Metacognition in the refreshed EEF Toolkit
12 July 2021
Blog Post – Alisdair Wade, CEO Thinking Matters
News
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!
Developing Thinking Skills within Forest School
16 June 2021
As an academy for students with Autism/Complex needs, the development of thinking skills is a fundamental part of our students’ learning and impacts positively on all areas of their development both academically and pastorally.
Festival of Thinking
16 June 2021
Two years ago at the Thinking Matters conference Christie Ransom (Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for Thinking Skills) and I got fired up with an idea of promoting thinking through a festival.
Keeping Metacognition ‘the Main Thing’ when Managing Change
15 June 2021
Priory Integrated College, Holywood, County Down is an 11-18, all ability, integrated school which has been progressing the Thinking School approach since 2019. Nicola Wilson, Principal and Deirdre Scarlett, SLT member and Drive Team Leader, recently met with TM Consultant Lorna Gardiner to discuss how they have sustained the focus on whole school metacognition through a time of considerable change.
Range – How Generalists Triumph in a Specialzed World – by David Epstein
12 March 2021
How can I develop excellence in sports, music or science? You might advise me to specialise, and do it early: If I don’t, others will have a head start on me in the 10,000 hours of Deliberate Practice necessary for outstanding achievement proposed by Anders Ericsson and popularised by Malcolm Gladwell. If I don’t develop this specialism and practice, practice, practice, I may have broader experiences, but am likely to end up a well-rounded ‘jack-of-all-trades, master of none’.
Journey of a Thinking School during a National Lockdown
11 March 2021
It’s been quite the journey for us at Sacred Heart over the last four years. We have a whole new Senior Leadership Team in place, a stable staff team, a bespoke curriculum developed and have become a real hub for the community. We were also excited to start the Thinking Matters whole school approach to thinking and to be working closely with Ged Murphy, TM Consultant, who has been integral to our school improvement.
Developing Dialogic Talk in the classroom with students with Autism/Complex needs
11 March 2021
As an academy for students with Autism/ Complex needs, the development of oracy skills is a fundamental part of our students’ learning and impacts positively on their reading and writing levels as well as increasing their confidence, enjoyment and their ability to engage in learning with increasing confidence.
Millbrook Primary School – the start of a Thinking School Journey
7 November 2020
The start of our Thinking School Journey – helping our children to reignite their thinking and learning following the pandemic.
Blooming Zoom!
7 November 2020
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.
Wellbeing Matters
7 November 2020
Supporting Health and Wellbeing through Metacognitive Visual Tools.
The Power of Making Thinking Visible – A Book Review
7 November 2020
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.
No Matter Who You are – Everybody’s Welcome!
7 November 2020
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.