To think for themselves

This term I have set myself into reading mode. I try to read a great variety of books, for pleasure, for my professional development, and for  my teams professional development. Lately my topics have ranged from Minecraft to Literacy, Coding to Math. This post is about Thinking:

Helping your pupils to think for themselves
 By Jeni Wilson and Kath Murdoch

I picked up this book for very external and selfish reasons. First of all it is small and thin, so I knew that I will have time to read it. I have also been thinking about thinking so this chimed a bell very closely.

I liked the way this book is written, because it links theory into practice, and that it has over ten pages of proformas for the classroom. I will try to headline each chapter and then write a brief summary of my own synthesis from this book.

Chapter 1; The importance of Thinking

Thinking is central to teaching and learning

Chapter 2; Types of Thinking

Reflection and Metacognition  are keys to learning

Chapter 3; Role of the Teacher

Central to success

Chapter 4; Organizing the Classroom

Teacher should talk about the kind of thinking that is being used: “Language of Thinking”

Chapter 5 – 7; Real life best practice examples

Chapter 8; Assessment and record keeping

involving students in the assessment process and goal setting is important

Chapter 9-10; Proformas and Further Readings

As I stated earlier I enjoyed reading this format because there is a clear and articulated connection with practice. I am confident that all teachers who read this book can relate to it’s message and learning theory behind it. For me this book combines the eternal HOW TO question that teachers usually have after reading more theoretical books.

With this type understanding teachers can better facilitate strategies for their students allowing then time for students to be problem posers not just solvers. This will lead towards Self-Directed Learning Framework (Heutagogy).