Thinking Schools Ethiopia (Eminence Social Entrepreneurs) in collaboration with Initiative Africa has organized a two day training on thinking methodologies, reading and spelling. The training will be conducted from June 15-16, 2013 at the 4 kilo Sports and Education Center. Participants are thirty school leaders and six education Bureau officers from selected schools in Addis Ababa, Kolfe Keraniyo and Gullele sub-cities, Boset Woreda, East Shewa, Oromiaand Angolela Tera Woreda, North Shewa, Amhara regions.
Purpose:
Connecting the All Children Reading Initiative with Growing Thinking Schools Ethiopia Approach for a Sustainable Initiative.
Objectives:
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.
Whole systems change involves ‘whole schools’ in implementation including all students, staff, teachers, administration and parents.
People must have an understanding, ‘buy-in’, and develop mastery of methods for change to root and become imbedded in the process of change.
Methodology
Thinking Schools Ethiopia is a 21st century sustainable model developing educators and children who are innovative thinkers through:
whole school training with methodologies – a systems approach
training leadership team as leaders using and modeling methodologies to be the leaders and guides
creating models of excellence using methodologies that are research based, examples of success in the field and create models of excellence to build upon
creating new innovative patterns – the brain seeks patterns and to change how we teach children to be lifelong thinkers starts with the leadership and educators
Methods/tools that are lifelong learning tools; across all disciplines; involve and used by all levels of the community within the school and outside the school from students to adults. Reflective Questioning; Visual Tools; Collaborative Networking/Learning; Structuring Environment; Developing Dispositions; Thinking Skills
Collaborative training model for developing highly qualified Ethiopian facilitators/trainers
Ongoing Action Research
Criteria for achieving ‘Thinking Schools’ accreditation
Despite the impact education has on the values of the young and the role it plays in economic growth, Ethiopia has faced historical and cultural complications that have limited its progress.
According to UNESCO’s reviews, most people in Ethiopia feel that work is more important than education, so at a very early age labor replaces learning. Social awareness about how vital education is, is improving but still not at the required pace.
Like in many parts of the world, quality education is also an issue.
“If you go around the world you will see that education is in the same place, everybody has the same concerns, Dr. David Hyerle, told Capital.
Dr. Hyerle developed the thinking map model in 1980s, a system that nurtures and advances reading comprehension, writing skills and problem solving.
Most students do not know how to turn the information they get into knowledge because most classroom education is content based, and students simply memorize and regurgitate information to pass an exam; which does not help them become creative or think critically. He says that is where thinking maps come in. Thinking maps are visual representations or diagrams of eight cognitive processes that include cause-and-effect, categorization, sequencing, comparing and contrasting and seeing analogies.
Now Dr. David Hyerle’s ideas are being applied at a new school which will attempt to instill creativity and critical thinking skills in students and parents as well.
Read the Bikolos PDF file of students, teachers, school director reflections
As the school owner and managing director of Bikolos Nur Academy in Addis Ababa, I am always interested in giving quality education for the children and youth, so I was always looking for a way to guide us to quality education. Our school motto is”we teach how to learn”, so, for us the Thinking Schools approach, especially the thinking maps and the other starting points are our guides to meet our vision. I heard about thinking school from a friend about one year back. When I heard the name “Thinking Schools” I was excited because that is the important aspect of learning, Thinking! Then I met Mr.Bereket from Thinking Schools Ethiopia and we discussed about it back and forth several times. I also checked the website and read some articles about it. The more I read about thinking schools, the more I got interested. The first time I took the training was through our school network with around 15 other schools. By then, I was convinced and believed this is the way to quality education.
After the training, immediately, I introduced Thinking schools to my school. Now, it is a month since its introduction and within this time I have seen a big change. The students are starting to think clearly and improved creativity as well as creating their own way of thinking and simplifying things.
For the teachers, the maps helped in simplifying lessons and able them to teach the students how to learn, as our motto promotes.
When I start the school seven years back we wanted to teach kids how to learn and make them lifelong learners, but we didn’t have or know the way. We know that the lessons should be student centered and active but we didn’t know the tools to do that. But after introducing Thinking Maps as part of the Thinking Schools Ethiopia approach, I can say we are teaching how to learn.
I also use the maps on my weekly meetings for example, we are using the maps to organize a students’ carnival the coming Sunday. On top of that I found the maps useful and practical in my daily activities. I am certain Thinking Maps and other Thinking Schools methods can be applied in many areas.
I have also observed after the training teachers were reflective and discussing about the maps, how they used them and the challenges they faced. This has improved interdepartmental relations and collaboration among teachers and student. We are also planning to train parents to create even a better collaboration.
Our journey has started and I am sure after go through the way, Thinking Schools Ethiopia will help us meet our mission and vision. I think this approach is the best thing for us and I believe that other schools can benefit from it but it needs dedication from leaders and school directors.
Read the Bikolos PDF file of students, teachers, school director reflections
Students and Teachers at Bikolos Nur Academy recently shared their reflections on the beginning pathways of implementing Thinking Maps as part of the Thinking Schools Ethiopia (TSE) whole school initiative. Thinking Schools Ethiopia (Eminence Social Entrepreneurs) Facilitators Bereket Aweke and Atsede Tsehayou conducted these interviews during the regular on-site professional development with the Bikolos Nur Academy staff. The on-site professional development supports the implementation including collegial coaching, demonstration lessons with students and building the capacity of the whole school staff.
The reflections below include students, teachers and administrators. These interviews are a regular part of the TSE process to document and assess the implementation of the Thinking Schools approach.
Bikolos Nur Academy Students
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
Thinking Maps have helped me a lot in studying. Next year I am taking national exam. I am preparing my summaries using Thinking Maps because it is taking a shorter time with Thinking Maps. It is more effective because by looking at the circles and the other maps, I can remember what is inside and that makes it easier for me to study. Abdurahemen Kassim, Grade 9 Student
We are using the maps very effectively and the class is now more student centered with everybody participating. The eight Thinking Maps are so helpful because we can do our work easily — for example our book is a huge book so it is tiresome and consumes much time. But you can use a piece of paper and draw maps and easily analyze the things about the subject in few minutes. When we do Thinking Maps in group work everybody is participating on it, so it is going to be fun and interesting. Hussien Abdulnessir, Grade 9 Student
Thinking Maps are very easy to use and to remember. Before when we work in groups there was not much argument but now we can easily visualize things and remember what you see in pictures in the mind. These maps are like pictures and have different designs and very easy to remember. Sabontu Ali, Grade 9 Student
Bikolos Nur Academy Faculty
I really want to thank the thinkers who give us Thinking Maps and make us think to ourselves and for our students. Thinking maps are very helpful. I have spent many years teaching chemistry and I have been trying many methods to visualize chemistry to students. The thinking maps made everything clear in these 2-3 weeks after the training. Adefres Zerihun, Vice Director and Chemistry Teacher
Thinking Maps makes our life easier and help us impart lessons which were difficult to comprehend. The students have accepted Thinking Maps in a very special way and related to the maps. I hope the Thinking Maps will go on so that we can give them what they deserve and we can get from you what we deserve. Huda Seid, Vice Director and English Teacher
Starting with the Thinking Schools training, I understood that the training and the Thinking Maps is participatory. We were at the training on a Friday and started implementing Thinking Maps on Monday. The training has helped me a lot because before I had hard time delivering my subject to my students. But after learning the Thinking Maps and introducing the eight Thinking Maps to my students, my subject is understood more easily. We are always told about student centered teaching but it is with Thinking Maps I could involve all types of learners in my class. This is also the policy of our country and if we regularly implement them and get reference materials, we can even do better. Both the staff and the students have loved it and we thank you. Mohammed Awol, Social Sciences Teacher
I have used all the Thinking Maps except the Bridge Map in my grade 3 lessons. I am very excited. My students love the Thinking Maps and are internalizing the maps. The Thinking Maps are helping us to identify the level of the students. For example, some students remain in the circle map and others apply the other maps achieving higher order thinking in Blooms Taxonomy. So generally I am very happy as the Thinking Maps assists us in effective teaching methodology and students. Recent results have shown slight increment of growth from last quarter over a period of three weeks. Usman Mohammed, Grade 3 Science Teacher
Thinking Schools Ethiopia is very interesting starting from the training. The Thinking Maps makes our minds visualize information. In this short time students are referring to and using the Thinking Maps more than the previous methods. All students are more active than the previously because they can easily understand the topics and remember what they are learning. Zewdu Hailu, Vice Director and Physics Teacher
Read the Bikolos PDF file of students, teachers, school director reflections Bikolos Nur Academy became the first private school in Ethiopia to start the journey of becoming a Thinking School. The academy, with around 700 students and 54 teachers, took four days of visioning Growing Thinking Schools training in march has decided to implement Thinking School’s approach school wide after wards.
As part of the implementation plan, a full day whole school training on Thinking Maps was conducted on Friday, April 5.The training was part of TSE’s ‘on-site School transformative support” where once schools took part a visioning session, their successive activities/trainings are supported by regular visitation of TSE Trainers/consultants in person and via technology.
Eminence Social Entrepreneurs, Thinking Schools Ethiopia program, conducted a four day long Growing Thinking Schools Training from February 28-March 2, 2013.The training in collaboration with Crescent School Network, a network consisting of 16 private and public schools all over Ethiopia, covered two day’s Introduction to Growing Thinking Schools and another two days of visual tools & Thinking Skills trainings.
The trainees mainly consisting of school leaders and owners came as far as Afar and Dessie in the north, Dire Dawa in the east and Bale in the south west parts of Ethiopia. In between sessions the trainees reflected that the training was one of a kind, organized both in terms of trainers and training materials and timely available to solve the many problems of quality education in Ethiopia.
At the end, it was highlighted that Eminence Social Entrepreneurs should continue its effort to further support these schools on their journey of becoming Thinking Schools.
visit www.eminence-se.com for more
“This training is a pilot project (August 2012 training with AAEB expert team), next we’ll go to schools (December 2012). 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)
The video clip is from the recent Thinking Schools Ethiopia training for the Addis Ababa Education Bureau Expert team (300+ schools). They will be part of the facilitation team with implementing the Thinking Schools Ethiopia approach across the Addis Ababa Education Bureau school system. Initially there will be 60 schools from the 10 subcities of Addis beginning with the December training. The 60 schools training will start with leadership teams from each of the participating schools followed by ongoing whole school training at each of the 60 schools.
“An education with a great wide base that may be taken as a good practice that can be scaled up in any places…” Addis Ababa Education Bureau expert
“The training is very good because it goes with the context of our country which has large class sizes…” Addis Ababa Education Bureau expert
“Thinking School training’s methodology is related with the teaching and learning process… which helps students to understand things easily…” Fesehaye Nigusie – Addis Ababa Education Bureau expert
“I have gained knowledge that students are not only receivers but they can also be active and reflectors… what I am most amazed at is on how to make complicated things easy for students simply…” Thinking Schools Ethiopia – Eminence Social Entrepreneurs
“Growing Thinking Schools is concerned in transforming schools from traditional methodology to a methodology which involves the thinking process…” Atsede Tsehayou – Thinking Schools Ethiopia – Eminence Social Entrepreneurs
“We are being trained on methods to let the students exploit their potentials” Dade Girma – Addis Ababa Education Bureau expert
Addis Ababa Education Bureau expert Sheferaw Teklegiorgis shares his reflections on the five day Thinking Schools training held recently in Addis Ababa Ethiopia.
“The training was so exceptional…
Training is a means to do something… so it can be scaled up…
This implementation needs great commitment… the Minister of Education as already taken steps… the student grouping one to five (already in place) is the best way to coin this Thinking Schools approach… we have an opportunity…
The teachers are the main actors of implementation…”
Sheferaw Tgiorsis
Addis Ababa Education Bureau Expert
More reflections and video clips from the most recent training will be posted in upcoming Thinking Schools Ethiopia blogs.
The Addis Ababa Education Bureau (300+ government schools in Addis) Expert Team recently completed five days of training facilitated by Robert Price (Thinking Schools International Global Trainer) and Atsede Tsehayou (Thinking Schools Ethiopia Coordinator). The five day training included:
Growing Thinking Schools 2 day training;
Growing Thinking Schools – introduction to Facilitators Training for Growing Thinking Schools;
Introduction to Thinking Maps® training;
Visioning for implementation of Growing Thinking Schools with Addis Ababa Education Bureau: initially with sixty schools, then the whole school system.
In addition to the Experts, the Head of Addis Ababa Education Bureau Ato Dilamo Otore Ferenje shared his vision on the importance of Thinking Schools Ethiopia during the sessions.
Other participating guests included Kebour Ghenna, Executive Director of Initiative Africa; David Makonnen, International Leadership Academy of Ethiopia; Ermias Eshetu, Marketing Director Zemen Bank and others.
All guides are translated to Amharic for the Addis Ababa Education Bureau collaboration with Thinking Schools Ethiopia. The entire session was video taped as a model for use as training tapes for participants to continue their professional development. The next sessions, for the first sixty schools, will be video taped in both English and Amharic.
Growing Thinking Schools Guide – Amharic Edition
Photographs from the training with Addis Ababa Education Bureau Experts Click on the right and left arrows next to the photos to see more (100+ photos)
Growing Thinking Schools Ethiopia is training and an accompanying guidebook, much like a travel guide and/or website that you have closely looked through before visiting a new place, with information about different pathways for investigating a new concept. Growing Thinking Schools training and guidebook is only used with support of a certified Thinking Schools International trainer who will guide you and your colleagues through a process of:
envisioning what a “Thinking School” might look like in your culture and environment;
considering the different possible approaches you may take; and
beginning the planning stage for the short and long term process of explicitly and systematically integrating “thinking” processes into the existing “learning” processes within your school.
The Growing Thinking Schools Guide is in English and translated into an Amharic edition.
Growing Thinking Schools training and guide offers starting points for the journey toward becoming a “Thinking School” of the 21st century.
UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) has written a Letter of Support 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 Methodologies and Whole School School and System approach. 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.
Addis Ababa Education Bureau (AAEB) head Ato Dilamo Otore shared at an earlier Thinking Schools session facilitated in Addis Ababa by Dr. David Hyerle, teaching-learning approach changes that have been made available for [Ethiopian] government schools, adding that a number of trainings have been given to teachers. This however did not guarantee immediate positive outcomes, and hence Thinking Schools Ethiopia (TSE) would serve as a medium to assist in filling the gaps still troubling the system. As part of the notable success in the new government undertaking, Ato Dilamo said that students are engaged in a group-thinking and working approach that is used both in and out of the classroom. He also pledged support to TSE throughout the coming endeavors and said that starting with leadership being key, the initial spark had been ignited through the diverse pool of decision makers that were present at the workshop. Ato Dilamo has been instrumental in coordinating the upcoming AAEB experts training from 27 Aug—1 September 2012, and the upcoming implementation with 60 whole schools across ten sub-cities in the AAEB school system beginning the end of September 2012.
Growing Thinking Schools Approach
Below are some excerpts from the Growing Thinking Schools guide to provide insights and understanding of the Growing Thinking Schools process. The first three stages of the journey as presented in this guide are to engage you in reflective questions such as:
What is the relationship between “learning” and “thinking”?
What is a “thinking” student?
How have other schools created Thinking Schools?
What are a variety of ways, definitions and approaches to thinking?
How do these beliefs fit within your belief system?
Guide Table of Contents
1. Getting Started To get started, here is a visual mapping process…will support us in getting a view of the school and the environment around the school. Part of the process and guide includes the Working Field Guide for a hands on collaborative process.
2. Exploring Pathways
How does Change Happen? The research on “change” processes in any organization can be summarized using this sequence…
3. Planning the Journey
What are the best ways to approach the teaching of thinking for YOUR school?
What do you think is involved in a whole school approach?
What transformative steps are necessary for success?
How far are you along in this process already?
How will you build consistency through a developmental planning process?
Are there clear timelines and actions for training, monitoring and sustaining the plan?
4. Leading the Way
Working Field Guide
The Working Field Guide is part of the guide and Thinking Schools Ethiopia process — practices applied in a practical manner.
Growing Thinking Schools Ethiopia Process and Timeline The Multi-Flow Map below (inputs -> outputs) provides an insight to goals and inputs to support the goals successful outcomes. The map below is focused on the collaboration with the Addis Ababa Education Bureau and its’ 300+ schools.
Timeline (Flow Map) of Thinking Schools Ethiopia Implementation The timeline below (Flow Map) provides a sequence of Thinking Schools Ethiopia implementation leading up to the Addis Ababa Education Bureau collaboration and the actual implementation.
Project Overview The visual map below provides a general overview of the whole Thinking Schools Ethiopia project focused on sustainability with the initiative.
Reflections from participants of the two day Growing Thinking Schools training…
(English and Amharic with subtitles)
The Addis Ababa Education Bureau (AAEB) collaboration with Growing Thinking Schools Ethiopia continues with the training of the whole AAEB experts team. Twelve members of the AAEB experts team previously participated in a Growing Thinking Schools training earlier this year. The training of the experts will be then followed by the training of leadership teams from 60 pilot schools in September. This will be followed by whole school Thinking Schools training with the pilot schools at their school sites. The training includes the Growing Thinking Schools training followed by specific support trainings.
PHASE 1: from 2009 —2011 over 2000 Ethiopian educators have been through multiple day Thinking Schools Ethiopia training in Addis Ababa and Hosanna Ethiopia. Many of the sessions are documented in the blog.
PHASE 2: from August 2012—December 2012 the AAEB expert team and 60 schools will be part of the initial pilot project. They will all receive Growing Thinking Schools Ethiopia training.
PHASE 3: from January 2013—July 2015 the project will expand to the whole AAEB school system. Concurrently there will be projects with rural regions and collaborations with children / youth organizations.
For more information on the upcoming training please contact TSI Global Trainer Robert Price or Atsede Tsehayou. Contact information may be found clicking on ‘contact’ in the menu.
Thinking Schools Ethiopia demonstration in Addis Ababa Education Bureau Government School.
Thinking Maps are a key component of Thinking Schools Ethiopia. Thinking Maps Incorporated is kindly providing in-kind support of Thinking Maps in professional development within Ethiopia under the guidance of Robert Price who is a Trainer of Trainers. With Addis Ababa Education Bureau implementation of Thinking Schools Ethiopia starting, along with collaborations including concurrent rural projects, it timely to share more on visual mapping. Recently a school in Northern Ireland captured superbly on video – including the principal, teacher and students – how this whole school language is effectively changing and growing the school:
Thinking Maps and Directing Thinking
Whole School Implementation St MacNissi Primary School
Glengormley, Northern Ireland
In this ESaGS TV program video above, you will visit St MacNissi’s Primary School in Glengormley, and hear from the principal, the Thinking Skills co-ordinator and the pupils as to how Thinking Maps are being used as one aspect of the school’s focus on developing and directing pupil thinking. St MacNissi’s PS Inspection Report (pdf file)
“children were involved in the development of learning intentions and success criteria… having developed that culture of children having a voice in their learning… a tool to use to develop… Thinking Maps a natural progression…”
Cognitive thinking is universal – and Thinking Maps representing how we think is a universal language. From here in Ethiopia to the above example in Northern Ireland to Thinking Schools International global collaborations including projects in Malaysia, South Africa, United Kingdom, Norway, Brazil and more.
Reflective Questioning (inquiry) is one of the six starting points of thinking with Thinking Schools Ethiopia (TSE). The practice of questioning includes the teachers, school leaders and as part of the daily classroom thinking methodologies. Initially this could be through the technique of Powerful Questions which used to build comprehension, inferential thinking, listening skills, understanding, and interest. Upon regularly using Powerful Questions in the whole school (students, teachers, school leaders, school community), the next step could be implementation of Interpretive Questioning throughout the school.
Why Reflective Questioning?
The ability to master the skills of reflective questioning (inquiry) develops the capacities to research and analyze complex problems and to communicate easily and effectively about them – which are fundamental to all disciplines. This includes:
The ability to ask good questions
The ability to determine what needs to be learned in order to answer those questions
The ability to identify appropriate resources for learning
The ability to use resources effectively and to report on what was learned
The ability to be a listener
The ability to self-evaluate
Reflective Questioning integrates within all the starting points of thinking (see previous blog posts). Reflective Questioning is part of all TSE whole school training and implementation of transformative design. Sessions are offered for whole school teams that are specific to developing a deeper level of understanding and implementation of Reflective Questioning.
Additional information on TSE Reflective Questioning:
The Thinking Schools Ethiopia – a collaborator with the Thinking Schools International network – six starting points of thinking methodologies include:
1. Reflective Questioninghigh quality questioning and listening skills 2. Thinking Skillsexplicit use of cognitive processes 3. Visual Mappingthe use of visual tools to map out ideas 4. Collaborative Networkingbetween us in pairs, groups, schools, and global networks that includes collaborative learning; collegial coaching; regional and global collaborations. Examples include collaborative learning, collegial coaching, professional learning communities, parent involvement. 5. Developing Dispositionscharacteristics, dispositions, and habits of mind are engaged 6. Structuring Environmentconsidering how the physical space is organize and resources used
The second round of training with master facilitators/educators, on Saturday March 24 morning, was thoughtfully engaging and practically showing the BIG PICTURE of the educational transformation conceived to be realized throughout the City of Addis Ababa and Ethiopia respectively. Master Facilitators/Educators, Thinking Schools Ethiopia Program leader, Bereket Aweke and the international trainer Robert Price (via Skype) were thoughtfully engaged in exchanging their thoughts and expertise on how to knock the needy school doors so as to start the journey to actualized the fore seen big picture by applying the workable theories and its fruitful experiences locally and internationally. The training facilitators were exchanging thoughts and their mind felt professional feelings on how to make the change happen in the nation. More over the insightful professionals had an introductory session on the Six Starting Points for Thinking Schools.
Photos include the collaborative use of Thinking Maps by Robert Price with the potential master facilitators via Skype.
‘Community Building ‘‘Modeling Behavior’ and ‘Reflective Questioning’ were some of the frequently uttered phrases by the professionals in the hall.
Many Reflections were forwarded and powerful questions were posed by the participants and the training facilitator in Addis Ababa who were gathered in Eminence Social Entrepreneurs. Some of the questions posed were:
Why starting points for thinking? Why thinking School…
These were ideas based on the training manual (used with Thinking Schools Ethiopia whole school training) titled as “Growing Thinking Schools from The Inside Out”. The trainer and the participants thoroughly discussed and scholarly reflected on the issues.
considering how the physical space is organize and resources used
How the classroom, school, and surrounding area is physically structured has a great affect on teaching and learning. Positioning of students on the floor, seating arrangements in the classroom, and the accessibility of learning materials are all dimensions of the environment. The use of all the resources available within and around the school and wider community is key to engaging students.
A key to the success of Thinking Schools Ethiopia is consideration of Structuring Environment with intentionality. When developing the ‘classroom environment’ consideration is made to what best supports student learning.
The three video clips below Thinking Schools Ethiopia educators and students engage in discussions and modeling of classroom structures. How do the educators and students reflections compare with one another?
Another key component of Structuring Environment is using materials around us to guide our learning which we’ll explore in a later blog posting. Some suggested extensions include the Reggio Emilia approach and The Third Teacher, a recent book from the Internationally know designer Bruce Mau. Both connect and explore the critical link between the school environment and how children learn. The Reggio Emilia approach has a long history of implementation with extensive documentation and research supporting its success.
The images below – from Thinking Schools Ethiopia professional development trainings – models educators part of participant centered learning where they their experiences model approaches they will transfer for use in the classroom.
As with all six starting points of thinking, it is important to implement each area with a goal of mastery in a thoughtful manner, while seeing the big picture of how they interconnect in a systems approach of whole school transformative design change. Structuring Environment is part of the initial 2 day Growing Thinking Schools training where schools initially understand, reflect and vision on their whole school transformative design. Additionally Thinking Schools Ethiopia offers trainings specific to Structuring Environment as part of the whole school transformative design change process.
Eminence Social Entrepreneurs corridors were buzzing with the delighted sounds of enlightened education experts yesterday, March 8, 2012.
Except the handful that already had had opportunities to attend Thinking Schools workshops or training, what to expect was clearly vague to some.
The introduction by Dr. Hyerle highlighted Thinking Schools mission and goals supported by demonstrated successes achieved across countries in which the program has been implemented. Thinking Maps concepts and practical application opportunities were also presented briefly through sharing examples of work done by students starting from Kindergarten right up to the advanced Sciences and even tertiary level education. Moreover, the presentation revisited information accessibility and utility while reflecting on how that factor affects teacher-student relations in contexts where the latter sustain traditional educating systems. This would mean that, teachers and educators in general would have to remember, acknowledge and accept that students have seemingly infinite sources of information at their disposal. Hence instead of seeing that as a threat, use it to their advantage so as not to stifle student quest for learning and earning knowledge.
In seeking to move away from traditional methods of learning—most notably, the lecture oriented, one way learning—Thinking Schools advocates for creating better thinkers, problem solvers, and much more. Rather appealing for Ethiopia considering, Dr. Hyerle had started off his discussion by sharing the infrastructural transformation he had seen upon his arrival to Ethiopia. In linking this transformation with the country, Dr. Hyerle brought focus on the Thinking Schools International ‘more than training…we transform’ approach which left the participants analyzing those capacities in human skill development. Aside from just looking into the functionalities of a whole school system, documentation was another fundamental point that Dr. Hyerle raised. In this he noted that, the bi-directional experience sharing mode that TSI has used internationally would be used within TSE. Accordingly, videos and other documentation would be used to reach teachers in all corners of Ethiopia—an approach he mentioned has greatly encouraged and enriched teachers and learners. For instance, imagine documentation going from successful Ethiopian classrooms as training materials in South Africa or Malaysia.
Dr. Hyerle also noted that Thinking Schools and Maps are not limited to the schooling system but rather have been applied in big corporations around the world.
Ato Bereket presented Thinking Schools Ethiopia (TSE) past achievements, present status (2009-2011) as well as future prospects. Embarking on years of research and successes achieved by TSI, he noted, TSE was modeled under the principles and approaches put forward by TSI but crafted for implementation in Ethiopia according to existing realities. Challenges, the good and the changeable were all covered in the presentation. Trainings and workshops thus far conducted were touched upon followed by brief breakdown of upcoming strategies and partnerships. Mentioning collaboration and support rendered by the Addis Ababa Education Bureau and the UNESCO-IICBA; Bereket thanked the organizations and also explained their interventions. Currently, TSE is working on a selection of 30 schools within Addis Ababa that will participate in the pilot training after which plans forecast summer/ long school break/ teacher training project and an Education Conference. Most importantly, he also added that TSE will consider learning among special needs students as well.
In the discussions that followed, Ato Dilamo Otore (Addis Ababa Education Bureau) thanked Eminence for taking the initiative to partner with TSI in the creation of TSE. He disclosed the teaching-learning approach changes that have been made available for government schools, adding that a number of trainings have been given to teachers. This however did not guarantee immediate positive outcomes, and hence TSE would serve as a medium to assist in filling the gaps still troubling the system. As part of the notable success in the new government undertaking, Ato Dilamo said that students are engaged in a group-thinking and working approach that is used both in and out of the classroom. He also pledged support to TSE throughout the coming endeavors and said that starting with leadership being key, the initial spark had been ignited through the diverse pool of decision makers that were present at the workshop.
UNESCO-IICBA, Program Officer, Dr. Awol shared what he understood as immediate and long term benefits of incorporating Thinking Schools approaches locally, he outlined the disadvantages that come with what he called ‘competition vs. cooperation’ trends that dominate local school setups. Further, he stressed the need to build a common understanding around ‘ideas that matter’. In so doing he noted, diversity, cooperation, value(s), changing roles due to clear understanding and sharing of knowledge, etc would become more integrated and practiced in individual, human to human, human to environment and even national relations. He also expressed contentment over the evolution of TSE, initially having focused on private schools, but now, the outreach having been extended to government schools.
In the end, concerns about coverage and ensured practical applications were raised for which it was responded that TSI experiences for pre and post implementation monitoring and evaluation would be used as lessons for implementing TSE. For instance, select ‘best’ teachers would be identified for training with the leadership team. These teachers would in turn be expected to train and also monitor implementation so that each school would have in-house expertise as opposed to external periodic supervision and monitoring. School leadership-teacher trainers-curriculum developers- teachers-students have been the foundation of the education system in Ethiopia. Using this as a guiding framework, training would be conducted by TSE to ensure all of the stakeholders understand and own the program and this would include the parents as well.
In the closing, Dr. Awol and Ato Dilamo expressed great support and commitment towards TSE and pledged to render support as would be required. Dr. Hyerle was also thanked and applauded for coming to Ethiopia and sharing his vision for the program. In conclusion, Ato Bereket thanked all of the participants mostly highlighting the support given by Dr. Awol and Ato Dilamo in collaborating the presence of the experts at the workshop.
The workshop was attended by delegates from several sub city education bureaus, AAEB, Save the Children Norway, UNICEF, IICBA-UNESCO.
Dr.Awol Endris Progam Officer,UNESCO/IICBAOpening the workshop, Ato Tesfaye Alemu CEO& President, Eminence SEAto Dilamo Otore Addis Ababa Education Bureau Head
David Hyerle met with Ato Wondwosen Tamrat, President of one of Ethiopia’s upcoming prominent private institution of higher learning—St. Mary’s University. A fruitful discussion ensued on how St. Mary can become a center of excellence for Thinking Schools. It was very encouraging to find an auditorium full of students, teachers and university leadership, 120 in total, waiting to hear all about Thinking Schools International concepts and experiences.
David Hyerle Ed.D, Thinking Schools International Co-Director met with Ato Dilamo Otore, Head of the Addis Ababa Education Bureau. In the discussions, levels of implementation were greatly highlighted at the end of which strategies were crafted. Explained, the strategy will start with training experts from AAEB itself along with the ten sub-city leadership. Following, school leadership /principals etc/ will take awareness creation training after which the implementation of the program in the pilot schools will be on a strong foundation. The highlight of the meeting was an agreement for Eminence SE to host a half-day workshop this coming Thursday, March 7th 2012 in which senior delegates from the bureau and the sub-city leadership will be attending. In the discussion, Ato Tesfaye Alemu, CEO of Eminence Social Entrepreneurs and Bereket Aweke coordinator of Thinking Schools Ethiopia were present.
‘Thinking, network, creativity’ and ‘improve problem solving’ were some of the terms that Dr. Hyerle used to brief Eminence staff on the concept of Thinking Schools International /TSI/ and what has been achieved and could be expected once implemented. In the briefing, he said that TSI was a result of experiences in the 1980s US educational revolution which initiated a wave of thinking pattern necessities that eventually changed schooling systems. As more refining came about, thinking was infiltrated into schools and organizations focused on creative and productive skills development and so forth. He shared some success stories from projects in Malaysia and South Africa where support for Thinking Schools approach has been overwhelming and greatly encouraging.
Thinking Schools coming to Ethiopia through Eminence was also noted as a good collaboration between TSI and Eminence. He noted the benefits of having a comprehensive company as Eminence would facilitate the process mentioning the training and media department engagements in the areas of product development /publications, videos, software development, etc/ to assist with the program. Not only limited to the schooling environment, he added that Thinking Schools approach has been used in huge corporations and businesses and could have like potential in Ethiopia and beyond.
Dr. David Hyerle, Thinking Maps® developer, Thinking Schools International co-director and Thinking Foundation founder, will be visiting Thinking Schools Ethiopia (Eminence Social Entrepreneurs) next week on March 3-8, 2012. During this visit, he will meet and discuss the Thinking Schools Ethiopia project and Thinking Maps with select government officials and partners from the government and private sectors. This includes experts and leaders from Addis Ababa Education Bureau, Ministry of Education, NGOs and major Ethiopian universities. Dr. Hyerle will be visiting government schools in Addis Ababa and doing public presentations in addition to the above meetings. He will be arriving from South Africa where he participated in last weeks Thinking Schools South Africa conference. For additional information on Dr. Hyerle’s visit, please contact Bereket Aweke, Thinking Schools Ethiopia coordinator (select contacts in the menu).
David Hyerle, EdD, is an author, researcher, seminar leader, and keynote speaker focused on integrating content learning, thinking process instruction, and collaborative leadership across whole schools. He is founding director of the Thinking Foundation www.thinkingfoundation.org, a nonprofit organization supporting research in cognitive and critical thinking development for the purpose of creating thinking schools nationally and internationally.
The creation of his Thinking Maps® model emerged from his experiences as a middle school teacher in inner city Oakland, California, USA. His development of Thinking Maps® was also informed by his work with the Bay Area Writing Project and the Cognitive Coaching model.
Among his numerous professional books and articles based on visual tools research, David wrote the foundational training materials for Thinking Maps and guided the professional development process with Thinking Maps, Inc. The Thinking Maps model is used across the United States and the United Kingdom, Singapore, New Zealand, Ethiopia, South Africa and many other countries. David co-wrote the training guide Thinking Maps: A Language for Leadership and edited Student Successes With Thinking Maps, a professional book presenting background research and documenting the professional development outcomes from the implementation of Thinking Maps. Video above to the right is a short trailer from upcoming documentary Minds of Mississippi – an extraordinary story about students and a whole school district on thinking…
David earned a doctorate and bachelor’s at the University of California–Berkeley and has served as a visiting scholar at the Harvard School of Education.
In the video below David Hyerle interviews a Special Needs student on her use of Thinking Maps and writing about Dr. Martin Luther King. See the complete case study on Learning Prep.
Dr. David Hyerle interviews high school students in the United Kingdom on use of Thinking Maps.
Thinking Schools Ethiopia (Eminence Social Entrepreneurs) in collaboration with Initiative Africa has organized a two day training on thinking methodologies, reading and spelling. The training will be conducted from June 15-16, 2013 at the 4 kilo Sports and Education Center. Participants are thirty school leaders and six education Bureau officers from selected schools in Addis Ababa, Kolfe Keraniyo and Gullele sub-cities, Boset Woreda, East Shewa, Oromia and Angolela Tera Woreda, North Shewa, Amhara regions.
