Thinking Skills
The curriculum is designed to develop and promote children’s knowledge and understanding and this relies heavily on encouraging and developing pupils. The 1950s saw the development of Bloom’s Taxonomy which introduced a list of thinking skills, categorized according to the processes involved. Six categories are identified which are split into two groups: concrete and critical thinking skills.
While debate has continued over the definitions, the need to question children in certain ways has been accepted. Different types of questions produce different types of answers.
In order to embed Thinking skills into the curriculum the government has developed an area of the DfES website: www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/thinkingskills which has more information and relates this area directly to the curriculum.
The essential skills needed for organising Information are:
- How to identify keywords
- Understanding keywords and language hierarchies
- Practise organising information – categorisation, identifying similarities and differences
- Discuss the big picture – see the whole as more than the sum of the parts
Developing these skills gives a clear picture of just how intimately the structure of language shapes our thinking. Understanding the structure and hierarchy of words, and their contextual relationship in the creation of meaning is given sharp focus through the medium of model mapping.
Model mapping provides a tool that can integrate National Curriculum Thinking Skills seamlessly into subject based teaching. Learning a subject is mostly concerned with learning the language of that subject – the specialised language of a topic is the key to developing subject specific thinking. You do not think in a linear, sequential way, yet every body of information is traditionally given to you in a linear manner.
You are effectively taught in a way that restricts your ability to think, because you naturally think in an associative way. You read in ways you do not write.
Before identifying relationships you need to be able to identify keywords, and these need to be embedded firmly in the context and purpose of your task. Identifying and using keywords is at the heart of model mapping.
Looking to infuse thinking skills into your classrooms?
We recommend you attend the MapWise and Eye Q courses run by Model Learning; the UK’s leading educational exponents of visual thinking techniques and the developers of Model Mapping. Regional courses run each term. For more information, to book yourself onto a course, or to arrange an INSET click here.
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