Skills for Learning, Life and Work Developing High Order Thinking Skills

Aims Feedback from Skills Development Course Give you the H.O.T.S. Look at the Skills Taxonomy/ Skills Fan What does this mean for me as a teacher? Task for Departments

“Skills should be developed across all curriculum areas, in interdisciplinary studies and in all the contexts and settings where young people are learning. They have been embedded into the Curriculum for Excellence Experiences and Outcomes. As such they are the responsibility of all pre-school, school and college staff, professionals and adults working with children and young people.” Building the Curriculum 4: Skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work

Why? We are preparing young people for jobs that don’t exist…. Requiring technologies that haven’t yet been invented…. To solve problems of which we are not yet aware…

Response The Government put together a Higher Order Skills Excellence Group that identified a taxonomy of skills which will help practitioners promote thinking skills in the classroom

What is a skill “skill” can suggest manual dexterity and physical accomplishment. It can refer to simple techniques or to the most complex intellectual operations. Skills can be very specific as in much vocational learning or highly transferable like reading. Often it is difficult to distinguish between skills and personal qualities or dispositions such as perseverance or ambition.

Video Clip http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/resources/s/skillsinpractice/developingthinkingskills.asp?strReferringChannel=resources&strReferringPageID=tcm:4-711002-64

Skills Taxonomy 8 Creativity 7 Systems Thinking 6 Evaluation 5 Synthesis 4 Analysis 3 Application 2 Understanding 1 Knowing

Knowing Recalling existing information or acquiring new information is a first step towards Understanding.

Understanding Understanding goes well beyond recall. It involves making information meaningful and usable.

Application Application requires understanding. It involves the practical use of knowledge.

Analysis Analysis builds on understanding by examining knowledge and ideas critically. It often involves breaking down systems into their component parts.

Synthesis Synthesis requires deep understanding in order to combine separate ideas and concepts to create a new insight.

Evaluation Evaluation takes analysis a stage further by looking at whole systems. It often involves applying values as well as cognitive skills.

Systems Thinking Breadth of vision is combined with deep knowledge and understanding in order to appreciate the workings of complex real world systems and anticipate the impact on the whole of alterations in the parts.

Creation Creation requires original thought in order to develop new knowledge, ideas and systems.

What are our aims? To enhance our approach to creating pupils who are ‘work ready’ To extend support by helping pupils secure and sustain employment To continue to motivate pupils by creating challenging & meaningful learning experiences which will develop vital transferable skills needed for employment

What are our objectives? To deliver a purposeful & progressive approach to the development of High Order Thinking Skills To ensure consistency of approach – skills language To ensure we are being explicit in identifying and sharing High Order skills development with pupils

Thinking Ahead… Improvement Planning Focus: Incorporating the development of High Order Thinking Skills into courses and units of work Classroom Observations Focus: what High Order Thinking Skills will you want pupils to develop & demonstrate?

Curriculum for Excellence All Encompassing: Academic, Social & Cognitive Skills Development Kagan’s solution? ‘ teach them all together using structures that simultaneously teach an academic curriculum, high level thinking skills and communication skills through interactive, cooperative, instructional strategies’