EBOOK: Mind Expanding: Teaching for Thinking and Creativity in Primary Education

Book excerpt: "An essential addition...Wegerif zooms in on the most important ingredient of all in a learning-to-learn classroom culture - the kinds of talk that are allowed and encouraged - and brings together both scholarly and practical approaches in a highly fruitful and accessible way." Guy Claxton, author of Building Learning Power, What's the Point of School? and New Kinds of Smart 'This is a thought-provoking and readable book, which makes a very good case for the importance of teaching thinking skills and encouraging creativity through dialogue.' Professor Neil Mercer, University of Cambridge, UK, author of Words and Minds and Dialogue and Development There is growing interest in developing flexible thinking and learning skills in the primary classroom but there has been little agreement as to exactly what these skills are and how best to teach for them. This innovative book responds to that challenge with a coherent account of what thinking and creativity are and how they can be taught. Taking a 'dialogic' approach, it shows how engaging children in real dialogue is possible in every area of the curriculum and how this can lead to more reflective, considerate and creative children who are able to think for themselves and to learn creatively. Wegerif explores the success of approaches such as Philosophy for Children, Thinking Together, Dialogic Teaching and Building Learning Power. Using illustrations and activities, he explains how teaching and learning across the primary curriculum can be transformed. This book is important reading for all primary teachers and trainees who are looking for practical ideas for teaching thinking. It will also be valuable for anyone who wants to understand education and think more about what is most important in education.