Qormi school is thinking fresh!
Creative Thinking leading to design and action is considered to be of utmost importance in education. With this in mind, Guzè Muscat Azzopardi Primary B, Qormi, headed by Mr Saviour Sciberras, is currently participating in the Comenius 1.3 project...
Creative Thinking leading to design and action is considered to be of utmost importance in education. With this in mind, Guzè Muscat Azzopardi Primary B, Qormi, headed by Mr Saviour Sciberras, is currently participating in the Comenius 1.3 project Think Fresh!
The aim of this project is to help pupils, teachers, school administration and parents to develop skills in problem solving, decision making, creative and analytical thinking.
Tools employed to achieve this aim include, but are not limited to, de Bono's Six Hats and CoRT 1 method. These skills are already being used iin various schools in Malta, as part of the requirements of the NMC.
The school plans that by the end of this three-year Comenius project, it would become a breeding ground for creativity. In this scenario, teachers should not be central actors, but facilitators, who think with children and explore ways of dealing with situations together.
Last October, Ms Tania Mercieca and Ms Shirley Pulis, both Thinking Skills teachers and accredited trainers in De Bono's Six Thinking Hats, represented the Qormi school and participated in the first project meeting held in Milton Keynes, UK. Apart from Malta, the countries involved in the project are England, Sweden, Slovenia and Belgium, the organising country.
Materials and experiences in the field were shared between the participants. A time plan was devised for the upcoming project meetings - the next one to be held in Malta. Participants also observed British teachers giving lessons using the Six Thinking Hats with primary school pupils.
Meetings held at Oxford University, where the group learned more about different Thinking Skills programmes, were also of great interest. De Bono's CoRT 1 and Six Hats programmes, used in Malta, were also on the agenda.
The Maltese school is now using De Bono's Six Thinking Hats as part of its Thinking Skills programme and to start its journey towards a 'Thinking Organisation'. Meanwhile, the school is also busy preparing for the next project meeting to be held in Malta next May.