Teaching the ASK model

Two of the schools I'm working with, one in Doncaster (UK) and the other in Cambewarra (Australia), are trying a new approach to their curriculum that places an emphasis on Attitudes and Skills, as well as Knowledge (ASK). In a previous blog, (see Teaching Attitudes on 18 March 2009) I shared the Attitudes work of Sandringham Primary School. Now, here's an insight into the Skills work that Cambewarra Primary School are doing.

Selecting five key thinking skills, Processing information, Reasoning, Inquiry, Creativity and Evaluation, Trent Burns and his colleagues are ensuring that at least one of these skills is at the heart of each lesson. For example, when studying the environmental impact of technologies, the children would be asked to "paraphrase" the contributions of another, and then to add a "reason" to that opinion or argument.

Of course, since the children would have to use their thinking skills in order to answer a question or complete a task, some might say the deliberate focus on a particular type of thinking is unnecessary. And yet to improve any skill, expert practice concerns itself with breaking the skill down into parts. For example, in addition to swimming from one side of the pool to the other, a swimmer wishing to improve his/her skills would be well advised to at times focus almost exclusively on head position, then perhaps on the timing of his/her arm strokes and maybe another time on the frequency of kicks. And so it is with thinking - breaking the whole skill down into parts so that the whole might be improved bit by bit.

Furthermore, Trent's students enjoy the added dimension that a focus on thinking skills brings to their lessons, referring frequently to the PRICE model either by identifying the skill they believe they are using to solve a task, or setting out to improve a particular skill by finding opportunities to practise it.

Look out for an update on their progress after my visit there in June.

Enigma Table

The "Enigma Table" is a really nice idea that Kate McIntyre uses with her class of 4 and 5 year olds at Newport School in Middlesbrough, UK. As Kate explains:

The 'Enigma Table' stands alone in our Classroom and at the beginning of the week I put an interesting but not immediately indentifiable object (see photo). During the week the children come up to the table (independently) and have lots of interesting discussions about what the object could be. There is a pencil pot and post it notes available for them to write their ideas down (great for monitoring their writing and honic skills).

At the end of the week, we have a class circle time where we talk about our ideas. At this point, the children usually challenge each others' ideas about why it 'can't be'. We finish off by showing them what the object is for, usually followed by cries of "that's what I was going to say"!

If you have any ideas what the object in the phot is then post your answers here:

Learning Detectives

Here's a really nice idea from Louise Brown, the deputy head and reception teacher at Amble First School in Northumberland.

At the start of each day Louise chooses two children to take the role of Learning Detectives. They then each put on some headwear (crown for the girls, a viking hat for the boys) to denote they are the Learning Detectives for that day. Their task is to record their classmates engaging in whatever the focus might be for that day/week.

At the beginning of the academic year, Louise tends to focus the children's attention on social language and social skills (for example, listening to each other, working together, agreeing and disagreeing). She then moves them on to thinking about the skills of learning (for example, asking questions, giving reasons, making links and decisions).

At the end of the lesson or day, Louise asks the 2 Learning Detectives to feed back to the other children when and where they witnessed the particular skill in action. This feedback comes in the form of written notes, digital pictures or diagrams that are drawn on the interactive whiteboard. All are used as part of the plenary session during which Louise encourages them to reflect on their thinking and learning throughout the day.

The idea has now spread across the school, with Learning Detectives appointed to spot good behaviour, friendly actions and sociable children (and adults!) in the playground and around the school.

Clown around today for Red Nose day

I recently attended a Clown in the Classroom workshop led by Mark Labrow. Despite initial reservations, we all had an absolute blast. And not only that, it gave us some wonderful ideas for enhancing creativity and spontaneity in learning.

None of us were required to put on big feet or big baggy trousers; a simple red nose was enough to signal we were clowns. We learnt the key is to react to everything around you as if it is the first time you've ever seen such a think; in a way, to become more child-like. So, picking up a mug as if it's just a work of genius, or sitting on a chair as if it were the most wonderful, beautiful and imaginative think you've ever come across is the way to go. And of course this attitude is infectious, causing the audience, particularly if they are children or child-like themselves, to be filled with a similar sense of awe and wonder. And to wet themselves! So go on, have a go! What better excuse do you need than Red Nose day next month?

Footnote: this posting is dedicated to Rebecca Bell, the tremendous clown in the picture and to Mally Milne, my old geography teacher whose favourite phrase was "Clown"! No matter whether you'd labelled your glaciated escarpment incorrectly or defaced a picture of the queen, the only punishment you'd get from old Mally was to hear the shout, "Clown!" JN

Out-Smart!

A wonderful innovation that's well worth exploring is Out-Smart. Developed by Paul Dearlove during his time at the award-winning N-RAIS project (Northumberland's Raising Aspirations in Society project), the approach combines outdoor adventure with thinking skills strategies.

Though many people will say that problem-solving activities in the outdoors are nothing new, Paul's approach is different: Out-Smart focuses as much on the reflective process and on making thinking visible as it does on the "initiative games".

Key questions that Paul asks Out-Smart learners include: what is an appreciative team; what learning dispositions do we want to grow; how can our response to challenge in the outdoors be applied to learning in the classroom; and can reflection be as active as adventure?

To find out more about Out-Smart, visit Paul's website or read Radical Encouragement by Williams and Wegerif. JN

Sing from the Rooftops

Bravo to Martyn Soulsby and everyone at North Lakes School in Penrith (UK) for being the first school in Cumbria to receive the Sing Up Platinum award! Singing happens at the school every day, within and beyond the music curriculum - just for fun. They also regulalry perform at regional and national events. The Singing Squad, consisting of Year 5 and 6 pupils, selects and learns its own songs and assist and encourage singing amongst the children in the playground. Pupils are encouraged to use the Sing UP website and Song Bank at home in their own time and the school is introducing a section on the school Moodle (Virtual Learning Environment) for the pupils to access at home. Parents are highly supportive of the singing that goes on at North Lakes. They attend the monthly Sing Up sessions with Ems Featherstone and many parents accompany the choir on their many events and trips. The school now act as ambassadors for Sing up and the national Music Manifesto.

With the school already reknowned for its outstanding work with P4C, it really must be a joy to work, learn and sing there every day. Bring on the "Choir of Inquiry" JN

2 Circles for P4C

Facilitating Philosophy for Children (P4C) can be a challenge with average class sizes in the UK of 30 but a possible solution is to have 2 circles of children - an inner and an outer circle.

Whilst half the children sit in the inner circle engaging in the community of inquiry, the other half sit in an outer circle mind-mapping or in some way recording what is being investigated by the other children. Every 10 minutes or so, the groups swap over. Children partner up, one from each group, so that they can compare notes and respond to each other's thoughts.

This idea was developed in Berwick by Mary-Rose Blythe, deputy head at Holy Trinity First School, and myself as a way to ensure that the deaf children at the school didn't miss out on the wonderful experience of P4C. However, we also found that ALL children enjoyed the opportunity for thinking/recording time whilst in the outer circle and the increased opportunity to talk whilst in the inner circle. Furthermore, research by the Universities of Newcastle and Sunderland noted that this combination of P4C and cognitive mapping helped children make more progress in their learning when compared with taking part in just one of these approaches. Try it out and let us know how it goes! JN

Dramatic Enquiry

Do students think differently when, whilst in a dramatic role, they take part in a Community of Inquiry?

This is the key question for a project that aims to enhance creativity and transferable thinking skills in learners of all ages. Developed by Gordon Poad and a group of wonderful drama practitioners and teachers from Stoke on Trent, with a little help from myself and a pot of cash and enthusiasm from Creative Partnerships, this idea has flourished into an outstanding approach to learning. The vision for the project explains more:

Dramatic Enquiry develops creativity, responsible independence and transferable thinking skills. It appeals to parents and teachers who want a broad and balanced curriculum for their children, and encourages us all to be motivated and questioning learners.

We believe that creative thinkers will influence all our futures and that “Educare”, an approach to education that draws on the talents of every learner rather than relies on the expertise of a single teacher, supports creativity and effective learning. To this end, we are developing a training model that is open to all learners, based in schools that are centres for excellence in the Dramatic Enquiry.

As a team, we capture the learning and impact of Dramatic Enquiry whilst drawing on, and seeking critiques from, the worlds of education, drama and philosophy. We realise that creating new ways of working is not easy but we are committed to challenging ourselves and to achieving this vision

Of all the projects I was involved in during 2008, this was by far the most fun and probably the one with most potential to inspire young and old. Read more about it at Cap-a-Pie JN

Credit where credit's due

A big thank you to Stephen Heppell, the inspiration for starting this blog. I met Stephen at a headteachers' conference in North Lincolnshire. His morning keynote was so fascinating that it stopped me preparing my afternoon keynote, which is what I should have been doing!

This ageing hippy (as he described himself) lives on a boat on the Thames, and travels the world supporting learning through technology and innovation. During his presentation he used everything but powerpoint, including video files, blogs, websites, photos, webcam footage on his iPhone - anything in fact that he had stored on his Macbook! One of the many things he said that got me to thinking was how most teachers download lots and upload very little whereas our students are uploading to the web as much, if not more, that they are downloading.

And so I thought, well why not keep up with the young and start uploading ideas myself... hence this blog. Hope you enjoy it, and once again: thank you Stephen. JN