Engagement in research and professional growth activities, the thinking school creates a collaborative culture that permeates the entire learning community.
Design thinking is a method of problem-solving that relies on a complex set of skills, processes and mindsets that help people generate novel solutions to problems. Taking Design Thinking to School: How the Technology of Design Can Transform Teachers, Learners, and Classrooms uses an action-oriented approach to reframing K-12 teaching and learning, examining interventions that open up dialogue about when and where learning, growth, and empowerment can be triggered. While design thinking projects make engineering, design, and technology fluency more tangible and personal for a broad range of young learners, their embrace of ambiguity and failure as growth opportunities often clash with institutional values and structures. Through a series of in-depth case studies that honor and explore such tensions, the authors demonstrate that design thinking provides students with the agency and compassion that is necessary for doing creative and collaborative work, both in and out of the classroom. A vital resource for education researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, Taking Design Thinking to School brings together some of the most innovative work in design pedagogy.
A child explains he is slow this morning because he is so busy thinking. Not to be deterred by a hurried schedule or the start of school, a child takes his time to carefully consider whatever flights of fancy come to mind. Delicious, juicy watermelons, bubbling streams and playful puddles, and even particles of dust that dance in the sunlight distract the inventive child from his daily tasks.
This book examines the school as an operational organization through the lens of systems thinking. In this way it serves as an invitation to look again at schools and how they operate as learning systems. It begins by showing exactly why our inherited, industrial school model, can never be made to work effectively no matter how hard school leaders try or how well schools are judged. This book uses systems thinking to explain and describe the management unlearning and new learning needed to create deep and fundamental changes to the way schools operate as complete learning entities. It explains why the reinstatement of the personal tutor in a vertical system is essential to the creation of a learning organization within a complete home/school operational learning process; one capable of building a values driven and more purposeful school culture within a more relevant and coherent society.
Good Teachers do, great teachers think'. Oliver Quinlan presents ideas from education, business and other areas of life that teachers and educational leaders can use to enhance and explore their thinking. In order to progress we must philosophise about learning, question traditional practice and be resourceful in providing solutions for better education. The only way the education system can improve standards and be at its best is by ensuring that those who govern it don't stop thinking about it! Innovation is the key to our progress as individuals and society as a whole
Each fall, thousands of eager freshmen descend on college and university campuses expecting the best education imaginable: inspiring classes taught by top-ranked professors, academic advisors who will guide them to a prestigious job or graduate school, and an environment where learning flourishes outside the classroom as much as it does in lecture halls. Unfortunately, most of these freshmen soon learn that academic life is not what they imagined. Classes are taught by overworked graduate students and adjuncts rather than seasoned faculty members, undergrads receive minimal attention from advisors or administrators, and potentially valuable campus resources remain outside their grasp. Andrew Roberts’ Thinking Student’s Guide to College helps students take charge of their university experience by providing a blueprint they can follow to achieve their educational goals—whether at public or private schools, large research universities or small liberal arts colleges. An inside look penned by a professor at Northwestern University, this book offers concrete tips on choosing a college, selecting classes, deciding on a major, interacting with faculty, and applying to graduate school. Here, Roberts exposes the secrets of the ivory tower to reveal what motivates professors, where to find loopholes in university bureaucracy, and most importantly, how to get a personalized education. Based on interviews with faculty and cutting-edge educational research, The Thinking Student’s Guide to College is a necessary handbook for students striving to excel academically, creatively, and personally during their undergraduate years.
Proposes to show how children can be prepared to develop their full potential as 'thinking' human beings. The activities or 'games' described provide a general foundation which should help the child to deal successfully with specific academic subjects. With Additional Thoughts.
This practical, very effective resource helps elementary school teachers and curriculum leaders develop the skills to design instructional tasks and assessments that engage students in higher-level critical thinking, as recommended by the Common Core State Standards. Real examples of formative and summative assessments from a variety of content areas are included and demonstrate how to successfully increase the level of critical thinking in every elementary classroom! This book is also an excellent resource for higher education faculty to use in undergraduate and graduate courses on assessment and lesson planning.
A thinking student is an engaged student Teachers often find it difficult to implement lessons that help students go beyond rote memorization and repetitive calculations. In fact, institutional norms and habits that permeate all classrooms can actually be enabling "non-thinking" student behavior. Sparked by observing teachers struggle to implement rich mathematics tasks to engage students in deep thinking, Peter Liljedahl has translated his 15 years of research into this practical guide on how to move toward a thinking classroom. Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K–12 helps teachers implement 14 optimal practices for thinking that create an ideal setting for deep mathematics learning to occur. This guide Provides the what, why, and how of each practice and answers teachers’ most frequently asked questions Includes firsthand accounts of how these practices foster thinking through teacher and student interviews and student work samples Offers a plethora of macro moves, micro moves, and rich tasks to get started Organizes the 14 practices into four toolkits that can be implemented in order and built on throughout the year When combined, these unique research-based practices create the optimal conditions for learner-centered, student-owned deep mathematical thinking and learning, and have the power to transform mathematics classrooms like never before.
Empower learners to think disruptively in your classroom or school... The world continues to change in ways that are difficult to predict. Regardless of the forces at hand, educators play a pivotal role in preparing students for success now and in the future. Eric Sheninger makes the compelling case that the best way to do this is to future-proof learning for ALL kids by creating a disruptive thinking culture in our classrooms and schools. Broken into four parts, this book combines stories, insight from thousands of school visits, practical strategies, research, and examples from classrooms to assist educators in transforming their practice. Each chapter ends with a "disruptive challenge" that encourages readers to actively apply concepts from the book into their professional practice. Readers will develop an understanding that: Disruptive change is the new normal. As such, our mindset must evolve in ways that help students develop meaningful competencies critical for their success in an unpredictable world. Comfort is the enemy of growth. We must critically evaluate if the way things have always been done in the classroom sets learners up for success now and in the future. Improvement in all we do is a never-ending journey. Learning is a process, not an event. It requires educators to develop and use instructional practices and pedagogical techniques that meet the unique needs of all students. Outlier practices promote disruptive thinking. Some innovative educational practices add value while others do not. When we discover new and better ways of empowering learners, we must act, making "outlier" practices the new norm. Packed with ready-to-use ideas and embedded resources, including the latest digital tools, templates, and artifacts from real classrooms, readers will learn: Why a mindset shift is essential in preparing learners for an unpredictable world.How to implement strategies that focus on developing critical competencies.How to ensure equity through personalization.What to reflect on to improve and build powerful relationships.