Mrs May Waly, Head of Middle School and MYP coordinator, Mrs Françoise Mokhtar (Head of Primary and PYP coordinator) and Mr Amr Mokhtar, chairman and founder of GPIS attended the CULTURE OF THINKING SEMINAR, hosted by the International School of Amsterdam from the 10-12 January 2013
Briefing about the conference:
The Cultures of Thinking Project is a global initiative under the direction of Dr. Ron Ritchhart, a Principal Investigator and Senior Research Associate at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
GOALS: The CoT initiative considers education to be a social and cultural endeavour whose goal is the development of both the individual and the group as effective learners and thinkers able to engage with and adapt to a changing world. Within this context the most important assessment question we can ask ourselves as educators is: Who are our students becoming as thinkers and learners as a result of their time with us?
HISTORY: Since 2000, the Cultures of Thinking Project has worked with hundreds of public, independent, and international schools and museums across North America, Australia, and Europe to help transform schools, classrooms, and museums into places where thinking is valued, visible and actively promoted as part of the regular day-to-day experience of all group members.
APPROACH: The CoT initiative works to achieve its goals by working systemically in schools. This includes the formation of ongoing professional learning communities whose attention is focused on exploring and understanding group culture is shaped by the Eight Cultural Forces: Modeling, Opportunities, Routines, Expectations, Language, Interactions, Time, and Environment.
By paying attention to how these eight forces send messages about what learning is, what kind of thinking is valued, and what it means to be smart; educators can reshape schools and classrooms into powerful learning environments in which students can achieve at the highest levels. The Documentation of learning and the integration of Thinking Routines —simple structures to scaffold, support, and direct students! Thinking—are also core practices.
INFORMATION: Over the life of the Culture of Thinking Project we have generated a large number of books, articles, and web resources that document the work of the project, report on our ongoing research, describe the changes occurring in schools and classrooms, and identify the impact on student learning.
Visit www.RonRitchhart.com, www.pz.harvard.edu/vt and www.storiesoflearning.com to download resources and to learn more about the work of the project and how it is transforming schools and classrooms around the world.