Take a look at what we’ve been up to and what’s been happening across the globe within the thinking community… and if you have any news you’d like to share – please don’t hesitate to contact us!
Lorna Gardiner, Thinking Matters Consultant, has been trialling adaptations of the Thinking Matters (TM) training model as we meet the increasing demand from schools to provide online CPD. Enjoy her light-hearted personal reflection on the joys and trials of facilitating online training.
Supporting Health and Wellbeing through Metacognitive Visual Tools.
Nine years after the highly acclaimed and ground-breaking Making Thinking Visible (2011), ‘The Power of Making Thinking Visible’ was finally published this summer. Ron Ritchhart, Senior Research Associate of Harvard Project Zero and Mark Church, Consultant at Project Zero, expand on the work of the original book by providing tools, principles and practices based on research and work with teachers and students around the world.
It has always been the primary responsibility of schools to keep children safe. But now more than ever, schools have become these wondrous havens of normality for our young people.
In spite of the challenges we are all facing, or perhaps because of them, we have been approached by many schools to support them as they take a whole-school approach to the teaching of metacognition. This approach is not just about the improvements seen in pupils attainment and progress, but as importantly, the development of their ability to self-manage their learning and become independent learners.
We’ve identified a few articles that look at how it will be for pupils when they return to school; the potential trauma and anxiety it may cause as well as the impact on their learning. These resources are mainly based around Barry Carpenter’s Recovery Curriuclum – we hope you’ll find them useful.
Throughout my time working in education, I have developed an interest in the brain, cognition and metacognition. This is partly due to personal experience but also my genuine desire to see my students achieve their full academic and personal potential.
Brenzett Primary School, based in Romney Marsh, Kent is a new member of the Thinking Schools Network and has recently begun it’s Thinking School journey. We were particularly impressed with the idea of their Knowledge Wall, which they are happy for us to share with you.
In this podcast, Marina Fogle from The Parent Hood talks to Alisdair Wade from Thinking Matters about the basic things parents can embrace, during lockdown and beyond, that will have a massive positive impact on our children’s long term development.
Supporting Health and Wellbeing through Metacognitive Visual Tools.
So, what makes your pupils tick?
At Motivation Matters we have been looking at ways of integrating a working knowledge of intrinsic motivation amongst pupils and staff at schools across the UK and beyond. We are now guiding School Leaders in their support of Senior Leadership Teams, Teachers and Pupils, in terms of both their performance and wellbeing.
Cumran Primary School has been developing a whole school approach to developing children’s metacognition for more than a decade and is accredited by the University of Exeter as a Thinking School. Lorna Gardiner, Thinking Matters Consultant has provided training and support to the leadership and staff team of Cumran PS in recent years and shares the outcomes of an inspection report of the school, recently published by the Education and Training Inspectorate.