Reflections

ICOT - 14th International Conference on Thinking

• Jacqui, Sandra and Paula would like to thank and acknowledge the Welcome Bay School Board of Trustees in supporting our attendance at this conference.

•Multiple intelligences is a theory about learning and the brain.

•We all have the intelligences but no two people have the same profile.

•Intelligences manifest themselves differently through different cultures, which in turn interpret them uniquely. For example: Maori worldview differs from East Asian Worldview.

Gardener believes...

“Tests are limited model for measurement”

“The future in education belongs to those who can mobilise computational resources appropriate to each learner”

• Newell believes.....• “If we want student engagement learning needs to be • interactive, student centred, collaborative, authentic and• ON DEMAND!”

• “Give the kids the outcome, give them the tools and then get out • of the way.

• “Exam driven learning is dangerous!”

• “The cure for boredom is curiosity”

9 core Areas of Learning

• Empowerment•Creativity•Learning Environment•Inquiry•Co-existing with the Planet•Digital Integration•Key Learning Processes•Holistic Integration•Human Co-existence

• What impact does our current environment have on our learners?

Developing Human Capital begins with Children.

The focus on Early Childhood Education is important that it has a community focus and that parental education opportunities are provided.

• What builds learning power?

• Learning Talk

• Classroom Activities

• Creating a Learning Environment

• Setting and Learning Examples

• Developing student ownership and responsibility (They are the crew and not the passengers.......)

• Staff learning culture

• Indicators of progress and success (Status quo in education is NOT safe - have to try things!)

Are we raising .....EXPLORERS or ROBOTS?

Being knowledgeable about thinking does not

make you a better thinker!

CuriousBrave

InvestigativeExperimentalImaginativeDisciplinedSociable

Reflective

PassiveFearful

CredulousRepetitive

LiteralDogmatic

CompetitiveRobotic

•Adaptive thinking is the blending of analytical (Head/Mind), Somatic (Gut), Emotional (Heart)

•Filters = Beliefs, Values, Culture, Experience, Gender, personality, World View (Religion)

•James believes

•“What was.......What is...........What will be......”

•“EVERYTHING starts with a conversation!”

“The world we have created is a product of our thinking, it cannot be changed without changing our thinking”

Albert Einstein

• How many languages are there on the planet?

• Natural play the greatest brain developer we know......

• Creative Smarts, Analytic Smarts, Practical Smarts.

• As parents and educators we say....

• “Walk don’t run!”

• “Quiet, listen to me!”

• “Don’t stare!”

• “Don’t touch!”

Children are the most•Interested•Creative•Passionate•Participative•Communicative•Non-Judgemental .....and WE teach THEM!

“Are we preparing students for a life of tests or the tests of life?”

Big Issues:

•Solving world problems peacefully

•Thinking more flexibly

•Consciousness of human impact on environment

•Listening with understanding and empathy - communicating precisely.

•Thinking Interdependently - Sharing, assisting less fortunate, help others to achieve their potential

One’s intelligence is the sum of one’s habit of mind....

Who am I?

• “Reading meant nothing to him....”

Walt Disney

• “Pictures meant everything to him....”

• “Words meant nothing to him.....”

• “What’s worth learning for a good life in a complex world?”

• “Taught a lot but matters not....Taught not but matters a lot!”

• Flexpertise NOT Expertise - Expertise is merely specialised

understanding whereas Flexpertise is understandings of

widerscope. I use to think......Now I think.

Mind the gap

“I use to think I want to bridge the achievement gap....now I think I want to bridge the relevance gap”

Move towards learning that builds enlightenment, empowerment and responsibility.

Michael Pohl- Develop a classroom culture of thinking

UNESCO - Learning (The Treasure Within)

Learning to know (Knowledge)Learning to do (Learning to Learn)

Learning to live together (Interpersonal)Learning to be (Intrapersonal)

Business focused research says workers need to:•Think laterally•Identify and solve problems•Take initiative - self directed•communicate effectively•Work Collaboratively OR independently•Adaptive to change•Make decisions and accept responsibility for those decisions•Access and use information from a range of sources

“Time to upset the apple cart....WHY?....because if we don’t the apples are going to rot!”

•Technology is the biggest determinant of our destiny yet we continue to fail to give it the focus it deserves!

“Thank god for the 5%, the unreasonable, they are the ones who challenge status quo!”

•Kids are being short changed as we are not deliberately acquainting them with the powerful drivers that will impact on their tomorrows.

•Do we even know what multiculturalism means? What sacrifices we may need to make?

•Do we want a world where we merely tolerate each other OR where we live alongside each other with empathy and understanding?

• The biggest problem facing the world is not Climate Change.....it is inadequate thinking.....”

• “We need to teach thinking formally and • deliberately.....”

• “Challenge is never a criticism, challenge even when• things are going well.”

0-5 years Why?6-11 years Why Not?12-75+years Because

School Visits - Singapore Dover

Primary

School Visits - Singapore