Our thinking ability is what makes us distinctively human. Yet we have no generally accepted approach to teaching thinking – and no common vocabulary to describe different ways of thinking. This, when you think about it, is extraordinary. Imagine trying to teach or learn maths if we did not have commonly accepted terms such as add, subtract, multiply and divide.

The ‘ Plus’ consists of two powerful frameworks that enable the skills and dispositions developed in P4C, by both teachers and learners, to be transferred into any subject and at any level. A sixth form teacher in Hertfordshire asked their students how they have been using Thinking Moves… Over time, as confidence grows, the use of metacognitive language becomes a natural part of daily discourse. Whether in the staffroom over lunch, planning the timetable or sharing a jigsaw, metacognition has become a part of daily life. 4. Use to support targeted teaching across the curriculumThe language of Thinking Moves has become part of discourse in school. The subtle interplay between cognition and emotion has enabled staff to seamlessly manipulate metacognition into a tool to support emotional regulation and prosocial behaviour. This means that metacognition is not seen simply as twenty-six petals to sprinkle throughout a lesson, but instead metacognition is seen as the roots that anchor all interactions. The way we think, speak to each other, behave with each other, use materials, interact with the world . . . is rooted in metacognition. The main framework is PHILOSOPHICAL TEACHING-AND-LEARNING (PTL). Its six interwoven strands derive from the traditions of philosophy and P4C, but draw new power from six other pedagogical approaches developed in the last half-century. Research by the Education Endowment Foundation has shown that effective strategies for metacognition and self-regulation: Are better when taught in collaborative groups so that learners can support each other and make their thinking explicit through discussion;

As soon as I started using them, it became a central part on how I structure notes, plans, and answers. They help with prioritising and putting together GROUPS of information, creating links between one topic and another. Brain development between birth and age five is immense. There is no other period in life where our brains develop so much or so rapidly as they do in those first few years. Even a PhD student does not make as many intellectual leaps and bounds during their studies as a young child does as they just learn to be a human. People who think in this philosophical way about their lives and their learning grow in a sense of agency – standing up more confidently for what they care for and value, whilst becoming more creative and collaborative members of their communities. There is also a Thinking Moves Sign Language. Children love movement that is meaningful and connects to what they are learning. The most intriguing thing about introducing Sign Language to assist children use, notice, and identify their thinking moves and the moves others make, is how readily and naturally the children take to signing. The idea that this is another language, a language that people who have hearing problems use for communication, really captures the children’s imagination and attention. Connecting the Moves Research by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has shown that effective strategies for metacognition and self-regulation:Following the closure of schools in March 2020, Diane Swift, Director of Keele and North Staffordshire Teacher Education ( KNSTE, where I am a tutor), took the decision to engage our Associate Teachers (ATs) with Thinking Moves A-Z, an approach to teaching for metacognition. It proved to be a very positive experience for all, as I will attempt to explain below. Stephen Walshe is the Co-Principal of the Fortune Kindergarten in Shanghai, and an accredited Thinking Moves trainer. Thinking Moves A – Z supports every step of the EEF’s recommended framework for metacognition and self-regulated learning.

Metacognition is embedded throughout continuous provision and is accessed by all children through personalised interactions. Enhancements are offered across the curriculum and metacognition forms a vehicle on which targeted teaching is delivered. For example, by combining thinking moves together, we have created thinking grooves. By using certain moves together, the flow of thinking is explicit. I use Thinking Moves in my essay planning. I DIVIDE and CONNECT points for/against. I WEIGH UP and JUSTIFY in assess questions. I use KEYWORD, GROUP, and EXEMPLIFY in my revision when making flashcards for different questions. I also use ZOOM IN / OUT and SIZE when writing about issues going from a local to a national or international scale. School Improvement Liverpool (SIL) supports educational settings to enable children and young people to be safe, develop, learn and achieve. To this end, we have developed a collaboration with Dialogue Works with a view to enhancingacademic progress, especially for lower attaining and disadvantaged students. We have always been a leading provider of training in Philosophy for Children (P4C) in the UK, but we are now partnering organisations in four continents to promote our unique approach to teaching and learning: ‘ P4C Plus’. Embedding metacognition in the early years supports children to master their own cognition and gives them a voice for life.

Guided Reflection

According to the Educational Endowment Fund, “With a large body of international evidence telling us that, when properly embedded, these (metacognitive) approaches are powerful levers for boosting learning, it’s clear that we need to spend time looking at how to do this well. The same study also states that “Explicit instruction in cognitive and metacognition strategies can improve pupils’ learning” EEF Guidance Report, 2018 ( https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/) Thinking Moves A – Z is a structured approach to thinking about thinking – a framework for metacognition. In this video, Roger Sutcliffe explains how it works. Teachers have expressed their enjoyment incorporating the Thinking moves in their classes. They have remarked about how easily they can be embedded into any topic and how students are now able to use them naturally and without prompting. New teachers to our school are always very impressed at how well the students can remember them and how the students are able to continue using them over the span of their primary school journey.” When looking at the curriculum and skill progression across the school, it has been helpful to consider which Thinking Moves explicitly support advancement. For children to progress in their acquisition of new concepts, they need to know clearly how to access their learning. Within our planning and assessment systems, areas of metacognitive focus have been identified.