Cedar Feedback: 17/10/16

L. Coulson / WWW:
  • Hats and keys were visibly on display.
  • Structured ‘thinking time’.
  • Collaborative working: lots of small group discussions with very little reliance on teacher input.
  • Use of a hat sequence to facilitate a class discussion: ensured all shared their ideas and discussed from different perspectives.
  • When introducing the yellow hat the teacher encouraged students to think about positives for ‘you and society’: effective way to broaden perspectives.
  • Teacher encouraged students to use cognitive language when identifying the thinking process underpinning each hat discussed.
  • Really liked the cue cards linking questions to each of the hats: this provided a purposeful scaffold to further develop students conversations.
EBI:
  • A Think/Pair/Share might have worked nicely when students were initially coming up with ideas: 30 seconds to silently think, followed by a minute to discuss with a partner and then use these ideas to inform a class discussion. You can then select students rather than relying on hands up because everybody will be able to discuss an idea.
  • Ensure the students fully describe why when they discuss positives and limitations: a supporting statement encourages students to get in to the habit of validating their point of view.

S. Jones / WWW:
  • Lots of thinking-based displays present to reinforce the thinking terminology.
  • Mindset and the Learning Pit displays are great to see up; linking dispositions to the students learning will hopefully encourage a happier and more productive learning environment.
  • Really liked the interactive display where the students move ‘to the next level’: this meant that students could see how far they had come in terms of the English Target and also enabled them to recall their previous learning.
  • Use of praise for students’ ideas created a positive learning environment, whereby students were willing to share ideas and risk mistakes.
  • Love the idea of the students identifying the type of thinking taking place, validating it and then ‘earning’ the hat: they seemed to really enjoy this and were making some fantastic comments…this level of student awareness and understanding is fantastic.
  • Great use of the prediction key to encourage students to think about next steps.
EBI:
  • There might have been some opportunities whereby students could briefly discuss in a pair prior to answering a question: allowing this time to share an idea with a partner and consolidate a shared understanding can sometimes prevent a pattern of students impulsively answering a question incorrectly.

M. Cullen / WWW:
  • Hats and keys were visible within the classroom to reinforce terminology and ensure a consistent common language.
  • Reflective way of encouraging the students to discuss how they felt about their learning by using the red hat.
  • There was some nice follow up questioning which encouraged the students to add more depth to their answers: what do we know and how do we know it?
  • Using the Question Key to ask students what the question might be if the answer is square was a good way to really identify what the students had a clear conceptual understanding of prior to moving on with the topic: it was also pleasing to see some students really grappling with this and discussing their ideas together.
EBI:
  • Try to take the opportunity where possible to reinforce the terminology so that in time the students will begin to take ownership in their selection of the hats.
  • There could be further follow questions to unpick student understanding: for example, for an incorrect response, ask the student why they might have said that, and then ask another student about their thoughts on that response, etc.

S. Kirk
(Due to the nature of the task I am unable to provide more specific feedback this time) / WWW:
  • Keys and hats were present and visible.
  • Liked the Question Key display which identified different ways to make the number 10.
  • There were lots of examples of the keys being used on display. Accurate and purposeful integration.
EBI:
  • The opportunity at points to quickly self-reflect using the yellow and black hat: students could discuss what they are doing well at the moment and what they need to work on. This might provide the opportunity for students to use each other to progress rather than waiting for the teacher to correct them. For example, ‘At the moment I think I can read and I know what all of the questions are asking but I need to work on my spelling’.

Student Discussion Summary

  • What do you enjoy most about school and why?
  • Taking responsibility for animals. Makes you feel like you are a young adult.
  • Respect from our teachers. Achieving a ‘well done’ makes you feel like you have earnt something.
  • ICT: Being shown how to use it safely and properly.
  • What do you think learning is?
  • People showing you how to do something and then you doing it.
  • Understanding how to do something.
  • Information to feed the brain. It pushes you to get good jobs. When asked what a good job is, the student answered, something in the government. When further asked what you might like to do for a job, the student answered work in Science or Computers.
  • Can you tell me a little more about the 6 thinking hats I’ve been seeing in your lessons?
  • A FULL DESCRIPTION INCLUDING KEY TERMINOLOGY FROM ONE STUDENT!!!
  • The different colours mean different things.
  • You get to wear them.
  • Helps learning because it sections it.
  • Can you tell me a little more about some of the Keys that I have seen in your lessons?
  • We use them in guided reading to help us.
  • I like them because they help me think more.
  • They can be used for different problems.

Suggestions for moving forward:

  • Encourage students to use the cognitive language. This will continue reinforcing the common language and also make it easier as students progress through the school for the following teacher. Students will hopefully become more independent, more aware of their thinking, more reflective and also there will be less time needed to describe the tools because the language has become embedded at an early age. A lesson I observed with early years at Gordons had the students using hand actions for each hat and linking the red hat to the word imagination (as they did this hair washing motion with their hands). They enjoyed the hand actions and at the same time were becoming more aware of some of the language. Some language can be simplified if necessary but I do believe we should use it with the students and set high expectations.
  • Possibly more cue cards for each hat. The questions on them were clear and concise and in the lesson I observed they formed a purposeful scaffold which supported the students’ progression. Having enough for each table could further support other learners. It might be that in time they are not ‘relied upon’ by the students but during these early stages of integration they will reinforce the language and understanding of the language.
  • The mighty ‘might’. Small changes in the terminology that you use with the students will open up their thinking as opposed to closing it down. The difference between asking ‘What is the answer?’ and ‘What might be the answer?’ is enough for some students to feel more confident and willing to share their ideas.
  • A common approach to a Think/Pair/Share might encourage less reliance on a ‘hands up’ approach. Because students will have had independent thinking time and peer discussion time they can then be ‘selected’ by the teacher to answer a question. This approach will allow the teacher to differentiate the questioning more accurately and also include more learners in discussions because theoretically they should have something to offer.
  • Sharing good practice across each year group will provide a broader picture of what thinking looks like. If staff can have the opportunity to sometimes work with staff from the year group above or below they will gain an accurate picture of how thinking does and can look in their lessons.
  • Some of the language the students were using to describe the thinking agenda was very articulate. There were minor inconsistencies across age groups, which could be down to lots of different reasons but something to work on quite implicitly will be developing students language to discuss their learning and thinking. Modelling in assemblies and lessons will be integral to supporting this.

Key Take Home Points:

  • There is some fantastic learning and thinking taking place across the school! I am very thankful to your staff for providing me with the opportunity to see thinking in action. Much of what I saw I have already been discussing in with the schools I have been working with since.
  • I really like the display amendments that have been taking place with regards to the more public displays. These small changes have made thinking more explicit and also will subconsciously reinforce the language and tools to staff and students.
  • The tools that I saw in use were accurate and purposeful. Nothing looked ‘shoe horned’. There was a clear focus on the students’ development. At this stage consistency, accuracy and purpose are the big three. They are clearly being considered and demonstrated. THIS IS A GREAT START!

Cedar Visit: Wednesday 28th October 2016

  • Some areas of the school have fantastic displays of the hats and the keys. Ensure every classroom is part of the ‘common language’.
  • Whole schools display boards have opportunities to add Hats and Keys too. Linking the tools to student learning will reinforce the language and make thinking immediately explicit around the school.
  • Great links to wider practice. One classroom had on display a ‘what if? Key’ to demonstrate class rules. What if we did not follow the school rules? This enables students to think about the consequences of their actions and could act as a deterrent to poor behaviour.
  • Possibly introduce short periods of reflection within lessons. Encouraging students to THINK about their learning. For example a mini plenary where the teacher asks the students to put their yellow hats on and think about what they are doing well and why, then black hat what are your limitations and why and then green hat what solutions might we have to make those black hats yellow? This evaluation and reflection mightencourage students to take more ownership of their learning. Sometimes the solutions are to ask a friend or look at the board etc. Encouraging student collaboration as well as independence are key features of the thinking philosophy. I really like the Brain/Buddy/Book/Boss idea. Sometimes this technique is known as ‘3 before me’ and when reinforced it can help learners to be more independent and take more responsibility in their learning process, ensuring that they do not always rely on the teacher for the answer or put their hand up at the first sign of a learning hurdle.
  • The keys work nicely as a starter when used alongside a Think ->Pair ->Share. For example ‘The Question’. Students are given an answer on the board i.e. 42 if they were in Maths, and are asked to identify as many different questions as they can that lead to that answer. Getting students to work from independent to interdependent will improve student confidence and also enable the teacher to identify progress… Especially if they write each stage of the think/pair/share in a different colour. Immediately you can see what they know and what you might need to revisit.
  • A monitoring form needs to be developed for observations. What do you expect to see in lessons? Make the form as simple as possible so that not just SLT use the form but any teacher can use it to watch another person.
  • What might a book scrutiny form look like? Will you add Thinking Tools to the current form or have a standalone form to ensure feedback to staff is detailed enough during these early stages?
  • Really like the Learning Pit displays. This is already a great foundation for developing dispositions, which might be part of phase two for the school.
  • Explicitly identifying the specific hats and keys in use during each section of the lesson is great for reinforcing student understanding of the ‘type of thinking’ they are using at that time.
  • A->Z at the start of a topic and then at the end again a nice way to highlight progress. Make this explicit on the wall that they will revisit this learning. Students inevitably spend short periods of the day looking at displays and this reminds them that they will be revisiting that learning and building upon it. Some students might add continually to the board whenever they have an idea. They could write their name by the side and it could become a mini competition i.e. the most words/ the best vocabulary/ most expressive word etc.
  • The bulletin inserts are keeping thinking high on the agenda of staff. Some are informative and might be designed to tackle misconceptions and some share good practice. Adding pictures of good displays and describing why certain lesson excerpts are good will again direct staff and improve their competence and confidence.
  • Linking the Hats to Bloom will encourage differentiated use of the hats and is a great link for lesson objectives and also questioning. Lesson objectives could have a hat or a key by the side of them again to make the students aware of what type of thinking they will be using.
  • The thinking planning in to lessons looks purposeful and accurate. Achieving this widespread at such an early stage of the journey is great!
  • Linking the theme of the week to the thinking assembly will again reinforce the common language and especially when using hats highlights links to broader themes so that students do not just think they use the tools in the classroom. They are holistic.
  • We discussed ways to ‘drip feed’ thinking information to parents to ensure they are part of the journey. Parents evening powerpoints on loop which provides information about the tools but also shows what it looks like in lessons and workbooks might encourage parents to ask questions and show an interest in the philosophy.
  • Standalone notice boards which are quite informative as you walk around the school. E.G. ‘This is how we use Thinking Hats at Cedar’. ‘This is what learning looks like at Cedar’ and also more thoughtful boards e.g. ‘This is why we use the Hats’ and have a six hat student analysis of using the Hats…. I hope that makes sense… I envisage a title in the middle of the board with reflective student discussion points around it.
  • Providing examples within the Thursday briefing of how easy it is to link thinking in will help staff. I spoke about the example of the ‘what is love?’ board that we saw in one classroom. We could pop a red hat up on that board and identify that we used red hat thinking to discuss what we thought love was. Simple adaptations to make students more aware of the thinking they are using and reinforcing the common language.
  • Also involving others in those Thursday meetings. If you have observed a great lesson then get that teacher to discuss what they did and why they did it… and then as a group you can evaluate it…. Yellow hat: It was good because…. Green hat: How might I amend or adapt that activity/tools used/benefits gained in to my own teaching? The more involved the better. Diffusing good practice across all areas but also giving staff ownership whilst also acknowledging and celebrating their successes.
  • Linking the learning walk theme to thinking e.g. this week we are looking at starters…Some good ideas might be to use a key. This week we are looking at questioning…. Link the hats to differentiated questions. Some links will be subtle but some will be very explicit.

Cedar Feedback: Wednesday 1st February

General Overview

  • Thinking public displays updated demonstrating purposeful and accurate application of tools. This is consistent and engaging across all areas of the school.
  • There is less disparity now between Maths and English working walls – lots of visuals being used and these are linked to learning objectives. There is a very even coverage of tools too which is fantastic considering you have embraced three in quick succession.
  • Use of cognitive ‘thinking language’ across all areas. Staff reinforcing the thinking terminology and building the children’s thinking vocabulary.
  • Pilots taking place in different year groups by each member of the drive team.

Pilot Feedback