2005 Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools Submission Form

Title of submission: QUALITY THINKING AT KURWONGBAH: Kurwongbah State School’s Whole School Thinking Skills Program

School: KURWONGBAH STATE SCHOOLDistrict: MURRUMBAArea: SUNSHINE COAST

Key Contact Person:Name DENISE TARLINTONPhone number 3481 4333Mobile phone number 0407 454 909Email address dtarl1@eq.edu.au

Showcase category:Showcase Award for Excellence in the Early Phase of LearningShowcase Award for Excellence in the Middle Phase of LearningShowcase Award for Excellence in the Senior Phase of LearningShowcase Award for Excellence in Inclusive Education

√ Showcase Award for Excellence in LeadershipShowcase Award for Excellence in Innovation

OPTIONAL multimedia items: Web Page burnt on a CD-rom

Submission overview:

Kurwongbah’s Whole School Thinking Skills Program (2002 – 2005) is about actively preparing our students for the future. By creating a whole-school “thinking culture”, students learn to think creatively, critically, and at higher levels, and are explicitly taught key strategies to support them in life long learning. Embedded in the Whole School Thinking Skills Program is ongoing teacher professional development, resources to support teacher facilitation, student engagement and community awareness, and a growing web-presence being accessed by educators across Australia and world- wide.

Description:

Creating a “Culture of Thinking”In a future of great change and unpredictability, students need to be able to think creatively, critically and analytically to solve problems in interesting, original and divergent ways; to critique and challenge decisions; to analyse and evaluate information in various formats; to plan for the future and to develop new ideas. All students can learn to think more creatively and critically and become the problem solvers of the future.

At Kurwongbah SS, learning and thinking involves more than the learning of content and recall of facts. We believe that it involves our whole school developing a thinking culture, by investigating and evaluating different thinking strategies, frameworks, models and skills and by using these to solve problems, develop ideas and think divergently. The Whole School Thinking Skills Program is about equipping our students with the essential skills and strategies for life long learning through the creation of meaningful learning activities across all KLA’s within an outcomes-based approach.

The program has incorporated investigation of current pedagogy; extensive professional development for all staff members; in-class support and modeling of strategies; significant resource purchasing and development including a Thinking Skills Resource Folder for all staff. The Program has been enhanced through the provision of workshops, conference presentations, and practical support for teachers across Murrumba District, Queensland, Australia and Internationally. Professional networking has been established with Education Queensland and community organizations such as Queensland Association for Gifted and Talented Children, Learning Development Centres (Gifted and Talented) and the School Library Association of Queensland.

The school’s contribution to collaborative partnerships, fostering student learning was recognised when Kurwongbah State School was awarded the Inaugural Brian Bahnisch Award (see Appendix A).

This ongoing school journey, entering its fourth year, has resulted in the establishment of a whole-school thinking culture, a shared vision of intellectual engagement and the development of a common language about thinking in our school. Continuing teacher professional development is at the core of the Thinking Skills Program. Significant school resources have been committed to the provision of a structured teacher professional development strategy (see Appendix B).

What does a Thinking Classroom look like at Kurwongbah State School?There are purposely planned opportunities for higher-level thinking, complex problem solving and open-ended responses. Thinking skills are explicitly taught in an authentic and purposeful context.

Classroom experiences include teaching and learning activities that: Engage students in a wide range of analytical, critical and creative thinking tasks. Create on-going opportunities for students to learn and expand their use of the language of

thinking; develop, practise and refine their thinking skills across all KLAs Provide students with the tools to manage, organise and record their thinking Promote productive thinking, ie. Taking students beyond memorisation and simple recall into

the higher-order thinking skills of analysing, evaluating and creating. Assist in the transfer of thinking skills as tools for life-long learning through real life and life-like

contexts

Kurwongbah’s Thinking Skills Web Pagehttp://www.kurwongbss.qld.edu.au/thinking/thinking.htm

Through the School Web Page, teachers, students, school and wider community members are able to access a wealth of information and resources including: de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, Tony Ryan’s Thinker’s Keys,

Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, Graphic Organisers, Models of Curriculum Differentiation, Dimensions of Learning

Posters, brochures, assessment tools, Black Line Masters) Student contract activities Copies of PD session materials (power point presentations, handouts etc) GATE Policy and extensive support documents Links to other information available on the Internet Annotated bibliography of resources (see Appendix C and accompanying CD-Rom) Connection to QSE- 2010 and/or Education and Training Reforms for the Future:

Our journey to develop a Whole School Thinking Skills Program, and thus a whole school culture of thinking, began in response to The Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study (2001) and Education Queensland’s Productive Pedagogies theoretical framework (2002).

The early self-fulfilling prophecy studies (Rist,1970) and studies of streaming and tracking (Oakes, Gorman and Page, 1992), show that one of the main reasons some students do not achieve high academic performance is that schools do not always require students to perform work of high intellectual quality. Conversely, Newmann and Associates (1996) suggest that when students from all backgrounds are expected to perform work of high intellectual quality, overall student academic performance increases… From this research, we would generalise that a focus on high intellectual quality is necessary for all students to perform well academically. (QSRLS, 2001a, p. 3)

The Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study (1998-2000) reported on the need to “shift teachers’ attention and focus beyond basic skills to key aspects of higher-order thinking… towards more productive pedagogies… (QSRLS, 2001b, p. 15). The key finding was that “intellectual demand [of students] has significant links with improved productive performance in schools and, hence, with improved student outcomes (QSRLS, 2001b, p.15). The overall findings suggested “that ‘high intellectual demand’ may be a key rallying point for innovative change, school renewal and reform of support mechanisms for curriculum implementation and assessment (QSRLS, 2001b, p. 15).

Using these documents as a starting point and guide we identified all of the current, valuable teaching and learning experiences in our classrooms that were encouraging students to perform work of a high

intellectual quality, particularly activities incorporating higher-order thinking. Many teachers were already incorporating a variety of thinking skills and strategies into their programs so we set about investigating the range of other theories, frameworks, models and strategies that could be added to our Thinking Toolkit for teaching and learning.

Whole Staff Professional DevelopmentAt Kurwongbah we have found that:

an investment in teachers- particularly in their expertise, intellectual development, professional judgment and networks- is necessary for the development of productive pedagogies and improved student outcomes. Support for ongoing teacher learning is central to quality schooling… Schools should be encouraged to create and support teacher professional learning communities inside schools through processes and structures which encourage collaboration and reflective dialogue around classroom practices… (QSRLS, 2001b, pp. 18-19)

The QSRLS found that in-school professional development had positive effects on classroom practice when it is: Linked specifically to a focus on pedagogy Concerned with issues pertinent to the particular school and its community Focused on enhancing the professional learning community of the school

(QSRLS, 2001b, p. 19).

Extensive, ongoing professional development is an essential component of the Whole School Thinking Skills Program at Kurwongbah.

Professional development sessions for staff cater for a range of needs, include practical ideas for application and motivate participants to discuss their current practice and adopt new ideas. Hands-on sessions supported by resources (print [handouts and Thinking Skills Folders], digital, human) have been provided to support staff learning and development. The professional development sessions also targeted all specialist teachers, administration team and teacher-aides.

Teachers with particular expertise with higher-order thinking were invited to contribute by presenting ideas and strategies based on the logical presentation of strategies, theories and models including: deBono’s Six Thinking Hats Tony Ryan’s Thinkers Keys Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Graphic Organisers as a means of structuring and organizing thinking Planning to Implement Thinking Skills Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy Dimensions of Learning Framework Differentiating the Curriculum

Outcomes:

In 2004, Kurwongbah SS was awarded the Brian Bahnisch Award for “exemplary contribution to collaborative partnerships that foster student learning in the community.”

Improved school data demonstrates student, parent and staff satisfaction.

Parents:S109 – satisfaction that your child is getting a good education at this school

2001 – 82%2004 – 97.5%

↑ 15.5%

S122 – satisfaction that the school is preparing your child for the future

2001 – 78%2004 – 94.9%

↑ 16.9%

Students:S110 – satisfaction that you are getting a good education at this school

2001 – 85%2004 – 99.2%

↑ 14.2%

Staff:S025 – satisfaction that this school gives me 2001 – 77% ↑ 15%

opportunities to improve my skills 2004 – 92%

Students: Engaged students who can access and use a variety of thinking strategies in different

contexts Students who are able to identify their particular strengths in terms of Multiple Intelligence

Staff: A confident teaching staff skilled in enrichment, extension and differentiation strategies Teachers who are sharing their knowledge and strategies with other educators locally,

state-wide and nationally

Community: A common language for talking about thinking An appreciation for and recognition of different ways of achieving

Programs: A dynamic school-wide enrichment program Integrated Class Units designed to foster intellectual rigor A Gifted and Talented Program An annual Quality Teaching Conference that fosters sharing of pedagogy between schools

(“teachers learning together”)

Evidence:

What Our Teachers Have To Say!Qualitative data has been gathered from teachers. A selection of their comments are listed below:

Impact on planning: Planning has become easier and more organised Helps to give a integrated unit “flow” Blooms and MI tasks integrate well with outcomes and provide better quality assessment

tasks and ideas for future planning More aware of planning for individual needs Provides different ways to approach planning Easier to create groupings of various kinds Made planning more relevant to class needs It has made planning more detailed as to the final outcome I wish to achieve with each student

Impact on the classroom: The classroom seems more active and vibrant when children are involved in many of these

higher-order activities More varied and interesting activities Students are presenting work with greater thought and creativity evident Students are more motivated to complete tasks Using Multiple Intelligences has enhanced our classroom because it forces us to cater for

different learning styles and interests Kids have a keen attitude [and] more imaginative thoughts Opened out activities and made the classroom more student-based Students are happy to work in any given group- the focus is on the task and not the group

dynamics More cooperation between some students

Impact on students: Students are more able to respond to questioning at a higher level The depth of [student] thinking is becoming more obvious the more the program is developed It makes learning more accessible to a variety of children via catering for learning styles Individual needs/ interests being catered for Students have been helped to identify their strengths Students are aware of these thinking skills and can verbalise the different approaches Productive work, on-task Everyone gets an opportunity to become special or good at something

What Our Local Community Has To Say!Teachers at Kurwongbah have actively shared their experiences with others in our local community (see Appendix D) in an effort to improve learning outcomes of ALL student – not just our own. The program has been presented at the: Murrumba Curriculum Conference in October, 2004 Quality Teaching Conference (2003 and 2004) Murrumba Teachers Professional Development Network Workshop Series (2005)

The program is also enthusiastically supported by Larry Burke, Principal of Kurwongbah SS (see Appendix E) and the Kurwongbah SS P&C committee (see Appendix F).

What The Wider Community Has To Say!Over the last 2 years, Kurwongbah has received numerous emails and letters to congratulate us on our Thinking Skills Program and web page. These have originated from across Queensland, Interstate and Internationally. (see Appendix G and H)

ConclusionThe Thinking Skills Program is a dynamic ongoing school initiative that has had significant influences on the pedagogical skills of teachers, not only at Kurwongbah, but across Australia and the world. Our Whole School Thinking Skills Program is the result of the collaboration and dedication of staff to integrate thinking skills into the curriculum in exciting and meaningful ways in order to cater for students’ individual interests and talents and to share their knowledge with colleagues.It has been characterized by:♦ strong support from the administrative team in terms of funding for teacher employment, and

resource development and purchase♦ the enthusiasm of teacher leaders within the program♦ focused professional development for staff♦ expert assistance from outside sources including Toni Banfield (President of the Queensland

Assoc for Gifted and Talented Children inc) and Felicity Bezer (Coordinator LDC, G&T Nambour SS)

♦ the enthusiasm of Kurwongbah teachers, students and parents.

Critical reflection on pedagogy; professional growth as a community through the shared investigation of theories, models and strategies, and implementation of higher-order thinking into curriculum, continues to be important facets of our school community. The program has been based on a sound reason for investigation (QSRLS and Productive Pedagogies) and has well-developed, logical direction with strong leadership and extensive professional development. We don’t see ourselves as experts, merely as enthusiastic learners with a passion to create and share a thinking curriculum.

Personnel involved in the project: Alison Rose (Deputy Principal) Denise Tarlinton (Curriculum Support Teacher) Natalie Baxter (Support Teacher: Gifted and Talented) Dianne Marsden (Teacher) Louise Simms (Teacher)

SIGNATURE OF PRINCIPAL DateI support this submission and its entry in the Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools 2005. This submission meets the requirements set out in the Executive Director’s Checklist.

SIGNATURE OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (SCHOOLS) Date

Appendix A:

(Ed Views Article, 20 August 2004)

Thinking Curriculum Wins Acclaim

Kurwongbah State School was recently the inaugural winner of the School Library Association of Queensland Brian Bahnisch Award for its Whole School Thinking Skills Program.  The Award, presented during the three day School Library Association of Queensland biennial Conference ‘Flagging the Future’ recognises the significant collaboration between teacher-librarian Denise Tarlinton and other members of the school community, Deputy Principal Alison Rose, teachers Dianne Marsden, Louise Simms and GATE coordinator Natalie Baxter, in developing and managing Kurwongbah’s ongoing Whole School Thinking Skills Program. 

The award was presented to Kurwongbah teacher-librarian Denise Tarlinton by Brian Bahnisch at a special ceremony during the conference dinner at the Gold Coast Arts Centre, Bundall.  Mr Bahnisch is a leading figure in the history of teacher-librarianship in Queensland.  He was an instigator in the development of libraries in schools.  From 1969 he worked to develop the training of teacher-librarians and to develop guidelines for resource selection and management in school libraries.  Most importantly, he set the pattern for the educational role of the teacher-librarian and for the total integration of the school resource centre into the educational program of the school.  In 1991, Mr Bahnisch retired as Assistant Director, Division of Curriculum Services.  The award is named to honour the significant role that Brian Bahnisch has played in establishing school libraries and the educational role of teacher-librarians within the school community.  

All teachers at Kurwongbah have been involved in intensive in-school training over the past two and a half years to investigate various thinking models and strategies for higher-order thinking and curriculum integration.  According to Kurwongbah Principal Larry Burke, “The Whole School Thinking Skills Program at Kurwongbah is about equipping our students for life long learning.  It is concerned primarily with teaching for thinking, the teaching of thinking, teaching with thinking and teaching about thinking.  It is about equipping our students with the critical and creative thinking skills that they will need for an ever-changing future.” 

Teacher-librarian Denise Tarlinton, is enthusiastic about the vital role that the  collaboration of staff members has played in the promotion of thinking within the school community. “The success of the Whole School Thinking Skills Program has been due to the enthusiasm of all teachers at Kurwongbah to accept the challenges presented within the Productive Pedagogies document; to investigate a variety of ways to enhance teaching and learning across all KLAs, and to contribute towards a whole school vision of what worthwhile learning experiences for our students should look like. Our Whole School Thinking Skills Program is the result of the collaboration and dedication of staff to integrate thinking skills into the curriculum in exciting and meaningful ways in order to cater for students’ individual interests and talents.”  The Whole School Thinking Skills Program draws on and integrates the work of Edward deBono, Howard Gardner, Tony Ryan, Michael Pohl, Benjamin Bloom, Robert Marzano and Eric Frangenheim.

During his closing address at the SLAQ 2004 ‘Flagging the Future’ Conference, Terry Kearney, Assistant Director-General for the Office of State Schooling, praised Kurwongbah for its innovative approach to integrating thinking into the school curriculum.  As Deputy Principal Alison Rose notes, “Our Thinking Skills Program is not about add-ons, it is about the integration of higher-order thinking into curriculum programs and the explicit teaching of thinking skills.  It is about experimenting with a number of strategies and models to see which ones best fit our student community.  It is about the building of a shared vision and a shared language with which students and teachers can discuss thinking in meaningful ways.”

The School Library Association of Queensland is the state professional association for teacher-librarians. It was founded in 1969 to provide opportunities for its members to work cooperatively within their educational settings through commitment to the development of students as life long learners.  The biennial Brian Bahnisch Award is open to schools with a teacher-librarian who is a current financial member of the School Library Association of Queensland by virtue of personal or school membership. The nomination must reflect a partnership over a significant period of time involving the teacher-librarian, classroom teacher/s, and/or other members of the school community that has demonstrated positive effect on student learning outcomes, and that demonstrates best practice in teacher-librarianship for others in the profession.

Appendix B:

KURWONGBAH STATE SCHOOL THINKING SKILLS OVERVIEW(from Kurwongbah’s Curriculum Plan, 2005)

Developing Pedagogies to support a thinking cultureThe table below documents the professional development that has been delivered to staff from 2002, and includes planned professional development for 2005.

2002Term 1 De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats

Multiple Intelligences and AssessmentTerm 2

Term 3 Tony Ryan’s Thinker’s Keys(20)

Graphic OrganisersTerm 4

2003Term 1 Planning To Incorporate Thinking Skills

Term 2

Term 3 Bloom’s Taxonomy

Curriculum DifferentiationCritical and Creative Thinking Processes

Term 4

2004Term 1

DevelopmentOf

GATE Policy

DimensionsOf

LearningStrategies

Differentiating The Curriculum:

Maker Model

Term 2Term 3Term 4

2005Term 1-Term 4 Implementation

of GATE Policy

Dimensions ofLearning Strategies

Differentiating The Curriculum:

William's ModelDifferentiating The

Curriculum:Kaplan Model

The Kurwongbah Whole School Thinking Skills Program is supported by: Teacher professional development Learning Support Teacher (Gifted and Talented) Curriculum Support Teacher Enrichment Coordinator Annual Quality Teaching Conference The provision of print resources Thinking Skills WebPage (part of the KSS HomePage)

http://www.kurwongbss.eq.edu.au/thinking/thinking.htm

Appendix C:

Kurwongbah Thinking Skills WebPage (HomePage) http://www.kurwongbss.eq.edu.au/thinking/thinking.htm

Quality Thinking and Learning at Kurwongbah

"He who learns but does not think is lost."

                                                         (Confucius)

BREAKING NEWS!  Kurwongbah wins the inaugural School Library Association of Queensland

Brian Bahnisch Award for its Whole School Thinking Skills Program ! Read all about it!

An Introduction to Thinking Skills at Kurwongbah GATE at Kurwongbah

Our Differentiation Tool Box Bloom's (Revised) Taxonomy

Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

(SMARTS)de Bono's Six Thinking Hats

Think It! Contract Activities Tony Ryan's Thinker's Keys

Dimensions of Learning Graphic Organisers

Quality Teaching Conference Inspiration Software

See optional multi-media item for full viewing of the web page

Appendix D:

Testimonial for Kurwongbah State School Thinking Skills Program – from Kallagur State School

March 2005

Over the past 2 years our school Kallangur State School has become interested in the use of Thinking Skills to enhance Teaching and Learning. We have participated in a variety of workshops over many years including Brain Gym, John Joseph presentations, Higher Order Thinking Strategies etc.

After a school based decision to take a more whole of school approach to the teaching of thinking skills we became more aware of the amazing work done by Kurwongbah over many years on Thinking Skills. Through networks such as Murrumba Teachers Network and the Deputy Principal’s Network I became aware of the website offered by Kurwongbah on Thinking Skills.

After visiting the site and being amazed at the wealth of knowledge, hours of work and dedication that had gone into the site, I contacted the school to arrange a visit and talk to Denise Tarlinton, the teacher Librarian who was extremely active in the program.Denise’s willingness to share the Kurwongbah journey with us was fantastic and very insightful and motivating.

We have formed our own interested group of staff who are leading the way at our school, after being motivated by Kurwongbah. They too have visited the website and are extremely grateful and inspired to see that fellow educators are so willing to share their work with others via the web. As a neighbouring school we know they are only a phone call away and have offered us the support and encouragement we needed.

We wish them well as their journey is not over as they truly embed thinking skill into their learning and teaching.

Thank you very much Kurwongbah State School.

Maria BerrimanA/Deputy PrincipalKallangur State School

Appendix E:

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

I wish to strongly support and endorse Kurwongbah State Schools submission to Showcase 2005 “Quality Thinking At Kurwongbah: Kurwongbah State Schools Whole School Thinking Skills Program”.

During the 3 years since its conception, I have witnessed a resurgent focus on effective productive pedagogy. Teachers are motivated and committed to providing quality thinking activities which address the needs of all students.

I congratulate the Effective Teaching Team who has led the development of the Thinking Skills Program, the Thinking Skills Webpage and, most importantly, the Professional Development of our staff and teachers across our district. I am especially proud of their willingness to share ideas with others and encourage professional dialogues between colleagues.

Since our school has been actively implementing the Thinking Skills Program, I have witnessed a vast improvement in student’s engagement in learning experiences and I can honestly say the ALL students, from those identified as Gifted and Talented through to those requiring learning support, are being provided a quality education which is purposefully created to suit their style of learning.

I wish our team all the best in their efforts.

Yours faithfully,

Larry BurkePrincipal

Appendix F:

23 March, 2005

Effective Teaching TeamKurwongbah State SchoolEacham StreetPETRIE QLD 4502

Dear Denise et al,

The P&C committee would like to take this opportunity to thank the Effective Teaching Team for the wonderful work they have done with Kurwongbah’s Whole School Thinking Skills Program.

The education of our children is being enhanced because of this initiative. They are being encouraged to ‘think’ rather than just ‘learn’. Many of the Kurwongbah State School parents have also accessed the Thinking Skills Website, not only to gain knowledge about various thinking skills but also to provide activities for their children at home.

We wish you and the team all the best in your submission to Education Queenslands Showcase Awards 2005.

Yours faithfully,

Christy MountfordPresidentP&C AssociationKurwongbah SS

Appendix G:Various emails received from fellow educators utilizing the web resources available on the Thinking Skills WebPage:

5 May 2004

I would like to sincerely thank those responsible for the thinking skills section of your school's web page.  I am the Co-ordinator of the Learning and Development Centre - Gifted & Talented for the 4 districts in Far North Queensland - known as the Far Northern Districts.  I strongly believe in the value of Higher Order Thinking in catering for students of all ability levels and have been constantly amazed by the wealth of material you have generously made available through your web page.  My area extends from Cardwell in the south to the Torres Strait in the north and west to the Gulf of Carpentaria.  While it is impossible to visit all of the schools in my districts I try to utilise online methods of support and communication as much as possible.  Directing teachers in remote areas to your website is one of the first things I do as I know they will find there many resources and ideas that they will find useful. Believe me, Kurwongbah SS (at least your website) is well known to teachers in my network of schools and we all appreciate what you have done.

Thank you againMarian Prete, Co-ordinator - Learning & Development Centre - Gifted and Talented (Far Northern Districts)Atherton State School, PO Box 209, Atherton 488307 4091 1213 (phone), 07 4091 3419 (fax)

I stumbled across your school's website while looking for Thinker's Keys templates. What a fabulous resource you have created! Our school in Christchurch, New Zealand is in our third year of an ICT contract and I am currently searching for resources that will help me integrate Thinker's Keys into my class programme next term…

Janine Ramsay

24 Jan 2004

What wonderful resources you have on your site.  I am doing a PD workshop on teaching and learning strategies for a group of elementary school teachers in London, Ontario, Canada and I would love to be able to use some your resources as handouts.  I would of course give you credit.  Could I please have your permission to reproduce these handouts to give to the teachers.

Thank you!Valerie

20 May 2004

I have checked out your website a few times and have used the format for your 'thinking' activities to design a few of my own.Anyway, thanks for a great website …Helen CairnsPortland South Primary School (geoffc@ansonic.com.au)  

17 March 2004

My name is Kate Alcorn and I am the G and T co-ordinator at Pimpama State School. We're a multi-age school too, situated in the Brisbane-Gold Coast corridor. We LOVE your thinking skills site and would like to enquire about using some of it on our school site too. We are in our second year of working as a network school with Robertson LDC (Gifted and Talented) and are trying to share what we're learning with the wider education community.  Could you please let us know if we are (a) allowed to use some of your Thinking Skills site and (b) how we would go about doing that? Looking forward to hearing back from you and congratulations on your site and the obviously fantastic things that must be happening at Kurwongbah! Cheers,Kate Alcorn

8 March 2004

This site is great, you have done a great job, thank-you for making it available for all to view.  I have made it a favourite and am spreading the word. 

Geraldine Mayne, Support Teacher - Gifted and Talented, Denison State SchoolPO Box 1475, Emerald QLD 4720Phone: (07) 4987 5960, Fax: (07) 4987 0658gmayn1@eq.edu.au

16 Feb 2004

I am developing an online learning module for teachers in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada.  This module is titled Bloom's Taxonomy in the Age of Learning Outcomes.  This is being done under the mandate of the Virtual Teacher Centre, a not-for-profit professional development vehicle of the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association. 

While looking for web material to support this module I happened upon your Power Point Presentation, Blooms (Revised) Taxonomy.  You did a masterful job of presenting the revisions.  This letter is to request permission to use parts of the presentation in the module.  I will fully acknowledge the source and direct learners to the original site.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,Alex Hickey, Coordinator, Virtual Teacher Centrewww.virtualteachercentre.ca709-726-3223-256ahickey@nlta.nl.ca

4 April 2004

.... I have been telling everyone about your schools' thinking skills resources and have been using it as model...I'd thought I'll pass on to you what I have been doing modeled on yours foryour staff if they are interested....after all they have put a lot of blood, sweat and hopefully not many tears into theirs.

Kind regardsSue Urban, ICT Coordinator, Saint Joseph's Primary School, Hectorville SAImmediate Past President Gifted and talented Children's Association of SATreasurer / SA DirectorAustralian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented Ltd 

12 March 2005

Hi, I am an Assistant Principal at Broken Hill North Public School.  Excitingly, our school over the past two years has moved into "the thinking mode". We are working with 6 thinking hats, QT and bloom's taxonomy, also this year multiple intelligences.  I am lucky enough to head the Quality Teaching target group here and we are continually refining our practices to best suit our students.   I am writing to thank you for your wonderful website.  It has allowed me to get some great ideas and to also see where we can go next and how we can incorporate more thinking skills, i.e. Tony Ryan's thinking keys. Once again thankyou.Kelly Sharwoodkshari@dodo.com.au

8 June 2005

Thank you for sharing the wonderful resources on the "Thinking Skills" portion of the Kurwongbah State School web site.  This material shows in-depth research and knowledge of the content of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy and other thinking skills literature.  The material is also well presented and offers such wonderful, practical classroom applications.  This is truly an Internet jewel for pre-service teachers! 

You are truly a teacher leader who believes in mentoring others!

Many thanks and g'day!

Sincerely,

Nancy C. TownsendFrancis Marion UniversityFlorence, Southern Carolinantownsen@FMARION.EDU

Appendix H:

Letter of recommendation, nominating Kurwongbah’s Whole School thinking Skills program for the SLAQ Inaugural Brian Bahnisch Award:

The Executive OfficerThe Awards CommitteeThe Brian Bahnisch AwardSchool Library Association of Queensland IncPO Box 252 Mt Gravatt Q 4122.

Dear SallyWhen I explored Kurwongbah State School’s website recently, pages about their Whole School Thinking Skills Program impressed me so much that I was moved to contact the teacher-librarian for further information. As a member of SLAQ with both historical and current professional knowledge and experience, I consider the Kurwongbah team and project worthy of nomination for the Brian Bahnisch Award.

Denise Tarlinton is an active member of SLAQ, a strong advocate for the effective role of the teacher-librarian. She is involved in professional development for teacher-librarians through her work in tertiary programs and in the activities of professional associations. Denise has worked with colleagues at Kurwongbah to plan and implement the Whole School Thinking Skills Program as a collaborative educational partner in an exemplary manner.

Units of work, tasks and activities in the program are wholly or partly resource-based and research-oriented. Skills are taught and applied in meaningful learning contexts. In keeping with current curricular emphases, higher level thinking skills are addressed throughout the school in ways which are completely consistent with the aims of teacher-librarianship. The program caters particularly well for students’ individual differences, varied learning styles and special needs.

The Kurwongbah team have monitored and assessed student outcomes in relation to the program and can justly claim its effectiveness. By generously providing so much detail via the school’s website, they have made it possible for other schools to consider and apply the ideas, educational strategies, and/or specific learning activities. Through their Effective Teaching conference in 2003 (see below) they have extended the on-going professional development within the school to other schools in the district. They plan a similar conference in 2004.

I commend the work of the Kurwongbah team to the Brian Bahnisch Award Committee. As well as the information below, the team is sending under separate cover some additional examples of students’ work. I am sure committee members would enjoy visiting the school and meeting the team members, who are committed, enthusiastic and thoroughly professional in all they do.

Wishing committee members the compliments of the season and thanking them for their consideration,

I am,Yours sincerelyLyn LinningUnit 4/95 Cornwall St. Annerley QLD 4103 Ph: 3391 3230 Email: lynjoyli@gil.com.au