CONTRIBUTORS


Critical thinking is the greatest weapon against extremism Comment by


FELICIA JACKSON, Chair of the Learn2Think Foundation


“Young people need to be taught how to think to immunise their minds against ideologies that seek to teach them what to think” – British Council 2015


Teaching tolerance of other people’s rights to their own opinions and beliefs, is, I believe, an essential element of education. This can only be achieved by developing critical thinking in all areas of the curriculum. One of the most obvious places to start is with philosophy and religious education. Professor Angie Hobbs, Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at Sheffield University has written a powerful piece about the importance of teaching philosophy in school. She says, “Philosophy can give young people the skills and confidence, not only to question and challenge purported facts but also to see through the current attempts in some quarters to discredit the very notions of fact, truth and expertise.” Hobbs says, “The questioning and good reasoning fostered by philosophy are not just defences against specific attempts at indoctrination.” What matters for children’s education is that this approach supports children in developing the critical thinking skills of assessment and reasoning. Hobbs adds, “it is vital that schools do all they can to help young people analyse and reflect on what they hear.”


This is especially important when it comes to understanding other cultures, religions and practices. The BBC recently reported that over a quarter of secondary schools are not teaching religious education – for many students one of the only times that they are enabled to investigate essential questions like what happens when we die or why are we here?


One of the students quoted said that better religious education could help cut the number of racially and culturally motivated crimes saying, "Religion affects politics, so you have to think of it that way. It's really important to know the diverse cultural traditions of other people because it's really relevant today."


It’s important that beliefs, opinions and bias should be explored with transparency and precision, encouraging young people to make decisions based on, as Hobbs says, “rigorous arguments and examined evidence” – and it’s never too young to start. Given young children’s focus on what is ‘fair’, they already have an inbuilt interest in ethical questions, even if they’re not sure what ethical means.


This year, as part of 2017’s marking of the UN’s International Day for Tolerance, Learn2Think has built on its materials regarding diversity and religious tolerance with the development of a workshop that will give them the tools to become ‘Truth Detectives’.


Being ‘Truth Detectives’ means developing the ability to piece together the 'truth' from different sources of opinion, fact and information. It means learning to develop the most complete picture possible. All information is valuable. How well that information serves us is dependent on developing thinking and questioning skills - intellectual humility; flexibility of thought; empathy; critical thinking; and, of course, understanding the limits of knowledge.


We not only want to find out what matters to children today, but also to encourage them to think critically and ask themselves why, what, where, when, who and how?


Find out more at www.toleranceday.org 12 www.education-today.co.uk October 2017


What are my options for CPD?


This month, regular Education Today contributor KIRSTY BERTENSHAW looks at the various CPD options open to teachers.


There is no statutory requirement to complete any continued professional development as a teacher or support staff member. However, if it is part of the directed time budget, then staff are expected to take part in organised activities in school. So, what are the options for CPD?


In-school CPD is the most common training offered. The disadvantage of this is it can often be after school, when teachers are still focusing on their day. If it is led by SLTs, teachers may not feel able to be honest, ask questions or disagree with any suggestions made. Sometimes all the teachers are crammed into a hall and lectured at for hours in what is best described as “death by PowerPoint”, without the time to discuss the impact of the content delivered. The advantages for the school are it’s a cheaper form of CPD and everyone has received it at once. However, in-school CPD can be fantastic. One example I experienced is where the sessions were designed and delivered by the teachers themselves. Colleagues had researched aspects of teaching and implemented them in their lessons for a term, before feeding back to the wider school in short snappy sessions, with small groups of staff. Each teacher could choose which sessions they wanted to attend depending on their own teaching practice. Out of school courses are usually of a very high standard and are specialised. They are delivered by an expert and employ resources unavailable in school. Also, they offer time for implementation of the training. But, they often have a prohibitively high cost, especially with school funding cuts. Some courses such as those at the Science Learning Centre offer grants to schools to pay for teachers’ attendance, encouraging SLTs to agree to the time off and the cover for lessons, as well as travel costs. A different environment can often enable honesty and encourage concentration and motivation. If you need to convince SLTs to approve attendance on a course, offer to share what you learned with the wider school community, perhaps even the academy chain or affiliated schools.


Teachmeets take place after school and usually in a centralised location such as a university. They are short, only a few hours long, and are designed to offer quick and useful ideas for teaching. They normally give out freebies to teachers too, along with snacks and a drink to keep you going after a long days teaching. Online training is more affordable or sometimes free. Webcasts and webinars allow hundreds of teachers to join at once despite being far apart. Other options are joining forums, watching recorded lectures or following educators on social media. This gives teachers a much wider choice and full control over their own CPD. Many teachers do this already but don’t realise that it does count as CPD! Books are a great source of CPD that can travel with you and be left for later when life gets busy. Bedtime reading, should you choose to read an educational book then, allows you to mull over the concepts explored while you sleep. Sleeping after learning something encourages memory. Schools will often reimburse teachers for the cost of a book too.


Effective CPD make us better at our jobs, so choose the CPD that’s right for you!


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