Module 7: Thinking for Success
How can thinking skills help me throughout my CP?
We often talk about transferable skills across all your subjects in the CP but this really becomes understandable when we talk about thinking skills. On this page we explore thinking skills connected to the PPS themes and see how they might work across your core elements, DP courses and career-related subject/s. Thinking routines really do work - they help you own what you are doing and build your understanding incrementally without getting overwhelmed.
Skill toolkit
You have probably come across the idea of skill toolkit before on your CP, if not this course itself. In the context of thinking skills, everytime you specifically use a thinking routine that works for you, you are adding another tool to your toolkit of skills. Build this up over time in your visual or process journal throughout the course.
You are not just using them within one subject - the beauty of skills is that transfer. On this page we are going to explore the thinking skills you already have and how you can use PPS themes to explore other thinking skills that will reach far into the other aspects of your course.
Look at the PPS learning outcomes below and in your process journal, mindmap the skills you currently use to help you achieve that outcome. This isn't a test - look back over your notes, journal or chat to your classmates. Don't be afraid to think of other subjects as well.
Share your mindmap of ideas and connections with a partner to discuss.
LO1: Identify their own strengths and areas for growth
LO2: Demonstrate the ability to apply thinking processes to personal and professional situations
LO3: Recognize and be able to articulate the value of cultural understanding and appreciation for diversity
LO4: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of communicating effectively and working collaboratively
LO5: Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and action
Personal Development
Let's start looking through the theme of Personal Development where our main objective is to identify strengths and areas for growth.
Who am I? Explore, Connect, Identify, Belong
This routine is very much linked with creating a sene of self-awareness which is a facet of being successful
Thinking skill developed: Using questioning and close observation to identify assumptions, bias and potential problems
- This thinking routine invites you to go beyond superficial judgements and labelling that can happen in relation to people, systems, objects or ideas.
- It encourages you to take a moment to consider what they really think and not rush to make a decision.
- You can continue to build your ideas over an extended period of time and notice how your ideas about who you are have changed and matured.
Think about who you are and then about someone else. Consider how you have become who you are, where you belong and what that can mean in our changing world.
Explore: Who am I? How has my identity developed?
Connect: eg I am connected to my parents, their parents and my brother and sister and I'm in the basketball team. Who else and what else am I connected to? What else shapes my identity?
Identify: If I wanted other to know who I am, what would identify me? Do we have more than one identity?
Belong: Where do I think I belong? Do I have a sense of belonging to more that one group, more than on place?
Reflect on what this thinking routine revealed about your identity and your sense of belonging. Were you surprised by any of your answers?
Now let's link our thoughts there to the theme of Intercultural Understanding where our aim is to articulate the value of cultural understanding and appreciation for diversity
'I used to think ... Now I think'
Thinking Skill developed: Using intercultural understanding to understand change in complex situations
This is a really useful routine for showing the change in your own thought processes over time - great for the reflective porject.- A routine for reflecting on how and why thinking might have changed about a cultural issue or ethical dilemma with a cultural dimension.
You could be studying a wide range of concepts in different subjects and this is useful for monitoring your changing ideas.
Write a response to the simple statements:
I used to think .... Now I think ....
Extend: How does this process allow me to value cultural understanding and appreciate diversity in this context?
Effective Communication: communicating effectively and working collaboratively
Sticking Points
Skills development: Evaluating evidence and arguments
It can be hard to get to grips with complexities and controversies, especially in a classroom context where a debate is being encouraged.
- This thinking routine allows to consider different viewpoints on a big issue that opens up communication and the ability to collaborate.
- You can divide up into teams to follow this process. Use any of the debates and issues from to utilise this thinking process.
Look at the big issue in hand and consider it from four facets:
Facts: What facts do people differ on? What facts do they agree on?
Values: What values do people differ on? What values do they agree on?
Interests: What practical interests do people differ on? (consider investments, land, loyalties etc...)
Policies: What policies (ie general actions to take) to people differ on? What policies do they agree on?
Extend: Reflect after you have completed this on how it allowed you to communicate and collaborate effectively?
Thinking Processes: Apply thinking processes to personal and professional situations
3-2-1 Reflection - 2 ways of reflecting which can work for moving a general reflection on thinking processes to a more focused reflection on personal development.
Thinking Skills development: Using reflection to take responsibility for your actions
At the end of this lesson, reflect on:
3 Things I have learnt or 3 Things I have learnt about myself
2 Questions I still have or 3 Questions I still have about myself
1 Challenge I face or 1 Challenge I personally face
Extend: how can this help me in personal and professional situations?
Applied Ethics: Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Same and Different
Skills Development: Challenging assumptions and bias to make fair and balanced decisions
A contradiction in terms, complexities in the world around us can often be accepted at face value. Being able to explore complexities can start with just a picture and a question. This can lead to a thorough and deep understanding from multiple perspectives which, in turn, can lead to independent, informed opinions and solutions.
Choose a debate, incident, or object in which opposing views are clearly apparent, or images that look different but are grouped together. Alternatively, consider the gallery pictures below which are all on the subject of Protest.
Notice: Often judgements can be made at first glance. What was the first impression you had about this?
Perspective taking: From what other points of view could this be perceived? What would one say from those points of view?
Same and Different: What are the similarities? Differences? How is this case the same and different at the same time?
