thinking skills - church schools cymru · web viewrobert fisher [stories for thinking/community of...

May 2008. KM

K. Mayer 2008 Non Commercial copying welcome.

USING THINKING SKILLS IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

REASONS AND RESOURCES

SKILLS AND STRATEGIES

There are numerous collections of and definitions of the group of learning skills which are referred to as ‘Thinking skills’. They are skills which:require a person to ‘think more deeply’ and to engage cognitively with a topic and are transferable across the curriculum and life.

Key names associated with the research and development of thinking skills in education are:Dr Carol McGuiness [ From Thinking Skills to Thinking Classrooms –Dfe 1999],Robert Fisher [Stories for thinking/community of enquiry], Edward de Bono [Thinking hats], B Bloom [Bloom’s Taxonomy] and Matthew Lipman [Philosophy for Children {P4C}], Gill Hubble [Creating a Thinking school], Tony Buzan [Mind Maps] to name just a few.Bloom’s Taxonomy – a hierarchy of thinking skills - is a fairly popular and manageable set of thinking skills. From Bloom’s Taxonomy of skills and those defined by others, schools have devised strategies or tools for their application and these may be familiar to you in another context.Recently the idea of ‘thinking skills’ has emerged as an important stimulus in the development of children and young people’s learning.Various strategies have been used to promote high quality thinking and some of those are now appearing in the world of RE.

Thinking skills are those higher order skills which improve the quality of pupil’s thinking.

Dr Carol McGuiness has identified some core concepts in this movement.

K. Mayer 2008 Non Commercial copying welcome 6

THE CORE CONCEPTS

A Critical Attitude Pupils are encouraged to go beyond the information given and adopt a critical attitude towards information and deal flexibly with novel problems and situations.

Teaching the skillsIf pupils are to become better thinkers – to think flexibly and make reasoned judgements – then they must be taught how to do it.

Open-endedness and uncertaintyThe learning tasks set by teachers need to have a degree of open-endedness and uncertainty in order to allow learners to make judgements or produce multiple solutions

MetacognitionLearners must be given the time to reflect on their thought processes, make them more explicit and gain more self-control. This will involve active learning, dialogue and discussion with peers.

Talking about thinkingTo develop thinking skills, schools need to create an educational atmosphere where talking about thinking – questioning, predicting, contradicting, doubting – is actively pursued.


TYPES OF THINKING

The following are the types of thinking commonly developed in thinking skills programmes.

Sequencing, ordering information Sorting, classifying, grouping Analysing – part/whole, compare/contrast Making predications Drawing conclusions, giving reasons for

conclusions Distinguishing fact from opinion Determine bias, the reliability of evidence Generating new ideas, brainstorming Relating causes and effects, designing a fair

test Problem solving, thinking up different

solutions Planning Making decisions, weighing up pros and

cons.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THINKING SKILLS


Dr Vivienne Baumfield [ ‘Thinking through Religious Educaton’ Kington 2002] has suggested that the following are the characteristics of thinking skills.

Clear PurposeThe purpose of the tasks are made explicit as part of the teaching process and this helps to provide pupils with specific targets they can achieve and reflect on ArticulationPupils talk about their work and articulate their thinking. They can adjust in the light of what others say. Also the teacher can keep in touch with the thinking and address any misconceptions. MediationThe teacher intervenes to discuss the learning that is taking place and mediates it to the group through class explanation, discussion or direct teaching. Connecting LearningTeacher and pupils make connections within tasks, and between tasks and their wider experience. This is ‘bridging’ of learning by the teaching and ‘transfer of learning for pupils EvaluationPupils evaluate their own performance as to how successful they have been and why MetacognitionThe teacher and pupils discuss and evaluate the learning, enabling them to develop and understanding of, learning strategies, styles and approaches, that may help them in future learning.


STRATEGIES

Some popular strategies for developing thinking skills with particular reference to Religious Education.

Many of these are based on activities published in books by Margaret Cooling, Philip Cam and Vivienne Baumfield. Also in Rethinking published by The Stapleford Centre.

ODD ONE OUTOdd One Out is a strategy in which pupils are asked to pick the odd one out from a list of words or objects etc. Sets of three items are useful and then pupils identify a similarity that distinguishes two items from a third.

Reasons for Use: It’s a fun game which provides a high challenge and low

stress environment Pupils of all abilities can achieve in this activity. It

permits different levels of interpretation It uses key vocabulary related to important

characteristics In encouraging pupils to see similarities and differences

between key terms rather than a collection of disconnected words

It encourages flexibility in shifting frames of reference It can be used as an introduction to a new topic or to

recap from previous lessons Pupils can design their own ‘odd one out’ activity.


TARGET GAMEThis is a simple thinking game adapted for RE by Margaret Cooling from Philip Cam’s Thinking Together.

Pupils brainstorm on paper all the words they associate with a concept – for example FORGIVENESS or LOVE

Using a target diagram, the concept is written in the inner circle and a? is drawn in the outer circle

Pupils go through the list of words generated from the brainstorm, putting words they think are part of the concept in the inner circle, words they think are not part of the concept outside both circles and words they are unsure about in the? part of the circle

Location of words and reasons for where they have been located are then discussed and the pupils can revise the diagram at any point in light of the discussions they have had provided they give reasons for the move

Pupils can use a variety of references to develop their ideas about the concept brainstormed before making further adjustments to the diagram again providing evidence for the move.

This is a particularly versatile activity that can be adapted to suit all ages and abilities and is a great fun thinking game to play with pupils.


DEFINITIONS GAME

This is a good game to play as a revision or as a recap activity. It would also make a fun interactive plenary session for the end of an RE lesson.

One child is given a flashcard with a religious word on it. The child then has to describe the word without actually naming it. Everyone else has to try to guess the word.

Pupils can discuss the accuracy of the definition and see if they can come up with better ones

A variation on this game for older pupils is to give the child a list of religious words to describe one at a time and see how many the class can guess in a given period of time


TWENTY QUESTIONSPupils try to identify a religious artefact by asking 20 questions. This is a good way of recapping work at the end of a topic.

The importance of asking the right sort of questions – that is questions that will develop our knowledge and understanding – can be emphasized here and children can be given valuable experiences that help them to learn about the best sorts of questions to ask.

STOP THE STORYA simple, adaptable activity that can be used with all ages, during a story telling session.This activity can be used just as easily with religious stories or stories from other faith traditions.

Stop the story just before the character makes an important decision. Question the pupils as to what they think the character might do next and why

What are the alternative courses of action that could be taken and what would be some of the consequences of these actions?

This can be adapted beautifully for the DVD or video just by making use of the pause button.

MYSTERIESA mystery is a problem solving activity based around a central question which pupils must investigate and attempt to answer. Mysteries are designed to encourage pupils to deal with ambiguity as the central question has no


single correct answer and there is no certainty as to which pieces of information are relevant. Pupils are given information or ‘clues’ needed to solve the mystery in the form of some sentences on individual pieces of paper. Some of these clues may be ‘red herrings’. The pupils examine and discuss the clues in order to come to their conclusions.

Give the children a key question which they must find the answer

Write between 16 – 30 pieces of information on separate pieces of paper which might help or hinder in answering the question

The children work in groups of three/four; each group has an envelope containing the pieces of paper. Remind everyone that they need to work together to come up with the answer to the mystery

Tell them that they will have to present their theory and the reasons they think it is a good one to the class

The children then read, discuss and move the pieces of paper around grouping them into a similar theme

At the end of the activity there should be a debriefing session. This is essential in order to develop the pupils’ thinking skills. Having the opportunity to talk about the thinking process of how they came to their conclusions will help them to understand the processes that they subconsciously go through when they solve a problem.

The Thinking skills developed when using mysteries can include:Sorting, classifying, analysing, making predictions, hypothesising, drawing conclusions, giving reasons for conclusions, relating causes and effects, making decisions and problem solving.Not to mention:Collaborative skills, resolving conflict/diplomacy skills, oracy skills, sequencing skills.


A MYSTERY ?????? FOR YEAR 5

Why did Ali not bring his packed lunch to school from 6TH November – 5th December this year?

Ali has been putting on weight lately.

Ali wants to be a good Muslim

Muslims are told to fast by Allah. His words are written in the Qur’an.

Faithful Muslims fast during the daylight hours of Ramadan

Ali’s mother has been ill recently. Ali’s mother usually makes his packed lunch

Muslims try to follow the example of the prophet Muhammed.

Fasting reminds Muslims that Allah is more important than anything else – even food and drink

Ali’s family are all faithful Muslims Ali is 14 years old. He is a Muslim.

Ali never ahs school dinners. He usually has a packed lunch.

The prophet Muhammed fasted during the month of Ramadan.

The fast of Ramadan is one of the five most important rules of Islam

This year the Muslim month of Ramadan was from 6th November – 5th December.

Muslims say that fasting teaches self-discipline and not to give up just because things are difficult.

Fasting can make a Muslim more compassionate towards the poor who may often not have enough food to eat.

Ali wants to please Allah.


A MYSTERY ??????? FOR YEAR 6

Isaac cannot go on an adventure weekend, leaving Friday evening and returning Sunday.

Isaac’s mum cannot afford it. Jesus was a Jew

Isaac is Jewish When Jesus was 12 years old he went to Jerusalem for his special ceremony.

The Jewish Holy day or Sabbath starts on Friday evening

Saturday is the Holy day or Sabbath for Jewish people.

Jews have a special meal on a Friday night.

Isaac is getting ready for his Bar mitzvah

Strict Jews do not travel in any vehicle on the Sabbath

Following the laws given by God to Moses is very important to Jewish people

Isaacs family are strict Jews Isaac wants to be a good Jew

Isaac doesn’t like ‘adventures’

Isaac is 11 years old

When Jewish boys reach the age of 12 they have a special ceremony called Bar mitzvah


WHO AM I?

This is a variation on the 20 questions game.

Another name for this game would be the ‘yes and No’ game that you may be familiar with. It is a fun way of recapping information learned with the pupils.

Pupils ask 20 questions to identify a person or character from a story

The pupil who is being the person or character can only answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or ‘don’t know’ to the questions asked.

Valuable discussions can take place to help children think about crucial questions they would need to ask to find out about the person.


ANSWERS

Religious texts are particularly useful for this game.

Give out a series of answers or pieces of advice for older pupils

Pupils have to write down the questions that may have generated these answers. How many different questions relevant to the answer can they think of?

Pupils can discuss how well the answers fit the questions.

Older or more able children can also talk about whether or not there is always a right or wrong answer to questions and whether or not questions can sometimes have more than one answer.

+ - ? LIKE, DON’T LIKE, NOT SURE

A simple visual way of encouraging children to express their views about aspects of a story, an issue being discussed, a picture, etc.

They use the + sign to indicate that they like it They use the - sign to indicate that they do not like itThey use the ? sign to indicate that they are not sure about it.

?


ACTIVITIES WITH PICTURE CARDS

The picture cards could be Christmas cards or any pictures related to the story or strand being studied. You could use cards with words on as an alternative.

Place a number of cards face down on the table. Children turn two cards over and suggest what might link them

Same as above, but children suggest what is different about them.

Use three cards and ask the children which is the odd one out and why.

Cards are placed in envelopes. One child opens one and has to describe the picture/word, and the others have to guess what it is and what part of the story it relates to.

Cards which tell a story are placed at random on the table. Children have to place them in a sequence which tells the story being discussed.

Children have to place the cards in sets and give a reason for the category.


DIAMOND NINES

This is a strategy to help children put statements into order of priority without a strict hierarchical sequence. It is best used to discuss attitudes or views about something

Produce nine statements on pieces of card. Divide the children into pairs or small groups and they can decide which they agree with or which they think are the most important.

They place the cards down in the shape of a diamond with the most important at the top and the least at the bottom.


CONNECTIONS

This is an adaptation of a concept map.

Children are given a number of words on pieces of card. This is best done in pairs or small groups.

They have to make the connections between them. They can do this by sticking them on a large sheet of paper and drawing the lines from one word to another. They could then write on the connecting lines what the connection is.

There are a number of contexts for doing this game.1. As an assessment tool at the end of a the

strand/topic using key words discussed2. It can be done at the beginning of a

strand/topic and then at the end to see if there has been an increase in understanding.

3. There can be obvious connections if particular words are chosen

4. Or, a large number of words not obviously connected can be used to see what links the children can make.


LIVING GRAPHS

This is a particularly useful tool/game when learning about events throughout the church year [ Christmas : all the characters, Easter: all the characters, Ascension: Jesus’ disciples, Pentecost: the disciples and the population etc]

Pupils draw or are given a line graph with two axes. One is a time/event line and the other axis might plot, for example, the feelings of those involved. The pupils are provided with a number of pieces of evidence or statements which they place on the blank graph in the position they decide.

Reasons for using living graphs They develop the real context for the information

by personalising it. Abstract data is connected to the people and events behind the figures

Living graphs make pupils talk and think. They encourage collaboration, speculation and hypothesising.

They probe understanding of a sequence of events by requiring them to estimate and graph one or more dimensions that change over time.

They encourage an overall view of events and provide a structure on which to build understanding. They can also be developed into a piece of extended writing.

They should encourage children to talk and explore the events. The greatest benefits are likely to be gained if time is given to debriefing – how did the children complete this task and how did these processes help their understanding, and


where could they use a similar strategy in other lessons?


thinking skills - church schools cymru · web viewrobert fisher [stories for thinking/community of...

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