Cafe CLIL - Thinking Skills and CLIL

Thinking Skills and CLIL (251029)


Thinking skills and CLIL AI recap:

The meeting began with a focused discussion about Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and its role in developing thinking skills in education.
The participants explored various teaching frameworks and concepts, including Bloom's taxonomy and the WIDA framework, while sharing practical examples of classroom activities that promote cognitive development. They concluded by discussing the role of technology, particularly AI, in education and emphasized the importance of creating "thinking schools" rather than "knowing schools" through effective teaching practices.

Summary
CLIL and Thinking Skills Progression
Keith and Phil discussed the focus of their discussion, agreeing to start with the idea that CLIL helps teachers plan for effective thinking skills progression.
They planned to explore concepts such as Bloom's taxonomy, Anderson's revision, and the WIDA framework, which Phil described as "brilliant." They also mentioned including classroom examples and linking to relevant studies, such as the WIDA program in Wisconsin, to demonstrate the connection between thinking and language.

AI in Education:
Critical Thinking Keith and Phil discussed the role of technology, particularly AI, in education and its potential impact on students' ability to think deeply. They shared experiences with AI songwriting tools and expressed concerns about the overuse of technology in schools, which may prioritize entertainment over critical thinking. They agreed on the importance of creating "thinking schools" rather than "knowing schools" and planned to further explore their ideas on teaching and learning.

Enhancing Thinking Skills in CLIL
Keith and Phil discussed the importance of thinking skills in education, particularly in the context of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL).
They explored how CLIL can help develop both cognitive and language skills, especially when learning through a foreign language. They shared examples of how teachers can create activities that progress from lower-order to higher-order thinking skills, such as a gardening project in Italy. The discussion also touched on the Cummins matrix, Anderson's revision of Bloom's taxonomy, and the use of graphic organizers in teaching.
Phil shared an example of a "breaking and accelerating" activity he created for history lessons in English as a second language.

Links:
WIDA https://wida.wisc.edu/teach/standards/eld
Upcoming book based on WIDA: https://www.routledge.com/Building-a-Language-Toolkit-for-Teachers-Working-with-the-WIDA-Standards/Humphrey-Westerlund-Malin/p/book/9781032773551?srsltid=AfmBOoqST7OS_IFd0URG039VUi4f-d4twermj_YnhY7ux_jOS2iylK5Z
Related resource - https://readinquirewrite.umich.edu/
CDFs https://www.clilnetle.eu/ressourcesoutputs/cognitive-discourse-functions-an-introduction-for-teachers
Avril Coxhead – The Academic Wordlist https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/lals/resources/academicwordlist