Deputy Principal's update

Making thinking visible

To determine what our students have learnt we often rely on what students write or verbally convey. Sometimes our students can be hesitant to put their thoughts on paper, express them through class discussion or to ask the necessary questions, as they are fearful of being wrong. However, as teachers we cannot provide feedback on something we can’t see or hear. I often say to students, ‘How do you know you are wrong, if you don’t let me see what you are thinking?’ If students don’t write it or say it, teachers are unable provide the important feedback that will further guide and develop a student’s thinking and understanding. 

For many years Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education have been researching practices that can help students make their thinking visible. These practices acknowledge that a students conceptual understanding cannot always be measured via a single test score. In learning to use visible thinking practices our students are able to develop the necessary skills to become independent learners who can think, plan, create, engage and question. 

So how is it that we can encourage our students to develop the confidence to show their thinking in a visible way? Some simple. low-risk techniques students can use are:

1. Highlighting the key terms in questions/passages of writing. This shows what a student thinks is important or relevant.
2. Annotating passages or questions. This can demonstrate an understanding of the links between concepts.
3. Not using any form of ‘white out’. White out hides any previous thinking. Students should simply put a single line through writing they believe incorrect, as this allows a teacher to see previous thoughts (that sometimes were correct or can show that good decision-making is being used).
4. Keeping evidence of a drafting process. Thinking can be messy and doesn’t always occur in neat straight lines! Students may often need to refer to previous ideas and thoughts to demonstrate how it is that they arrived at an answer or conclusion.

At Shelford we aim to develop confident and independent learners who understand the value of making their thinking visible. So, it is important that we encourage our students to always have a go, get ‘messy’ when going through the thinking process and be brave when expressing their thoughts and ideas, as all of these things help to make their thinking visible!

Karen Whelan

Deputy Principal, Staff and Operations