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:
- 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
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