St Saviour’s College in Toowoomba has seen the graduation of its second cohort of teachers from the internationally acclaimed Harvard Project Zero Visible Thinking course.
Offered by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the 12-week course focuses on nurturing powerful and enduring thinking dispositions in students.
“Project Zero Visible Thinking challenges educators to reimagine their classrooms. In an era where information is readily accessible, it is crucial to foster deep understanding and reasoning rather than mere knowledge acquisition,” college principal Jessica Wade said.
“The thinking routines of Project Zero promote rich classroom discussions and encourage students to confidently share and challenge ideas, listen deeply, and consider diverse perspectives.
“These routines build confidence in our young women, empowering them to engage thoughtfully and critically.”
Visible Thinking, a research-based approach used globally across various subjects and settings, aims to deepen content learning and cultivate students’ thinking skills and dispositions.
“We become more effective learners when we are aware of our learning processes and can manage our thinking,” Mrs Wade said.
With more than 40 per cent of its teaching staff now graduates of this course, St Saviour’s College aims to exceed 50 per cent by the conclusion of the next intake.
The impact of the Harvard Project Zero course has been transformative, with teachers experiencing significant “a-ha!” moments as they reflect on their practices and the cultivation of thinking in their classrooms.
Mrs Wade commented that her greatest learning from the Harvard course was realising how, at times, she had inadvertently deprived students of the learning they deserve by doing the thinking for them.
“It is the ‘thinking’ skills that our students need most,” Mrs Wade said.
“Skills such as forming conclusions, uncovering complexity, making connections, wondering, questioning, and reasoning with evidence are essential.
“These skills will shape our students into empowered critical and creative thinkers, entrepreneurs, and social architects that the world desperately needs.”
Pictured are St Saviour’s College staff who have completed the Harvard Project Zero Visible Thinking Course, Megan Schulze, Dean Love, Narinder Loi and Chris Grierson.
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St Saviour’s Teachers Lead the Way with Harvard’s Visible Thinking (St Saviour’s College, Toowoomba)
