Good Practice Database >> Critical Thinking - Exploring in the Forest

LA	Caerphilly	School Name	Ynysddu Primary School

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What was the focus for improvement?
To improve creative thinking skills.

What did we do?
• Had an inside lesson prior to exploratory lesson in the forest
• Gave children time to think about what may be in the forest
• We discussed the area and talked about activities we may carry out
• This was a brand new way of working so initially it was planned as a way of provoking thinking and discussion skills
• It was unclear which way the children would go so it was decided to draw pictures of the children’s ideas and place them around a central picture
• These ideas could then be classified and sorted using the children’s own criteria at a later time
• Follow up would be after we had been in the forest when we would return to class and review our ideas in relation to the spider diagram we had made.

What were the outcomes?
• What evidence have we collected to demonstrate improvements?
• Captured children’s thoughts about what might be in the forest in drawings and pictures
• Outcomes of sorting exercises
• Worksheet of what I expected so see and what I actually saw

What have we learnt about teaching practice and pupils learning?
• Pupils reacted favourably to giving their own ideas
• They were able to caterogise their ideas and to discuss why they thought certain things should be in a particular catergory
• They were able to reflect on their findings and then to illustrate them
• They were involved in their own learning

What we aim to do next
• To use this approach again for further types of writing

Supporting Documentation
1. Case Study
Detailed case study with photographs and examples of pupils’ work.

 

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