LESSON FORM

Since the format differs for each of the six CoRT sections the teacher is urged to read carefully both this section and also the teacher's notes relating to the lesson that is about to be taught. The CoRT 5 format differs considerably from the "flow" format used in CoRT 4. In fact the CoRT 5 format is most similar to the format used in CoRT 1, in that the lesson is divided into very definite sections:

INTRODUCTION

PRACTICE

OPERATION

PROJECT

Each of these sections should be tackled in turn. It would be wrong to turn the lesson into a general talk session about the theme of the lesson. Such general talk sessions might seem very interesting and informative at the time and indeed they may be more interesting to some students than working through the lessons. But at the end there is little that is definite in the students minds; there is little to transfer to other situations. The main aim of the CoRT approach is to provide something definite and deliberate which can be noticed, attended to, and practised. That is exactly the opposite of a general drifting session. At times the artificially created labels or categories might seem unnecessary because they are so obvious. Students, and teachers, may complain that there is no need to give something an artificial name and set of initials if it is obvious. On the contrary, it is very often necessary to make something obvious "unobvious" enough to get the attention it deserves. Things that seem obvious are very often taken for granted with the result that nothing happens. Perhaps the main fault of thinking is the mind's hurry to use answers that are simple, obvious, immediate and require no thought. Into this category come such things as prejudices, ready-made opinions, egocentric ideas, narrow vision and most of the faults of thinking.

The process covered in each lesson is divided into two definite and distinct "boxes." The purpose of this division is simple. If you wanted someone to take a close look at all his/her friends you could ask that person to do so. But that would be difficult to do and it probably would not be done. However, if you asked the person to divide all his or her friends into "extrovert" and "introvert," then that would be easier to do because it is a much more definite task: there is something to be aimed at, some judgement to be made. Of course in making this judgement the person has to examine all the friends closely. It is this process of examining the friends closely that is important, not the final boxes that are used. The boxes are only a means to get something examined closely. In exactly the same way the two boxes used in the lessons are a device to get the students to examine and use the process that is central to the lesson.

TIME

Some schools try to get through the lessons in 35 minutes. The lessons were designed to make it possible to do this because it was realised that the school schedule is crowded and were the lessons to require a longer time they might never be tried. In most cases it would be rather difficult to get through an entire lesson in this time. In fact most schools use a longer period, a double period or two separate periods. Those teachers who cannot use more than 35 minutes, should cut down on the Practice section, using only two of the items and choosing those items which can be done more quickly than the others. The Introduction section should not be cut down. The Operation section is used as a summary of the lesson. The Project section is designed for those schools that give homework or project work for the students to work on in their own time. When a double period is allocated to the lessons the project item(s) can be worked through in the latter part of the lesson.

If the lesson is a short one the important point is to use at least two practice items and to emphasise the process very strongly. This is because if only one practice item is used the students may forget about the process and feel that the lesson is all about the content of that one item (for instance, that the lesson is about travel agents if the practice item happens to be about travel agents).

INTRODUCTION

The Introduction section explains what the lesson is about. The important point here is to use lots of examples and illustrations rather than philosophical definitions. Experience has shown that teachers who get tangled up with philosophical definitions lead both themselves and their students into confusion. Many of the distinctions made in the lessons are not watertight from a philosophical point of view. They are chosen from a pragmatic and operative point of view: providing something to do rather than a way of describing things.

The attention of the students should be drawn to the workcard illustration which is, in each case, a caricature of the process used in the lesson. For instance in the first lesson the workcard illustration shows a book with chunks missing (chewed out by a mouse). The book represents information: some of it is there but some of it is missing. The lesson is about listing all the information that is given and listing all the information that is missing (that is left out or that we would like to have).

The teachers should read through and elaborate upon the descriptions given in the student’s notes. Teachers can paraphrase them or add to them as they wish. Next come the examples which should be dealt with clearly and succinctly. It is a mistake to spend too much time discussing the examples, or trying to extract deep meaning from them. In many cases the examples may be less than perfect, in which case it is better to provide another example (or ask the students for an example) rather than spend time showing why the example is faulty. In some lessons the last line of the introduction summarises the introduction or adds points to it.

PRACTICE

If possible all of the practice items should be worked through. Teachers may, however, choose to use only two items if they are giving a 35 minute lesson. They may also substitute one of the items listed under the Project section and use it as a practice item if they consider it more suitable for their class. At all times teachers may - and indeed are encouraged to put in items of their own which may be more interesting or relevant to their own class.

As usual the practice items should be worked through quickly in a crisp manner without spending too much time on each. As usual the big danger is that the class gets bogged down in discussing the content of one practice item and spends the whole lesson on this. The only way to focus attention on the thinking process that is the subject of the lesson is through using it, as an applied skill, on different practice items. The temptation to get bogged down on one of the practice items is very great: the students find it more interesting; the teacher finds it easier to do; it is more like what happens in other subjects. Nevertheless in the CoRT Thinking Lessons a deliberate effort must be made to move on to other practice items, otherwise the lesson will lose its thrust and become a general discussion session.

GROUP WORK

AS usual in the CoRT Thinking Lessons the students should work together in small groups (four, five or at most six). The group discusses the practice item and comes to some conclusion. At the end of the time allotted, the group spokesperson is asked by the teacher for the conclusions of the group. This use of the group spokesperson does not preclude individuals from offering their own comments or responding to questions asked by the teacher. The purpose of the group work is to allow each student more discussion and consideration time on each item than would be possible on an individual basis. The purpose is not to arrive at a group consensus; however, for the sake of convenience, a spokesperson is asked to give the group's views.

INDIVIDUAL WORK

Some schools feel awkward with the group format and prefer to keep to their routines of individual work even in the CoRT Thinking Lessons. This is possible with small classes and especially with classes of able students. The danger is that the less able do not get drawn into the situation at all: they do not volunteer answers; they find it difficult to get going on the items; they end up paying little attention to the purpose of the lesson. Individual work can be useful when a written output in note form is requested from each individual. This is possible with the more able students and can serve to give them a greater sense of achievement than the verbal output of group discussion.

TIMING

The teacher's notes suggest a time for each of the practice items. Often this time may seem very short indeed. There is something of a dilemma here. If the time is too short the students hardly get started and they resent being moved on from a matter they have only just got into. They may spend so much time trying to decide what has been requested that they have no time left to practice the item. On the other hand with a longer time allotted very few items would be tackled and the lesson could easily become a content lesson centred on one of the items. With a longer time, students do not concentrate so much and if they run out of ideas they get bored and distracted into other areas. On the whole it is best to be crisp and brief and to maintain a fast pace that moves quickly from one practice item to another. This rapid move from item to item may be resented by the students but is less resented if the teacher, through repetition, keeps the emphasis firmly on the process and invites the students to demonstrate their skill in using the process on as many items as possible. To use a skiing analogy the students must be encouraged to practice their skill in skiing rather than to stand around discussing the landscape (i.e., content).

SUGGESTIONS

As in other CoRT Thinking Lessons a number of suggestions are given in the teacher's notes as answers to the practice items. These are not to be treated as final or even as correct answers. They are there for teachers to have something to say should they not be able to think of anything at the moment. They are there as suggestions as to the sort of answer that might be given for that item. Teachers may at times want to work through the practice item with the class in order to use it as an example of the thinking process being considered. In that case they would assign the item and then work through the answers. It must be emphasised that the suggestion not be offered as the "right" answer that has to be achieved. Because thinking is an open-ended subject teachers may disagree with the suggestion. At times the suggestion may actually be wrong or insufficient. In such cases teachers should provide a better answer of their own. There is little point in turning the lesson into a careful criticism of the suggestions. That is easy enough to do but has little value in teaching as such.

OPERATION

This section is a departure from the usual CoRT lesson format. It is intended as a summary of the lesson. It is meant to be a crystallisation of the process into four steps or stages. It provides an easy point of reference if a student or teacher wants to review the lesson. Finally the section offers deliberate operations which the student can use in other areas including work in other subjects. This section is not meant as a discussion section. The teacher simply goes through the operations as they are listed or asks a student to do this. The operations are noted for future reference or use. The teacher may elaborate or explain the operations but they are not meant to be discussed because a discussion would confuse more than help.

PROJECT

The Project section has several purposes. It provides projects for those schools which give project work or require students to work something out for themselves between lessons. It provides extra practice items when a double period is given to the lesson. It provides a choice of alternative items for the practice section. In general the items in the Project section ought to be done in greater depth and detail than the practice items. This follows, because the time allotted may be very much longer (for instance 30 or 40 minutes instead of just 3 minutes). The project items should be worked out by individuals rather than groups. The output will usually be written but may take either essay or note form.

The purpose of the project work is to allow students to apply the process learned during the lesson. The practice items used in the lesson itself are intended as illustrations of the process. The project items are intended as an opportunity for the use of the process. In commenting upon the project work the teacher should pay special attention to the use of the process rather than the content or literary style. Usually one of two project items will be chosen. The choice may be made by the teacher or the individual student. When there is enough time two project items may be requested.

As with the practice items teachers may at any time insert a project item of their own instead of those given. There may be some matter which is especially relevant to the class. the school, the district or some point in time. The project items inserted in this way may also come from other subject areas (e.g. history, literature, social studies, humanities, science, etc.).