Applied Thinking Innovative subject introduced

In Semester 1 this year, Year 7s engaged with the new Middle School subject – Applied Thinking (AT) – an initiative underpinned by the principles of ETC.

Applied Thinking helps develop students’:

• understanding of what constitutes learning and use of language for talking about it

• curiosity and inquiry

• self-regulatory capacities

• strategies to improve the effectiveness of their learning.

Importantly, students make connections between the ideas they explore in Applied Thinking and how they relate to their learning in other curriculum areas.

Much of the learning in Applied Thinking is experiential. In Term 1, Year 7 boys:

• collaborated to create a shelter while trapped in an Antarctic blizzard

• created an Avatar to represent their perception of themselves as a learner

• considered the role emotions play in learning

• connected their experiences at Moogerah to learning dispositions in both video and written form

• graphed their ability to focus over a period of time

Year 7 students are beginning an exciting deepening of their capacity to think in more abstract and self-regulated ways. They have surprised and delighted their Applied Thinking teachers with their capacity for honest and insightful reflection.

To finish the term, the boys chose a personal learning project on a topic that interested them. As they set goals and reflected on their engagement, difficulties, and successes on this learning journey, they moved closer to realising the subject’s key objectives.

Rebecca Campbell – Head of Middle School

Image: Head of Middle School Curriculum Ian Grice teaching his Year 7 Applied Thinking class.