Critical thinking

There are 7 General Capabilities (GCs) in the Australian Curriculum – so, how are teachers implementing them in the classroom? A new research study offers some insights. We find out more from Chief Investigator Dr Don Carter.

There are many examples in the Teacher archive of schools giving students the opportunity to be critical and creative thinkers, and in this edition of Teacher Staffroom, we share some recent examples with you.

Helping students to develop their skills in the general capabilities is essential for preparing them to succeed in a modern society. At St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls in Perth, Western Australia, primary school students are given these opportunities through the school’s STEAM program.

‘[The Sacúdete strategy] shows to others what the future of school could look like when we put learners at the centre and make the "extracurricular" the curriculum. That is the lesson that other countries can learn from.’ In his new Teacher column, Andreas Schleicher shares details of a successful program in Colombia that sees educators work as mentors and coaches.

Considerable progress has been made in defining 21st Century skills, but curriculum implementation is the next hurdle. That was one of the messages to come out of the first webinar revisiting the ‘big five’ education challenges facing Australian schools.

Proficiency in critical and creative thinking, collaboration and problem solving helps students succeed in their learning, but these kinds of skills are also highly valued by employers.

A new set of resources developed by experts at the Australian Council for Educational Research aims to provide an evidence-based approach to the development of critical thinking, creative thinking and collaboration. Dr Claire Scoular shares details and examples of the frameworks in today’s article.

In this monthly series, we take a look at some further readings available on a particular topic, including open access research papers from various online catalogues. This month’s theme is creative thinking.

How can educators teach and assess the General Capabilities – skills like critical thinking, creative thinking, collaboration, and problem solving? In today’s podcast, Dr Claire Scoular discusses an assessment framework she’s developed for measuring and monitoring these skills in the classroom.

In the latest cycle of the OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS 2018), participants were asked about their use of a range of teaching practices. Today’s infographic looks at the results for practices associated with cognitive activation.