What the research has revealed …
• 93% of teachers agreed it’s important to teach thinking skills but only 21% say they have what they need.
• Teachers cited a lack of training as an obstacle to teaching thinking. Only 17% say they’ve had any real coaching on teaching thinking.
• The other major obstacle was time: 50% say they struggle to find time to develop what they need to teach thinking skills.
The future?
We don’t know what the jobs of the future will be, but we do know that the ability to think critically is an essential skill that will prepare your students for success no matter what they do. By looking at the results of our survey we can clearly see that more support is required to give teachers the resources and the confidence they need to teach critical thinking effectively.
How many teachers?
Australia: In 2019, there were 288,294 full-time equivalent teaching staff across Australian primary and secondary schools.
The World: There are close to 85 million teachers worldwide: 9.4 million in pre-primary; 30.3 million in primary; 18.1 in lower secondary; 14.0 in upper secondary; and 12.5 in tertiary education.
Thinking Instructors: The Solution
