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how to teach thinking
How To Teach Thinking, by Jean Edwards
How To Teach Thinking, by Jean Edwards
Teaching Thinking Skills
by
Jean Edwards, ThinkShop Ltd, Nelson NZ
This page
is offered freely for reproduction - we simply ask that you please
acknowledge the work
that went into this by quoting the source: "How
To Teach Thinking Skills" by Jean Edwards; ThinkShop: Resources for
Thinking Ltd.
For
the teacher who wants to get more serious about thinking skills
| We'll
assume you know the basic theory of Thinking Skills, that you know
you want to teach them - but how to begin? What exactly to DO? How
do I teach Thinking Skills? |
| 1.
You need to plan a
schedule or time-frame for teaching the skills or tools of thinking
first; running Thinking Skills sessions is an excellent idea. Start
small and sensible. Focus on one or two particular skills or tools
you want to address, such as creativity and analysing, and build
up your repertoire from there. Remember to enjoy what you're teaching! |
| 2.
The second step is
to begin using the tools, transferring them into your regular lessons.
Having a TOOLBOX column handy alongside your regular planning sheet
may help you to focus on this transfer. Encouraging your students
to use a specific Thinking Skills folder or book that they can refer
to, may help them to recognise that they have a thinking toolbox
ready at hand for transfer to other subjects or areas. |
3.
Limited budget or limited
time? I'd suggest you invest initially in some of Edward de Bono's
Six Hats series.Follow
this for older
students with Book 1 of the CoRT Thinking series by Edward
de Bono. These tailor-made lessons plus the further extension activities
in the book How To Teach Thinking Skills by Jean Edwards,
will get you well started. Meanwhile, you can be assimilating the
information in How To Teach Thinking Skills and either
making up your own resources from the ideas and examples provided,
or if you're already too busy (!), you can use the examples to
help you to decide what thinking tools you want to teach and what
resources to purchase. |
| 4.
A Tip: Don't go for a
'grab-bag of activities'. For a defensible thinking skills programme,
you MUST have a specific aim in mind, an outcome you can see or measure
(which is why quite a few of the resources in the above book have
evaluation records for you). The skills or tools must be transferable!
Slow and steady is a sensible rule. Share techniques and models with
your students so that you - and they - can systematically incorporate
thinking skills into your programme |
What
are the main Thinking Skills?
Thinking Skills can be divided into three main groups of skills (see diagram
below):
• creative thinking
• critical thinking,
and when the two are combined,
• creative problem-solving. |
1.
Creativity
Basically, coming up with new, novel or original ideas and ways of
doing things. (Edward de Bono’s green-hat thinking performs the
same function.) Looking at things from a different perspective.
Common process verbs: imagine, invent, change, design, create.... |
2.
Critical thinking
Analysing and evaluating or judging information or data to find the right
answer.
Common process verbs: analyse, break down, compare, categorise,
list, sequence, rank... |
3.
Problem-solving
Using both analytical and creative thinking to solve problems and situations.
New or creative thinking is always needed to solve a problem - you can’t
rely on the same old thinking which got you into the problem, to get you
out of it!
Common process verbs: improve, design, refine, find, invent
criteria to, combine... |
|
"Where
do I start' What exactly do I DO?"
The following books are all recommended for teachers who know that they
want to teach thinking skills, and probably have some idea of the underlying
theories and value of teaching thinking, but who need some specifics.
With photocopiable activities, clear explanations both of the underpinnings
and of the activities, and with sample student responses.
Following
are a couple of recommended ThinkShop titles to get you started: |
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