How Can Schools Contribute to the Development of Pupils Complex Thinking?

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1 How Can Schools Contribute to the Development of Pupils Complex Thinking? Zora Rutar Ilc National Educational Institute, Slovenia In recent years, there have been many appeals to promote lifelong knowledge and to stimulate the so-called complex and critical thinking. This is in connection with contemporary technological needs as well as with cognitive psychology and education sciences. Cognitive sciences stress the importance of active knowledge construction and learning by understanding. Schools and teachers can support such approach especially by stimulating pupils to express their ideas, by providing opportunities for active discovery and developing process skills. One of the most important strategies is the art of posing such questions, tasks and activities that enable active construction of knowledge by pupils. NEW CONCEPTS OF KNOWLEDGE, LEARNING AND TEACHING In recent years, there have been many appeals for promoting lifelong knowledge, and for stimulating the so-called complex and critical thinking. The curriculum in Slovenia is based on such guidelines (Izhodišča kurikularne prenove 1996):... to increase the quality and performance of acquired knowledge: with the development of different thinking strategies, with the problem approach and other (active) forms of learning and teaching, with the integration of theory and practice... with learning to learn... to develop the competence of independent, creative and critical thinking and reasoning... OECD documents state that the basic school system s aim is to prepare students for lifelong learning (OECD 1999, 7). Therefore schools should not focus only on so-called school knowledge but also on the 41

2 Zora Rutar Ilc knowledge and skills that are useful throughout life. The main stress should therefore be placed on mastering processes and promoting concept understanding; problems should be as realistic as possible, which means that they should be similar to real-life problems. Knowledge acquisition in the classical sense of the word is of course important, but the usefulness of this knowledge in real life depends strongly on whether broader concepts and skills are also acquired for instance, problem posing and solving, flexibility and communicating (ibid. 8 9). A special programme called PISA (International Programme for Student Assessment) was created to assess these higher order skills and the broader range of competences and strategies. This programme also included the open-ended problems. For example, in science the understanding of concepts, of explanatory frames, of methods and of weak and strong points of were assessed. In literacy, reflection on texts was important. Efforts to encourage complex thinking and different thinking processes in schools started in the sixties. Cognitive psychology research explained the nature of learning and knowledge organisation in relation to developmental psychology, anthropology, linguistics, philosophy, computer science, neuroscience and other branches of psychology. Empirical research, quantitative as well as qualitative, has contributed to the theory of thinking, learning and knowledge construction. (Bransford et al. 2000, 8) Cognitive science, especially the constructivist branch, points out the importance of active knowledge construction. Learning is not treated as collective and uniform acquisition of eternal truths, but as an individualised construction of a cognitive process. Its effect is a continuously changing learner. Knowledge is also not conceptualised as a body of one-dimensional and unchanged truths anymore, but as a dynamic, continuously changing structure and a network of weak and changing connections. Knowledge and learning are characterised by construction and deconstruction, with interpretation and reinterpretation, with research and learning from mistakes. The teacher s role has changed accordingly, from the transmitter of knowledge to the facilitator, the one who stimulates pupils, animates them and moderates the process of research and learning. Piaget and Vygotski were among the first who drew our attention to the constructivist nature of knowledge (ibid. 10). The outcome of the assumption about the constructivist nature of knowledge is that tea- 42

3 How Can Schools Contribute to the Development of Pupils Complex Thinking? chers should investigate pupils prior knowledge or, more exactly, their ideas and pay attention to their misconceptions and misunderstanding, naive concepts and misinterpretation. They should also support pupils acquisition of more mature understanding through active discovery, research and discussion about their findings. Especially important is the stress on learning by understanding. That does not imply that the facts are unimportant for thinking and problem solving, but it points out the recognition of the theoreticians and the research findings that:... usable knowledge is not the same as a mere list of disconnected facts. Expert knowledge is connected and organised around important concepts...; it is conditionalised to specify the contexts in which it is applicable; it supports understanding and transfer (to other contexts) rather than only the ability to remember. (Cit. in Bransford et al. 2000, 9) HOW CAN SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS CONTRIBUTE TO THIS? The starting point is thoughtful and systematic work on prior knowledge and pupils ideas and explanations. In the above-mentioned constructivist approach to the curriculum in science, a special importance is placed on the exploration of pupils ideas and explanations. After the initial elicitation, these ideas and explanations are tested, upgraded, corrected or omitted and replaced with others in the process of active exploration, investigation and discussion. The focus is on developing the so-called process skills: observing, hypothesising, predicting, investigating, interpreting findings, drawing conclusions and communicating them. (Harlen 1993) Many opportunities for the following activities should be organised for younger pupils to: explore materials and objects using all senses try things out do things over and over again build, make, sift, bake, plan take things apart and put them together again talk, write and draw about what they have done and what their ideas are about it. 43

4 Zora Rutar Ilc In the transition to the so-called subject-oriented stage, the following opportunities should be provided for pupils to: pose their own questions and try to find answers to them explore a wider range of materials and objects test out ideas through investigations with the initial control over the variables observe events and sequences with the aid of equipment, tools and instruments seek patterns in their findings find simple explanations for some everyday phenomena. For older pupils capable of a greater amount of abstraction and precision, more differentiated situations should be prepared such as (ibid ): extended investigation or problem solving which advances their ideas and skills planning investigations and evaluating them critically discussion of questions and identification of those that can be treated scientifically critical reflection on their work with attention to different possible views and procedures broad use of different kind of sources. CONCRETE TEACHING STRATEGIES One of the most important strategies concerns the practice of posing questions, and designing activities and tasks that facilitate knowledge construction and make pupils active. There are many strategies for posing questions. It is crucial that the attention of the teacher is centred on systematic and logical succession of questions that serve to stimulate pupils complex reasoning. It is important how and when the questions that elicit ideas are formulated; how and when questions for posing hypotheses are posed and when those for testing hypotheses are used. The question posed at the right moment can culminate in pupils discovering and formulating explanations in a coherent interpretation of their findings. However, if the question is posed too soon it can confuse them. Also, process can be sabotaged when the teacher s intervention 44

5 How Can Schools Contribute to the Development of Pupils Complex Thinking? is premature, for instance, an explanation given when pupils can find an explanation by themselves. Harlen suggests the following order of questions for the teaching of science (ibid ): Questions for finding out ideas: What do you think? What is happening to the sugar when it is put into the water? For developing ideas: What happens to the sugar when it melts? For observing, measuring and counting: What do you notice? What is now going on? What has happened? How many? How long? Where is there a difference? For posing hypotheses: Why do you think these plants have not grown up? For testing hypotheses or for exploration and investigation: How can you examine if the plants need the water for their growth? For interpreting findings and drawing conclusions: Have you seen any connection between... Is the light indispensable for growth? For the communication or findings and conclusions: How can you describe and explain all these finding to others? In this way, we can contribute to the systematic development of process skills. But besides planned and thoughtful questions, materials for providing of exploring phenomena are also needed. The pupils activity is the basis for their thinking. All the time we should also support pupils discussion about ideas, hypotheses and explanations along with their confronting and revising. (ibid ) Marzano et al. (1993; 1998) directs teachers attention to the systematic development of the processes of complex reasoning: Comparison: What is similar or different? What can you compare this with? Classifying: What goes together? What can you compare this with? Induction: What conclusions can you make from the observation? Deduction: What can you conclude from this principle or law or generalisation for that concrete example? Error analysis: What could be wrong? Constructing support: What are your arguments for this statement? Abstraction: What is common to all these elements? 45

6 Zora Rutar Ilc Analysing perspectives: What is the background of this statement? Investigation: where pupils are stimulated to work with sources and materials, to open and solve problems, to search for findings and conclusions Experimental inquiry Invention System and model analysis For each of the above listed thinking processes many qualitative criteria for assessment and grading have been elaborated. However, for their use in our school system, some modification is needed according to the aims and standards of our syllabuses. Blooms taxonomy is also useful for posing questions to stimulate different thinking processes and for the questions on different taxonomic levels, from knowledge, through comprehension, application and analyses, to synthesis and evaluation. The main idea is therefore that different aims and standards from different syllabuses are systematically realised with the posing of questions and through tasks and activities. These aims and standards are usually defined according to the content (on the level of concrete themes and contents, as well as the concepts linked with them) and taxonomic levels or thinking processes or tasks linked to them. If the syllabus requires observation, comparison and classification, then we should systematically, with the use of the suitable and exact questions, facilitate exactly these processes. If the evaluation by the pupils is the standard required then this standard can be assessed only if questions for the assessment are constructed so that they require from the pupils to evaluate and provide arguments for their judgement instead of just repeating the teacher s words and standpoint. In addition, teachers should: support pupils to ask their own questions and to identify problems themselves allow the expression of uncensored ideas link their teaching to the pupils interests encourage their curiosity and the spirit of exploring stimulate different ways of solving problems create many opportunities for creativity 46

7 How Can Schools Contribute to the Development of Pupils Complex Thinking? prepare situations that require different thinking skills and processes promote discussion for exchanging ideas, listening to each other and for exploration and argumentation allow learning from errors and mistakes and provide support in case of failure support positive expectations and attitudes towards all the pupils encourage reflection and deep insight into different perspectives create conditions for co-operation. HOW CAN SCHOOLS BECOME ENVIRONMENTS THAT FACILITATE LEARNING? The new theories of knowledge, learning and teaching do not provide simple and unique recipes for designing learning environments. At first we should rethink and redefine our everyday practice of what and how is taught in schools. The term learner-centred environment refers to this. It relates to environments that draw special attention to knowledge, skills and habits of mind. Also, the consideration of cultural contexts is important. These environments should respond to specific cultural needs of children from different cultural backgrounds and contexts. Learner-centred environments facilitate pupils to express, explore and develop their ideas, to investigate and research, to discuss and to confront different perspectives and to overcome cognitive conflicts and misconceptions. Training in different thinking skills and processes is insufficient for coping with real life problems or for the transfer of school knowledge into concrete situations. Logically organised knowledge combined with strategic thinking about how disciplines or subjects connect is also important. For this reason, the existing curriculum should be critically evaluated in terms of: its isolated subject-oriented approach that supports the existing subject hierarchies and boundaries inflexible daily schedules which encourage fragmentation of knowledge extensive coverage of more and more content at the expense of deeper understanding fragmentation at the expense of creating a big picture of the world 47

8 Zora Rutar Ilc exaggerated attention to the facts at the expense of pupils problem solving pure academism at the expense of relevant and useful knowledge competition at the expense of co-operation and reflection. An alternative to simply progressing through a series of exercises that derive from a scope and sequence chart is to expose students to the major features of the subject domain as they arise naturally in problem situations (Bransford et al. 1999, 139). The above-mentioned changes concern system strategies more than strategies of individual schools. However, there remains some room for manoeuvre at school level. It depends on the school philosophy and leadership strategy: whether the school and its staff identify themselves with the new conceptions of knowledge, learning and teaching whether teachers are prepared for in-service education not only within the limits of their narrow subject areas, but also in the field of didactic in order to upgrade their own conceptions of knowledge, learning and teaching the connection and co-operation inside and between the teams of teachers with the aim of selecting the key topics, expressing and exchanging ideas about ways and methods of teaching, collecting banks of questions, tasks, activities and criteria for assessing various process-oriented aspects of knowledge the possibilities for flexible organisation of work, time and space in connection with the new trends whether the process-oriented way of work remains reserved only for projects, science days and other special occasions or whether it becomes part of everyday practice whether there are occasions for sensitising parents to the importance of lifelong learning and for educating them to know how to help their children and support them constructively instead of doing things instead of them whether contemporary technology is included in all these endeavours in a sensible and thoughtful way. 48

9 How Can Schools Contribute to the Development of Pupils Complex Thinking? CONCLUSION The new pedagogy strives to promote more complex thinking skills and is firmly grounded on mounting evidence from several research communities. Many practical prescriptions are offered in the paper relating to the use of questions that promote process learning. The shift in methods advocated is a major and complex innovation that challenges the complex thinking of educators themselves. It is an innovation that requires change at the levels of the system (syllabi), school (leadership), departments (teaching teams), classrooms (pedagogy and materials) and in the community itself (parental awareness). Slovenia as most other countries, is only just beginning to address the challenge. REFERENCES Bransford J. D., A. L. Brown, and R. R. Cocking How people learn. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Harlen, W The teaching of science. London: David Fulton Publishers. Marzano, R. J., D. J. Pickering, and J. McTighe Assessing student outcomes. Alexandria: ASCD. Marzano, R. J., D. J. Pickering Dimensions of learning. Alexandria: ASCD. OECD Measuring student knowledge and skills. Paris: OECD. Rutar Ilc, Z. and S. Sentočnik Koncepti znanja, učenje za razumevanje. Ljubljana: Zš. 49