Focus on cognitive education

There is much to celebrate about the 2017 academic year at Roedean School. Not only did the matriculants exceed expectations in their final exams, but the school also received accreditation as a Thinking School from the University of Exeter in the UK for Grades 0 to 12. This makes it SA’s first senior school and the first school in the country covering all those grades to receive the accreditation.

The overarching strategy the programme used at Roedean is, says head of Thinking Skills and Technology at Roedean School, Dr Sonja Vandeleur, based on the 16 Habits of Mind, which were developed by Art Costa and Bena Kallick.

“The habits are 16 thinking dispositions which, according to Costa, ‘are skilfully and mindfully employed by characteristically intelligent, successful people when they are confronted by problems, the solutions to which are not immediately apparent’,” explains Vandeleur, who is also a member of the board of Thinking Schools SA (TSSA), a nonprofit organisation that empowers schools to develop a culture of explicit thinking through workshops and network meetings.

Six senior school staff members completed Harvard University’s online Visible Thinking course during 2017, with another six due to enrol in 2018. “This will further deepen thinking skills practice by integrating the development of students thinking with content learning across subject disciplines,” she says.

Also on the Roedean staff diary for 2018, is a Habits of Mind master class presented by James Anderson of Mindful by Design (Australia). Anderson will also share his approach to the Growth Mindset as conceived by Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford University. Dweck’s approach challenges the widespread belief that intelligent people are born smart. She believes a common misconception is equating Growth Mindset with effort.

“Growth Mindset is intended to help close achievement gaps, not hide them,” says Dweck. “It is about telling the truth about a student’s current achievement and then, together, doing something about it, helping him or her become smarter.”

The Teacher Drive Team and Student Drive Team are integral to Roedean’s Cognitive Education Programme. The Teacher Drive Team conducts two workshops for new teachers each year and, in 2017, this was extended this to parents, which provided a different and interesting dynamic. Advancement was also seen among the pupils.

“The Student Drive Team — a dynamic team of Grade 9 and 10 girls who promote the use of creative and critical thought throughout the school — develops and grows each year,” says Vandeleur.

During 2017, the student team was involved with developing an online Thinking Skills course for teachers and students for TSSA. The team also conducted three assemblies during the year.

With a common language around cognitive thinking having emerged and being effectively conveyed, Vandeleur says Roedean’s approach is proving successful.