Hallagerbakken Skole in Oslo, Norway has been developing their approach as a Thinking School since 2015. A group of their experienced teachers and school leaders has recently commenced training to enable them to become a hub for provision of professional development and consultancy support for future Thinking Schools across Norway, with a view to extending the Thinking Schools network there.
Norway is currently introducting a new core curriculum which
redefines the purpose, values and principles for education, the essence
of which clearly reflect the central tenets of being a Thinking School.
Emphasis within the curriculum for example include expectations that
schools should help pupils to be creative and inquisitive, to ask
questions and to develop scientific and critical thinking. It states
that the “School shall help the pupils to reflect on their own learning,
understand their own learning processes and acquire knowledge
independently”. This is evidently an opportune time for schools
across Norway to consider the benefits for their students of adopting a
Thinking Schools approach.
Find out more about Thinking Matters in Norway here
Find out more about becoming a Partner with Thinking Matters
Reculver Primary School is part of the Aquila Diocese of Canterbury Multi Academies Trust where Thinking Matters has been working with a focused group of primary heads who, in turn will now lead the training in schools within their own MAT. Stella Collins, Deputy Head of Reculver Primary School, shares their Thinking School journey to date. .
In Lithuania, we first heard about Thinking Schools in 2015. Richard Cummins together with Thinking Matters partner, Thinking Organisations, introduced the mission, philosophy and other main points at the event “Mokykla be sienų 2015” (trans. School with no walls 2015) which was held in Vilnius at the Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Centre Litexpo.