OECD PISA requires Thinking Tools to develop critical thinking skills.
How Thinking Tools can foster abilities emphasized by the OECD, incorporating aspects relevant to PISA testing trends:
1. Critical Thinking
- Using Thinking Tools enables students to analyze information, discern relevance, and construct logical thoughts. Particularly in PISA, where students' abilities to interpret information and refute it are tested, these tools support the critical analysis of information, thereby aiding in deeper insights into problems.
2. Problem Solving Skills
- Facing complex problems requires organizing information and planning appropriate steps towards a solution. The visual mapping features of Thinking Tools clarify each element of a problem and effectively plan pathways to solutions. In the problem-solving sections of PISA, students are assessed on their skills in dealing with unfamiliar situations, making such tools extremely valuable.
3. Collaboration
- Teamwork is crucial in the 21st-century classroom. Collaborative work using Thinking Tools integrates different perspectives and fosters joint idea generation and problem solving. In PISA's assessment of collaboration, students are evaluated on how they work with others to solve problems. Using Thinking Tools together can enhance this ability.
4. Information Literacy
- In an era of information overload, the ability to discern and utilize effective information is highly valuable. By using Thinking Tools, students learn how to organize and evaluate information. In PISA, information literacy is a critical component, and students are assessed on how they interpret information and make decisions based on it.
These skills are closely related to the competencies assessed in PISA tests, and the use of Thinking Tools can help students perform better in these areas.