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How Visible Thinking Enhances Children's Learning

by Angela K. Salmon
November/December 2016
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Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/how-visible-thinking-enhances-childrens-learning/5023215/

One reason good thinking is not cultivated is because it is invisible and teachers don’t know the inner workings of children’s minds. Because of this, schools pay little attention to thinking and focus more on content and student outcomes; as a consequence, students leave school superficially understanding many topics and deeply understanding a few. Student success, however, requires not only basic knowledge and skills, but also the ability to think with what they know. The demands of the 21st century require children to think critically. Among 21st century skills are communication, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. Thinking plays a vital role in preparing citizens for an era of information and technology. Considering that learning is a consequence of thinking and good thinking is learnable by all students (Perkins, 1992, p. 31), there is a call to teach children to think. When teachers know how children think, they can have better conversations and scaffold their thinking to a higher level. Despite the fact that humans are born with the capacity and inclination to think, skillful thinking must be cultivated (Costa & Kallick, 2009). 

To show this idea, let’s look inside Ms. Victoria’s kindergarten classroom during the first week of school. Before making curriculum ...

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