Thinking Skills in RE

1
Thinking Skills in RE

• what are their generic characteristics?
• what are thinking skills?
• what are the benefits of using thinking skills
• approaches in RE?

2
What are thinking skills?

• They can include
• information-processing skills
• reasoning skills
• enquiry skills
• creative thinking skills
• evaluation skills

3
Information-processing skills

• These enable pupils to
• locate and collect relevant information
• sort, classify and sequence information
• compare and contrast information
• analyse relationships

4
Reasoning skills

• These enable pupils to
• give reasons for opinions and actions
• draw inferences and make deductions
• use precise language to explain what they think
• make judgements

5
Enquiry skills

• These enable pupils to
• ask relevant questions
• pose and define problems
• plan what to do and how to research
• predict outcomes and anticipate consequences
• test conclusions and improve ideas

6
Creative thinking skills

• These enable pupils to
• generate and extend ideas
• suggest hypotheses
• apply imagination
• look for alternative, imaginative outcomes

7
Evaluation skills

• These enable pupils to
• evaluate information
• judge the value of what they read, hear and do
• develop criteria for judging their own and
  others work or ideas
• have confidence in their own judgements

8
What are their generic characteristics?

• they focus on engagement with the curriculum
  through shared understanding
• they encourage pupils to think about their own
  learning
• they provide structured, powerful learning
  environments

9
What are the benefits of using thinking skills
approaches in RE?

• pupils are more motivated and engaged in their
  own learning
• pupils find the tasks challenging without feeling
  stressed or frustrated about their ability to
  participate
• pupils are more able to articulate and discuss
  their ideas
• pupils negotiate understanding with their peers
  as well as with the teacher
• pupils are able to make links with what they
  already know
• pupils transform and apply what they know to new
  situations

10
What are the different approaches to thinking
skills in RE?

• Community of Enquiry
• Detective Work
• Mystery
• Story Telling
• Odd One Out
• Hot Seating

11
Community of Enquiry

• Listen to The Mountains of Tibet by Mordicai
  Gerstein.
• On your own, write down a question you would like
  to ask about the story.
• Now work with a partner and compare and discuss
  your questions together.
• Select one key question to discuss more fully!
• As a group, look at all the questions and choose
  one to explore in detail!

12
Detective Work

• Look carefully at the picture you have been given
  and note any particular details that attract your
  attention.
• Who do you think is being shown in your picture?
• What evidence do you have for this?
• How do you know that your evidence is accurate?
• Where does your evidence come from?
• Can you draw a firm conclusion?

13
Mystery

• Look at the key question which you have been
  given.
• In your group, look at all the information you
  have been given.
• Use the information to construct an answer to the
  question.
• Be ready to present your theory to the whole
  group and to explain the reason why you think it
  is a good one!

14
Storytelling

• Your task is to build up a timeline of the
  important events in the life of the Prophet
  Muhammad (pbuh).
• Listen to the story and try to match the cartoon
  drawings to some of the events.
• Place your cartoon drawings in a time line and be
  prepared to discuss the significance of each
  event.
• How do you think the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) felt
  at each point in the story?

15
Odd One Out

• Look at the three items and try to write down as
  much information as you an about each one.
• Your task is to decide which item is the odd one
  out and is so doing, to identify what the other
  two have in common!
• You can have as many turns as you like! How many
  different answers (and reasons!) can you find?

16
Hot Seating

• Watch the short film clip about how Guru Nanak
  disappeared in the river.
• Think about what questions you could put to the
  different characters in the story
• Nanaki
• Mardana
• Guru Nanak
• Discuss those questions with a partner.
• There will now be an opportunity for some of you
  to take on the role of those three characters in
  the hot seat and respond to the questions
  devised earlier!

17
What do the children say?

• Ive learned to really think about stories, not
  just listen to them
• I can say what I feel and nobody will get in a
  mood if they dont agree with me
• All sorts of different answers can be right
• I like hearing other peoples ideas because they
  often come up with things that I hadnt even
  thought of
• What do the teachers think? Over to you!