Thinking Moves

A curriculum leader of the middle years of his school works with teachers at years 5-8 to improve students' learning outcomes. He provides the motivation for teachers to be actively involved in research to enhance students' thinking skills. This has resulted in teachers sharing their research within the school, nationally and internationally. By integrating a structured program across learning areas, reinforcement of skills has led to improved student achievement. Students at the school are able to articulate how the teaching strategies have improved their understanding and skills.

Genazzano FCJ College is a Catholic girls’ school with over 1100 students from Prep to Year 12.  The College is structured in Stages of Learning: Early Years (Prep to Year 4), Middle Years (Year 5 to 8) and Later Years (Year 9 to VCE). Teachers at the school are encouraged to identify and participate in research projects that are designed to support the school's vision. Curriculum managers and teachers in the Middle Years program have identified the value of Harvard University's Project Zero, which has a strong research agenda, including investigations into the nature of intelligence, understanding, thinking, creativity, cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural thinking, and ethics. From this project, teachers have decided to integrate 'Thinking Moves' across the curriculum.