Creative Teaching & Learning

New project set to cultivate nation of healthy eaters

A look at how a new initiative from the Royal Horticultural Society has helped Tangnere Primary School in Chichester enhance their cross-curricular learning.

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      string(362) "... inability to create, as a nation, enough high-powered engineers, the report  Learning to be an Engineer: implications for the education system,  found that  a new reframing of the curriculum in terms of set of problem-solving  habits of mind typically found in top engineers was more important to prioritise ..."
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      string(5662) "Earlier this year, with my colleagues at the universities of Winchester and Manchester, I published the results of a two-year research project, which we believe has profound implications for the curriculum at all levels within the education system. Although it addressed a particular problem, our inability to create, as a nation, enough high-powered engineers, the report  Learning to be an Engineer: implications for the education system,  found that  a new reframing of the curriculum in terms of set of problem-solving  habits of mind typically found in top engineers was more important to prioritise than the set of subjects typically associated with engineering, such as maths, physics and design and technology. One of the most effective ways of developing young engineers in schools is a playful experimentation with the use of authentic design processes, a kind of problem-based learning. For the teachers involved, it became obvious that, not only could they deepen their pupils’ knowledge, they could also teach in a way that was engaging, creative and likely to develop young engineers.  Rethinking pedagogyCentre for Real-World Learning’s Model of Engineering Habits of MindThe teachers taking part in our research realised that teaching engineering, like developing creativity, depends at least as much on experimentation and imagination as it does on subject knowledge. They drew on three ‘signature pedagogies’2 – the engineering design process, playful experimentation and authentic engagement with engineers. The signature pedagogies – teaching and learning methods – were selected as those most likely to help pupils think like engineers.Gomer Junior School in Hampshire, for example, introduced engineering sessions in every year group each Thursday  morning from 09.00-12.00. The sessions integrated maths, literacy, science and IT with the aim of motivating learners and fostering understanding of real-world applications of STEM subjects by experiencing hands-on activities, such as The Space Race project featuring Tim Peake’s Principia Mission3,  and involved programming Crumble-controlled moon buggies.  Underpinning their teaching and learning was a version of the engineering design process, the STEM Wheel. STEM WheelBy contrast, Medway University Technical College (UTC) in Kent focused on raising awareness among staff and students about the six engineering habits of mind, their usefulness and ways of integrating them into the curriculum. Whole-school assemblies were organised around each habit of mind and icons for use on posters and rewards postcards were created. The systems thinking one is shown  below.The popular ‘Be Like Bill’ social media meme (above) was also adapted to explain the meaning of each engineering habit of mind, in this case problem-finding.Medway UTC’s strategies to cultivate awareness of EHoM had an important impact on those teachers in subjects such as art and English, who felt much more included in the overall engineering mission of the school.Some possible problems with problem-based learningThe teachers were, in essence, using a set of approaches associated with the approach known as problem-based learning (PBL). PBL is a hands-on method of teaching which focuses on messy, real-world problems and encourages students to explore these in depth and over time. Interestingly, PBL produces negative reactions from some researchers and, in the second part of this article, I explore some of these and offer some counter arguments.1. Constructivist teaching which allows pupils to explore problems in less structured ways is not as effective as direct instruction.An example of such a critique is a paper by Paul Kirschner, John Sweller and Richard Clark. The first part of the title of the article suggests their line of argument – Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching4 Kirschner and his colleagues draw on thinking about working memory and about the acquisition of expertise. They are right to remind us that novices and intermediate learners often need specific instruction to master core concepts and key skills, but they fail to ask a more fundamental question  about the learning outcomes which are desired by teachers. Obviously, young engineers, for example, need to have some mathematical and scientific knowledge, but they also need to be able to apply this in the real world. PBL was invented by those training doctors who had become concerned that trainees had good knowledge, but little ability to put this into practice with patients. There is now a journal devoted to understanding PBL with rigour and subtlety5 and, from meta-analytical research, it is possible to understand its application a much more nuanced way. PBL does not have to be a binary alternative to direct instruction, nor was it in our engineering research. Rather, it can be combined with moments of didactic input as required. By the same token, the idea of ‘minimal instruction’ forces some unhelpful binary thinking about the nature of learning when, in reality, structures such as the engineering design process, when well used, bring structure to pupils’ enquiries.2. 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Leadership

Engineering a new curriculum

26 Sep 2017

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      string(336) "Ron Ritchhart, leader of PZ’s ‘Cultures of Thinking’ project, has been a powerful advocate for educational practices that bring out the best in people, and creating places where thinking is valued, visible and actively promoted. We sat down with him to discuss his research and thoughts on the current state of education."
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      string(5687) "Since 1994, Ron Ritchhart has been involved with Project Zero, aiming to understand how to develop, nurture and sustain thoughtful learning environments for both students and teachers. His books Making Thinking Visible and Creating Cultures of Thinking have not only put out a call for action for schools to become inspirational environments that bring out the best in all learners, but they have also offered concrete strategies and approaches to make that happen. His research has explored areas such as intellectual character, mindfulness, thinking dispositions, teaching for understanding, creativity in teaching and the development of communities of practice. From this, he has clarified a framework for leveraging the cultural forces that exist in classrooms and has developed a series of ‘Thinking Routines’ that help scaffold and support thinking and make the learning process visible as ideas are expressed, discussed and reflected upon. Can you give us a brief overview of the ‘Cultures of Thinking’ and tell us a bit about the project and the key concepts?Well, several years ago I became really interested in the idea of thinking dispositions. To cultivate those, one can’t rely on direct teaching. What we have to do is create a culture in which thinking is supported and where we enable students to develop deep understanding and also to develop those habits of mind. The framework that we use for understanding how culture exists comes from some early research that I did almost 20 years ago in which I looked at classrooms where teachers were really adept at getting students to think. 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And who were your influences that got you interested in education and this line of research? Well, what took me to Project Zero was the opportunity to work with David Perkins. I had read his book Smart Schools, and was really captivated by the notion that we can think about schools in a different way and think about education in terms of developing students as thinkers and learners with a focus on deep understanding. He shaped a lot of the teaching that I was doing in my own mathematics classroom at the time, and then I got the opportunity to come to to Harvard and work with him and with other people at Project Zero, including, of course, Howard Gardner as well as David Perkins. And so they’ve been very influential, as well as the colleagues that I’ve had over the years. Joseph Onosko, a professor at the University of New Hampshire, is someone else who has influenced me. He too was looking deeply into thinking. His research has also looked at classroom teachers and how they understand the role of thinking and how that connects to their agenda of teaching. Those have been very major influences. One of the things you mentioned with the eight forces is that they are things that good teachers were already doing. Some people might say then that your research is a collation of good teaching practices and theories that are already out there and that these forces are simply a collection of research practices that have been out there for a long time. How would you respond to that perspective?  Well, I think what my research has added is the identification of these forces. Whenever research identifies something that exists, then what that research does is illuminate how those things work. That’s what my research has focused on. And so, take something like language. 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Creative Teaching & Learning

Leveraging Culture with Ron Ritchhart

8 Jan 2019

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      string(5574) "Domestic violence leads to childhoold traumaThe Healing Together Facilitator Programme will help to create a legion of trauma aware practitioners who will have the skills and understanding to help children who are impacted by domestic abuse and violence. This is an ambitious world-wide training programme toupskill staff who work with children in primary or secondary schools, in othercommunity settings, in refuges, hostels or who provide pastoral or counsellingsupport. Dealing with childhood trauma and domestic violenceWe are the course creators and come with different perspectives from different backgrounds and that adds strength to our collaboration. Dr Asha Patel set up her multi award winning social enterprise in 2016 with the aim of creating mentally healthy environment in schools: ‘I come from a forensic mental health background, working with high-profile sex offenders among others. I realised I was working at the wrong end of the spectrum. It was too late for them. I came to understand that I could make more impact if I supported them when they were young.’Innovating Minds worked alongside ‘We:ARE’ in Birmingham which supports women who have been subjected to domestic violence. As the mothers started to rebuild their lives, they were concerned about the damage done to their children, so Innovating Minds developed a programme in Kings Norton in Birmingham. Children aged 10-14 attended, one evening a week for six weeks after school After the very first session there was a waiting list for 40 children so right from the beginning it was impossible to keep up with demand.Jane Evans is an expert on Childhood Trauma and Anxiety. She’s also the author of a number of books which help adults explore discuss difficult issues with children, including one on domestic abuse called How Are You Feeling Today Baby Bear? She has worked in refuges, with children’s services, the courts and trained to be a foster carer. All her work draws on her experiences but is also informed by research. She is a trainer and coach and much in demand as a public speaker.Jane was working with preschool children 26 years ago whenshe first learned about abusive relationships and realised that she had been inone for three years. ‘Trauma does not stop when they come out of an abusive relationship,so adults need to learn to walk in the child’s shoes. Often once the abusivepartner has left ,the single parent really struggles with the child’sbehaviour.’Levels of domestic violence in lockdownThe HealingTogether Facilitator Programme is especially timely now. The pandemic has not been kind tochildren who live in violent households. The United Nations has called domesticabuse the ‘shadow pandemic’ as it estimates incidents globally have increasedby at least 20 per cent. According to Commander Sue Williams of The Metropolitan Police there was a spike in arrests after 9 March, when people with coronavirus symptoms were asked to self-isolate. She says charges and cautions were up by 24% compared to the same period in 2019, with officers arresting an average of 100 people a day for domestic violence. Police believe the incidents of domestic violence are under-reported as some mothers know that if their partner is arrested, they will be left with no money coming into the home. Meanwhile, researchers at the Counting Dead Women Project told UK MPs that 14 women and two children were killed in the first three weeks of lockdown – the largest number of killings in a three-week period for 11 years and more than double the average rate.[1]The NSPCC has confirmed a shocking increase in calls to their service: ‘Contacts to our helpline about the impact of domestic abuse on children have increased by 32% since the start of the lockdown, to an average of one an hour.’Agenciesknow that these figures are just the tip of the iceberg and that many more willcome to light when women and children can get out of the house and tell theirstories to others. This has happened in other countries that lifted lockdownearlier.The biggest victims of domestic abuse are often the youngest people in familiesThe statistics areshocking but the reality is that each of these numbers represents one or morechildren trapped over thirteen weeks with no chance of escape.They have lived with daily uncertainties, threats and abuse. They willneed support from safe adults to give them insights into ways to feel calmerand safer in their own bodies.The danger is that they go back to school, struggle with their feelings and emotions and find that they cannot cope. Adults in children’s daily lives, at school and in the community, need to understand that certain behaviours can be manifested by children who are traumatised – they must NOT be simply seen as ‘really naughty’ or ‘unmanageable.’The children are responding to trauma and overwhelmed. Their bodies areon alert and they experience sensory overload where they react to sounds,smells, sounds, textures of food. Words, looks, silences and what seem to beminor incidents can set off feelings of danger.They are swamped by their feelings but there is a disconnect betweentheir mind and body so they are not always aware of what is going on.  One girl told us: ‘I love my mum, I don’t know why I do this to her’. When children are working through the course materials you will see real light bulb moment where they suddenly identify their reactions: ‘That’s what my body does too!’; ‘So that is what my brain is telling"
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Mental Health

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1 Jul 2020

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From this, he has clarified a framework for leveraging the cultural forces that exist in classrooms and has developed a series of ‘Thinking Routines’ that help scaffold and support thinking and make the learning process visible as ideas are expressed, discussed and reflected upon. Can you give us a brief overview of the ‘Cultures of Thinking’ and tell us a bit about the project and the key concepts?Well, several years ago I became really interested in the idea of thinking dispositions. To cultivate those, one can’t rely on direct teaching. What we have to do is create a culture in which thinking is supported and where we enable students to develop deep understanding and also to develop those habits of mind. The framework that we use for understanding how culture exists comes from some early research that I did almost 20 years ago in which I looked at classrooms where teachers were really adept at getting students to think. 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These forces already exist in classrooms, so they’re not something we choose to implement, but they are something we can choose to use to shape the culture. Those eight cultural forces are: the routines and structures that the group has in placehow time is allocatedthe opportunities that are being createdthe interactions that teachers have with students and that students have with one another, the modelling that teachers offer of who they are as thinkers and learners, the physical environment, the language that gets used, particularly language of thinkingthe expectations that we have for our students that really guide us So those eight forces really wind up being the centre of our work. There’s a lot there. We’ve spent a lot of time researching each of those in more depth to provide teachers with tools to help them move forward. Great. And who were your influences that got you interested in education and this line of research? Well, what took me to Project Zero was the opportunity to work with David Perkins. I had read his book Smart Schools, and was really captivated by the notion that we can think about schools in a different way and think about education in terms of developing students as thinkers and learners with a focus on deep understanding. He shaped a lot of the teaching that I was doing in my own mathematics classroom at the time, and then I got the opportunity to come to to Harvard and work with him and with other people at Project Zero, including, of course, Howard Gardener as well as David Perkins. And so they’ve been very influential, as well as the colleagues that I’ve had over the years. Joseph Onosko, a professor at the University of New Hampshire, is someone else who has influenced me. He too was looking deeply into thinking. His research has also looked at classroom teachers and how they understand the role of thinking and how that connects to their agenda of teaching. Those have been very major influences. One of the things you mentioned with the eight forces is that they are things that good teachers were already doing. Some people might say then that your research is a collation of good teaching practices and theories that are already out there and that these forces are simply a collection of research practices that have been out there for a long time. How would you respond to that perspective?  Well, I think what my research has added is the identification of these forces. Whenever research identifies something that exists, then what that research does is illuminate how those things work. That’s what my research has focused on. And so, take something like language. 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Growth Mindset

Enabling a Culture for Thinkers with Ron Ritchhart

21 Mar 2019

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