Teaching & Professional Practice

Developing a classroom culture of

One of the primary objectives of schooling work together in a synergetic fashion to bring about
should involve the teaching of tools for life- and reinforce the enterprise of productive thinking
long learning. As a result, many educators place (i.e. in a critical, creative and caring sense).
a high priority on empowering students with An essential element in developing a classroom
thinking skills such as the ability to reason, to culture of thinking is the explicit teaching of thinking
make informed judgements, to critically evaluate skills to all students. Developing a thinking culture
information, and to think both creatively and requires teaching and learning activities that:
caringly. Immersion in high order thinking, • empower students with the language, tools
therefore, should be an integral aspect of and strategies to engage in a wide range of
learning. This paper discusses the need for a analytical, critical, creative and caring thinking
framework that ensures this occurs in every tasks;
classroom, every day. • provide on-going opportunities for developing,
practicing and refining the skills of thinking;
As a consultant visiting schools it became obvious • provide instruction and practice in managing,
that whilst they had clearly articulated guidelines organising and recording thinking; and
and policies for a vast array of factors connected to • assist in the transfer of skills to everyday life as
student learning, the teaching of thinking skills across tools for life-long learning.
the school was a common exception. It became clear Achieving a culture of thinking requires more

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that teachers need a manageable framework for than a few teachers occasionally using one or
the explicit teaching of thinking skills that will equip two thinking strategies as a part of their normal
students with thinking tools to use throughout their classroom practice. A whole-school approach that
Teachers schooling and in the years beyond. Support for this provides a scope and sequence for the introduction
need a position was enhanced by the work of Dr John Hattie of thinking skills at specific year levels or across
manageable and his team when they undertook a meta-analysis faculties has a much greater chance of success.
framework of research on student learning. They noted that Developing a thinking culture within a school
for the the explicit teaching of thinking was one of only two requires that all teachers:
explicit interventions to reach an effect size of 0.8 or better, • establish and use an appropriate language of
teaching that being double the average of all interventions thinking in their classroom;

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of thinking considered (Hattie, Biggs & Purdie, 1996). • are familiar with a diverse range of thinking
skills Pohl (1997) maintains schools would benefit from strategies; and
having a framework for a whole school approach • make extensive use of graphic organisers to
to the explicit teaching of thinking skills across the assist students to better manage, organise,
primary grades and in the middle years of schooling. record and recall their thinking.
This framework for a whole-school approach forms Furthermore, within a thinking culture, it is
the basis of this discussion. Schools undertaking expected that all students will be progressively
this approach devise and adhere to a prescribed exposed to a range of thinking strategies that
scope and sequence for the teaching of thinking develop their skills in a range of types of thinking,
that immerses students in a wide range of strategies including: analytical thinking, critical thinking, creative
aimed at developing higher order thinking skills. thinking, caring thinking, responding to a wide range
of question types, framing questions, using question-
What is meant by a thinking culture? generating tools, using graphic organisers to record
A classroom thinking culture may be best described thinking and to present the products of their thinking,
as a supportive environment in which specific factors and making decisions and solving problems.

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Teaching & Professional Practice

The scope of the modules in Teaching thinking Although teachers will attend to the explicit
skills in the primary years (Pohl, 1997) provides the skilling of students in accordance with the agreed
opportunity for students to receive explicit instruction scope and sequence for their school, they are not
in seven distinct aspects of thinking (all of which are precluded from using tools or strategies outside of
applicable for use in the middle years context). their particular year level / faculty.
Six Hat thinking—De Bono’s strategy to ensure There are a number of key issues to be
deferred judgement until the problem / issue has been addressed in developing a whole school approach
considered from different viewpoints. This strategy to the teaching of thinking (e.g. staff training and
can be applied as a shared language of thinking in development, tracking students’ understanding of
junior primary classrooms. thinking strategies, and implementing indicators
Extended brainstorming—An eight-part of successful intervention). A recent publication,
process that goes beyond brainstorming for fluency Developing a thinking curriculum at your school
(numerous ideas) and aims to build flexibility, (Pohl, 2007), outlines how some schools in Australia
originality and elaboration of thought. Thinking can and New Zealand have tackled these issues.
then be extended beyond cognitive components
to include affective components of curiosity, Conclusion
complexity, risk taking and imagination. A culture of thinking is a double-sided coin. One

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Questioning techniques—A pre-requisite side is what teachers do to develop the culture while
skill for inquiry-based learning topics that require the other is what students do within that culture
students to create their own worthwhile questions for of thinking. Most importantly, both occur within an
investigation. environment that: Framing
Thinkers keys—Tony Ryan’s set of thinkers keys • does not see the teaching of thinking as an these
are simple but deceptively powerful thinking tools add-on to an already overcrowded curriculum; models and
with a strong high-order and affective thinking focus. • enables students to reason, think and solve strategies
Graphic organisers—Enhance retention and problems that go beyond routine types of into a
recall as well as provide a means for recording operation to engage in complex thinking that sequence
thoughts more efficiently. can be applied to new situations and unfamiliar for explicit
Bloom’s Taxonomy—This list includes the problems; teaching at
simplest form of thinking—remembering—followed • relates thinking and learning strategies to specific year
by understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating discipline-based knowledge; levels and/or
and finally, creating (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). • encourages students to learn how to learn and by different
Planning / decision-making / problem solving— to become motivated, self-regulated, lifelong faculty
Provides an opportunity for students to apply learners; and groups
previously taught strategies within a framework for • infuses thinking into every teaching and ensures that
working with real or real-to-life problems. learning activity—every lesson, every day. all students
TEACH become
Framing these models and strategies into a familiar
sequence for explicit teaching at specific year levels References with all
Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy
and / or by different faculty groups ensures that all for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s
approaches
to thinking in

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students become familiar with all approaches to taxonomy of cognitive objectives (Complete edition). New
thinking in a systematic fashion. This allows senior York: Longman. a systematic
Hattie, J., Biggs, H., & Purdie, N. (1996). Effects of learning skills
secondary students to enter this phase of their interventions on student learning: A meta-analysis. Review of fashion
education with an extensive range of tools, skills and Educational Research, 66(2), 99–136.
strategies that enhance their ability to work more Pohl, M. (1997). Teaching thinking skills in the primary years.
Melbourne, Vic: Hawker Brownlow Education.
effectively and efficiently. Pohl, M. (2000). Learning to think, thinking to learn. Melbourne,
Vic: Hawker Brownlow Education.
Pohl, M. (2007). Developing a thinking curriculum at your school.
Developing a whole-school approach Melbourne, Vic: Hawker Brownlow Education.
In developing a whole school approach, teachers
decide when it is most appropriate to introduce
specific strategies. Modules that introduce tools You may contact Michael Pohl at www.thinking
students need to revisit many times throughout their education.com.au or mpohl@thinkingeducation.
schooling should appear early within an agreed com.au
sequence. Explicit teaching of the more complex
thinking frameworks and strategies should be
delayed until the later years.

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