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Thinking-based learning at Birkdale Intermediate School

Birkdale Intermediate School in Auckland has combined direct instruction in skillful thinking with a problem-based inquiry process to create their thinking-based learning approach.

'The result is that students learn life-long skills of good thinking and achieve a depth of understanding of the content they study in ways that are richer and deeper than they achieve in more traditional classrooms.'

(Swartz*R, 2009)

Students gain new insights and understandings to move them beyond their own personal experiences, and to discover new ways of looking at the world. They develop habits of skillful thinking that they are able to apply in a range of contexts. They generate creative ways to solve problems and use critical thinking skills such as judging the reliability of sources, using evidence to establish the likelihood of predictions and causal explanations. The students strengthen these skills as they learn through extended units called 'quests'.

A quest lasts about five to six weeks, and is designed to encourage students to be active problem-solvers as they confront situations that reflect the real world. Each quest begins with a scenario that sets the scene for the inquiry and ends with a concluding conversation where students present their answer to the question posed in the scenario. They share their new insights and learning with one another. The students discuss the knowledge they have gained – the way their skillful thinking has helped, and new ways of thinking about the world that they have experienced during the quest.

Quests are currently being developed in science, social sciences, technology, the arts and literacy to facilitate a whole school approach. Quests come with a teachers’ guide and a multimedia CD-ROM of specially chosen resources. The school is happy to share these with other schools.

For more information about this programme and the resources available, read 'thinking based learning' on the Birkdale Intermediate School site.

Robert Swartz – Director of the National Center for Teaching Thinking in the US.

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    Published on: 29 Jun 2010

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