Creative Teaching & Learning

Put your thinking cap on(line!)

A collection of websites and online tools to support the teaching of creative and critical thinking skills across the curriculum.

put-your-thinking-cap-online.pdf

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      string(274) "Asking questions in research is an art. When are questions used, what are the main types of questions, how should you sequence them and which questions should you avoid? Caroline Sharp outlines some of the things to think about when using questions in practitioner research."
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      string(318) "... have compiled a set of questions, you will need to decide the order in which to ask them. It helps the recipient to follow your line of thinking if you put questions into a logical order and group them according to broad themes. Simple, introductory questions placed at the beginning ..."
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      string(5628) "ethnic background:Black, African χBlack, Caribbean χBlack, other χIndian χPakistani χBangladeshi χMixed ethnicity χChinese χWhite, European χWhite, other χOther ethnic group χ(please specify) ……………….How should you sequence your questions?Once you have compiled a set of questions, you will need to decide the order in which to ask them. It helps the recipient to follow your line of thinking if you put questions into a logical order and group them according to broad themes. Simple, introductory questions placed at the beginning will help your respondents to relax and encourage them to carry on to the end. Slightly more personal (potentially sensitive) questions may be best placed at the end of the sequence.Once you have divided your questions into content areas, you can consider how to sequence them within each section. You may decide to put shorter, more factual (largely closed-ended) questions at the beginning. This can help to ease the respondent into providing information and can help you to establish the basic facts before asking broader or more opinion-based questions. On the other hand, you could decide to start with a broader question and narrow down into a specific area of interest, guiding the respondent onto a particular path or line of questioning. It may help you to visualise this by thinking about it as using a funnel, pyramid or diamond/hour glass shape.Funnelling can be a useful questioning process to get from the more general to the specific. It begins with open questions and builds upon them with increasing narrowness.1.	Could I start by asking you to outline your main areas 		of responsibility at work?2.	Are there any areas of your work where you would 		welcome some additional training?3.	What did you think of the management training you 		recently completed?4.	Which parts did you find the most useful?5.	Have you found any of it difficult to apply in practice? 		If yes, Which parts have you found most difficult 		to apply?The pyramid sequence begins with a more specific (possibly closed-ended) question at the apex of the pyramid and moves to a more general level of enquiry (providing a broader base). This can be used to ease people into the process of answering your questions.1.	Are you a member of the tennis club?2.	How often do you manage to play?3.	Do you always play with the same partners? 	(Which ones?)4.	How could the club’s facilities be improved to 			encourage more social tennis?The diamond sequence is a combination of the two sequences described above. It begins with a restricted question, moving to more open ones and then narrows down to more specific questions. The hour glass is another combination, but in the reverse order, starting with a broader topic, narrowing down and then broadening out again towards the end.Have you asked the right questions?Once you have a draft set of questions, it is worth checking whether you have asked the right ones. This entails considering relevance, question wording and sequencing.First, you need to work out whether you have addressed your key research questions (it is all too easy to ‘drift’ away from answering your research questions when drafting research questions). Sometimes you will discover that you have asked a similar question but have missed out on a vital piece of information, so make sure you have included everything you need.It might be helpful to use a simple grid to check the degree of overlap between the research questions/areas of interest and the questions in the interview schedule or questionnaireTable 3.2 gives an example showing the main research themes for different groups of interviewees. The researcher has drawn up the matrix and then gone through the interview schedules noting the question numbers that address each theme. Question numbers in brackets indicate questions that are not specifically focussed on the theme, but the answers may provide some relevant information. Using a matrix like this will soon show up any discrepancies in the coverage of your main areas of interest.A common pitfall when drafting research questions is to ask too many questions, so try to cut out any that are not strictly necessary. A good test of this is to predict the kind of answers you are likely to get from each question and then see whether the information is really vital to your research (where will it fit into your report or presentation of results?). You will probably find you have included a few questions you thought might generate interesting information, but are not strictly relevant to your current focus. If you don’t edit them out now you risk wasting a lot of time in collecting and analysing information you may never use.Once you have refined your questions, the best way of identifying problems with wording or sequencing is to conduct a trial run or ‘pilot’. Ideally, this involves testing out your draft questions on a group of people who are similar to the people in your sample (e.g. if you intend to ask questions of teachers in your own school, you could pilot the questions on teachers at a neighbouring school). You should aim to administer the questions in a similar way to that you have planned for the ‘real’ study. If you cannot manage a pilot, you could attempt a simulation, by asking friends and colleagues to assume the identity of your respondent group and help you test out your questions. Look out for any questions that cause people to hesitate, ask for clarification or lead to misinterpretation. These problems may be due to difficulties with"
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'How to do it' Guides

How to … ask the right questions

20 May 2019

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      string(365) "... fall at the same speed with a brilliantthought experiment that started by demolishingAristotle’s belief that heavier objects fell faster than lightones. Galileo got his thinking cap on and asked, “Whatwould happen if a feather and a stone were glued togetherthen dropped?” His thinking was that together they wouldweigh more ..."
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      string(5725) "teaching & learning  ■  september/october 200518KEY STAGE 1SCIENCEAre you looking  for a cost-freemotivating stimulus which promotes thinking and talkingin order to solve problems? Then spare a thought forthought experiments. Thought experiments (from theGerman Gedankenexperiment) are a unique form ofexperimental tests where the mind is the laboratory. Athought experiment  is a challenge to resolve a difficultyusing the power of human imagination. With this in mind,our classrooms are powerful think-tanks waiting to beunleashed. This is thought friction and creativity at its best.The world’s great scientists know that creativity isdecisive when it comes to scientific thinking. Some of themost famous theories have exploded out of thoughtexperiments. Two of the most impressive thoughtexperimenters were Galileo and Einstein. Galileo showedthat all objects fall at the same speed with a brilliantthought experiment that started by demolishingAristotle’s belief that heavier objects fell faster than lightones. Galileo got his thinking cap on and asked, “Whatwould happen if a feather and a stone were glued togetherthen dropped?” His thinking was that together they wouldweigh more than either the feather or the stone alone; so,if Aristotle was right, they’d fall faster together than eitherone would fall alone. But they didn’t; and neither did thefeather slow the stone. Aristotle was wrong.What do you need to perform a thought experiment?1. Start with a problem or question.2. Think about an example to help you answer it.3. Make a prediction about the answer but try andjustify it.4.  Come to a conclusion.For example:1.  Question: Can you throw a potato so hard that it neverfalls to the ground?2. Example: Imagine you are on a skyscraper and throw apotato into the air as hard as you can.It’s all in the mindJohn Dabell explores the benefits of introducing children to theconcept of thought experiments in the classroom.3. Logic and prediction: If you throw the potato gentlywhat happens? It goes into the air, then falls to theground. If you throw the potato harder, it will cover agreater distance before falling to Earth. So, what willhappen if you throw the potato harder still? Will it avoidhitting the ground and stay in orbit, following a fixedpath around the earth?4. Conclusion: Isaac Newton came up with a formula thatshowed how fast an object has to go to stay in orbit, andscientists today use his thinking to put satellites in orbit.The key to thought experiments is to teach childrenthe importance of thinking time. Many children are‘broadband thinkers’, so that their ideas shoot out withoutmuch reasoning. Try, therefore, to encourage children toslow down, let a problem incubate for a while and thenthink aloud. We can call this ‘narrowband’ thinking: itdoesn’t mean narrow-minded, just thinking at a moreconsidered and logical pace.Using thought experimentsThought experiments are a great way to begin a topic asa way of stimulating ideas. When children are involved inan investigation, their findings and research can help themto verify or change their ideas. Thought experiments canalso be used midway through a topic or as a stimulus forusing and applying children’s learning. They can bepresented through drawings, writing, modelling or as acombination. As an individual activity they can be avaluable way to see how children think and, as a groupactivity, they provide valuable opportunities for collectivethought friction and scientific disputes. Targetingmisconceptions is an ideal way of obtaining informationabout how children think and how they can be guidedtowards more accurate understanding. Most thoughtexperiments demand an investigative head, and so pushchildren towards new ways of thinking throughexploration and experimentation.teaching & learning  ■  september/october 2005 19 SCIENCE KEY STAGE 1Example 1: ‘Water’ good ideaThe picture below shows three children at different placeson the Earth. They are each holding a bottle of water witha lid. If they turn the bottle upside down, which way willthe water fall? Draw what you think will happen.Thought experiments are a good example ofembedded assessment because they are thoughtful,reflective and explorative. Effective formative assessmentinvolves using creative problematics that challengechildren’s thinking. The philosophy behind thoughtexperiments is a mindful approach with thoughtfuloutcomes. They generate rich dialogue and open awindow onto pupils’ thinking, revealing misconceptionsand encourage reflection. Some experiments really doprobe deep thinking.Example 2: TwinsEarth has a twin, a planet in another solar system.The difference between them is that the people onEarth 1 look after the environment and care the forthe planet like a beautiful garden, whereas on Earth2 people treat it like a rubbish dump. What wouldhappen if the people on Earth 1 and Earth 2swapped places for a year? What would happenafter that year?Example 3: Deep thoughtsClose your eyes. Imagine that you are floating up outof your bedroom and you rise up above your house,above your neighbourhood. As you go higher youcan see further and further. You see your town or city, andas you rise higher and higher you can see your country. Youkeep going higher and you can see the planet Earth belowyou as you travel far, far away. Deeper and deeper into space.See if you can travel into infinity. Keep going. Can you findthe edge of the Universe? Is there an end? Is there a wall? Ifthere is a wall, what is over the other side?Thought experiments require children"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Its all in the mind

1 Nov 2006

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      string(397) "... are, of course, welcome. For moreinformation and a booking form, send your name andaddress to: rogersutcliffe@onet.co.ukMore training: DialogueWorks, www.dialogueworks.co.ukand Thinking Cap, www.thinkingcap.org.uk both runprogrammes of SAPERE-approved courses for philosophicalenquiry in schools. DialogueWorks also produces resources.Aude Education Consultancy, www.aude ..."
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      string(4665) "21Teaching Thinking  Spring 2003www.teachthinking.comPhilosophy is a subject that many schools are nowtaking seriously. Teachers and learners from primaryschools to sixth-form colleges are enjoyingphilosophising, and the benefits are starting to show.Outbreaks of philosophy have been seen in curriculumsubject areas such as English and RE, and in out of schoolsessions. And philosophy is the single subject mostconcerned with critical thinking. With this in mind, TeachingThinking will be bringing you news of philosophy forschools in this and future issues.Professional associations and trainingSAPERE: Society for Advancing Philosophical Enquiry andReflection in Education is the professional association thatpromotes philosophy in schools in the UK. SAPERE offerstraining to teachers, parents and youth workers.It was set up in 1992 following interest aroused by theBBC television documentary Socrates for six-year-olds. Thishour-long film focused on the work of Professor MatthewLipman and his associates in New Jersey who, over the past30 years, have developed a curriculum for 5 to 16 year-oldsknown as Philosophy for Children (P4C). SAPERE seeks tobuild on Lipman’s commitment to  ‘communities of enquiry’.The SAPERE website has a brief summary of the‘community of enquiry’ approach to teaching philosophyand lists current courses, events and available resources.Some up and coming events are:Friday 16th May: Placing reflective and collaborativeenquiry at the Heart of the Learning Process. SunderlandUniversity. This conference is aimed at practitioners from allsectors of education and will explore the possibility of usingan enquiry approach in lessons. The cost will be between£60–£70. For more information and a booking form, sendyour name and address to: sylvia.briggs@sunderland.ac.ukSaturday 31st May: Philosophy of, and in, CitizenshipEducation. Westminster Institute of Education, Oxford. Thisconference will have a global citizenship dimension, andwill include input by Mary Young from Oxfam. The eventwill be particularly suitable for newcomers to P4C, thoughexperienced practitioners are, of course, welcome. For moreinformation and a booking form, send your name andaddress to: rogersutcliffe@onet.co.ukMore training: DialogueWorks, www.dialogueworks.co.ukand Thinking Cap, www.thinkingcap.org.uk both runprogrammes of SAPERE-approved courses for philosophicalenquiry in schools. DialogueWorks also produces resources.Aude Education Consultancy, www.aude-education.co.uk,based in Scotland provides consultancy and materials.Pathways to philosophyPathways to philosophy is a online distance-learning projectrun by Dr Geoffrey Klempner. The website is full of freematerials that could be of interest to older students whoare drawn towards philosophical questions, or teacherswho would like to introduce some challenging ideas totheir students. There is a free ‘ask a philosopher’ service towhich anyone can submit a question. The archive ofprevious questions and answers could, in itself, be acontinuing source of interest for older students with aphilosophical disposition. The distance learning courseleads to a qualification and could be something studentsand teachers would like to sign up for. In fact, Pathways tophilosophy is the world-leading philosophy distancelearning program, with students following onlinephilosophy courses in five continents and over 40 countries.You can join Dr. Klempner’s own International Societyfor Philosophers for free and receive a regular newsletter.All the details are on the Pathways to philosophy websiteat: www.shef.ac.uk/uni/projects/ptpdlpThe Philosophy Pathways mission statement reads: ‘Wehold that philosophy is for everyone, not just a select few.Human beings have been gifted with the capacity to think,to project our minds beyond the immediate necessities ofhere and now, beyond the limits of everyday concerns, sothat our place in the world becomes a topic for thinking.Everyone has this ability, and not just those withexceptional mental powers … We believe that one is nevertoo young or too old to philosophise. Children old enoughto write or add up are old enough to grasp the firstelements of philosophical thinking, such as the idea ofconcepts and relations, or logical inference, or the idea ofvalues. Children in their early teens can be accomplishedphilosophers. We will be promoting philosophy in schools,in primary as well as in secondary education, providingadvice and support for teachers, as well as materials forstudy.’Philosophy for schoolsA round up of information, events and resources"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Philosophy for Schools

24 Feb 2011

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      string(386) "... of examples youcould put at points along the line like: ‘being a teacher’,‘eating food’, ‘being me’, ‘dying’, and write them along thetop of the line.Try this with your pupils. Where would they put ‘watchingTV’, ‘thinking my thoughts’ or ‘feeling my feelings’? Ask formore examples. Invite them to discuss ..."
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      string(5727) "44 Teaching Thinking  Winter 2001www.teachthinking.comTeaching practice: conceptsTeaching practice: conceptsTeaching practice: conceptsTeaching practice: conceptsTeaching practice: conceptseachers are often faced with situations in which abstractconcepts need to be explored. For example, central to theteaching of Personal and Social Education are concepts suchas freedom, fairness, right, goodness, respect and responsibility.Conceptlines is one activity that might help teachers andlearners to explore such complex concepts together. Aworked example of this activity with the concept freedomnot only informs and raises questions about what freedommeans, but also offers practical advice on how teachers canuse Conceptlines whenever appropriate.Draw a horizontal line on a piece of paper. Write free atone end, and unfree at the other. Think of examples youcould put at points along the line like: ‘being a teacher’,‘eating food’, ‘being me’, ‘dying’, and write them along thetop of the line.Try this with your pupils. Where would they put ‘watchingTV’, ‘thinking my thoughts’ or ‘feeling my feelings’? Ask formore examples. Invite them to discuss their Conceptlines byprobing for reasons. You can do this with any abstract,philosophical concepts, such as right/wrong, dead/alive. Suchconcepts structure the way we think, feel and act. Thinkingcarefully about the meaning of these concepts addressesthe very ‘core’ of who we are and what we have learned.Conceptlines helps us to explore the subtleties and varietyof meanings of an abstract concept by using our own‘What is freedomMiss?’ Karin Murrisgives advice abouthow to discussabstract conceptswith childrenpersonal experiences. By thinking in terms of differences ofdegree rather than kind, we are encouraged to move awayfrom the more common ‘either/or’ approach to suchdiscussions. For example, it is often assumed by participantsthat someone is either ‘bad’ or ‘good’, and that to changefrom being bad to good is, to say the least, very difficult,and perhaps even impossible.Exploring together the deeper meanings and subtletiesof concepts such as freedom or goodness demands the kindsof thinking skills and attitudes that enable us to take riskswhen thinking for ourselves.Like other philosophical concepts, freedom is complex: itsmeaning is not settled by convention, nor is it straightforwardin any way. In discussing possible meanings and complexities,our thinking can be stretched to its limits. Exploring conceptswith others challenges us to provide good reasons to justifyour beliefs. Thus we become more critical and creative.How free are we when we are thinking our thoughts? Howfree was I writing this?Most people, including philosophers, agree about oneaspect of freedom – it is an absence of constraint. As oneseven-year-old put it: “Being free means not being in prison,not behind bars and not working for the king.” His conceptline is shown in Figure 1.TConceptlines45Teaching Thinking  Winter 2001www.teachthinking.com Teaching practice: conceptsTeaching practice: conceptsTeaching practice: conceptsTeaching practice: conceptsTeaching practice: conceptsThe numbers represent the following phrases:1 feeling my feelings (because no-one can stop me)2 dying (because it’s my death)3 my thoughts (because they are nobody else’s)4 sleep (because I can go to sleep when I like – my dad can’tstop me!)5 going to school (because the headmaster would go mad)6 when someone says: “It’s half past eight, you’re going tobe late!”7 watching tele (because my mum wants me to playoutside)8 to eat sweetsHis conception of freedom is very much tied in with hisidentity – what does and doesn’t belong to him, what hecan and can’t do and who is or isn’t stopping him. As youcan see in his example, another aspect of freedom is presenttoo: the possibility should be open to choose betweenwatching television or playing outside, between eatingsweets or fresh fruit. In order to be free, we need goodalternatives to choose from in order to flourish. But whatare the limits of one person’s freedom? The only restrictionto an individual’s freedom, according to philosopher JohnStuart Mill (1806–1873), is when it harms someone else. Thisliberal notion of freedom has become popular in Britishculture. Teaching children our history of facts, as well as ourhistory of ideas helps them to understand their culture.Of course, an exercise such as Conceptlines is so powerfulbecause it offers children opportunities to express areasoned point of view, rather than an unsupported opinionbased on criteria.“What is it that makes you say you are free or unfree?” Iasked. “My feelings about it – whether they are nice or not”,said the seven-year-old. Someone else said: “It depends whathappens if you don’t do as you’re told”. This criterion: whatwould the price be if one acted differently, has been usedby adult philosophers as well. So what would happen if Idid eat sweets, or didn’t go to school?Living concept linesAnother way of working on Conceptlines with children isto get them to move rather than draw. Two posters areplaced at either end of the room with the conceptopposites written on them. This arrangement representsthe Conceptline. Children choose one example from theirown experiences relating to the concept. Then they choosea place to stand between the posters. They can be askedwhat their example is and why they chose their positionin the line. Comparisons can easily be made betweensimilar examples.Using storiesOther ways of"
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        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Creative Teaching & Learning

Concept lines

2 Jan 2011