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CALT - Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Thinking

The work of the centre involves:

  • Studying cognitive and motivational processes that are relevant to education at all stages;
  • Understanding and evaluating pedagogical practices that seek to advance students’ learning and higher quality thinking;
  • Using a mixture of research methods, with a particular focus on longitudinal designs;
  • Conducting research to inform educational policy-making and practice;
  • Making research findings accessible to teachers and other practitioners.

Staff associated with the Centre

Director

Associated Academic Staff

QUB

Stranmillis University

  • Glenda Walshe
  • Barbara McConnell

Research Staff

PhD students

Administrative Staff

Current and Recent Research

1.   Developing high quality thinking and learning

One of the main activities of the centre has been the study of higher order thinking skills and related constructs  - their development and promotion, their measurement and evaluation.  Associated with this is the focus on the concept of metacognition and the role of dialogue in enhancing thinking. 

1.1  Building thinking skills in thinking classrooms

ACTS Activating Children’s Thinking Skills, funded by the ESRC’s Teaching and Learning Programme, developed an infusion methodology for designing thinking lessons, and a metacognitively-rich pedagogy for enhancing children’s thinking in classrooms. These were then evaluated in a three-year longitudinal study in Northern Ireland primary schools to assess their impact on children’s cognitive and motivational orientations to learning, as well as their scholastic attainments.

This project has had considerable influence on both policy and classroom practice in Northern Ireland and elsewhere, see below.

Extending the practice to teachers elsewhere

In collaboration with other partners, the centre has launched ACTS projects in other UK regions and abroad.

  • ACTS in Surrey (in collaboration with the Educational Psychology Service, Surrey County Council)
  • ACTS in Wales (in collaboration with the local education authorities in Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion
  • ACTS in Scotland (in collaboration with East Ayrshire County Council)
  • ACTS in Bangkok (in collaboration with the Ministry of Education in Thailand and the British Council)
  • www.activatingthinking.com website for teachers
  • Handbook,   Thinking Lessons for Thinking Classrooms:  Tools for Teachers  (TLRP series for Routledge, forthcoming)

Influencing policy

A Framework for Developing Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities

Building on the ACTS research in Northern Ireland schools, the Centre (through the secondment of Professor McGuinness to the Northern Ireland Curriculum Council for Examinations and Assessment, CCEA) created a framework for developing thinking skills and personal capabilities across the curriculum.  This framework is part of the Revised Northern Ireland Curriculum for 4-14 year old pupils.

Links on NI Curriculum website:

Professor McGuinness has also contributed to developments on thinking skills in the Welsh Skills Framework and to the work of Learning and Teaching Scotland

1.2 Building thinking skills through games-based learning

The Centre has recently begun a 3-year project, in partnership with Caspian Learning in Sunderland through a CAST studentship, to examine the benefits of 3-D interactive learning environments on children’s learning and thinking.  This work is being conducted within the context of the Revised Northern Ireland Curriculum and the Caspian technology is called ThinkingWorlds.  Karen Orr is working on this as her PhD topic. A particular focus of the evaluation is the analysis of collaborative and metacognitive dialogue.

1.3 Examining metacognition in gifted and talented pupils

One of the PhD students associated with the Centre, Sarah McElwee, has just completed a study examining the metacognitive and problem-solving processes demonstrated by gifted 8-10 years old pupils compared to average ability pupils. The study used a microgenetic method.  Metacognitive was studied using a variety of methods – verbal protocols, scenario-based reasoning, and self-evaluation questionnaires. Sarah is now working as a post-doctoral research fellow on a project with gifted students at the University of Oxford.

1.4 Assessing critical thinking and metacognition in higher education

A longitudinal design project examined the role of critical thinking in the development of a group of undergraduate students from first year to final year.   Measures of critical thinking skills and critical thinking dispositions were  psychometrically refined and used to track the students’ development .  The predictive validity of critical thinking relative to A-levels, as a predictor of final degree outcome, was evaluated.   Liam O’Hare presented this project as a PhD thesis.   Subsequent extension projects on this theme include assessments of general graduate skills in widening participation schemes at Queen’s, and further psychometric analyses of overlapping constructs in measures of critical thinking dispositions, metacognitive strategies and epistemological beliefs. 

1.5 Designing assessment to ensure high quality thinking in classroom

This project - UK Enriched Enquiries Project (UKEEP) - is at the very early stages and consists of a collaboration between the four curriculum councils in the UK – Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. Drawing on research on Rich Tasks in Queensland, Australia, the purpose of the project is to develop and trial modes of assessment that are consistent with the curriculum intentions with regard to higher quality thinking and learning for pupils, that is at the heart of curriculum revisions in all four nations.  The project is currently funded by small grants from each curriculum council.  More substantial funding is now being sought.

2. Enhancing the quality of learning in the early years

Another major strand in the work of Centre is the focus on evaluating interventions in the early years that seek to promote high quality learning experiences for children with positive cognitive, motivational and social outcomes.

2.1   Evaluating a developmentally appropriate curriculum in the early school years

EYECEP – Early Years Enriched Curriculum Evaluation Project, funded by CCEA/DENI is a 7-year longitudinal evaluation (2001-2008) of the short-term, medium term and longer-term impact of developmentally appropriate curriculum (the Enriched Curriculum) which was experienced in the first two years of the children’s school. The research consists of the development of a classroom observation instrument to measure the quality of learning in the early years classrooms (Quality Learning Instrument); the longitudinal tracking of several cohorts of children over 5-7 years on measures of numeracy and literacy as well as learning orientations and attitudes; interviews and focus groups with teachers; and surveys of parents’ views.

The findings from this project have informed the Foundation Phase of the Revised Northern Ireland Curriculum.  

2.2 Evaluating a home learning partnership for 2-3 year olds in early years settings.

Eager and Able to Learn:  This project, which has just started, is in collaboration with NFER at Queen’s and the National Children’s Bureau in Northern Ireland. It is part of a larger project undertaken by the Early Years Organisation (formerly Northern Ireland Pre-School Playgroup Association) to improve services for pre-school children and is funded by Atlantic Philanthropies. 

The research consists of a randomised control trial to evaluate the contribution of specially devised home learning partnership intervention on language development, social development and motivation to learn of 2-3 year olds in early years settings.