Kairanga+School

Pedagogy: The art & science of teaching. We believe that to be the best teacher of children we must develop tools that can be used in a variety of situations that will enable our children to achieve highly. This ‘Teachers’ Toolbox’ is being developed in line with the modules undertaken as part of the EHSAS contract. The aims of the Toolbox are: **Key Competencies – Thinking**: ‘Thinking is about using creative, critical, metacognitive, and reflective processes to make sense of and question information, experiences, and ideas. These processes can be applied to research, organisation and evaluation for all kinds of purposes – developing understating, making decisions, shaping actions, or constructing knowledge. Intellectual curiosity is at the heart of this competency.’ //NZ Curriculum.// It is widely acknowledged that if students are to become better thinkers, they must be **explicitly taught how to think**.
 * Kairanga School**
 * Learner’s Toolbox.**
 * //To develop a high level of understanding of and in the use of the thinking skills, also to use them skilfully in teaching practice; and to help children incorporate it in their daily work across the curriculum.//

It is expected that in either the unit plan or in the daily plan the use of the Thinking Tools will be highlighted. The Kairanga School unit plan incorporates these ‘Thinking Tools’, as a guide and reminder of the use of these tools. Teachers are expected to demonstrate their use and incorporate them into their teaching on a regular basis. Here are examples of how the KC"s can link to each of our Thinking Tools and be incorporated into the classroom.

The teachers of Kairanga School have agreed that the following are important to us. We believe they are effective tools and we agree to use them as they are laid out. This toolbox will be updated and reviewed as part of our Self-Review. · Have a regular **‘Brain Break’**: particularly in the first section of the day, pupils need to be refreshed and ‘re-booted’. Having a 5 minute break from work, either having a quick spell of exercise, a piece of fruit, a song, etc, will stimulate the chn and refresh them back to their work. This can also be incorporated into a fitness break. · **Drinking water** regularly keeps the chemical balance in check and speeds up blood circulation, assisting with concentration. Chn are encouraged to have a water bottle in their room. · **Music:** playing baroque music quietly in the background can help stimulate the brain, increasing concentration and an learning environment.
 * Brain:**

· **Smell:** We encourage all classes to have a plug in aroma which enhances the sensory environment and again is proven to enhance the physical environment.

> **Logical/Mathematical Intelligence** can be developed in drama by scheduling rehearsals, measuring for sets, scale models, estimating costs, budgeting; > **Visual/Spatial Intelligence** can be developed through studies of society eg models, map making, illustrations; > **Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence** can be developed through science and technology eg the study of vibration and making of instruments; > **Bodily/Kinaesthetic Intelligence** can be developed through music eg singing and clapping, rap songs and dance; > **Interpersonal Intelligence** can be developed through co-operation and team learning strategies used in any subject and group problem solving work; > **Intrapersonal Intelligence** can be developed through peer tutoring, buddy systems etc.
 * Multiple Intelligences** **:**
 * Catering for the different MI’s is important to developing thinking skills in our chn and catering for their learning styles. The MI’s will be updated into the unit planning sheet.
 * In Terms 2 & 3, we will decide on umbrella concepts for the whole school. Teachers will have the opportunity to learn in different directions from each other under this umbrella. The purpose is to have a common theme, shared work across the school, which will enhance the family atmosphere, but also help with pupils scaffolding their understandings on a subject.
 * These themes will be discussed in term 1 at TO Day and decided on in the first wk7 staff mtg. Tchrs can still decide on what to teach according to the classes’ needs and teacher’s interest. T1 & 4 contexts are completely up to teacher.
 * **Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence** can be developed in maths lessons eg stories with time, lines, story maps;

   **Six Thinking Hats:** Established by Edward deBono, these are six different approaches symbolized by the act of putting on a coloured hat, either actually or imaginatively. This can be done either by individuals working alone or in groups. Their use can be understood better by imagining the hat to be something else (idea in brackets). The Black Hat (Judge’s robe) represents Critical thinking, finding weaknesses, or flaws. The Green Hat (a plant) is Creative thinking, what ideas, or alternatives we can have. The Blue Hat (sky) represents the Big Picture, thinking about what is happening now and the organisation needed – looking at the whole view from beginning to end. The Yellow Hat (sun) represents Positive thinking, what is good about something, what benefits there are. The Red Hat (fire) represents emotional thinking, or how we feel about a topic or issue. The White Hat (a blank sheet) is purely the facts, what we actually know about something. This approach is to assist Teachers with their planning. It is useful for guidance in questioning and planning of activities and in making sure that we extend pupils thinking. There will be evidence of teachers using Bloom’s in activities in the classroom, including Unit studies and in Literacy. The revised Bloom’s terms, in order from lowest to highest level of thinking are **Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analysing,**  Tony Ryan developed the 20 Thinkers Keys that enable children to develop their higher order thinking skills through the answering of questions related to the topic. They encourage children to think outside the square and can be developed around any topic. These Thinkers Keys can be used throughout the school and related to any topic. An example of some of the Keys are The Picture, The Combination, Advantages and Disadvantages. A full list of them can be found on Tony Ryans website, www.tonyryan.com.au
 * Bloom’s Taxonomy:**
 * Evaluating, Creating.** Bloom’s Taxonomy is easily integrated with the other Thinking Tools we use. An outline of how they fit and relate to each other is in the EHSAS folder, along with resources to help plan and use.
 * Thinkers Keys:**