SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Please sit in your national groups

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Thinking Skills in Religious Education: An English perspective with classroom activities Jane Brooke Senior Adviser for Curriculum and RE Cheshire County Council

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Influences on Thinking Skills I Psychology Philosophy Debt to Dewey and Vygotsky Feuerstein From 1967: De Bono From 1999: From thinking skills to thinking classrooms

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Principles for teaching thinking Philosophy for children: stimulus, response, paired question creation, election of focus for enquiry, assumptions, enquiry, reflection on process Influences on Thinking Skills II

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää year olds after P4C on Jonah (special needs) You shouldn’t be punished if you take something and make it all right again I took some cakes my Mum made and gave them to my friends to eat and ate them. She was mad. I said I was sorry. I made some for her and she kissed me. Yuk! Jonah saved those people on the boat AND those people in that place

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Influences on Thinking Skills (cont.) From 2000: National developments Thinking skills in the classroom developed in the North West of England, initiated by Newcastle University ‘ The unexamined life is not worth living’ Socrates

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Thinking Skills The National Handbook for teachers in both primary and secondary schools (1999) says: By using thinking skills pupils focus in ‘knowing how’ as well as ‘knowing what’ – learning how to learn. The following skills are offered as a complement to the National Curriculum: –Information processing skills –Reasoning skills –Enquiry skills –Creative thinking skills –Evaluation skills ‘The English would rather die than think and very often do’ Bertrand Russell

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Skills useful for Religious Education are: Investigation Interpretation Reflecting Empathy Analysis Synthesis Evaluation Application Expression

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Thinking Skills in Religious Education - University of Newcastle David Leat ‘Thinking through Religious Education’ by V. Baumfield 2002 Chris Kington publishing ISBN X -Odd one out -Living Graphs -Maps from Memory -Mysteries -Mind movies (guided visualisation): -Story telling -Taboo There may be many others too…. Activities useful in Religious Education for developing Thinking Skills

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Odd One Out This supports classification and understanding of the properties and defining attributes of objects or concepts. This activity may be used to revise or to introduce a new topic.

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 The Pope Bishops Priests

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Mezuzah Tefillin Tallit

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Mosque Synagogue Church

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Odd One Out Mezuzah Tefillin Tallit

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Classification is a fundamental concept because the mastery of all other concepts rests upon it. In RE pupils realise that although classification can take place, the boundaries are less clear when discussing ‘theological classification’. It is the process of talking and discussing how to classify and reclassify that engages the pupils and develops an awareness of religious issues.

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Living Graphs Very happy Very unhappy FEELINGFEELING TIME The last supper Arrest Judas’ kiss Trials Mocking Crucifixion Burial Resurrection 1. Add a variety of emotions on the y axis in pencil 2.Place a cross to show Peters feelings (red), Mary Jesus’ mother (blue) and Judas (green) for each of the events (Note: Judas cannot go beyond ‘the trials). 3.Make a graph for each person. This allows the pupil to make a connection between beliefs and teachings and the emotions of the people involved. The range of skills are: sequencing, interpreting information, making links, checking and refining, explaining and justifying. Resources: Empty graph, pencil, ruler, 1 red, 1 blue 1 green pen.

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Living Graphs (example) Very happy Happy Confused Neutral Angry Unhappy Very unhappy FEELINGFEELING TIME The last supper Arrest Judas’ kiss Trials Mocking Crucifixion Burial Resurrection Peter Mary Judas

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Maps from Memory This relies on teamwork and strategies used to complete the task. The ‘content’ is reworked through dialogue. The plenary focuses on how the task could be better completed next time. Instructions on the top of the cover of the picture: Resources: A3 plain paper, pencil, ‘secret picture’ -The group sits around the plain paper -The secret picture is placed a few paces away on another table -FIRST agree a strategy -The group sends one person at a time to look a the picture for 10 seconds -The person returns to the group and draws what they see -Another person goes to look and returns to add more detail to the picture -All members of the group have a turn FIRST agree a strategy AFTERWARDS -How well did the team work -Could you improve the process

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 This is designed to encourage pupils to deal with ambiguity by addressing a question using both relevant and irrelevant information. The range of skills are: sorting relevant information, interpretation, speculating, making links, forming hypotheses, checking, explaining, evaluating and communicating. Mystery: Why did the Stewarts kill their son? Instructions Use the information to solve the mystery Afterwards Can you explain your solution? How did you work as a team? Did anyone hinder or help? Mysteries

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Metacognition How did you approach finding a solution? How did you reason? Can you use this way of thinking elsewhere in your studies?

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Taboo This develops interpretation, speaking and listening and making links. On a card, there are three words under a main heading. Pupils have to try to help a group guess the top word without using the bottom words.

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 CRUCIFIX Jesus Die Sins

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 BAPTISE Water Baby Priest

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 ESCHATON End Revelation Time

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 ‘thinking is when your mouth stays shut and your head keeps talking to itself’ Clinton age 8

SaturdayEFTRE European Conference Järvenpää 2004 Thinking Skills in Religious Education: An English perspective with classroom activities Jane Brooke Senior Adviser for Curriculum and RE Cheshire County Council