Thinking Through Teaching

This work offers a challenging approach to enhancing children's learning through a process of reflective analysis called innovative thinking. Using practical examples drawn from a variety of learning contexts, the author: provides a framework for reviewing and reflecting on classroom experience, focusing particularly on those aspects of teaching and learning that are surprising, puzzling or worrying; outlines a series of steps that should help teachers generate new ideas and practical strategies to guide the development of their work; offers an approach which emphasizes strategies that can be incorporated into teachers' work with the whole class, and to the potential benefit of all children; and illustrates how innovative thinking can assist teachers in enhancing the learning and inclusion of individual children whose classroom responses give cause for concern. Worrying about Azad - introducing the framework; in fairness to children; making connections; contradicting; taking a child's view; noting the impact of feelings; suspending judgement; policies for developing teaching and learning; innovative thinking and staff development.