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St StephensCommunity Academy

Thinking Matters and Metacognition

What is a Thinking Matters School?
 

Thinking Skills

Explicit use of cognitive processes. Thinking Schools focus on the explicit teaching of fundamental cognitive processes and use a common language of thinking, which leads to better understanding and effective construction of knowledge for students.

Tools and Strategies

Explicit use of tools and strategies to construct and visualise ideas. There are many different kinds of visual mapping techniques. Teachers typically use graphic organisers, conceptual and ‘systems’ mapping. TM provides a suite of tools and strategies and help schools develop expertise in their use. 

Intelligent Learning Behaviours

Students are self-managing and independent. Educators interested in the area of developing thinking often start by differentiating thinking ‘skills’ (such as cause-effect reasoning and the ability to make inferences) from thinking ‘dispositions’ (such as persistence, remaining open-minded and being metacognitive). Dispositions are often related to the field of emotional intelligences and the emotional and social aspects of learning. 

Knowledge is a Foundation for Thinking

Thinking is infused through relevant curriculum content. In Thinking Schools an understanding of memory and the development of memory skills to embed and recall knowledge related to curriculum contexts is central. Careful planning weaves together curriculum requirements and the development of thinking.

Reflective Questioning

High-quality questioning and listening skills. Reflective questioning is the use of prompts and questions to engage students in both thinking about what they know (factual memory) and also how they know (critical reflection). High-quality questions guide students to think about their thinking (metacognition) the dispositions that they are drawing on and how they are collaborating with others as they are learning.

Collaborative Networking

Interdependent thinking. The techniques for cooperative learning are many and there are models for establishing collaborative groups, classrooms and schools. The research on cooperative learning in schools and the need for high-quality collaborative groups in the workplace connect to the recent evolution of social networking through new technologies as learners engage with other learners around the globe. This is more than group work. It is learning how to think interdependently.

An Environment Conducive to Thinking and Learning

The physical environment, systems and resources are organised to facilitate student independence. How the classroom, school, and surrounding area are physically structured has a great effect on teaching and learning. In Thinking Schools students will be involved in determining those aspects of the environment that best facilitate the social and emotional aspects of learning.

 THINKING MATTERS!

What is Metacognition?

Put simply, metacognition is thinking about how we learn and think.  Equipping our children and staff with the skills to be reflective learners is at the heart of the Thinking Matters approach.  Our teachers actively teach children at St Stephens Community Academy  metacognitive strategies to help them be flexible and adaptable learners.

We use a range of thinking tools including Thinking Frames and Thinking Moves,

Metacognition in the classroom
‘In the classroom, metacognitive knowledge equates to the children knowing themselves as learners; having an understanding of how they learning; and being more aware of the processes and actions that they use during learning or to achieve the learning outcome of a lesson.’ (Tarrant and Holt, 2016)
 
‘Making explicit what is actually going on during a learning activity can help deepen the understanding of the intended learning, making it more secure. For example, it may help a child who struggles to sort and classify materials in science or shapes in maths to understand exactly what processes are involved in sorting. To the unaware, sorting and classifying may like some magic, rather random process that goes on in someone’s head. Taking a metacognitive approach to sorting and classifying would involve breaking down the process to find out the unobservable steps.’ (Tarrant and Holt, 2016)
Metacognition will continue to be a main focus for us over the coming year as we take on the Thinking Matters project as a Trust . We will be focusing on how to incorporate metacognition across the different curriculum areas and year groups.
 
An Daras Skills Progression Map Metacognitive Skills v2 FINAL.pdf

What are Thinking Frames?

Thinking Frames are a particular type of ‘visual tool’ based on distinctive visual patterns, which help organise thinking/ideas. In the same way that we use physical tools in everyday life to complete specific tasks, (e.g. spades, rakes and secateurs each carry out particular functions when gardening, likewise a spoon, knife and fork each have specific purposes when eating), similarly visual tools represent particular types of thinking.


Eight Thinking Frames are used to help raise the children's awareness of the types of thinking required to complete certain tasks. Use of the Thinking Frames can help them to plan and structure their thinking and can enable them to look into their own thinking and to see their thinking displayed.


The Thinking Frames are based on an understanding of how connections are made within the brain to aid understanding and memory, especially where words and visual images are combined.

Please look at some of the examples above and read the parent pamphlet below for more information.

Thinking Frames Information for Parents (2).pdf