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PART A Task : Creating thinking schools to prepare learners for the future INTRODUCTION Throughout history, philosophers, politicians, educators and many others have been concerned with the art and science of astute thinking. Some identify the spirit of inquiry and dialogue that characterized the golden age of ancient Greece as the beginning of this interest. Others point to the Age of Enlightenment, with its emphasis on rationality and progress. In the twentieth century, the ability to engage in careful, reflective thought has been viewed in various ways as a fundamental characteristic of an educated person, as a requirement for responsible citizenship in a democratic society, and, more recently, as an employability skill for an increasingly wide range of jobs. Perhaps most importantly in today's information age, thinking skills are viewed as crucial for educated persons to cope with a rapidly changing world. Many educators believe that specific knowledge will not be as important to tomorrow's workers and citizens as the ability to learn and make sense of new information. Robinson, in her 1987 practicum report stated that Teaching children to become effective thinkers is increasingly recognized as an immediate goal of education. If students are to function successfully in a highly technical society, then they must be equipped with lifelong learning and thinking skills necessary to acquire and process information in an ever-changing world1. What comes to our mind when discussing about thinking school? Do terms such as : Blooms Taxonomy, Cognition, Metacognition, Critical and Creative thinking, Infusion, familiar and related? Though not universally accepted by theorists and program developers, but for this present report the given terms are applicable, or somehow related. It is hard to encompass a definition for a thinking school in one short, concise sentence. A Thinking School is an educational community in which all members share a common understanding and vision of the nature of the high quality learning and teaching for all pupils, and are committed to working together to make this vision a reality. They think deeply about their work, reflectively, critically and creatively, and spend time discussing the best ways to co-construct both a meaningful and purposeful curriculum and associated activities, drawing on a wide range of learning opportunities. They are committed to their own learning, keep abreast of research, learn from each other and are open to new ideas,

(Cotton, 1991)

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considering these carefully before deciding whether they will usefully contribute to their vision for a thinking school. Another definition of thinking school is an educational community in which all members share a common commitment to giving regular careful thought to everything that takes place. This will involve both students and staff learning how to think reflectively, critically and creatively, and to employing these skills and techniques in the co-construction of a meaningful curriculum and associated activities. Successful outcomes will be reflected in students across a wide range of abilities demonstrating independent and co-operative learning skills, high levels of achievement and both enjoyment and satisfaction in learning. Benefits will be shown in ways in which all members of the community interact with and show consideration for each other and in the positive psychological well-being of both students and staff. (Burden, 2006) In short, a thinking school is a school that puts teaching of thinking at the heart of learning. A school which is successfully developing as a thinking community will strive to ensure that all pupils are developing and demonstrating independent and co-operative learning skills using a range of thinking tools and strategies. The school will generate high levels of achievement and an excitement and enthusiasm for lifelong learning. All members of the community will interact with and show consideration for each other, in a way as to enable the positive psychological wellbeing of both pupils and staff to flourish. (Knapp, 2006). The success of the approach is that schools take a whole-school approach to the teaching of thinking. This means that thinking becomes central and explicit and all teachers and students develop a common thinking language and toolbox. As students move from lesson to lesson and teacher to teacher they will be using the same tools and strategies as part of a coherent and well-planned approach. This applies to both primary and secondary schools. Each school will identify and select specific thinking tools which can be used across the curriculum. These tools will develop specific types of thinking and thinking processes. The students will develop an understanding of how they think and be able to articulate how they think. Teachers will talk about thinking with their students.

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WHY THINKING SCHOOL? Recently in Bernama, March 13 2012, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that transformation of the national education system is necessary to create a younger generation which can think and adapt knowledge to face future challenges. He said education had previously emphasised memorisation and this has to be changed to give emphasis to the thinking process so that students can use the knowledge gained to their advantage. "We have to bring about an education transformation where the essence is to motivate students to think because we want to create a generation which can think creatively, innovatively and critically. He said this when launching the i-Think education programme at the parliament house. The i-Think programme is a joint venture between the Education Ministry and the Malaysia Innovation Agency, and is aimed at instilling the capacity to think creatively and innovatively at the level of the primary and secondary schools. Earlier this year, 10 schools were selected to be in the pilot project to introduce the thinking process in school children. The introduced programme not only benefits students but also educators. He said 700 teachers have been trained to handle the programme, and 10,000 pupils and students were involved in the pilot project.2 The concepts of thinking school have big political implications for building and district-level information management skills curricula that have been integrated with other content areas. From a political perspective, there has never been a more propitious time for media specialists to define and articulate the role that information management skills curricula and programs can serve in teaching critical thinking skills. For reasons well known to educators declining test scores, critical national reports, and improved research on teaching critical thinking, the impetus to teach children to think critically has never been greater. As a result, the attention of administrators and other educational decision makers is easily directed to any vehicle within the educational setting that shows potential for delivery of a critical thinking skills component. Since research indicates that activities for teaching students to think critically should be incorporated into many curricular areas, no better vehicle exists to deliver a thinking skills initiative than an information management skills curriculum that has already successfully demonstrated its ability to function as an integral part of various other curricular areas, such as English or known as ICTL in primary school. One of the most pervasive myths about success in school and in life has been that it mainly depends upon the level of a persons IQ. For many years this was an assumption
2

(BERNAMA, 2012)

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perpetuated by educational psychologists, whose first reaction was to reach for an intelligence test in seeking to explain educational success or failure. Various government and educational establishment initiatives underscored this approach. Efforts to identify the so-called gifted and talented have been largely based upon high measured IQ, whist at the other end of the scale, a diagnosis of moderate learning abilities has continued to be largely dependent upon low intelligence test scores. Meanwhile, most secondary schools across the country continue to draw upon the results of Cognitive Abilities Tests (CAT) to predict their students future success or failure in public examinations. This situation would give little cause for concern if it did not have profound implications for childrens educational opportunities and even later life choices. And yet, countless research studies have shown that, whilst undoubtedly a significant factor in contributing to academic success, measured IQ contributes no more than 40% to the final outcome. Where sociologists tend to point to socio-economic factors as playing a significant role, most psychologists now agree that, when it comes to individual learning, motivation is the key. Nevertheless, what remains unrecognised in many schools is that the secret of successful learning lies at least as much in childrens motivation as in their innate ability, however that is measured. Every experienced teacher can immediately provide a host of examples of highly talented youngsters who failed to achieve their full potential because they lacked the interest, the desire or simply the confidence to do well when faced with learning opportunities. At the same time, they will be able to identify others who appeared to have little more than average ability but who went on to do well in examinations or later life because they believed in themselves and were prepared to work hard to achieve their goals.3 As psychological research has increased our understanding of the motivational process, it has become clear that our self confidence to succeed and the explanations that we give ourselves for our success and failures play a vital part in the learning process. If we want to understand better why children do well at school, or sometimes fail to live up to our expectations, it would be helpful to gain some insight into their views of themselves as learners. What we need to tap into, in effect, is their learning self-concept.4 One of the main problems about the whole self-concept area is its very complexity. Thus, the widely used measures, such as the American based scales of Marsh and Harter, usually contain a large number of items in order to cover as many aspects of self-concept as possible, making them time consuming to administer, score and analyse. Their efforts to meet standard
3

(Burden, 13 October 2010) (Burden, 13 October 2010)

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psychometric criteria of reliability and validity also leave little room for flexible interpretation of any individuals responses. Comparing total scores on such scales may be useful when applied to large groups, but may tell you little that is meaningful about ways in which individual respondents see themselves as learners. Also, in seeking to cover a wide range of different self perceptions, only a few items may relate directly to one specific area.5 Dissatisfaction with those aspects of available measurement scales led to the construction of the MALS (Myself-As-a-Learner Scale) as a means of focusing directly on school students perceptions of their learning abilities6. A number of considerations were taken into account. The new scale had to be simple to administer and score for busy teachers, whilst containing sufficient items to ensure that different aspects of the learning self-concept were taken into account. MALS is applicable to students between the ages of 9 and 16, provided that suitable precautions are taken with younger and less able children to ensure that they fully understand each item and how to respond appropriately. One of the great advantages of the MALS is that it was designed to represent a range of psychological theories about peoples self perceptions. These include Banduras notion of self-efficacy, Seligmans ideas about learned helplessness and learned optimism, and Wieners theory of attribution. Thus we can tell from the pattern of a persons responses whether they are confident in their ability to succeed on learning tasks, whether they are optimistic or pessimistic about themselves as learners, and whether they see success or failure in learning as in their personal control or that of others. The fact that the learning self concept appears to be open to change also reflects Carol Dwecks ideas about static or flexible conceptions of intelligence and how this can affect a persons achievements.7 The nature of the association between a persons learning self-concept and learning outcomes is both complex and in a constant process of change. There are undoubtedly some young children who arrive at school with both the confidence and ability to do well. For the most part, however, childrens views of themselves as learners will be shaped by their early learning experiences. By the time they reach secondary school, their learning selfconcepts will be well on the way to becoming quite firmly established. THINKING SKILLS IN TEACHING On August 14, Jon Taylor wrote a blog piece for the Guardian Teacher Network in praise of the Socratic method, and its application in teaching. The comments on the article focused
5

(Burden, 13 October 2010) (Burden, 13 October 2010) (C.S., 2000)

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on the lack of any form of assessment for rational thought, or the ability to assess critical thinking as a skill within the framework of most subjects. The truth is, critical thinking and teaching through the Socratic method have been around for years. But why are they not used and recognised?8 One of the most overused quotes in any liberal teacher's hymn book is that the majority of jobs students will work in their adult lives, have yet to be invented. This is often used as a lynchpin for the teacher to justify their avant-garde teaching techniques that are politely indulged by line managers as a harmless exercise in career development, before their results come in under target, and they get on with the serious business of getting the students to pass the exams. If not nationally, then locally. By contrast, critical thinking as a subject has been around in schools for many years. It was brought in as a replacement to the brilliantly terrible general studies in the hope that students might get something specific and useful, rather than well, general. And with the speed at which the world is developing, the need for the ability to rationalise argument, and synthesising new information into a cogent, reflective and logical action is surely at a paramount. In assessing and revising a curricular document, one follows the steps used to develop the document initially. Representatives of the groups originally involved in the development should be included in the assessment and revision. The first step in the revision process is the analysis of the overall goal statement with the specific intent of rewording the statement, if necessary, to accommodate a critical thinking skills emphasis and process orientation. To achieve such an accommodation, the goal statement must address analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of information. An example of a goal statement that meets such criteria is the student will identify, locate, utilize, analyze, and evaluate an information source, regardless of format, to meet a specific need or to create new information. The second step is to review the conceptual groupings of skills to ascertain that there are groupings that accommodate the higher-level thinking skills. For example, in addition to identification, location, and utilization skills categories, there should be conceptual groupings to reflect analysis, evaluation, and synthesis skills. Establishing a conceptual category of production skills is a good method of addressing the synthesis of information. If desirable, some of these groupings can be combined under generalized headings, such as "Comprehension of Information."

(Teachernetwork, 2012)

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The third step in the curriculum revision process is the assessment of the information management skills scope and sequence for the purpose of modification, specifically deletion, addition, and leveling changes. Of these three possible actions, deletion is the easiest to address. Examine the list carefully to identify skills statements that do not contribute directly to information management. A good indicator of skills that are candidates for deletion is failure to support any of the conceptual groupings determined in the previous step. The next phase of the modification is the addition of skills where appropriate. Given recent technological developments and resulting enhanced access possibilities, this phase becomes most challenging, especially in the context of critical thinking. Several areas of skills addition should be carefully considered, with final determination reflecting the local situation. Specifically, skills categorized as study skills, computer literacy skills, thinking skills and search strategy skills, including online retrieval skills, should be scrutinized to identify those skills that directly affect a student's ability to manage information. The fifth step in the revision process is a final examination of the scope and sequence to ensure that skills grouped under a conceptual heading do indeed support that concept. A break out of the conceptual groupings that deal with analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of information will begin to address process orientation characteristic of critical thinking. Such as breakout also becomes an effective way to communicate to administrators and teachers how, when, and where the information management skills curriculum delivers to students some very vital components of a critical thinking skills initiative.9 When the steps above have been completed, and all who were involved in structuring the original information management skills curriculum have reached agreement on suggested changes, the revised scope and sequence should be formalized by submitting it to the curriculum approval agency at the local level. Once the revised skills scope and sequence has been approved, mastery levels and evaluation strategies should be determined for the added skills in accordance with local policy. In assessing mastery, it is crucial to examine the process, including appropriate use of resources, that a student applies to complete an assignment as well as the end product produced. Therefore, it becomes more important than ever for librarians and subject area teachers to work as a team in determining mastery. Such an approach is a direct application of the novice/expert dimension discussed above. In assessing process the librarian will be looking at the student's search pattern as well as examining actual use of resources in terms of observable elements that are or are not congruent with those an expert might consider appropriate in seeking an answer to a similar information related problem.
9

(ASSOCIATION, 1997-2012)

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The sixth and final step in the revision process involves the analysis of existing teaching activities, as well as the creation of activities for the added skills, to ensure that skill statements are addressed at the appropriate cognitive levels. This enables elementary age students to practice these thinking patterns often and in a variety of contexts. Then, as students mature developmentally and are ready to evaluate their own information seeking behavior, they have already practiced patterns of thinking they are now ready to apply consciously in meeting information needs.10 Thinking skills are important because mastery of the basics in education however well taught, are not sufficient to fulfil human potential, or to meet the demands of the labour market or of active citizenship. Countries across the world are recognising that a broad range of competencies are needed to prepare children for an unpredictable future. These higher order thinking skills are required, in addition to basic skills, because individuals cannot store sufficient knowledge in their memories for future use. Information is expanding at such a rate that individuals require transferable skills to enable them to address different problems in different contexts at different times throughout their lives. The complexity of modern jobs requires people who can comprehend, judge and participate in generating new knowledge and processes. Modern democratic societies require its citizens to assimilate information from multiple sources, determine its truth and use it to make sound judgements. The challenge is to develop educational programmes that enable all individuals, not just an elite, to become effective thinkers because these competencies are now required of everyone. A thinking skills approach suggests that learners must develop awareness of themselves as thinkers and learners, practise strategies for effective thinking and to develop the habits of intelligent behaviour that are needed for lifelong learning.11 HOW TO CREATE THINKING SCHOOL? Researchers have identified a number of teaching strategies that can be used to help stimulate childrens thinking in the classroom12. A. Cognitive acceleration approaches example of Science education (CASE) The following is a typical format of a CASE lesson for thinking format that builds in time for cognitive and metacognitive discussion:
10

(ASSOCIATION, 1997-2012) (Fisher, 2006) (Fisher, 2006)

11

12

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1. Concrete preparation stimulus to thinking, introducing the terms of the problem 2. Cognitive conflict creates a challenge for the mind 3. Social construction dialogue with others, discussion that extends thinking 4. Metacognition reflection on how we tackled the problem 5. Bridging reviewing where else we can use this thinking and learning CASE lessons have also been developed for young children, called Lets Think! which aims to raise achievement by developing Year 1 pupils' general thinking patterns and teachers understanding of childrens thinking. During Lets Think lessons young children work with a teacher in groups of six and each activity takes about 30 minutes. The session is completely oral, with discussion based on a range of objects. At the beginning of the session the teacher helps agree a common language to describe the objects being used. Having established the vocabulary and the concepts involved, the teacher sets the challenge of the activity. One popular activity in this schema is called the hoop game when children are required to put orange toy dinosaurs in one hoop and T-Rex dinosaurs in another hoop. The challenge is that one of the dinosaurs is an orange T-Rex. This is very perplexing for our preoperational children because they have to utilize two pieces of information about the dinosaur and find a solution to the problem. The children work together as a group to come to a solution or a number of possible solutions to solve the task. They discuss their ideas and make suggestions. The teacher guides them, without being obvious, towards the idea of overlapping the hoops and putting the wayward dinosaur in the intersection. As in other discussion-based approaches children are encouraged to state whether they agree or disagree with each other by giving a reason. For example, they are taught to say, I think because or I disagree with you because The activities are designed as problems to be solved thus creating a context for developing thinking . Children are given a challenge, are required to work collaboratively ; to plan and evaluate their own and others thinking strategies, and the teacher then gets the children to think about their thinking (metacognition) through asking such questions as What do you think we are going to have to think about? and How did you get your answer? rather than Is your answer correct? Of course you do not need the Lets Think materials to apply this teaching strategy to any area of the curriculum. What the Lets Think! approach aims to do is to accelerate cognitive development between two types of thinking. The first type of thought is what Piaget called preoperational, when children still find it difficult to engage in what adults perceive as rational thought. The next stage, which Piaget described as concrete operational, involves Page 9

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manipulating at least two ideas in order to produce a third, new idea, which is what the sessions encourage the children to do. Lets Think aims to accelerate the transition between the two types of thought in order to help pupils make better sense of their learning and improve general achievement. They do this, as you might, by ensuring their teaching includes cognitive challenge, collaborative activity and children thinking about how they think and learn. B. Brain-based approaches Many educationalists are influenced by recent research into how the human brain works and draw on some of the implications of this research for teachers and schools. Accelerated Learning and Multiple Intelligence approaches all draw on these broad ideas together with research into learning styles. The common feature is the reliance on brain research to inspire teaching techniques in the classroom. There are many theories of learning styles. They are rooted in a classification of psychological types and the fact that individuals tend to process information differently. Different researchers propose different sets of learning style characteristics, but many remain unconvinced by their claims children learn best through using one preferred style. For example in teaching her class to spell a word a teacher might show them how to chunk the word into three pieces, and emphasise this by using different colours for each section of the word and to visualise it in their heads. She might also ask them to write the word in the air with their fingers. Accelerated learning emphasises the importance of including a range of learning experiences, visual, verbal and physical, in your teaching, so that children are challenged to think in different ways. C. Philosophical approaches A pioneer of the critical thinking movement in America is the philosopher Matthew Lipman. Originally a university philosophy professor, Lipman was unhappy at what he saw as poor thinking in his students. They seemed to have been encouraged to learn facts and to accept authoritative opinions, but not to think for themselves. He became convinced that something was wrong with the way they had been taught in school when they were younger. He therefore founded the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (IAPC) and developed with colleagues a programme is called Philosophy for Children, used in more than 40 countries around the world. Lipman believes that children are natural philosophers Page 10

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because they view the world with curiosity and wonder. Childrens own questions from the starting-point for an enquiry or discussion, which can be termed philosophical. The IAPC has produced a number of novels, into every page of which, strange and anomalous points are woven. As a class reads a page, with the teacher, the text encourages them to raise queries. These questions form the basis of guided discussions. The novels provide a model of philosophical enquiry, in that they involve fictional children engaging in argument, debate, discussion and exploratory thinking.13 Stories for Thinking Many resources have been developed in recent years to adapt Matthew Lipmans approach to Philosophy for Children to the needs of children and teachers in the UK; Stories for thinking is one such approach. The aim, through using stories and other kinds of stimulus for philosophical discussion, is to create a community of enquiry in the classroom. In a typical Stories for Thinking lesson the teacher shares a thinking story with the class. They have 'thinking time' when they are asked to think about anything in the story that they thought was strange, interesting or puzzling about the story. After some quiet thinking time the teacher asked for their comments or questions, and writes each child's questions on the board, adding their name after their question. The children then chose from the list of questions which one they would like to discuss. The teacher then invites the children to comment, and who agreed or disagreed with particular comments made. If children do not give reasons or evidence from the story for their opinions then teacher asked 'Why do you think that?' or 'Have you got a reason for that?' When asked the value of a 'Stories for Thinking' lesson one child said: 'You have to ask questions and think hard about the answers.' Another said: 'Sometimes you change your mind and sometimes you don't. A third reply was: 'It is better than just doing reading or writing because you have to say what you really think.' Teachers note that in 'Stories for Thinking' lessons, in which they may also uses poems, pictures, objects or other texts for thinking, the children have become more thoughtful, better at speaking and listening to each other, at asking questioning and using the language of reasoning, more confident in posing creative ideas and in judging what they and others think and do and are more confident about applying their thinking to fresh challenges in learning and in life. D. Computers and thinking

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(Fisher, 2006)

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Research shows that there are several ways in which ICT could particularly enhance the teaching and learning of thinking skills. There is evidence that the use of computers can lead to improved information-processing skills. ICT enables multiple and complex representations of information, allowing learners for example to think with a richer knowledge base. The main criticism of the computer as a tutor model is that directed computer teaching does not allow children to be creative learners, able to think and make connections for themselves, and so is unlikely to support the development of higher order thinking. This can be transformed however by collaboration around ICT activities, which has been shown to have the potential to enhance the learning of transferable thinking skills. Effective collaborative learning still needs to be structured. Learners should be taught how to reason and learn together before they are asked to work collaboratively with ICT, because having to articulate and explain strategies to others is more likely to lead to transfer than just doing things without thinking or talking them through. Computers can help develop childrens thinking skills when used as part of a larger dialogue about thinking and learning. But as for teacher it is our responsible to find ways to use the computer to encourage thinking with and discussion between children.

THE EFFECTS OF THINKING SCHOOL Some students and teachers may be satisfied to teach and learn at a level that is just enough to get by. Training students to think critically is a slow and laborious process. Students often have difficulty accepting teaching to a higher cognitive level because they may be accustomed to passive learning and do not want to exert the intellectual effort to stretch themselves mentally. Despite the difficulties, it is advantageous to promote critical and creative thinking, and it is becoming more prevalent in classrooms. Beechwood Primary School provides an outstanding quality of education. Its identity as a 'Thinking School' is at the heart of its work, whether it is encouraging children to think about

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others or to think things out for themselves14. Staff and pupils complete independent research and reflective learning journals that lead to high quality teaching and learning throughout the school. Everyone is seen to learn together. One parent summarises what many say, 'I feel my child is receiving a very special opportunity to learn about real life skills, values, how to think and question effectively and how to prepare for a happy and successful life.'15 Inspection reports reveal that the Thinking School approach supports children to make good progress and learn effectively, particularly in the key skills of writing, communication and mathematics. The children work very well in groups; in all key stages, they share and work through their ideas effectively and are able to select from a range of thinking maps to structure their reasoning in a logical way to develop further their mathematical thinking.16 The direct and systematic teaching of thinking including questioning skills and collaborative learning approaches significantly contributes evidence to this aspect of an inspection. A unique ethos of aspiration, reflection and improvement permeates the school at all levels. Staff and pupils complete independent research and reflective learning journals that lead to high quality teaching and learning throughout the school. Everyone is seen to learn together. Confrontation17 in the classroom can be a good thing. When teachers raise issues that create disagreements that lead to discussion and resolution, they are encouraging critical thinking. To produce positive results, teachers can create materials and activities to help students develop debating skills. A popular issue, such as banning smoking in public places, can be posed as a way to interest students in reading, writing and discussing the topic. Creative people are curious18 . In order for creativity to flourish, students must be open to learning about a wide variety of issues. They enjoy learning about things they do not know and question assumptions behind ideas and statements. They do not take things at face value; instead, they want to know why and how. They may produce new ideas or solutions because of constructive discontentment with the status quo , thereby finding new solutions and improvement.

14

(Studio, 2012) (Studio, 2012) (Studio, 2012) (Wade, 1999-2012) (Wade, 1999-2012)

15

16

17

18

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When teachers value students' efforts to think critically, it increases students' confidence19 and motivates them to build critical thinking skills. Pupils must feel secure that they can contribute in the classroom without being reproved for giving the wrong answer. Students who interact with others in group discussions learn to use higher level thinking skills and to become more fluent in critical thinking and more adept at analyzing, explaining and evaluating Self-regulated learners20 are active participants in their own learning. The process involves critical and creative thinking skills that help them connect ideas to things they already know, look for obscure meanings or develop deeper understanding of subjects across the curriculum. It encourages students to choose gratifying topics that are driven by their own ideas and interests and to proactively regulate their own learning. When investigating on the educators/ staff, their morale is high21 and teamwork is a strength, with excellent opportunities to work collaboratively. For example, the lead professional for developing the school as a thinking community has provided invaluable support and inspiration for all staff. Training as part of the Thinking School initiative has influenced the way in which subjects are taught with a greater emphasis on improving understanding. There are good opportunities to share best teaching practice across subjects. Teachers have a high degree of subject knowledge and through their commitment to personal and whole school professional development have an excellent understanding of how pupils learning styles differ and how important it is that their teaching styles reflect this. Teachers and teaching assistants use questioning very well ( good questioning skills) to guide children in their discussions, and by the time they leave the school, children are very effective, independent learners. Effective questioning techniques ensured that all were suitably challenged and encouraged to develop their thinking skills. Questioning allows teachers to ascertain prior knowledge and also develops pupils higher order thinking. Through strategies such as Habits of Mind pupils become more independent in their learning and surer of how to improve the way they work. Also, more able children become more challenged in their learning22. Being part of a community which encourages enquiry skills has enabled pupils to discuss debate and question their teachers and each other. Consequently, pupils not only have welldeveloped speaking and listening skills but are also able to reflect, to make connections in
19

(Wade, 1999-2012) (Wade, 1999-2012) (Studio, 2012) (Studio, 2012)

20

21

22

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their learning and to think through the consequences of their behaviour and that of others. In the best lesson, challenging and active tasks can provide pupils with real problems to solve, And these give many opportunities to develop their thinking skills, and excellent opportunities for them to work collaboratively.

IS THINKING SCHOOL - A MALAYSIAN CULTURE? As Edward de Bono said in his discussion Thinking about thinking- Information is very important. Information is easy to teach. Information is easy to test. Just observe the common practice of teaching mathematics in Malaysia , as an example. What actually is being taught to the students?23 I notice that our Malaysian students the were only information. trained to accept and information learning of without guiding them to think through Teaching

mathematics, for instance are perceived by most teachers and learners as the teaching and learning of procedures and blindly applied to solve problems. Students were not exposed to activities such as how to analyze problems, how to compare and contrast, how to reason inductively and other thinking skills that are necessary to develop thinking culture among
23

(Othman, 2012)

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learners. Sadly said that most of the Malaysian Mathematics teachers focusing more on the knowledge level of Blooms taxonomy and very little on the level of understanding and application. What is more obvious is that, there is almost nothing being done to develop students skills at the level of analysis, synthesis and evaluation which form very important components of critical thinking. Thus it looks as if mathematics has nothing to do with thinking, reasoning and communication. I have view this scenario for the past 7 years of teaching, since the process of mathematics education seem to discard the fact that teachers are supposed to educate the students in mathematics (such as developing critical and creative thinking ) and not just making false assumption that students are there in the classrooms to be drilled in mathematical knowledge for the sake of passing public examinations. Teachers of the 21st century should learn how to think critically and creatively. They should extend their pedagogical knowledge beyond content-based approach. They should view process-based approach as an alternative or as complementary approach in the teaching of mathematics in order that their students could perform better in their mathematics grade and at the same time could think skilfully. They should be more openminded to accept new ideas on the teaching and learning of mathematics especially when such ideas allow their students to gain skills in thinking and problem solving. In conclusion, it is hard to convince the heads of schools in Malaysia of the importance of thinking as a culture in the classrooms, since most heads of schools were themselves unclear of its importance and its relevance to the process of the learning. As a result most of them will tend to get the advice of their teachers as to whether to allow their students to get exposed to such program. In many cases, teachers would reject such program due to their ignorance about the importance of thinking and metacognition in learning. In partnership with Kestrel Education, Thinking School International is working with Malaysian government on a major project to create thinking schools across the country. Working with the Agensi Inovasi Malaysia, six trainers will be training teachers in ten pilot schools during November and December prior to the pilot programme beginning in January 2012. In addition a team of Malaysian trainers will be trained to provide on-going support to schools24.

24

(Studio, 2012)

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