Thinking Skills in RE

Part I: Some Theory what are their generic characteristics? what are thinking skills? what are the benefits of using thinking skills approaches in RE?

What are thinking skills? They can include: information-processing skills reasoning skills enquiry skills creative thinking skills evaluation skills

Information-processing skills These enable pupils to: locate and collect relevant information sort, classify and sequence information compare and contrast information analyse relationships

Reasoning skills These enable pupils to: give reasons for opinions and actions draw inferences and make deductions use precise language to explain what they think make judgements

Enquiry skills These enable pupils to: ask relevant questions pose and define problems plan what to do and how to research predict outcomes and anticipate consequences test conclusions and improve ideas

Creative thinking skills These enable pupils to: generate and extend ideas suggest hypotheses apply imagination look for alternative, imaginative outcomes

Evaluation skills These enable pupils to: evaluate information judge the value of what they read, hear and do develop criteria for judging their own and others’ work or ideas have confidence in their own judgements

What are their generic characteristics? they focus on engagement with the curriculum through shared understanding they encourage pupils to think about their own learning they provide structured, powerful learning environments

What are the benefits of using thinking skills approaches in RE? pupils are more motivated and engaged in their own learning pupils find the tasks challenging without feeling stressed or frustrated about their ability to participate pupils are more able to articulate and discuss their ideas pupils negotiate understanding with their peers as well as with the teacher pupils are able to make links with what they already know pupils transform and apply what they know to new situations

Part II Practical Examples

What are the different approaches to thinking skills in RE? Community of Enquiry Detective Work Mystery Story Telling Odd One Out Hot Seating Thinking Hats

Community of Enquiry Listen to “The Mountains of Tibet” by Mordicai Gerstein. On your own, write down a question you would like to ask about the story. Now work with a partner and compare and discuss your questions together. Select one key question to discuss more fully! As a group, look at all the questions and choose one to explore in detail!

Detective Work Look carefully at the picture you have been given and note any particular details that attract your attention. Who do you think is being shown in your picture? What evidence do you have for this? How do you know that your evidence is accurate? Where does your evidence come from? Can you draw a firm conclusion?

Salvador Dali - “Sacrament of the Last Supper”

Duccio di Buoninsegna - Descent to Hell

Mystery Look at the key question which you have been given. In your group, look at all the information you have been given. Use the information to construct an answer to the question. Be ready to present your theory to the whole group and to explain the reason why you think it is a good one!

Odd One Out Look at the three items and try to write down as much information as you an about each one. Your task is to decide which item is the odd one out and is so doing, to identify what the other two have in common! You can have as many turns as you like! How many different answers (and reasons!) can you find?

Hot Seating Watch the short film clip about / Listen to the story Think about what questions you could put to the different characters in the story: Character A Character B Character C Discuss those questions with a partner. There will now be an opportunity for some of you to take on the role of those three characters in the ‘hot seat’ and respond to the questions devised earlier!

Thinking Hats I Edward de Bono (1985) “Six Thinking Hats” Little Brown and Company A tool for considering all the aspects of a problem or situation devised for business management but developed and used in critical thinking areas. Facts and Information Critical Judgement New IdeasPositive Thinking The Big Picture Feeling and Emotions

Thinking Hats II Facts & Information Participants make statements of fact, including identifying information that is absent and presenting the views of people who are not present in a factual manner. In many thinking sessions this occurs immediately after an initial blue hat, and it often an extended action with participants presenting details about their organization and the background to the purpose of the thinking session. The key information that represents the inputs to the session are presented and discussed. Key absences of information (i.e. information needs) can also be identified at this point. Feeling & Emotion s Participants state their feelings, exercising their gut instincts. In many cases this is a method for harvesting ideas - it is not a question of recording statements, but rather getting everyone to identify their top two or three choices from a list of ideas or items identified under another hat. This is done to help reducing lists of many options into a few to focus on by allowing each participant to vote for the ones they prefer. It is applied more quickly than the other hats to ensure it is a gut feeling that is recorded. This method can use post-its to allow a quick vote and creates a clear visual cue that creates rapid if incomplete agreement around an issue. Critical Judgement Participants identify barriers, hazards, risks and other negative connotations. This is critical thinking, looking for problems and mismatches. This hat is usually natural for people to use, the issues with it are that people will tend to use it when it is not requested and when it is not appropriate, thus stopping the flow of others. Preventing inappropriate use of the black hat is a common obstacle and vital step to effective group thinking. Another difficulty faced is that some people will naturally start to look for the solutions to raised problems - they start practicing green on black thinking before it is requested.

Thinking Hats III Positive Thinking Participants identify benefits associated with an idea or issue. This is the opposite of black hat thinking and looks for the reasons in favour of something. This is still a matter of judgment - it is an analytical process, not just blind optimism. One is looking to create justified statements in favor of the idea or issue. It is encapsulated by the idea of "undecided positive" (whereas the black hat would be skeptical - "undecided negative"). he outputs may be statements of the benefits that could be created with a given idea, or positive statements about the likelihood of achieving it, or identifying the key supports available that will benefit this course of action The Big Picture This is the hat under which all participants discuss the thinking process. The facilitator will generally wear it throughout and each member of the team will put it on from time to time to think about directing their work together. This hat should be used at the start and end of each thinking session, to set objectives, to define the route to take to get to them, to evaluate where the group has got to, and where the thinking process is going. Having a facilitator maintain this role throughout helps ensure that the group remains focused on task and improves their chances of achieving their objectives. The blue hat is also an organisation of thinking. What have we done so far? What can we do next? New Ideas This is the hat of thinking new thoughts. It is based around the idea of provocation and thinking for the sake of identifying new possibilities. Things are said for the sake of seeing what they might mean, rather than to form a judgment. This is often carried out on black hat statements in order to identify how to get past the barriers or failings identified there (green on black thinking). Because green hat thinking covers the full spectrum of creativity, it can take many forms.

What do the pupils say? I’ve learned to really think about stories, not just listen to them… I can say what I feel and nobody will get in a mood if they don’t agree with me… All sorts of different answers can be right… I like hearing other people’s ideas because they often come up with things that I hadn’t even thought of… What do the teachers think? Over to you!

Thinking Skills in RE