Teaching critical and creative thinking skills in primary education - teacher trainer and trainee perspectives

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, in an increasingly complex world children need to develop higher level thinking skills in order to find solutions to social, emotional and economic problems, both personally and in the context of the wider world (OECD, 2008). While research offers evidence that thinking skills programmes and approaches improve children’s learning and their performance on cognitive and curriculum tests in school settings (Higgins et al, 2005), there is agreement between education leaders and policymakers that the need for real-world, problem-solving requires education to emphasise critical thinking, and creativity.
The need to teach thinking skills was made explicit in the National Curriculum for England and Wales in 1999; while the National Curriculum coming into force from September 2014 does not refer to the teaching of thinking skills explicitly, a close examination of the document makes it possible to appreciate how teachers continue to be requested to embed cognitive skills, including critical and creative thinking, in the Programmes of Study (DfE, 2013).
As creative and critical thinking skills are considered to be important, teacher trainers need to have understanding and pedagogical strategies for facilitating trainees, in order for them to be able to develop young children’s thinking skills in primary schools. This presentation focuses on the way in which teacher trainers prepare trainee teachers to incorporate thinking skills into the new curriculum, according to a research study which is carried out in a teacher training department at a North London University. The research integrates findings from a mixed method approach, using qualitative interviews and questionnaires.
On the basis of the research findings, this presentation discusses the perceived effectiveness of strategies being used within teacher training to promote thinking skills in response to the changes in the new curriculum, aiming to provide feedback to teacher trainers and to invite new critical reflection from other academics and practitioners in view of the new 2014 primary curriculum.