence, cognitive development, affect, motivation, self-regulation, and self-concept, as well as their role in learning. The field of educational psychology relies heavily on quantitative methods, including testing and measurement, to enhance educational activities related to instructional design, classroom management, and assessment, which serve to facilitate learning processes in various educational settings across the lifespan.
Learning theory describes how students receive, process, and retain knowledge during learning. Cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences, as well as prior experience, all play a part in how understanding, or a world view, is acquired or changed and knowledge and skills retained.
A teaching method comprises the principles and methods used by teachers to enable student learning. These strategies are determined partly on subject matter to be taught and partly by the nature of the learner. For a particular teaching method to be appropriate and efficient it has to be in relation with the characteristic of the learner and the type of learning it is supposed to bring about. Suggestions are there to design and selection of teaching methods must take into account not only the nature of the subject matter but also how students learn. In today's school the trend is that it encourages much creativity. It is a known fact that human advancement comes through reasoning. This reasoning and original thought enhances creativity.
Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgment. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, which generally include the rational, skeptical, and unbiased analysis or evaluation of factual evidence. Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem-solving abilities as well as a commitment to overcome native egocentrism and sociocentrism.
In psychology, cognitivism is a theoretical framework for understanding the mind that gained credence in the 1950s. The movement was a response to behaviorism, which cognitivists said neglected to explain cognition. Cognitive psychology derived its name from the Latin cognoscere, referring to knowing and information, thus cognitive psychology is an information-processing psychology derived in part from earlier traditions of the investigation of thought and problem solving.
An electronic portfolio is a collection of electronic evidence assembled and managed by a user, usually on the Web. Such electronic evidence may include input text, electronic files, images, multimedia, blog entries, and hyperlinks. E-portfolios are both demonstrations of the user's abilities and platforms for self-expression. If they are online, users can maintain them dynamically over time.
Active learning is "a method of learning in which students are actively or experientially involved in the learning process and where there are different levels of active learning, depending on student involvement." Bonwell & Eison (1991) states that "students participate [in active learning] when they are doing something besides passively listening." In a report from the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), authors discuss a variety of methodologies for promoting active learning. They cite literature that indicates students must do more than just listen in order to learn. They must read, write, discuss, and be engaged in solving problems. This process relates to the three learning domains referred to as knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA). This taxonomy of learning behaviors can be thought of as "the goals of the learning process." In particular, students must engage in such higher-order thinking tasks as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
Learning styles refer to a range of theories that aim to account for differences in individuals' learning. Many theories share the proposition that humans can be classified according to their "style" of learning, but differ in how the proposed styles should be defined, categorized and assessed. A common concept is that individuals differ in how they learn.
Metacognition is an awareness of one's thought processes and an understanding of the patterns behind them. The term comes from the root word meta, meaning "beyond", or "on top of". Metacognition can take many forms, such as reflecting on one's ways of thinking and knowing when and how to use particular strategies for problem-solving. There are generally two components of metacognition: (1) knowledge about cognition and (2) regulation of cognition.
Project-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy that involves a dynamic classroom approach in which it is believed that students acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems. Students learn about a subject by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a complex question, challenge, or problem. It is a style of active learning and inquiry-based learning. PBL contrasts with paper-based, rote memorization, or teacher-led instruction that presents established facts or portrays a smooth path to knowledge by instead posing questions, problems or scenarios.
Reflective practice is the ability to reflect on one's actions so as to take a critical stance or attitude towards one's own practice and that of one's peers, engaging in a process of continuous adaptation and learning. According to one definition it involves "paying critical attention to the practical values and theories which inform everyday actions, by examining practice reflectively and reflexively. This leads to developmental insight". A key rationale for reflective practice is that experience alone does not necessarily lead to learning; deliberate reflection on experience is essential.
A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction or "learning trajectory" for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class learning. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered, and the needs of the students. There may be requirements mandated by the school system regarding the plan. A lesson plan is the teacher's guide for running a particular lesson, and it includes the goal, how the goal will be reached and a way of measuring how well the goal was reached.
Strategic thinking is a mental or thinking process applied by an individual in the context of achieving a goal or set of goals. As a cognitive activity, it produces thought.
The Portsmouth Academy is a secondary school with academy status, located in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England on St Mary's Road in the central district of Fratton near St Mary's Church. Originally established as a girls' school, it became co-educational in the 2017/18 school year.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to thought (thinking):
Rochester Grammar School often abbreviated to RGS is a grammar school for the education of girls between the ages of 11 and 18. It has academy status. It is now known as just "Rochester Grammar School" following the introduction of boys into the sixth form.
Socratic questioning was named after Socrates. He used an educational method that focused on discovering answers by asking questions from his students. According to Plato, who was one of his students, Socrates believed that "the disciplined practice of thoughtful questioning enables the scholar/student to examine ideas and be able to determine the validity of those ideas". Plato described this rigorous method of teaching to explain that the teacher assumes an ignorant mindset in order to compel the student to assume the highest level of knowledge. Thus, a student has the ability to acknowledge contradictions, recreate inaccurate or unfinished ideas and critically determine necessary thought.
Donna Wilson is an educational and school psychologist, teacher educator, and author of 20 books applying mind, brain, and education science. Recent works, with coauthor Marcus Conyers, include Teaching Students to Drive Their Brains: Metacognitive Strategies, Activities, and Lesson Ideas, Smarter Teacher Leadership: Neuroscience and the Power of Purposeful Collaboration, Positively Smarter: Science and Strategies to Increase Happiness, Achievement, and Well-Being, Five Big Ideas for Effective Teaching: Connecting Mind, Brain, and Education Research to Classroom Practice, and Flourishing in the First Five Years: Connecting Implications from Mind, Brain, and Education Research to the Development of Young Children.
Daniel T. Willingham is a psychologist at the University of Virginia, where he is a professor in the Department of Psychology. Willingham's research focuses on the application of findings from cognitive psychology and neuroscience to K–12 education.
The Thinking Schools Academy Trust is a multi-academy trust serving a family of schools mainly in the Medway authority.