1. We have almost 500 people registered.
50% come from
Australia, New Zealand, USA, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Trinidad Tobago, The
Emirates, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, China, Russia, Poland, Sweden,
Norway, Finland, Israel, India, Ireland, Turkey and Belgium.
We have already 50
papers submitted from all over the world wishing to share their knowledge and
experiences.
2. Inputs that
could interest the EPA members:
Everyday there will be interesting lectures, workshops,
round tables, posters…
The focus is to develop understanding about the key
competence of Learning to Think creatively and critically.
This key competence is highlighted in the European
Curricula and it is one of the recommendations of the OCDE worldwide Compulsory
Education.
What is going to be said at the ICOT could stimulate
parents´ understanding of this key competence.
Also we will go into more depth in dispositions and
habits to develop effective thinking within the curriculum, which are essential
both at school and at home.
The competence to learn how to think efficiently
produces efficient learners this is why thinking skills need to be taught from
a very young age for new generations to be prepared to make decisions and solve
problems skilfully. Also they will need to develop their creativity for a world
with no borders and in a time full of uncertainties.
Personal, social and professional life demands these
aptitudes and thus this is the reason for OCDE and EU recommendations.
On the other hand, it is very necessary to educate for
excellence, responsibility, citizenship, lifelong learning, engagement in work,
and social and personal life.
As we have mentioned before, it would be advisable to
introduce into the curriculum and home education Habits of mind such as:
·
Persisting: Sticking to
task at hand; Follow through to completion; Can and do remain focused.
·
Managing Impulsivity:
Take time to consider options; Think before speaking or acting; Remain calm
when stressed or challenged; Thoughtful and considerate of others; Proceed
carefully
·
Listening with
Understanding and Empathy: Pay attention to and do not dismiss another person's
thoughts, feeling and ideas; Seek to put myself in the other person's shoes;
Tell others when I can relate to what they are expressing; Hold thoughts at a
distance in order to respect another person's point of view and feelings.
·
Thinking Flexibly: Able
to change perspective; Consider the input of others; Generate alternatives;
Weigh options.
·
Thinking about Thinking
(Metacognition): Being aware of own thoughts, feelings, intentions and actions;
Knowing what I do and say affects others; Willing to consider the impact of
choices on myself and others.
·
Striving for Accuracy:
Check for errors; Measure at least twice; Nurture a desire for exactness, fidelity
& craftsmanship.
·
Questioning and Posing
Problems: Ask myself, “How do I know?”; develop a questioning attitude;
Consider what information is needed, choose strategies to get that information;
Consider the obstacles needed to resolve.
·
Applying Past Knowledge
to New Situations: Use what is learned; Consider prior knowledge and
experience; Apply knowledge beyond the situation in which it was learned.
·
Thinking and
Communicating with Clarity and Precision: Strive to be clear when speaking and
writing; Strive be accurate to when speaking and writing; Avoid
generalizations, distortions, minimizations and deletions when speaking, and
writing.
·
Gathering Data through
All Senses: Stop to observe what I see; Listen to what I hear; Take note of
what I smell; Taste what I am eating; Feel what I am touching.
·
Creating, Imagining,
Innovating: Think about how something might be done differently from
·
Responding with
Wonderment and Awe: Intrigued by the world's beauty, nature's power and vastness
for the universe; Have regard for what is awe-inspiring and can touch my heart;
Open to the little and big surprises in life I see others and myself.
·
Taking Responsible
Risks: Willing to try something new and different; Consider doing things that
are safe and sane even though new to me; Face fear of making mistakes or of
coming up short and don’t let this stop me.
·
Finding Humour: Willing
to laugh appropriately; Look for the whimsical, absurd, ironic and unexpected
in life; Laugh at myself when I can.
·
Thinking
Interdependently: Willing to work with others and welcome their input and perspective;
Abide by decisions the work group makes even if I disagree somewhat; Willing to
learn from others in reciprocal situations.
·
Remaining Open to
Continuous Learning: Open to new experiences to learn from; Proud and humble
enough to admit when don't know; Welcome new information.
Experts in education at an international level
consider fundamental that teachers and parents know about these aspects and
learn how to do them well.
Also the network of thinking schools that applies strategic
thinking skills, habits and dispositions in the curriculum will be taking part
in the ICOT. Cooperative learning is fundamental to live interdependently.
Moreover, Neuroscience is giving the keys for the way
that we learn. This discipline will be present in the Conference.
3. Plenary Speakers who will deal with these themes will
be:
David Perkins, Art Costa, Guy Claxton, Ron Ritchhart,
Karin Morrison, David Hyerle, Peter Facione, Lane Clark, Howard Garner (videoconference),
Carrie James, Johnson & Johnson, Francesco Tonucci, Robert Swartz, James
Nottingham and Jose Antonio Marina.
By the way, Jose Antonio Marina has created a
University for Parents in Spain due to the importance of the mentioned issues.
4. Relationship between thinking skills and learning languages.
Based on recent research, the infusion of thinking
skills in the curriculum helps the improvement of bi/plurilingual curricula which is urgent in
the EU. Speakers dealing with this issue:
David Hyerle, Rebecca Reagan, Angela Salmon, Stee
Lopez-
5. Transformation of Education Communities (parents,
teachers and students) in advanced organizations
of learning.
Peter Senge, Bill Martin, Brendan Spillane from OUR
education and Jeff Clanon from SOL amongst others.
6. Others.
Thinking, Youth & Sport: We want to transferee
thinking to the strand of sport.
Excellence, Responsibility, Ethics, Engagement,
Leadership, Team work, Shared vision, Critical and Creative Thinking are skills
necessary to avoid behaviours like doping, fraud and organized crime.
On the other hand we want to deal with this question: How
can sport encourage innovation and economic growth.
Finally, the infusion of arts in the curricular
subjects will be an important point of interest for parents and teachers. The
European Commission highlights this too. For that we will present the work
carried out by Room13 International, ArtinEd, and Project Zero. In this subject
we will have the opportunity to hear Richard Demarco, Shari Tishman, Ana María
Fernandez and Cinzia Laurelli amongst others.
On the other hand, Harvard will give some workshops at
the Guggenheim and the Fine Arts Museum of Bilbao in order to show how we can
develop thinking through the arts both
in adults and children.
How your organisation can collaborate with the ICOT
2015 Organizing Committee?
· By spreading publicity
of the ICOT through your database all over Europe (Schools and Universities) and
informing that there is a possibility of applying for an Erasmus+ grant. (Up to
now we are surprised by the non-presence of France, Germany, Greece, Italy,
Holland, and Eastern Europe except from Poland).
·
By informing about the
Conference in the EU Department of Education and Youth in case of having contacts
at that level. We would like to invite the Commissioner of Education to the
Inauguration and/or the closing of the conference.
·
By advising us whether
it would be worth going to Brussels in order to present the ICOT2015.
·
By informing us about
EU funding for the organization of an International Conference in Europe.
Daily updated info in:
·
Twitter: @ICOT2015
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