cognitive acceleration
DEVELOPING CHILDREN'S THINKING
Does CA support our focus on Assessment for Learning?
This section references the document Working Inside the Black Box (2002) by Paul Black and colleagues, and the original definition of Assessment for Learning (AfL).
The two approaches, CA and AfL, can be viewed as having a common origin and seen as complementing each other in terms of the curriculum and pedagogy.[1]
Both AfL and Thinking Maths/Science/English approaches take an incrementalist, or a progression approach to learning, which emphasises effort, understanding, and improving competence, rather than attributing learning to ability and surface temporary acquisition of facts. The thinking approach is about handling big steps in progression or what we might call 'cognitive leaps', whereas AfL is about small incremental steps.
A thinking activity is designed for a whole class, but with the view of accepting and engaging individual ideas at a range of cognitive levels around some key conceptual or reasoning challenges. In fact CA requires AfL techniques for its delivery. One could go so far as to say that CA lessons are 'undeliverable' without the principles of AfL. So, a good CA practitioner will automatically take an AfL approach to teaching and learning. However, a good AfL practitioner will not automatically be able to succesfully teach a Thinking lesson.
Similarly, whereas CA research indicates a proven transfer of skills (and subsequent raising of attainment) across subjects, there is (as yet) no evidence of this in AfL.
Download a full analysis of some of the principles and good practice of AfL in the context of CA teaching and learning.
[1] Both approaches were developed at the School of Education at Kings College London. Here were carried out, over 30 years from the mid 1970s, a long series of interconnect empirical research programme starting from the ground breaking project Concepts in Secondary Mathematics and Science (CSMS). In Science, the original CSMS research was followed by Cognitive Acceleration in Science Education (CASE) research.
Further FAQs:
- Is CAME just 'problem solving' Maths (AT1)?
- How does CAME develop oracy skills?
- Is CAME the same as collaborative learning?
- How does CAME fit our use of APP (Assessing Pupil Progress)?
- Does CAME fit into the Every Child Matters agenda?
- Is CAME an inclusive approach? What about EAL/ G&T/ SEN?
- How does CAME fit our creative curriculum?
- How can ICT be used in CAME lessons?