Saturday, 20 September. Room "Abava"

Chair persons: Audrone Allan (Lithuania) and Gillian Boniface, Bergen International School (Norway)

 

09:00 - 09:20   Shoshi Reiter, SR-TOC4HD, Israel

Fostering Self-Regulated Students at Junior High School in Science Learning

In the current world characterized by information explosion, independent, lifelong self-regulated learning is becoming a necessity. However, opportunities in schools to experience such learning mode are relatively rare. This long-term explorative field study examined students’ autonomous self-regulated learning of science. Changes in students’ self-reported and enacted Self-Regulation of Science learning (SRL) in two ninth-grade science classrooms were measured along a full academic year. The Self-Regulating (SR) class (n=25) studied genetics autonomously while applying self-regulated learning mode. The Teacher-Controlled (TC) class (n=27) studied the same content in a teacher-regulated mode. Data were collected at several time points along the year by SRL questionnaires (LASSI), science knowledge tests, and, in the SR group only, protocols for measuring enacted SRL. Findings showed that enacted SRL correlated with self-reported SRL, validating measurements. The Self-Regulating students outperformed their Teacher-Controlled peers in science learning. Significant changes over time in both self-reported and enacted SRL emerged only for the Self-Regulating students, suggesting that long-term SRL practices promote awareness of learning processes and ability to apply SRL.

 

09:25 - 09:45   Clifton Chadwick, United Arab Emirates

Teaching Critical Thinking in a Public School in The UAE

There is evidence, both from research and considerable anecdotal suggestion that teachers in public schools in the MENA region and India do not effectively teach children how to think critically, how to ask questions, how to search for answers on their own rather than to simply memorize what they are told or what is in their textbook. Critical thinking, viewed as rational and analytic thinking is crucial for participation in a knowledge economy and society. This presentation first provides results from a case study of teaching critical thinking. In a highly regarded public school teachers were asked their opinions about teaching critical thinking. Systematic classroom observation with a validated checklist showed that almost no efforts to teach thinking existed. The research is generalized to the MENA region and it is suggested that the results may have applicability in some areas of Europe. 

The second part of the presentation suggests a new systematic conceptual model for teaching thinking based on structured content, cognitive and affective learning strategies and dispositions, metacognition and problem-solving skills which could and should be adopted by teachers to improve their effectiveness in teaching critical thinking the classroom.

 

09:50 - 10:30   Alan Edmiston & Lynda Maple, Let's Think Forum. UK

Let’s Think: The materials and pedagogy

We will introduce you to a range of Let's Think activities that span mathematics and science from age 6 to 13. This session will involve a practical exploration of the materials and we will highlight how the materials use a Piagetian framework of reasoning to challenge children's thinking. We will describe the pedagogy that underpins the Let's Think approach and share some stories from classrooms in the UK. 

 

10:30 - 11:00   COFFEE BREAK

 

11:00 - 11:20   Victor Abashev, Vladimir Kravtsov, Alexandra Belik, Saint-Peterburg School No. 156, Russia

Learning environment that promotes cultural thinking

One of the only things that matter in the 21st century world is whether we can live with each other. Language is the only way we can negotiate our differences. In the task of managing our resources, we need to speak to each other persuasively, innovatively and charmingly. Since 2012 in Saint-Petersburg a new course for 9-10 years old pupils has been included in school curriculum to form cultural competence. Cultural competence is an ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds. According to Federal State Educational Standard aim of the course is developing cultural thinking skills such as understanding cultural history, different cultural pattern, giving respect to people with different cultural background and worldview.

 

11:25 - 11:45   Bodil Kleve and Sylvi Penne, Oslo and Akershus University College of applied Sciences, Norway

Developing thinking skills and learning in mathematics and mother tongue

Taking a cross-disciplinary approach (mathematics and Norwegian / mother tongue) we discuss how meta thinking develop thinking skills / literacy for learners. Taking a phenomenological perspective, we draw on Bruner’s ‘two modes of thought’; on the distinction between syntagmatic and paradigmatic thinking. We discuss similarities and differences in teaching and learning the two subjects in order to show how awareness of this can enhance students’ creativity and thinking skills. Our study is based on data from classroom research in the two subjects with a focus on socio-cultural aspects of discourse in the classroom, and on data from research based on interviews with pupils in secondary school.

 

11:45 - 12:05   Audrone Allan, Lithuania

Measurement of Thinking Changes in the Programme by Edward de Bono CoRT 1 "Breadth" 

 Thinking change has been initiated and measured within the project „Development of Thinking Competence“. The aim of the project was to introduce New Thinking into school curricula and organisational culture of educational institutions.

Edward de Bono’s CoRT Thinking Programme has been implemented in Lithuania with 221 teachers and ten groups of students in year 2012-2013. CoRT 1 „Breadth“, is designed to broaden perception. The target of the programme determines learning outcomes and five assessment criteria:
1. Breath of thinking.
2. Decision making.
3. Bias in argumentation.
4. Originality.
5. Speed of thinking.
Pre-post testing methodology has been employed for measuring change in thinking.
Thinking changes have been detected in the samples of teachers and students. Differences in age of students, implementation context, objectives and experience of teachers made student results not comparable. The key conclusion is that changes in thinking can be achieved and successfully measured.

  

12:10 - 12:30   Elena Kuznetsova, Voronezh State Agricultural University, Russia

Developing Intellectual Skills of Professionals by Teaching Field-specific Vocabulary

Efficiency of a professional's performance is closely connected with intellectual skills. By intellectual skills the way of thinking conceptually, critically, and creatively is understood. It is proved that the brain of the person acts on the basis of associations. “Association” is the associative correlation of the word to any phenomenon of the objective world. The paper shows different types of associations of the word. Doing numerous manipulative speech target tasks using field-specific vocabulary in ESP course helps to form different kinds of associations of the words. This leads both to vocabulary acquisition and intellectual skills development of future professionals.

12:30 - 13:30   LUNCH BREAK

 

13:30 - 13:50   Gillian Boniface, Bergen International School, Norway

Using Sorting Tasks in the Classroom to Encourage Critical Thinking

In the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme there is a strong focus on Approaches to Learning (teaching students how to learn) in all units of work that students undertake. The specific skills to be acquired, practiced, and developed are prescribed by the International Baccalaureate, but it is left up to individual teachers or schools to find the best approach and tasks to do this. Although this session has a focus on Visual Art, the tasks and learning experiences described are relevant to a wide variety of subjects and programmes. This session would be suitable for educators looking at how to develop sorting tasks that encourage students to develop critical thinking skills.

 

13:55 - 14:15   Elina Maslo, Aarhus University, Denmark

Developing communicative competence through thinking tasks - Experimenting with Thinking Approach in Danish as Second Language Classroom

The goal of this presentation is to present some of the experiences with thinking tasks in the Danish language classroom, conducted in the Nordplus Nordic Language Project “Problem solving tasks for learning of Danish as second and foreign language in transformative learning spaces”. Two teachers have developed and tried out some thinking tasks in their classrooms, with the aim to foster the development of students´ communicative competence. The learning processes from two classrooms will be analysed in the presentation.

 

14:20 - 15:00   Lyudmila Kuznetsova, Saint-Petersburg University, Russia.

Use of Metaphor in Teaching and Learning

The aim of the workshop is to demonstrate to an audience of educators how the use of metaphors can facilitate the teaching of complex concepts, enabling teachers to develop their learners' ability to identify the significant characteristics of the concept taught and to reflect on the assumptions they hold about the subject. When a group of learners is given the task to suggest a metaphor for the subject under discussion, the differences that transpire from the comparison of the metaphors produced in the group can sensitize the learners to the existence of a variety of other dimensions of the subject, which they have not been aware of. The task for the participants of the workshop will be to use this technique in the discussion of what teaching at the tertiary level involves, with the subsequent analysis of the results.