Research led by Ron Ritchhart’s, “Cultures of Thinking Project” which also form part of Harvard’s Project Zero have been key contributors to this shift. “Cultures of Thinking” (CoT) is defined as places where a group’s collective as well as individual thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted as part of the regular, day-to-day experience of all group members. This culture shift is reflected in our educational documents such as HITS, FISO and Amplify which include renewed focus to explicitly teaching metacognitive strategies.
Ultimately, teachers agree that we want our students to learn how to think, not what to think.
This is why explicitly teaching students to think about their thinking is so important. Rather than giving students information, educators need to give students tools to think critically and to solve problems on their own. The innovation of auto marking supports students to think about their thinking in an independent and immediate way. Neap Digital tests for VCE and HSC have proven to be a useful tool for teachers to support this metacognitive process. All of the digital tests are auto marked and students are provided with immediate solutions and feedback around their responses. This technology assists students to reflect on their thinking and set goals, and provides them with appropriate information to independently continue to refine their learning. The innovation of auto marking empowers students and contributes to shifting our focus from a teaching culture to a learning culture.
