C48: Thinking Skills for Early Years (PK-K)

​​Hello to my early years friends who work with students in PK-K.  If you don’t teach these grades, please refer to episode 49 for grades 1-6 and episode 50 for specialist and supporting teachers. 

Welcome to this episode my early years friends.  I’ve long thought about how to create for you my early years teachers.  I think going forward, we are going to need to adapt the learning for you, since we are getting past some of the ideas that are applicable to any age level. 

---

As a PYP Coordinator, I’ve come to truly appreciate the amazing things you accomplish in the early years. It’s quite remarkable.  You lay the foundation so all other understanding can happen and many people don’t realize the scale of impact you truly create. 

In this episode, we are going to examine the ATL thinking skills from your viewpoint.  We will refer to PYP From Principles into Practice:  The Learner from pages 15-19.

As we previously discussed, the teacher sets the tone for everything in the classroom from agency, inquiry, and the ATLs.  They must consider their role in making the ATLs come to life in their classrooms.  As I look at the teacher support requirement for the thinking skills development, I see many of the same things you are doing already, but the IB put a label on it. 

What teachers do to set the stage for thinking skills to thrive

• Model the language of thinking, such as “I wonder”, “I noticed”, “I inferred”.
• Ask open-ended questions.
• Provide sufficient thinking time to respond to questions and so on.
• Offer open-ended materials.
• Provide time for reflections at all stages of learning - before, during, and after inquiries.
• Co-create and reflect on individual learning goals within the zone of proximal development.

As I read this, I wonder how many teachers really take a moment to access how they are establishing true thinking to occur in their classrooms.  I know most early years teachers are brilliant at thinking aloud, so I know they are modeling the language of thinking.  I witness open-ended questioning and offer open-ended materials. 

The areas I think may be a growth area are providing sufficient thinking time, providing opportunities for reflection throughout inquiries, and co-creating and reflecting on individual learning goals. This takes time and more time.  Take a moment to think about your schedule, are you struggling to find time to fit these in?  Like everything else, they must be included on the unit planner and made a part of the learning process or they’ll be continuously put on the back burden for the next unit and the one after that. 

The thinking skills that students will demonstrate come under the sub-skill of critical and creative thinking. 

Critical thinking has the following sub-skill criteria:

• Analyzing 
• Evaluating
• Forming decisions

Creative thinking has the following sub-skill criteria:

• Generating novel ideas
• Considering new perspectives
• Information transfer
• Reflection and metacognition

The thing I like about the early years ATLs, they have simplified the skills to be more age appropriate for the students you teach.  Here’s a deeper dive into one of the thinking skills.

Considering New Perspectives

1. Seek information
Our early learners are always seeking new information. After all, their favorite question is “Why?”  How do we harness their curiosity into a way to seek information?  I think one way to help them is to provide a graphic that shows how we can find new information on an iPad, in a book, in the library, and other people, etc..  This allows them to know the proper channels on how to seek and obtain information on their own.

2. Consider alternative solutions, including those that might be unlikely or impossible, in play and other situations
Play is the best vehicle for creating new ideas.  Through social interactions with each other, it’s magical to see our early learners share their thinking and correct prior thinking independently.  One of my favorite ways to get them thinking differently is through role-play.  By taking on a character, they are able to see ideas through a new lens and become more open to the thinking of others. 

3. Ask “what if” questions
Our youngest learners come to school with tons of questions in their mind, which all begin with “Why?”  They are so curious about understanding how things work and their implications, but “Why?” requires someone else to provide the connection. One variation to “Why?” is having them shift towards “What if?”  Now, they are given more ownership of the learning process and are charged to figure it out on their own or with learning partners. 

4. Practice some “visible thinking” routines 
One of the hardest things for all learners is figuring out how learning is connected. Harvard’s Project Zero visible thinking routines do just that and provide a way for learners to make unexpected connections.  Notice, the IB does not recommend a list of routines that must be used, because it largely depends on the context and purpose.  If you are just starting out with using visible thinking routines, I’d suggest you begin with the Core Thinking Routines found at http://www.pz.harvard.edu/thinking-routines

Well my friends, this gives you some context of the thinking skills from the lens of the early years.  I hope you found some food for thought and look forward to exploring research skills with you next in episode 51.