Reinvigorating today’s schools with Critical, Creative and Collaborative thinking  Critical, creative and collaborative thinking should be at the centre of all 21st century teaching and learning. Creating Thinking Classrooms is loaded with examples, stories and strategies for reinvigorating schools with this quality thinking. Written for leaders who support teachers, this guide treats educational change as a process of renovation, rather than process of revolution, and emphasizes building upon, refining and sustaining the many good things happening in today’s schools. Practical and user-friendly, it emphasizes five key principles for learning and teaching:    Engaging students Sustaining inquiry Nurturing self-regulated learners Creating assessment-rich learning Enhancing learning through digital technology  As a balanced and reasoned response to the challenges and opportunities facing schools, this book separates the rhetoric of school reform from reality by analyzing what’s actually happening and offering a plan educators can use. Recapture the fundamentals of classroom learning with a practical and powerful roadmap charting the way forward.  As a principal and community superintendent, I observed firsthand how transformational the work of Garfield Gini-Newman and Roland Case is in the school community, and on a systemic level, in the school community, and on a systemic level.  Creating Thinking Classrooms takes theory and research and places it directly into the hands of practitioners by offering thoughtful and immediately-useful strategies.  Not only does this work transform engagement and achievement, but it also transforms thinking for both teachers and their students.  Teaching and learning go from passive acquisition of information to active, purposeful, and deliberate interaction with the curriculum.  It is a must-read!  Ursula A. Hermann, Ph.D, retired principal and community superintendent  Montgomery County Public Schools  What impresses me most about Creating Thinking Classrooms is the notion of framing the retooling of schools as renovation or reinvigoration rather than as revolution. Too many seem to ignore that there are many good things worth preserving in our schools and others that need to be reframed or recast to give them greater currency.  This book builds on what has worked and makes it better. The message – being purposeful and patiently focused on long-term success – is a powerful one that needs to be heard above the din. David Chojnacki, Executive Director  Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools

Table of Contents:
Preface About the Authors PART I. UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES Chapter 1. Opportunities and Challenges Defining the Challenges The Urgency to Improve The Many Directions for Change Three Potential Pitfalls Three Promising Directions Concluding Thoughts Notes PART II. REORIENT THE FOUNDATIONS: WHY THINKING IS AT THE HEART OF MEANINGFUL LEARNING Chapter 2. Thinking Is the Key Basic Orientations to Teaching and Learning Alternative Sources of Curriculum Content Differing Views of Student Learning Contrasting Roles for Teachers Implications for an Inquiry Unit Concluding Thoughts Notes Chapter 3. Critical, Creative, and Collaborative Dimensions of Thinking The Power of an Integrated Approach to Thinking The Critical Dimension The Creative Dimension The Collaborative Dimension Concluding Thoughts Note Chapter 4. A Framework for Nurturing Thinking Classrooms A Comprehensive Approach to Implementation Shape Climate to Support Thinking Create Opportunities for Thinking Build Capacity for Thinking Provide Guidance That Informs Thinking Concluding Thoughts Note PART III. REFOCUS THE GOALS: WHAT SCHOOLS MUST ACHIEVE TO BETTER PREPARE STUDENTS Chapter 5. From Knowledge to Deep Understanding What Does It Mean to Understand Deeply? Why Do We Have This Problem? Why Is Teaching for Deep Understanding Important? What Practices Nurture Deep Understanding? Concluding Thoughts Note Chapter 6. From Skill to Real-Life Competency What Is Meant by Real-Life Competencies? Why Are Students Not Better Prepared? What Practices Nurture Real-Life Competence? Concluding Thoughts Notes Chapter 7. From Attitude to Genuine Commitment What Do We Mean by Genuine Commitment? Why Is Teaching for Genuine Commitment Important? What Practices Nurture Genuine Commitment? Concluding Thoughts Notes PART IV. ALIGN WITH GUIDING PRINCIPLES: HOW TEACHERS CAN BEST SUPPORT 21ST CENTURY LEARNING Chapter 8. Engage Students What Does Engaging Students Mean? Why Is It Important to Engage Students Beyond Compliance and Mere Interest? What Practices Support Educational Engagement? Concluding Thoughts Notes Chapter 9. Sustain Inquiry What Is Sustained Inquiry? Why Is It Important to Sustain Inquiry? What Practices Promote Sustained Inquiry? Concluding Thoughts Notes Chapter 10. Nurture Self-Regulated Learners What Is Self-Regulated Learning? Why Is Self-Regulated Learning Important? What Practices Nurture Self-Regulated Learners? Concluding Thoughts Notes Chapter 11. Create Assessment-Rich Learning What’s Wrong With the Current Assessment Landscape? What Is Assessment-Rich Learning? Why Is Assessment-Rich Learning Important? What Practices Support Assessment-Rich Learning? Concluding Thoughts Chapter 12. Enhance Learning Through Digital Technology What Is Digitally Enhanced Learning? Why Is Digitally Enhanced Learning Important? Concluding Thoughts Note PART V. SUPPORT TEACHER GROWTH Chapter 13. Leading a Renovation, Not a Revolution Why Think Renovation? How to Lead an Educational Renovation What Practices Support Coherent, Comprehensive, and Continuous Professional Inquiry? Concluding Thoughts Notes References Index