Thinking Lessons for Thinking Classrooms

Reviews / Votes

Review 1

Whilst the study underpinning the research is situated in Northern Ireland there is the potential for the proposed book to be of interest in the rest of the UK where thinking skills strands, such as reasoning, creativity and evaluating information are now in all the national curricula as elements to be embedded across the curriculum. The study was focused on upper primary education so the book should appeal to learning and achievement coordinators in primary schools, professional development coordinators, classroom teachers, local authority advisory staff, initial teacher trainers of primary school student teachers and their students.

Recent years have shown an increasing interest in thinking skills on the part of the secondary sector. This is, perhaps, more likely to be the case at key stage 3 where the impact of thinking skills in the curriculum is being experienced by all teachers and, to a lesser extent, at Key stage 4 where the response may vary depending on teachers' prior acquaintance with thinking skills approaches. The theme of the proposed book shares common areas of development with professional groups and agencies including the General Teaching Councils of England and Wales, agencies running national strategies in England, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority In England and others with a strategic interest in the curriculum.

Thinking skills approaches are well-developed in the US and are now being taken up in other countries in which the education system has similarities to that of the UK in relation to an emphasis on developing students' thinking eg Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The proposed book does not aim directly at a student market but it could appear as recommended reading for students on initial teacher education courses. Institutes of higher education might also be expected to buy copies for their library. It might also be of interest to teachers undertaking post graduate education courses and action research that involves thinking skills approaches.

The proposed book builds on the authors' 1999 work (ACTS project - Activating Children's Thinking Skills) and updates the current knowledge base and understanding of this and other thinking skills approaches. The proposed book has a number of advantages. The authors have been in a position to align their work with recent changes to national curricula in the UK. The proposed book is based on teaching thinking skills approaches within existing curricula and so should not occur the expense of extra curriculum materials and resources. There are as yet relatively few thinking skills books aimed at the primary sector. The authors have included a main focus on classroom dialogue that is a feature of current interest in classrooms of pupils of all ages. Another feature of their work is that they focus on using the whole learning environment to stimulate children's reasoning skills and their reflection on how they do their thinking. The proposal also includes reference to the teacher development processes needed to support the implementation of this thinking skills approach. Case studies in the proposed book will help readers relate the process real teaching and learning contexts.

The full programme books published by NFER Nelson are expensive for schools and local authority advisory departments. Such schemes usually take the form of enrichment programmes that involve extra costs for schools to run as it means they are additions to the curriculum. The proposal indicates that the book is meant as a practical handbook for teachers. Considering other publications in this area such as the Thinking Through books published by Chris Kington GBP20-30 would seem to be a reasonable price.

Thinking skills books tend to last because the ideas are underpinned by theory that is well established such as the work of Vygotsky on social constructivism and Piaget on stages of leaning. The focus on encouraging pupils to reflect on their thinking, to ask each other questions and to connect their thinking to what they already know are all principles that are unlikely to become dated quickly. The activities illustrated in the books can be modified to suit specific contexts. A major element in the proposed book is guiding teachers to design lessons for thinking that situates the thinking in the lesson content so that it is not seen as something abstract.

The principal author, Professor Carol McGuinness, is an established authority in the thinking skills field. She has taught and researched a range of topics related to thinking skills in the school sector including: cognition and instruction; developing thinking skills; metacognition and learning, pupil-teacher dialogue in primary classrooms. Professor McGuinness and her team were the architects of the ACTS (Activating Children's Thinking Skills in Sustainable Thinking Classrooms) that is at the heart of the proposed book.

In summary, the proposed content is comprehensive and covers all the themes likely to be needed by those who wish to design and teach thinking skills or who aim to support others in learning to do so. One important addition the authors should make would be, if possible, to include pupil outcome data from classrooms in which the teachers had used the ACTS approach. The proposed book has the potential to add to the knowledge and skills base of student and practicing teachers through its direct practical relevance to practitioners, its foundation in recent research and development and its contextualisation in recent changes in national curricula in the UK.

Review 2

Catherine Woodward, Senior Adviser, Ceredigion LEA

The field of pupils' thinking and learning skills is a flourishing one. It is being given significant attention by major bodies in education including OFSTED, DfES and the equivalent in Wales (ESTYN and Welsh Assembly Government). In addition, Higher Education Institutions are also focusing increasingly on pedagogy in the classroom. Furthermore, the National Curriculum is being revised and will have an increased focus on the development of learning and thinking skills. There are a range of groups who would be interested in a book of this kind - including: providers of Continuing Professional Development programmes, Local Education Authority advisers, schools and teachers, Training Institutions, Higher Education.

The book would be eminently suitable for courses such as PGCE, BEd, and Masters courses. The Case Study material suggested and the practical nature of the text (subtitle: Tools for Teachers) would make it a handbook giving practical guidance rather than a course reader.

I know of no book currently available which gives a specific focus to developing thinking skills through infusion by means of the ACTS methodology. There are books in a series relating to developing thinking skills through specific subject areas. For example, the CASE (Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education) series has published widely to support development of thinking skills through science, mathematics and design technology - but as separate subjects. The infusion method encourages the development of thinking skills through a range of subject areas and contexts and enables practitioners to plan the development of thinking skills into their current programme of work. Hence thinking skills are not viewed as an add-on - but integral to the planned lessons.

Professor Carol McGuinness is a very highly regarded academic, educationalist and researcher who is also influential in the education world - in terms of policy and practice. She is well known nationally and internationally and has addressed countless high profile conferences as a key note speaker. She is particularly adept at interweaving theory and practice so that a range of audiences can relate to her work. She is particularly highly thought of by classroom practitioners.

I would unreservedly recommend such a publication

The TLRP series of books has been, to date, a valuable resource. Activating Children's Thinking Skills (ACTS) has emanated from TLRP and this gives a status to the work because it is well researched, is based on field work, often involves teachers in action research and also does a great deal to close the researcher/practitioner gap. Other publications produced as a result of TLRP projects have been most useful in guiding teacher development and school improvement initiatives.