Blending two thinking programs together for trainee teachers in Singapore

Abstract

In the era of massive information and technology explosion, there is an urgent need for students to learn in “thinking school”, where teachers emphasise critical and creative thinking besides the well-established curriculum content. In Singapore, the concept of “thinking schools, learning nation” recognises that lifelong learning is essential for the individual and the society as a whole. With such realisation, the Singapore Thinking Program has won itself to a higher degree of recognition and attention, especially among the teacher educators as well as the trainee teachers. This paper attempts to give a review on the attitudinal change of the trainee teachers who has gone through a course that focuses mainly on two thinking programs, namely the “Infusion Program” by Robert Swartz and the “Dimension of Learning” by Robert Marzano. Finding from this preliminary study seems to support the notion that teachers’ attitude is a crucial element in predicting the success of any thinking program.