Developing thinking: developing learning. A guide to thinking skills in education.

Abstract

This book examines the UK and international research evidence and theoretical frameworks that have informed how thinking has been ‘taught’ in schools. It discusses how the pedagogical strategies or tactics that teachers enact in their classroom can strongly influence the nature of pupils' thinking. The book is based upon the author’s professional experience and research (on teachers’ and students’ views and observations of thoughtful acts and actions), specifically her comparison of what ‘thinking’ looks like in various cognitive programmes and the nature of the evidence about whether they improve students' cognitive capabilities. The book offers unique perspectives on a wide range of issues that influence the nature of thinking skills approaches being developed and adopted in schools. In particular it provides a critical review of the empirical basis of different thinking skills approaches and their claims around efficacy and effectiveness.