Author(s): David Whitehead

Study Guides

Top Tools for Teaching Thinking is a resource for teachers who want to integrate into their teaching programme constructive thinking tools that will help students to gather information and to process and reflect on what they know. The tools will help students: * become independent thinkers * expand their range of types of thinking * develop life-long thinking habits. The tools can be used by any teacher and can be applied in most curriculum areas. Ultimately, it is hoped that the systematic and consistent use of these tools will result in the transference of the responsibility for learning and thinking from the teacher to the student. The tools cover five types of thinking (memory, creative, critical, caring and reflective) and are designed to engage students in the following processes: - storing and recalling information with greater efficacy - thinking laterally - analysing information and learning to argue - thinking affectively and ethically - planning, monitoring, regulating and evaluating their own thinking processes. Each tool is described in detail and is accompanied by cross-curricula examples of the tool in action. Suggestions are also given as to the year level at which each tool might be introduced. The tools range in suitability from Year 1 to Year 12.