Session Outcomes

1. Session Outcomes • Identify the role of thinking in learning (e.g., what good thinking enables us to do better) • Use a ‘model of thinking’ to ‘model good thinking’ • Analyse Good Thinking- the specific types of thinking and how they work to enhance performance • Identify barriers to good thinking and how to mitigate negative impacts • Evaluate strategies (methods, activities and tools) for promoting good thinking • Produce real-world performance tasks to develop and assess good thinking • Produce scoring systems to assess specific types of thinking in an integrated learning experience

2. Thinking: A Key Process for effective learning “The best thing we can do, from the point of view of the brain and learning, is to teach our learners how to think” (Jenson, 1996, p.163) “Thought is the key to knowledge. Knowledge is discovered by thinking, analyzed by thinking, organized by thinking, transformed by thinking, assessed by thinking, and, most importantly, acquired by thinking” (Paul, 1993 vii) Thinking is the cognitive processes that builds Understanding

3. Knowledge, Rote-learning(as well as thinking) are important in effective learning Debates about the relative merits of teaching content Vs process, transmission of knowledge Vs discovery learning, thinking Vs rote learning, etc, only cloud rather than help effective pedagogy. For example, there is now virtual agreement among cognitive psychologists that effective thinking - however defined - needs an extensive and well organized knowledge base. As Resnick (1989) summarizes: Study after study shows that people who know more about a topic reason more profoundly about that topic than people who know little about it. (p.4) Similarly, Satinover (2001), drawing from recent brain research makes the case for the importance of repetition in the learning process: …these mundane chores are precisely what turns the fourth brain from a mass of randomness into a intellect of dazzling capacity. “Genius,” according to Thomas Edison, “is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Of “critical thinking skills,” he had nothing to say. (p.49)

4. Problems of Definition • “In schools, critical thinking has long been a buzz phrase. Educators pay lip • service to its Importance, but few can tell me what they mean by the phrase • or how they teach and test it...” (p.16) • “For the most part, teachers haven’t been trained to teach students how to think.” • (xxiv) • (Wagner, T., 2010, The Global Achievement Gap) • “... But the heart of this problem is our failure to define such terms • as critical thinking, problem solving, metacognition, reasoning, • and abstract thinking. Without adequate definition and training, • teachers lack the knowledge and skills to teach and test for these • desirable but elusive human qualities” • (Haladyna, T., 1997, Writing Test Items to Evaluate Higher Order Thinking, p.97)

5. This involves Critical Thinking – have I seen this problem before, what are the likely causes, what information do I need to clearly interpret what’s occurring....? I want good Thinking on this Good thinking, what’s that?

6. What is thinking? Thinking is the conscious and goal-directed mental activity we do in order to solve problems

7. In a perfect world, we would not have to think Because we would never have to solve any problems

8. Find me a girlfriend – potential wife Wife leaves me for Brad Pitt - What to do, lah?

9. A Model of Thinking Inference & Interpretation Comparison & Contrast Meta-cognition Analysis Evaluation Generating Possibilities

10. Generating Possibilities What do we do when we generate possibilities? • Generate many possibilities • Generate different types of possibilities • Generate novel possibilities Inference & Interpretation Comparison & Contrast Analysis Evaluation Meta-cognition All creative products involve the combining of old ideas or elements in new ways Generating Possibilities

11. What is Creativity?A product or response will be judged creative to the extent that it is novel, useful or a valuable response to the task at hand.(summarized from Amabile, 1996, p.35) <> One dark foggy night in Halifax, as Percy Shaw was driving home, he saw two small green lights, very close together near the edge of the road. He was curious so he stopped and saw the ‘lights’ were a pair of cats eyes reflecting the light from his head lights. This triggered off his thinking, making some new connections in his brain – subsequently he invented a small device involving two marbles placed close together in a rubber casing; this would then be set in the road at intervals between the lanes of traffic. After a year of experiments, Percy patented the invention and then, in 1935, formed his company, Reflecting Roadstuds Ltd. (That’s Innovation & Enterprise)

12. Creativity: Not Thinking out of the Box It all happens Inside the Head, it’s just a question of what’s in there, what you do with it and how Little in there, little desire and effort to keep making new neural connections - especially across knowledge areas – expect little by way of creativity Creativity results from conscious (and subconscious) neural restructuring that results in NEW PERCEPTIONS

13. Reframing “How your perceive something makes all the difference and you are free to see things from any perspective you wish” (Adler, 1996, p.145) To shift to a different frame will typically reframe one’s perspective and therefore, one’s meaning. And when we do this, our very world changes, which changes the sensory experience, hence how we feel Slimy Pond Life or Tasty Dinner?

14. Analysis What do we do when we analyse? Inference & Interpretation Comparison & Contrast • Identify relationship of the parts to a whole in system /structure/model • Identify functions of each part • Identify consequences to the whole, if a part was missing • Identify what collections of parts form important sub-systems of the whole • Identify if and how certain parts have a synergetic effect Analysis Evaluation Meta-cognition Generating Possibilities

15. Comparison and Contrast What do we do when we compare and contrast? • Identify what is similar between things - objects/options/ideas, etc • Identify what is different between things • Identify and consider what is important about both the similarities and differences • Identify a range of situations when the different features are applicable Inference & Interpretation Comparison & Contrast Analysis Evaluation Meta-cognition Generating Possibilities

16. Inference and Interpretation What do we do when we make inferences and interpretations? • Identify intentions and assumptions in data • Separate fact from opinion in data • Identify key points, connections, and contradictions in data • Make meaning of the data/information available • Establish a best picture to make predictions Inference & Interpretation Comparison & Contrast Analysis Evaluation Meta-cognition Generating Possibilities

17. Evaluation What do we do when we evaluate? • Decide on what is to be evaluated • Identify appropriate criteria from which evaluation can be made • Prioritize the importance of the criteria • Apply the criteria and make decision Inference & Interpretation Comparison & Contrast Analysis Evaluation Meta-cognition Generating Possibilities

18. Meta-cognition What are we doing when we are meta-cognitive? • Aware that we can think in an organized manner • Actively thinking about the ways in which we are thinking • Monitoring and evaluating how effective we are thinking • Seeking to make more effective use of the different ways of thinking as well as any useful learning strategies, tools and resources Inference & Interpretation Comparison & Contrast Analysis Evaluation Meta-cognition “To be properly metacognitive...students have to be realistically awareof their own cognitive resources in relation to the task demands, and then to plan, monitor, and control those resources” (Biggs, 1987) Generating Possibilities

20. Activity: The Good Thinking continues... • What is Good thinking and how does it work? • What are the things that good thinking help us to do better?

21. Good Thinking is… • … the ability to use the six types of thinking in an highly competent manner to solve problems: • This involves: • Using each type of thinking effectively • Using the 6 types in unison, synergistically and • efficiently

22. This enables the capability to... • Take multiple perspectives and learn from them • Generate more creative outcomes • Build better understandings of aspects of reality and become more objective in the construction of personal knowledge • Solve problems more effectively and efficiently • Feel more competent and confident

23. Things to disrupt - “put a spanner in the works”- good thinking: what do you think they are?

24. Brain Barriers to Learning (and Thinking) Habits of Perception (includes our Beliefs) Incoming information automatically passes through established neural networks – hence the brain will ensure that we perceive what we have learned to see. Restricted Working Memory Despite Long Term Memory having possibly unlimited capacity for information – Working Memory can only deal with around 7 bits of information at once. Slow Conscious Processing Speed The actual processing speed of the brain is slow compared to its capacity and organising ability. Personality Configurations Despite the conventional dominance of the ‘Standard Social Science Model’, the evidence for a Blank State is refuted Competing (conflicting) Neural Structures Unfortunately, its not ‘intelligent design’ – the natural state of the mind is one of confusion and paradox

25. Visual Illusions

26. Annoying

27. Beliefs “We forget that beliefs are no more than perceptions, usually with a limited sell by date, yet we act as though they were concrete realities” (Adler, 1996, p.145) ... And they shape our Psychological State (attitude) to the situation we are in

28. The 3 Brain Paradox – you can’t talk to the snake or rat brain Far more neural filters project from our brain’s emotional centre into the logical/rational centres than the reverse Amygdala Becomes the Default System when we are threatened

29. Impact of Personality Type Validated research supports a model of human personality in which people differ, to varying degrees, in 5 major ways: • introverted or extroverted • neurotic or stable • incurious or open to experience • agreeable or antagonistic • conscientious or undirected All are hereditable, with perhaps 40-50% of the variation in a typical population tied to differences in their genes. It is no fun dealing with the unfortunate wretch who is introverted, neurotic, narrow, disagreeable and undependable

30. Internal Mental Chaos “Contrary to what we tend to assume, the normal state of the mind is chaos” (Csikszentmihaly , 1990, p.119). “Behaviour…comes from an internal struggle among mental modules with differing agendas and goals” (Pinker, 2002, p.40) “...everyday life, as it is experienced, is a tangled web of changing desires, perceptions, feelings, and emotions that filter in and out of awareness in a perceptual swirl” (Apter, 2001, p.33)

31. Paradox & the Human Condition censored

32. Teaching Quality – the big factor in Student Learning “…nothing is as important to learning as the quality of a student’s teacher. The difference between a good teacher and a bad teacher is so great that fifth-grade students who have poor teachers in grades three to five score roughly 50 percentile points below similar groups of students who are fortunate enough to have effective teachers” (Izumi, T. L. & Evers, W. M., 2002. Teacher Quality, ix) “The effect of the teacher far overshadows classroom variables, such as previous achievement level of students, class size…heterogeneity of students, and the ethnic and socio-economic makeup of the classroom.” (Rivers, C. J. & Sanders, W. L., 2002. Teacher Quality and Equity in Educational Opportunity, p.17)

33. Health Warning

34. Promoting thinking – general instructional principles • Systematically teach and model the types of thinking, taking students through the range of cognitive operations for each type of thinking (Direct Instruction using the Language of Thinking) • Use structured questions to direct and reinforce types of thinking (e.g., “Lets compare & contrast these two diets”; What inferences and interpretations can be drawn from these data sources about the possible use of cloning in food production, etc)” • Involve students in real world learning tasks which necessitate direct use of the types of thinking • Consistently promote dispositions (habits of mind) conducive to good thinking and effective learning (e.g., persistence, managing impulsivity, openness, flexibility, attention to detail, good listening, humour, etc)

35. Making Good Thinking Visible “...teachers have to make their own intellectual processes (their performances) visible. This means that the teacher-expert has to make visible to learners the otherwise invisible processes of thinking that underlie complex cognitive operations ... Teachers have to articulate and demonstrate rather than assume the thought processes they want students to learn” (Sheppard et al, 2009, p.188)

36. Making Students Thinking Visible “We need to make thinking visible because it provides us with the information we as teachers need to plan opportunities that will take students’ learning to the next level and enable continued engagement with the ideas being explored. It is only when we understand what our students are thinking, feeling, and attending to that we can use that knowledge to further engage and support them in the process of understanding. Thus making students’ thinking visible becomes an ongoing component of effective teaching” (Ritchhart, Church & Morrison, 2011, p.27)

37. Instructional Strategies (methods, activities, tools) for promoting thinking • Questioning • Small group activities that involve specific types of thinking (e.g. buzz groups, rounds, poster board tours, etc) • Co-operative learning structures • Case studies • Projects/PBL activities • Role play • Performance tasks that involve specific types of thinking • Discussion/Debates • Thinking Tools, e.g., Mind mapping, ‘Thinking Hats’, Plus-Minus-Interesting, Forced Associations, etc

38. The Power of Questions “Questions are the primary way we learn virtually everything” “Thinking itself is nothing but the process of asking and answering questions” “Questions immediately change what we focus on and, therefore, how we feel” (Anthony Robbins, 2001, pp.179-8)

39. Using Questions The effective use of questions is a powerful means of promoting specific types of thinking, for example: • What are the similarities and differences between Hepatitis A and HIV? • In what ways are these differences significant? • What inferences and interpretations can be drawn from the data on HIV infection in Asia? • How might we evaluate the effectiveness of the present HIV prevention programme? • What is the relationship between HIV infection and poverty? • What other ways might we make people more aware of HIV infection?

40. Getting students familiar with the Language of Thinking

41. Ways in which meta-cognitive thinking can be developed & enhanced: • Make students Aware of this distinctively human capability and how it works • Explain and demonstrate how metacognition works • Illustrate with a range of examples why metacognition is so important in learning and personal success • 2. Build metacognitive thinking into specific learning activities (e.g., project work • Get students to reflect on and document the quality of their thinking, identifying challenges faced in their learning and how they have gone about tackling these challenges • 3. Facilitate and reinforce metacognition through other ‘Teachable • Moments’ • Whenever metacognitive thinking would be valuable to enhancing thinking and learning

42. Thinking Tools and Techniques • Mindmapping (A learning & thinking tool) • Thinking Hats (A thought management tool) • Plus-Minus-Interesting (A simple practical tool for identifying positives, negatives and unsure elements in a situation) • Force-Field Analysis (A critical and creative thinking tool for managing change) • Forced Associations (A creative thinking technique to break out of traditional patterns of perception and thinking) • PO (A creative thinking technique) • SCAMPER (A creating thinking tool) • Morphological Matrix (A creative thinking tool for creating multiple combinations) Note: thinking tools and techniques don’t do the thinking, they only provide a means for organizing your thinking

43. Mind Map of Edward De Bono’sThinking Hats White Hat Blue Hat Facts only No opinions Metacognition Overview Red Hat Green Hat Feelings Own view Creative New ideas Black Hat Negative Logical Yellow Hat Positive Optimistic Mind Maps can promote all types of thinking as well as aid memory and learning

44. Plus-Minus-Interesting PLUS MINUS INTERESTING

45. Current Situation Desired Situation Force-Field Analysis Potency: 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 :Potency Forces driving change Forces resisting change Equilibrium • The objective is to move the balance to the right, which can be achieved by: • identifying forces, their causes and strength • planning and acting to assist the driving forces • planning and acting to reduce the resisting forces • using some of the resisting forces against each other if possible

46. Forced Associations (Random Triggers) Forced Associations is a technique for linking another thinking pattern into the one we are presently using. We do this by selecting a random concrete noun from a different field and combining it with the problem under consideration. For example, we might be looking at ways to make lifts quicker. By choosing a random word ‘Mirror’ could lead to installing mirrors by lifts. As we know this is a popular solution for ‘slow lifts’. The lift doesn’t go faster, but people waiting don’t notice this as they look in the mirror. Force Associate with ‘Mirror’

47. PO (Provocative Operation) • PO involves making deliberately provocative statements, which seek to • force thinking out of established patterns. • Examples: “Everybody should go to prison” • “Lets abolish schools” • Having made a provocative statement, it is then necessary to suspend judgement • and use the statement to generate ideas. For example, you can generate ideas • by examining: • The consequences of the statement • What the benefits could be? • What would need to change in order to make it a sensible statement? • What would happen if a sequence of events changed?

48. S A P R C M E SCAMPER is a checklist that helps to think of ways to improve existing products or create new ones Substitute Combine Adapt Magnify, Minify, Modify Put to other use Eliminate Reverse

49. Morphological Matrix This tool encourages new possibilities through combining options OPTIONS OPTIONS

50. “Central to a pedagogy that seeks to promote the development of good thinking is the systematic use of well constructed and managed learning tasks that reflect real world activity and involve the use of specific types of thinking. (Wasserman, 1993, p.20) Such tasks are often referred to as Performance-Tasks as they concentrate on the thoughtful application of knowledge in real life contexts What are ‘Real World’ Learning Tasks?