Teaching Thinking in Europe

Abstract

S~~~~~~.ThisreviewofEuropeanresearchincognitionandinstructionaims tocategorisecurrent trends in the teaching of thinking and problem solving. A diversity of theoretical orientations sustains research and practice in this field: Vygotskian, neo-Piagetian, phenomenographic, information-processing. Research-driven intervention studies and across-the-cumiculum reforms are reviewed. Promising lines of development include the concepts of metacognition (or selfregulation), mediation by peers and adults, and computer tutoring. Cognitive psychology now has a sharper focus on classroom learning; and the boundaries between cognitive, affective and social aspects of learning are being eroded.BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW IN the US, research on cognition and instruction, and programmes and courses to improve thinking skills, have takenon thecharacteristicsof anothercognitiverevolution. Psychologists, educationalists, curriculum developers, and educational administrators are excited about the new alignment between research on learning and thinking and classroom practice. In the first review of instructional psychology in the Annual Review of Psychology, G a p e and Rohwer (1969) commented: "Remoteness of applicability to instruction, we note with some regret, characterizes many studies of human learning, retention and transfer, appearing in the most prestigious of psychological journals" (p. 38 1). Twenty years later, Glaser and Bassok (1989) began the latest review on the same topic very differently: "Instructional psychology has become a vigorous part of the mainstream of research on human cognition and development" @. 63 1).In the 1989 review, there is general agreement that to develop capable learners and thinkers we need to rely on more than rote memory, factual knowledge, and the routine application of familiar procedures. For the American scene, some excellent reviews and edited papers on attempts to teach thinking, and their research base, are readily available (Glaser, 1984; Baron and Sternberg, 1987;Resnick, 1987;Nickerson, 1988; Resnick and Klopfer, 1989). The range of themes in these publications-programmes to improve general reasoning, critical thinking skills, problem-solving heuristics, memory and reading comprehension, writing skills, formal operational thinking, mathematical and scientific thinking and relevant researchgives some indication of the scope of the endeavour. Summaries and evaluations of this work have been reported by McGuinness (1990) and by Nisbet and DaviesIn Britain, there is much less evidence of a teaching thinking revolution, although there are signs of local uprisings. Coles and Robinson (1989) have published a timely survey of curriculum innovations in teaching thinking which are currently operating in Britain "largely in isolation from one another" (p. 1). The survey includes, for example, programmes in critical thinking, informal logic, Instrumental Enrichment, and a description of the locally developed Somerset Thinking Skills Course. A comprehensive review, written primarily for teachers...

Activating children's thinking skills (ACTS): The effects of an infusion approach to teaching thinking in primary schools

“…All qualitative feedback indicated an increase in children's awareness of their thinking skills (Table A4, Theme 8 and Table A5, Theme 1). Indeed such self‐reflection has been identified as crucial (Baird, 1986; Blank, 2000; Cardelle‐Elawar, 1995; Doheer, Reynolds, Wetherly, & Evans, 2005; McGuinness, 1993, 2006; McGuinness & Nisbet, 1991; White & Frederiksen, 1998). Alternatively the role of social facilitation with children thinking together may be the key catalyst for change as shown in the qualitative analysis.…”

“…This has prompted governmental action in the area from research reports and reviews (DfEE, 1999; Moseley, Elliott, Gregson, & Higgins, 2005) to incorporating thinking skills into the National Curriculum. Indeed the teaching of thinking is now recognized as one of the primary aims of education (McGuinness, 2005; McGuinness & Nisbet, 1991; Pithers & Soden, 2000) and this is evidenced by the large number of thinking skills packages available to schools (Adey, 2002; TES, 2002). To date, such approaches, however, are often not based on thorough evaluation (Gorodetsky, Barak, Kaur, Xamir, & Tirosh, 2002).…”

Developing Greek Primary School Students’ Critical Thinking through an Approach of Teaching Science which Incorporates Aspects of History of Science

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Cèilidh culture and higher education

“…(McGuinness & Nisbet, 1991, p. 180, cited in Byrne, 2005 While these four phases may well be present in the interactions, participants may be unaware of the 'powerful' impetus to improve their playing and listening skills that derives from this type of environment.…”