Thinking Schools Ethiopia
An Overview

Thinking Schools Ethiopia is for teachers, whole schools, educational bodies and countries who want to develop 21st Century learning and thinking environments using thinking skills with proven impact across the globe. Adopting different pathways for thinking, this is a unique, sustainable, whole school approach to learning with student centred thinking at its heart. The core pathways with the Thinking Schools Ethiopia include:

  1. Thinking Maps use of visual tools to organize ones thinking (students, teachers, leaders) with visual tools that visually create a collaborative process of seeing each other’s thinking
  2. Reflective Questioning high quality questioning and listening skills
  3. Collaborative Learning includes collaborative learning for students; collegial coaching for teachers; community building for the whole school

Learn more:

Thinking Schools Accreditation Process and Research at www.thinkingfoundation.org

Thinking Schools International at www.thinkingschoolsinternational.com

Thinking Schools Ethiopia blog which you are reading here at www.thinkingschoolsethiopia.com

Eminence Social Entrepreneurs at www.eminence-se.com

Thinking Schools International

  • Whole School Change 
  • Whole District / Region Change
  • Transformational Systems Change

Whole District • Minds of Mississippi Documentary Film • USA
www.thinkingfoundation.org/mom/

Whole Country • Malaysia • iThink
www.ithink.org.my

Whole School • Norway / Northern Ireland

Whole School System • Addis Ababa Education Bureau • Leadership Teams

Ato Dilamo Ottore – Head of Addis Ababa Education Bureau
Speaks about Thinking Schools Ethiopia

Video is in Amharic with English subtitles. If you don’t see the subtitles click on the cc icon to activate the subtitles.
Ato Dilamo Ottore, Head of Addis Ababa Education Bureau, giving a short speech about the importance of the Thinking Schools Ethiopia program that is being implemented in Ethiopia by Eminence Social Entrepreneurs. His speech was given before the 10 school leadership teams (8 principal and teacher leaders from each school) at the Thinking Schools Ethiopia training in June 2014.

UNESCO-IICBA support for Thinking Schools Ethiopia

posted by Robert Price
click on responses above to leave a comment 

‘UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) has written this Letter of Support to Thinking Schools Ethiopia – part of Eminence Social Entrepreneurs, a local non-governmental organisation for the work it is doing to promote the concept and practice of Thinking Schools Ethiopia.

Thinking Schools Ethiopia aims to promote modern teaching and learning methods in Ethiopian schools through the Thinking Maps Methodology and Whole School System. IICBA, as an Institute engaged in the  promotion of modern pedagogy and support to teacher education institutions in Africa has been participating  in  the  workshops that were organised  to familiarise school teachers in Addis Ababa with the methodology and confirms that the new approach to teaching and learning be very beneficial to students in Ethiopian schools.

As part of Eminence’s commitment to “rejuvenating and transforming the delivery of services in Ethiopia”, llCBA  believes that the Thinking Schools Ethiopia exercise will introduce a new dimension in the way teachers think about teaching and students about learning.’

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

Addis Ababa

“I would like to see this continue in some form…this was a complete success…to have on an ongoing basis…for public school teachers…that would assist the whole education system in the country because this was a workshop about changing minds…acquiring a new set of beliefs about what education is all about…”

Video interview with Dr. Awol Endris, Program Director at UNESCO – International  Institute for Capacity Building in Africa, after participating in full five day Thinking Schools Ethiopia training in Addis Ababa.

www.unesco-iicba.org
UNESCO Letter of Support for Thinking Schools Ethiopia (PDF)

Thinking Schools Ethiopia – Brief Introduction

A brief introduction to Thinking Schools Ethiopia, a transformational educational approach that is a multidirectional, learner-centered, brain-empowering foundation of whole school change. Thinking Schools Ethiopia is being implemented in different model schools in Ethiopia in collaboration with the Education Bureaus of Addis Ababa, SNNPRS and Tigray. Be part of the change and find more at: www.thinkingschoolsethiopia.com Eminence Social Entrepreneurs at www.eminence-se.org

The Thinking Schools Ethiopia video was filmed at the recent Addis Ababa Education Bureau government schools Thinking Schools training held on the 16-17 June 2014 at Kokeb Tsibah Primary School for 10 model government schools. Each school had a leadership team of 8 educators including the principal and lead teachers. The training will continue throughout the upcoming 2014/1015 school year with the whole staff of each school, while expanding into the other sub-cities. Also read, see and hear the earlier postings on trainings in Tigray and SNNPRS.

The photos below are from the same training as shared in the video above.

Addis Ababa Education Bureau
Model Schools Leadership Teams
Thinking Schools Ethiopia Training
16-17 June 2014

Thinking Schools Ethiopia facilitated training of the Addis Ababa Education Bureau 10 model schools for the Growing Thinking Schools Inside Out project. The eighty participants (8 principals and lead educators from the 10 schools) participated in the 2 day training on the 16-17 June. The accompanying slide show provides views of the training. A video and reflections from the participants will be posted in the next several days.

Tigray Education Bureau
Thinking Schools Training
in collaboration with Tigray Development Association
13-14 June 2014

Thinking Schools Ethiopia facilitated training of the Tigray Education Bureau expert team for the Growing Thinking Schools Inside Out project. The training was coordinated by the Tigray Development Association. The seventy participants participated in the 2 day training on the 16-17 June. The accompanying images are from the training held at the Tigray Education Bureau. A video and reflections from the participants will be posted in the next several days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upcoming and Recent Trainings
Thinking Schools Ethiopia

Thinking Schools Ethiopia which is part of Eminence Social Entrepreneurs is now collaborating with three education bureaus in three Ethiopian regions:

  • Addis Ababa Education Bureau (AAEB) in the capital city of Ethiopia;
  • the Southern Nations State Education Bureau (SNNPRS) in the south;
  • and a collaboration of the Tigray Development Association (TDA) & the Tigray Education Bureau (TEB) in the north.

Upcoming and recent trainings include:

  • AAEB: 16-17 June 2014 with leadership teams from AAEB schools;
  • TDA & TEB:  13-14 June 2014 with leadership teams from TEB schools and experts from the TEB;
  • SNNPRS:  March 2014 with the SNNPRS Education Bureau Expert team. The whole state initiative is to begin with model schools in September 2014.

For further information on upcoming Thinking Schools trainings please contact Atsede Tsehayou and/or Dagim Melese at Thinking Schools Ethiopia. Go to the contact page on this website for contact information. Further information on the Thinking Schools International trainer Robert Price may be found on the Thinking Schools International website and Robert Price’s website.

Southern Nations Nationalities & Peoples State Education Bureau (SNNPSEB)
Southern Nations website in Amharic & English: www.snnprs.gov.et

…there are many different kinds of trainings… this training is practical, simple, participatory which all participants are engaged in generating ideas and in which large and extensive topics have been able to be grasped easily…

…the team spirit is also high. What you have given us is great and useful in terms of being implemented in our work, lives and home…
SNNPRS Education Experts

Thinking School Ethiopia is collaborating with the educational bureau of the SNNPRS (The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Regions). Thinking Schools Ethiopia facilitated a three day training with the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR) Education Bureau Expert Team in Yirgalem (south of Awassa).  The recent training on The Growing Thinking School Inside Out approach three day training (28 Feb, 1-2 March) was conducted for the Instructional and Administrative Leadership team of the education bureau. The whole school system approach it employs explains why the leadership team initially took the training. Thetraining creates a transparent condition in which the instructional leadership team actually assumes the roles students would play. Educators employ the powerful tools and strategies of the Thinking School Approach in actual class room conditions enabling the leaders to materially witness how students would learn in a teaching for, of, and about thinking.

Addis Ababa Education Bureau (AAEB)

“This training is a pilot project [speaking with AAEB expert team], next we’ll go to schools. We will train teachers and principals. Gradually the program will be at a national level. Let alone your job or other businesses, it helps even in our day to day life [Thinking Schools approach and methods]…”
Dilamo Otore Ferenje – Head of Addis Ababa Education Bureau (AAEB)

TSE (Thinking Schools Ethiopia / International) will be facilitating training for ten+ model schools with the Addis Ababa Education Bureau government schools. The training will include leadership teams composed of the schools leaders and key teachers who will lead the schools on whole school transformational Thinking Schools design. Previously the AAEB Experts Team received learner centered leadership training that parallels the methods for educators and the classrooms with students. This systems approach has been successfully implemented in whole schools, whole countries (Malaysia project), and in many countries.
Key contacts include:

Tigray Development Association in collaboration with Tigray Education Bureau (TDA & TEB)
Tigray Development Association online:  www.facebook.com/TDAINT

Thinking Maps is not found as vocabulary in the field of management, it is a new term. Maybe such vocabulary could be heard in the area of transformational leadership…
SNNPRS Education Expert 

TSE will be facilitating training for whole school change with the TEB experts and leadership teams from TEB schools. TDA is facilitating the collaboration with TEB and TSE.

The Tigrai Development association(TDA) was founded in 1989 in Diaspora during the Ethiopian civil war, as an apolitical,  non profit, tax exempt humanitarian organisation with chapters and support groups in Ethiopia and abroad. Today TDA has become an internationally recognized association with hundreds of thousands of members residing on the remotest areas of Tigrai and elsewhere on the globe. TDA has a vision of seeing a prosperous Ethiopia free of poverty and its mission is to be a strong development arm that supports the development efforts of the people of Tigrai. The trusty areas of intervention include: education with special emphasis on primary education, basic health services with main focus on maternal and child healthcare and targeted skill training for income generation to achieve food security for people living in drought prone areas through continual raising of resources from its members, supporters and donor organizations and with active community participation.

Thinking Schools Overview
Thinking Schools Ethiopia (TSE) has been collaborating with educators and schools in Ethiopia for the past three years using thinking skills that are student centered life long thinking skills for all students, teachers and leadership in the whole school community.

Thinking Schools Ethiopia (TSE) is a student centered approach providing thinking methods for all disciplines and grade levels in schools (K-12 + university) and as a life long learner. The approach provides a common visual language to explore, discover and learn in a collaborative environment that supports and sustains the creativity and innovation of the whole school educational community. Specifically the focus of Thinking Schools Ethiopia is using the Six Starting Points for Thinking, research based methods including:

  1. Reflective Questioning high quality questioning and listening skills (e.g. shared inquiry, questioning for inquiry)
  2. Thinking Skills explicit use of cognitive processes
  3. Visual Mapping the use of visual tools to map out ideas. (e.g. Thinking Maps).
  4. Collaborative Networking between us in pairs, groups, schools, and global networks that includes collaborative learning; collegial coaching
  5. Developing Dispositions characteristics, dispositions, and Habits of Mind are engaged
  6. Structuring a Thinking Environment considering how the physical space is organize and resources used

The Six Starting Points for Thinking are life long skills for use with problem solving in school, life and work. Thinking Schools International projects currently include over 500 UK schools; a whole country project in Malaysia; and additional projects in South Africa, USA, India, Thailand, and other countries. Thinking Schools International has experience in implementation on a school by school basis as well as whole country (iThink in Malaysia).

Support
The Thinking Schools Ethiopia project has received initial support from Thinking Foundation founder David Hyerle, Thinking Maps (use of Thinking Maps in Ethiopia) and Thinking Schools International trainer Robert Price. Thinking Schools Ethiopia is part of Eminence Social Entrepreneurs an Ethiopian organization based in Addis Ababa.

Key Weblinks:
Thinking Schools Accreditation model: www.thinkingfoundation.org

Thinking Schools International: www.thinkingschoolsinternational.com

Thinking Maps Inc.: www.thinkingmaps.com

Thinking Schools Ethiopia: www.thinkingschoolsethiopia.com

Eminence Social Entrepreneurs:  www.eminence-se.org

 

Pathways to Thinking Schools
Chapter on Thinking Schools Ethiopia

Country: Thinking Schools Ethiopia (Chapter 11)
Pathways to Thinking Schools • Edited by David Hyerle and Larry Alper
Corwin Press • 2014

Some of the early results of the Thinking Schools Ethiopia approach offers an “outside-the-box” view of change that might catalyze change with other nations caught “inside the box” of educational traditions that have become calcified. This is because the design is framed by the idea of collaborative development. What does this mean? International development conventionally involves first-world “developed” countries extending various forms of support to third-world countries in a unilateral relationship. Aid in the way of financial funding, scientific, and intellectual innovations often flow in one direction only, as if peoples with different cultures and who simply have less industrial and/or scientifical development do not have insights into human development. Resources and capacity in development are understood within existing structures as being only in the hands of industrialized nations. Human capacity for innovation and other human resources are often overlooked or devalued.

A model of “multidirectional collaborative development” shifts this assumption and belief system to one where all participants recognize their own capacity for aiding others. Expertise is surfaced, shared, translated, and adapted to other contexts for each partner to use as they determine what is appropriate. Examples might be in environmental protection, education, agricultural sustainability, nutrition, and leadership. If the “world is flat” as Thomas Friedman (2005) has proposed, perhaps the potential of real systems change and innovation might evolve in a seemingly unlikely place (or in reality, likely) as Ethiopia if there is a two-way, leveled collaboration.

An essential dimension of the Thinking Schools approach in Ethiopia and in projects in other parts of the world, such as the country-wide implementation in Malaysia as described in Chapter 1 by David Hyerle, is the effort to network different projects and thus gain not only multidirectional development but also multidirectional knowledge creation and development. Given its history of independence and successful commitment to raising literacy levels, perhaps Ethiopia is an ideal place to begin such an ambitious effort.

Read the whole chapter: Chapter 11 – Country – Thinking Schools Ethiopia (pdf)

“In a global community, countries recognize reciprocal interests and the need and benefit of interdependence. Therefore, this new paradigm of a global community calls for Thinking Schools internationally.”
—Yvette Jackson, Chief Executive Officer
National Urban Alliance
Read the complete forward from Pathways to Thinking Schools by Yvette Jackson (pdf)

Pathways to Thinking Schools – more about the recently published book:
Give students the essential thinking skills they need to thrive.
Content-focused teaching may yield marginal improvements in test scores, but leaves students without the cognitive skills and dispositions for success in an information-overloaded world that requires deep thinking, collaborative problem solving, and emotional intelligence.

David Hyerle has brought exciting models for enabling students to drive their own thinking and learning to schools in every corner of the world, with outstanding results. In this book, Hyerle presents case studies of schools and educators who have applied these models, in some cases system-wide, to ensure every student can thrive in an increasingly complex future. Among his powerful concepts for short and long-term improvement are:

  • Visual Tools for Thinking—The nonlinguistic tools that have made Hyerle’s famous “Thinking Maps” model so successful
  • Dispositions for Mindfulness—a language for students to improve their intellectual-emotional behaviors as they learn
  • Questioning for Inquiry—A system for developing students’ abilities to ask questions in the context of a developing Community of Inquiry, including the use of Bloom’s revised Taxonomy and the Six Hats Thinking® model

Ultimately, Pathways to Thinking Schools synthesizes the potential of smart content-based teaching  with the powerful thinking skills and dispositions that supercharge the educational experience.

Read more about the book online.

Eminence Magazine
Thinking Schools Ethiopia

From the Eminence Magazine article on Thinking Schools Ethiopia:

“It goes without say1ng that in-service training plays tho role of enhancing teachers’ competence of effectively imparting lessons. The training, in my view, did constitute an enlightening and capacitating workshop as far as teachers’ roles in facilitating and suiting students’ learning. It bore the idea that enlisting students brains to learn of their physical and social environment by its’ own has in the long run the advantage of shaping independent learning at one’s own pace – their intellectual capacity. It generally is a shift towards making education students’ responsibility.”
Dagim Melese – Thinking Schools Ethiopia Trainer

I really think that Thinking maps make a big difference in my life because before Ireally didn’t read my books much because it takes too much time to understand, but now I am interested to open my exercise books make Thinking Maps to actually study and know what I am reading. We can be independent and learn by ourselves, because Thinking Maps are our teachers. They make everything easy so that we can read and remember — it makes you visualize things. Thinking Maps capture our thinking in our mind.
Hannan Abdulfetah, Grade 9 Student

Read the whole article on Thinking Schools Ethiopia from the recent edition of Eminence Social Entrepreneur’s Magazine.
Download as a pdf file

 

Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Regional State
(SNNPRS) Education Bureau Expert Team Training

Thinking School Ethiopia is collaborating with the educational bureau of the SNNPRS (The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Regions). Thinking Schools Ethiopia facilitated a three day training with the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR) Education Bureau Expert Team in Yirgalem (south of Awassa).  The recent training on The Growing Thinking School Inside Out approach three day training (28 Feb, 1-2 March) was conducted for the Instructional and Administrative Leadership team of the education bureau. The whole school system approach it employs explains why the leadership team initially took the training. Thetraining creates a transparent condition in which the instructional leadership team actually assumes the roles students would play. Educators employ the powerful tools and strategies of the

Thinking School Approach in actual class room conditions enabling the leaders to materially witness how students would learn in a teaching for, of, and about thinking. An environment that educators will create for training in implementing the Thinking School model of effecting quality education in the region. The training was, from the facilitators point of view, a complete success. Reflections from the Awassa based Expert Team who are leading the whole school change initiative will be posted in upcoming days (video and text) here on the TSE website / blog. Additional examples and models of the training will also be posted here.  The visual mapping below represents the experts thinking, visioning and planning for the next steps of training principals, leadership teams, then whole school training throughout the whole SNNPR region. Read more on the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region.
Dagim Melese – Co-Coordinator Thinking Schools Ethiopia

Click on the images of Thinking Maps and Mindscapes below to see a larger view. The visual maps represent collaborative teams insights and visions to implementing Thinking Schools Ethiopia approach and methods across the SNNPR region.
[Not a valid template]

Professional Learning Community • Yirgalem, SNNPR, Ethiopia •  1 March 2014 

Ato Million – Head of SNNPR Education Bureau


Beginning the first day of training • 28 Februray 2014


SNNPR Education Experts Training • Slideshow Day 3 of 3 • 2 March 2014
Yirgalem, PNNPR, Ethiopia
If the above video is not showing click here to view


SNNPR Education Experts Training • Slideshow Day 2 of 3 • 1 March 2014
Yirgalem, PNNPR, Ethiopia
If the above video is not showing click here to view


SNNPR Education Experts Training • Slideshow Day 1 of 3 • 28 Februray 2014
Yirgalem, PNNPR, Ethiopia
If the above video is not showing click here to view


Head of SNNPRS Education Bureau Ato Million Mathiwos Korsisa Opening Remarks for Thinking Schools Ethiopia training with SNNPRS Education Experts • 28 Februray 2014
Yirgalem, PNNPR, Ethiopia
If the above video is not showing click here to view


Head of SNNPR Education Bureau Ato Million Mathiwos Korsisa Interview • 2 March 2014
Yirgalem, PNNPR, Ethiopia
If the above video is not showing click here to view

Addis Ababa and Awassa

Today Thinking Schools International Global Trainer Robert Price arrived in Ethiopia for meetings and trainings in Addis Ababa and Awassa for the Thinking Schools Ethiopia project. This includes professional development trainings and meetings with: Addis Ababa Education Bureau; Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State Education Bureau Expert Team; and other collaborations with Thinking Schools Ethiopia. Links: www.thinkingschoolsethiopia.com • www.eggplant.org • www.thinkingfoundation.org

Whole School Change—Whole School System Transformation

Addis Ababa Education Bureau — Thinking Schools Ethiopia Collaborative Model

Thinking Schools Overview
Thinking Schools Ethiopia (TSE) has been collaborating with educators and schools in Ethiopia for the past three years using thinking skills that are student centered life long thinking skills for all students, teachers and leadership in the whole school community.

Thinking Schools Ethiopia (TSE) is a student centered approach providing thinking methods for all disciplines and grade levels in schools (K-12 + university) and as a life long learner. The approach provides a common visual language to explore, discover and learn in a collaborative environment that supports and sustains the creativity and innovation of the whole school educational community. Specifically the focus of Thinking Schools Ethiopia is using the Six Starting Points for Thinking, research based methods including:

  1. Reflective Questioning high quality questioning and listening skills (e.g. shared inquiry, questioning for inquiry)
  2. Thinking Skills explicit use of cognitive processes
  3. Visual Mapping the use of visual tools to map out ideas. (e.g. Thinking Maps).
  4. Collaborative Networking between us in pairs, groups, schools, and global networks that includes collaborative learning; collegial coaching
  5. Developing Dispositions characteristics, dispositions, and Habits of Mind are engaged
  6. Structuring a Thinking Environment considering how the physical space is organize and resources used

The Six Starting Points for Thinking are life long skills for use with problem solving in school, life and work. Thinking Schools International projects currently include over 500 UK schools; a whole country project in Malaysia; and additional projects in South Africa, USA, India, Thailand, and other countries. Thinking Schools International has experience in implementation on a school by school basis as well as whole country (iThink in Malaysia).

How is it different from existing approaches?
The Thinking Schools Ethiopia (TSE) approach is a whole school systems approach that building capacity inside out developing a foundation that is reflective, sustainable, collaborative and replicable. TSE is part of a greater global collaboration that supports multi-directional development. Multi-directional development is a belief system and model where all participants recognize their own capacity for aiding the others globally: ideas and innovation originate within and across ALL places globally. The Thinking Schools Ethiopia training uses research based thinking methods that are life long skills for use with problem solving in school, life and work.

Sustainability
The Thinking Schools Ethiopia model is implemented in a scaffolding model to build expertise and capacity within the whole school and the school system. This includes both the methodologies as a common way of thinking and the people with their pedagogical practice. This includes Leadership training as a key part of the whole school change of transformational design.

Methodologies
The initial Growing Thinking Schools Inside Out Training uses the Six Starting Points for Thinking as a process to develop understanding and a plan. Thinking Maps are a key method used in the initial training with significant use of collaborative learning, reflective questioning, structuring environment.

People
The training begins with building capacity with the AAEB Experts team to work collaboratively with the TSI Global Trainers and the TSE Lead Facilitators. Then the capacity is built within school principals and supervisors who train school leadership teams. The whole school staff then works collaboratively under the guidance of the leadership team. Teams of educators continue to work collaboratively at the sub-city level.

Read the plan (download pdf file).

 

Student Exercise Books – Thinking Maps

The above example of a student exercise book in an Ethiopian school includes students using Thinking Maps (visual tools) to organize their thinking, understand their thinking and for transferring to writing.

In Ethiopia, Exercise Books are an important link of the student’s work at school and sharing of their work with the parents at home. Traditionally Exercise Books are used across Ethiopia including in rural areas. Usually what you find in Exercise Books are notes copied from the black board, classwork and homework from the text books. The use of Thinking Maps incorporating the student’s thinking is a transitional change in both use and content of the Exercise Books. The visual example of the third grader is from a classroom that has used Thinking Maps for less than two months.

The student brainstorms formal writing and informal writing (two Circle Maps); compares and contrasts the two types of writing (Double Bubble Map); classifies the two types of letters (Tree Map); considers the physical structure of a letter (Brace Map) and; sequences the steps of writing a letter (Flow Map). They then begin their writing in the Exercise Book. The student’s interest in using Thinking Maps and the teacher’s encouragement to include visual mapping models using the Exercise Book in a ‘non-traditional’ manner capturing the interest, depth of understanding and development of their student-centered environment with the Thinking Schools Ethiopia approach.

I really think that Thinking maps make a big difference in my life because before I really didn’t read my books much because it takes too much time to understand. Now I am interested to open my exercise books making Thinking Maps to actually study and know what I am reading. We can be independent and learn by ourselves, because Thinking Maps are our teachers. They make everything easy so that we can read and remember — it makes you visualize things. Thinking Maps capture our thinking in our mind. 
Hannan Abdulfetah, Grade 9 Student, Bikolos Academy
download more reflections from students, teachers and principal at Bikolos Academy, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 

With the potential of student thinking and learning content significantly linked to the exercise books, there is a opportunity for elevating the outcomes of the exercise book’s potential through incorporating thinking methodologies within the exercise books. This includes;

  • the use of visual mapping for thinking (as in the example above);
  • reflective questioning; collaborative learning with families at home;
  • collaborative networking with ideas from home to school, and school to home.

By incorporating thinking methodologies within exercise book, it now becomes a transformational tool for a student to practice, model and share with their home (family and friends) how they think. The exercise book supports the students growth as life long  thinkers using methodologies for problem solving, learning, thinking and understanding — with their own minds and capacities.

For the educator, this transforms the traditional exercise book of only being a vessel of the teacher content as copied from the board, to a means of developing, practicing, sharing and demonstrating life-long thinking skills. This provides teachers with a tool to observe and assess how students are thinking independently — especially with Thinking Maps (visual mapping) and reflective questioning — through collaborative learning methods. Each day the students can be provided a short amount of time to share their work from the previous day / night they did independently in their exercise books.

Essentially traditional exercise books — a wonderful connector with school and home — transform into Idea Books for Thinking:

What is an Idea Book
An 
idea book records personal experiences so that the individual can express and learn from them using thinking methodologies. For an idea book to be an effective learning tool, the students and teachers must desire to reflect, create and think about our own experiences. An effective idea book reflects the writer’s active involvement and participation in her/his own life. An idea book is used for observation, reflection, and research for grades K-12. The goals and purpose are consistent throughout the grade levels.

Mechanics
Exercise books such as the traditional such as the traditional ones in Ethiopia, make an excellent choice for an idea book. Student made books are also fine as they create a pride of ownership. They can be created with lined or unlined paper using either construction paper or board (e.g. a box) for the covers. In either case, the students should have an opportunity to create covers that express their own individuality (ownership). Types of entries in the idea book encompass a variety of methods including words, illustrations, drawings, and photos. 

Modeling
It is very important for the teacher and other classroom adults to keep and use an idea book concurrently with the students. Their modeling includes regularly using and sharing their own idea book.

Sharing
Each student should regularly share his/her idea book with their peers. The students can share their entries:

  • student to student (pair-share),
  • small group share (3 or 4 students collaboratively)
  • whole group share (presentation)

Pair-share and small group sharing (collaborative learning) are recommended, followed by several students sharing to the whole group. Effective sharing includes compliments, insights, questions, and observations (teacher to student, student to student, and student to teacher). Each student should regularly share their idea book with the teacher (once a week or once every two weeks — regularity is important). When meeting with the teacher, the student should share their one or two favorite entries. High level reflective questions are most effective in discussing the entries with the student. Occasionally, students should take examples from their exercise books and post them on the classroom wall. These examples on the walls will provide a variety of modeling to the class to extend their exploration of their own experiences.


Structuring Environment – A Thinking Environment with Intentionality

Structuring Thinking Environments

Thinking Environments, a professional development model, is an awareness,understanding and a process focused upon the design, interface and impact with the environment of the physical learning space. The environment is ‘The Third Teacher’ (Reggio Emilia) where we focus on designing the physical space with the ‘Image of the Child’ as a root understanding. The ‘Image of the Child’ (Reggio Emilia) respects and understands the child’s frame of reference in regards to how children see, sense, use and interface within the environment. The teacher’s decisions:

  • with intentionality — impact the classroom and school’s environment.
  • are crucial to the quality outcomes of the children and youth’s learning experiences and how they model the children.
  • become a model to how students learn to consider using their environment: in school, home and the greater community.

Download the front matter (contents and introduction) for an overview) as a pdf file.

A key to the success of Thinking Schools Ethiopia is consideration of Structuring a Thinking Environment with intentionality. When developing the ‘classroom environment’ consideration is made to what best supports student learning.

<em>The three video clips below provide examples of Thinking Schools Ethiopia educators and students engaging in discussions and modeling of classroom structures.

  • How do the educators and students reflections compare with one another?
  • How can their decisions with structuring a thinking environment impact teacher and student outcomes?

Download the front matter (contents and introduction) for an overview) as a pdf file.

Learners as Thinkers

How do we directly improve students’ abilities to think?

The thinkabout blog by Thinking Foundation founder David Hyerle (and creator of Thinking Maps) digs into the big picture transformations of global education trends while focused on learners as thinkers… especially in Ethiopia, South Africa, Malaysia, India, New Zealand, Lithuania, Norway and Northern Ireland, the UK and US and many other places where Thinking Schools are growing from the inside out.  How do we “educate” children as they take on the role of “student”?  How do we explicitly nurture thoughtful, mindful “students” who then take on the role of “adult” as they stand for gate-keeping exams (or drop out) and enter their own life of decision making?

Read the complete blog posting including video clips with students reflections on their thinking and improved learning. Go to the Thinking Foundation website to read David Hyerle’s blog posting.
http://blog.thinkingfoundation.org/

David Hyerle’s blog may also be accessed on the Thinking Schools International website at
www.thinkingschoolsinternational.com/category/davidsblog/

Minds of Mississipppi
The Pass Christian Public Schools received a grant from Thinking Foundation to document their incredible story. The story of “The Pass” began before the hurricane Katrina, continued as their whole community was “wiped off the map” in 2005, and has been sustained at the highest levels (2013) by staying focused on the map for improving students’ thinking. Thinking Foundation proudly presents the recently premiered film Minds of Mississippi. Watch the trailer of the  “made for TV” documentary on the Thinking Foundation website.

Thinking Foundation——Thinking IS the Foundation for Learning
The mission of the non-profit Thinking Foundation is to support high quality research on cognitive skills development, creativity, and critical reflection—at pre-school, K-12 and college levels in order to transform learning, literacy, teaching and leadership around the world for those with the greatest need.
www.thinkingfoundation.org

A Thinking Process • Sentence Transformation
vocabulary development across languages

Sentence Transformation for Vocabulary Development
a collaborative method to increase vocabulary, fluency and ideas
This method was recently included as part of the leadership training with principals from 33 government schools part of the Initiative Africa All Children Read Grant. The training foundation was using the Growing Thinking Schools Inside Out handbook to provide a framework for whole school change. The 2 day hands-on session (see previous blog posting) including visual mapping (Thinking Maps®), reflective questioning, collaborative learning and structuring environment. In addition specific reading strategies, such as Sentence Transformation, were incorporated into the training.

Description Sentence Transformation for Vocabulary Development is a collaborative method to build vocabulary from prior knowledge, readings, schema connections, and peer to peer learning. Sentence Transformation models and develops reading fluency, vocabulary, parts of grammar (nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, etc.), langauge and spelling patterns and collaborative learning. This strategy is applicable for beginning readers through secondary school. The lower grades learning patterns of language, while the upper grades explore expanding on quality writing to develop vocabulary and their own voice from master writers.
download the brief handout


sentence transformation in Amharic, Oromo, English – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – June 2013

Strengths Sentence Transformation is a process that involves the whole class and/or small groups in a very participatory activity that builds vocabulary and fluency. It requires minimal resources – a basic chalkboard and/or a wall painted with chalkboard paint is excellent to use. Students can lead the process in addition to the teacher. For the teacher it is an excellent opportunity to model reading with fluency and thinking aloud with vocabulary development.

When The process takes approximately 5-15 minutes. It is recommended doing the process 1-2 times daily. The sentence can most appropriately connect to content during the day. This method can be used in ALL content areas (language, science, math, social science, PE, etc.).


sentence transformation in English – New York City, USA – 2013

Extensions After developing vocabulary with the sentence for various parts of speech, students can extend this activity by writing sentences from the developed sentence transformation. Additionally, the vocabulary if connected to current studies and content can be used as part of a vocabulary word wall.

Needs A medium or large size chalkboard and/or white board are very effective. This provides sufficient space to write complete sentences (row) and develop a wide range of vocabulary (columns). Chalkboard paint could be used to paint an entire wall.

The Process

  • the teacher writes the sentence on the chalkboard saying nothing with the students watching
  • the teacher chants the sentence while tracking (pointing to) the words in phrases
  • the teacher selects one part of speech (e.g. adjective) and asks for words with similar meanings
  • after adding one word, the teacher chants with the students the complete sentence with each added vocabulary word
  • the teacher continues with this process adding futher words to the part of speech being expanded
  • Reminder—add one part of speech, then chant all the sentences so far. This supports fluency practice and learning the patterns progressively. 

Students as the Facilitators (teachers)
Having students becoming the whole class and/or small group leaders provides an opportunity to peer to peer transfer, observation of students to assess the student leaders as much as the participating students.

Teacher’s Goals of Modeling
It is important to develop students into the leaders of facilitating. It is equally important for teachers to model the procedure throughout the year — assessing student progress to determine needs and ‘changing up’ what is supportive for growth to model to the students.

Precludes, Next Steps and Extensions
The ‘word bank’ of vocabulary in context created with sentence transformation provides a natural progression to using the ‘word bank’ as a framework for writing.  Prior to sentence transformation (or concurrently) visual maps can be used to develop vocabulary in a similar manner.

Connecting with Thinking Schools
Sentence Transformation is about learning patterns collaboratively and as a visual tool – the classification and expansion of the parts of language.

download the brief handout

Thinking Schools International:  www.thinkingschoolsinternational.com

Research: Thinking Foundation www.thinkingfoundation.org

 

Thinking Schools Ethiopia -> Implemention -> Scaffolding: a Systems Approach


Implementing Thinking Schools Ethiopia

A Whole School / Whole School District / Region Systems Approach

Step 1: Visioning & Planning Transformational Change:
Growing Thinking Schools Inside Out
read more about on previous blog entries

The initial training uses the Thinking Schools International Growing Thinking Schools Guide for the initial two day training with leadership teams. The purpose is to learn through using the Thinking Schools Six Starting Points of Thinking. This begins with learning more about ourselves, our school, our team, and our community.  The training includes hands-on use of the Thinking Schools Methods:

Growing Thinking Schools Inside Out Transformational Design Handbook
  • Reflective Questioning high quality questioning and listening skills
  • Thinking Skills explicit use of cognitive processes
  • Visual Mapping the use of visual tools to map out ideas. read more
  • Collaborative Networking between us in pairs, groups, schools, and global networks that includes collaborative learning; collegial coaching; regional and global collaborations. read more
  • Developing Dispositions characteristics, dispositions, and habits of mind are engaged
  • Structuring Environment considering how the physical space is organize and resources used
  • read more
view an example with the Thinking Schools Ethiopia (TSE) & Initiative Africa collaboration (click on the image to enlarge)

Step 2:  This training begins with a leadership team. Examples in Ethiopia include:

  • Thinking Schools International and Thinking Schools Ethiopia training of the Addis Ababa Education Bureau Expert Team in November 2012 – this is the team that would play an important role in working with the school leadership teams, leading demonstration lessons at school sites, and facilitating professional development. read more
  • Training principals from the participating schools of a Thinking Schools whole school change process. Thinking Schools International and Thinking Schools Ethiopia training of 33 school leaders part of the All Children Read Initiative. read more

Step 3:  Training School Leadership Teams
The next step after training a team of experts and/or principals, is to train leadership teams from each school including principals, supervisors and lead teachers from the school. These teams are part of a collaborative training with other school leadership teams – optimally from the same sub-city and/or region (kebele / woreda).

Step 4:  Training at schools including demonstration lessons within a collegial coaching (collaborative learning) model for the educators.
This training involves the whole school staff in observing and participating with demonstration lessons in classrooms with students. Thinking Schools methods are used in the demonstration as well as part of the educators in their professional learning communities. Download the brief PDF file outlining an example with Visual Mapping. Any thinking strategy can be substituted in the pedagogical model.

Use of Video of Actual Practices from Demonstration Lessons
During the on-site professional development with whole school staffs, the demonstration lessons are video taped for building a video library for the school staff (Professional Learning Community).

Training of Specific Methods
The school staff continues training (professional development) with specific methods trainings including Visual Tools (e.g. Thinking Maps); Structuring Environment; Collaborative Learning; Reflective Questioning; Dispositions. read more

Collaborative Network
In addition to collaborating with schools locally, regionally and nationally, schools can collaborate within the greater Thinking Schools International network: www.thinkingschoolsinternational.com

 

Thinking Schools International:  www.thinkingschoolsinternational.com

Research: Thinking Foundation www.thinkingfoundation.org

Bikolos Nur Academy – Transformational Design – Whole School Change

Download the reflective poster (pdf file) of Bikolos Nur Academy, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as seen below.

Hannan: I really think that Thinking maps make a big difference in my life because before I really didn’t read my books much because it takes too much time to understand, but now I am interested to open my exercise books make Thinking Maps to actually study and know what I am reading. We can be independent and learn by ourselves, because Thinking Maps are our teachers. They make everything easy so that we can read and remember — it makes you visualize things. Thinking Maps capture our thinking in our mind.
Hannan Abdulfetah, Grade 9 Student

Download the reflective poster (pdf file) of Bikolos Nur Academy,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as seen to the right.

Leadership Training: Thinking Schools Ethiopia & Initiative Africa

Principals collaboratively using Thinking Maps to develop and organize their ideas and thinking at the June 2013 training.

All Children Reading Initiative
In this blog posting:

  • an overview of the initiative
  • reflections from principals at the first 2 day training including video clip
  • specific methodologies being implemented with the initiative

The All Children Reading Initiative focuses on students thinking and reading (decoding, comprehension, thinking methodologies) including educators developing a reflective teaching practice through action research. Initiative Africa is collaborating with Thinking Schools Ethiopia on the implementation of the model project. The initial two day training with Principals from the 33 participating schools from 3 regions in Ethiopia was held in Addis Ababa in June 2013.

  • 11 schools in Amhara
  • 11 schools in Nazeret
  • 11 schools in Addis Ababa Gulele Sub-city

The specific practices that educators will be implementing include:

    • Growing Thinking Schools Ethiopia from the Inside Out approach includes Visual Tools (Thinking Maps), Collaborative Learning, Building Community, Thinking Environment, and Reflective Questioning. These approaches are the foundation of a whole school thinking approach developing a common approach with the whole learning community. The Growing Thinking Schools Inside Out model develops plans that support each schools specific needs in a whole school approach. The guide is currently used in English and Amharic.
    • Specific reading approaches including spelling (phonics and language patterns), language fluency (Sentence Transformation), and writing (sentence patterns and use of visual tools).
    • For educators:  Action Research; Collegial Coaching; Thinking Maps for planning and assessing.
    • Books published in the three key languages: Amharic, Oromigna, English
Growing Thinking Schools Inside Out guide in Amharic.
  • Teacher guides (professional development) published in the three key languages accompanied by a DVD (developed in Ethiopia with Ethiopian educators and students) to see the methods in action.

All methods need only minimal materials – either chalkboard and chalk or sand and drawing utensils are highly effective. The model includes regular professional development led by Thinking Schools Ethiopia trained facilitators including:

  • specific sessions on Action Research, Thinking Maps, Building Community, Spelling and Fluency
  • monthly school site visits to all schools during the school year (2013-1014) for on-site professional development
  • specific School Leadership training
  • collaborative trainings at school sites (two schools joining the host school)
  • use of media for ongoing training between in-person site visits

The Innovation
An Action Research Approach to Improving Student Reading Using Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) for reflective practices while implementing research based methodologies Including specific reading methods, Thinking Maps and others.

The Participants
Leadership teams from three regions representing eleven schools from each region as part of an All Children Reading grant. The first year will focus on the effectiveness of the model, building a body of action research, implementing research based thinking and reading methodologies, and developing whole school change.

The administrators and government education officials representing 33 schools shared reflective insights throughout the two day training. Some of the reflections at the end of the training include:

Thinking Schools Ethiopia Facilitator:
As you are leaders of different schools, I would like to know how this training was useful for your own work.
Atsede Tseheyer, Thinking Schools Ethiopia Facilitator 

The Training:
“What I understand from the two day training was, training can be fun with Thinking maps, experience sharing and reflections.”
Wosen Sileshi, Principal 

Collaborative Learning & Whole School Change:
“The training was helpful for school administrators too, it helps us to work with our staff collaboratively and come up with new ideas.”
Abenet Girma, Principal

Student Centered for Students — Participant Centered for Teachers and School Leaders:
“Starting from the trainers, I have seen how we should treat students and how this will affect their performance and their interest in coming to school.”
Zenebe Nigussie, Principal

Student Prior Knowledge, Thinking Methodologies, Smiles:
“Now I understand that students come to school with prior knowledge, how sentence transformation works and various tools to make class room interactive. The other important thing I notice was how powerful it is to welcome students every day and see them off at the end with smile.”
Tegegn Shimelash, Principal

Quality Education for All Children:
“The Thinking Maps will assist us in solving our fundamental problems by bringing quality education to all children.”

Milkias Bonke, Principal

Sharing, Spelling, Fluency, Collegial Collaborations:
“The main thing I got today is sharing experience from my colleagues and other schools. Secondly, I found different techniques how to teach spelling, fluency, thinking.”
Getasetegn Engida, Principal

Vision:
“I can see it in two ways, one: it helps us to see what is available in our schools and outside of our school. Secondly; because previously a lack of teaching methodologies, students performance may be lowered. With thinking methodologies we can give them these tools to support the school team and students.”
Abraha Hailemariam, Principal

 

The Thinking Schools Ethiopia approach has been recognized by UNESCO as a method of modern pedagogy. Read more on an earlier blog posting. Thinking Schools Ethiopia trained the Addis Ababa Education Bureau experts team during a five day participant centered training in September 2012 on the practices of whole school change, Thinking Maps, Reflective Questioning, Thinking Environments, and Growing Thinking Schools Inside Out.