Thinking Skill Frameworks for Post-16 Learners: An Evaluation. A Research Report for the Learning and Skills Research Centre.

Abstract

This report documents a project that investigated the concept of a ‘thinking skill’, how these are identified and classified, and what kinds of thinking are needed in post-16 learning environments in England? The report evaluates 35 attempts to classify the skills and abilities used in thinking, nine of them in more detail than the others, and makes recommendations for teachers, learners and policy makers. The project was undertaken because thinking skills are not explicitly built into education and training for post-16 learners in England. The project considered all kinds of thinking and learning that are to some degree under conscious control. It excluded unsystematic ways of classifying thinking skills and included frameworks designed for different purposes and from different perspectives. The main interest was in how an understanding of how people think and learn at the age of 16 or above can inform instructional design, course and lesson planning, teaching, learning and assessment. In particular, the report aims to identify the key principles on which teaching approaches designed to develop thinking skills depend, and helpful ways for teachers and learners to classify and talk about thinking skills.