Creating a Thinking School: Case Study Buranda State
School
Lynne Hinton and Clinton Golding, Draft 2006
The school’s central focus must be on the intellect, on helping each young citizen learn
to use his or her mind resourcefully and well
Sizer, 1992, p.142
All which the school can or need do for pupils, so far as their minds are concerned…is
to develop their ability to think
Dewey, 1966, p.152
The greatest responsibility for schools and educators must surely be to teach students
to think: to develop in students the capacity to think clearly, to reason well, to make
sound judgements, and to have students use this capacity and become good thinkers.
By doing this we offer them the capacity to become reflective, thoughtful, well-rounded
and responsible citizens. We offer them the capacity to live well.
This paper outlines the journey of one school, Buranda State Primary School in
Brisbane, Australia, as it moved from being a small, declining, inner city school where
students were generally disengaged and achieving poor academic results, to what can
today be described as a successful ‘thinking school’. This paper isolates what made
this journey so successful so we can make sense of the process of creating a thinking
school.
What is a thinking school?
Calling a school a ‘thinking school’ is making a comment about more than what is
taught. We are talking about the whole ethos or culture of the school, or what Ritchhart
calls the ‘cultural forces’ – the aspects of the school that give it “Its unique flavour and
force” [Ritchhart 146] A thinking school is one with a thinking culture, where its unique
flavour and force is related to being thoughtful. Everything about the school
encourages, promotes, facilitates, expects, demands and empowers good thinking from
staff, students and parents.1
This paper outlines some of the most important cultural forces that make Buranda a
thinking school.
Background
Buranda State School is a state government primary school situated 3km from the
centre of Brisbane, Australia. It caters for students in their first seven years of formal
schooling. The students come from a wide range of socio-economic and cultural
backgrounds, and represent a wide range of ability, from those with significant learning
disabilities to those who are highly gifted. The area in which the school is set has been
identified as low socio-economic and high migrant, although gentrification is now
1 This is an outline of the definition provided by Costa (1992) when he writes about a “school as a home
for the Mind”.
occurring. These days, many students are drawn from outside the local area because
of the school’s innovative programs, in particular, the focus on thinking. There are
currently 199 students, which is the maximum number that can be accommodated in
the present facilities.
The development of Buranda State School as a thinking school began after the
appointment of a new principal at what was a small, declining, inner city school. There
were only 48 students. The biggest overall problem at that time was poor academic
results. The students achieved poorly on systemic literacy and numeracy tests, and
experienced great difficulty with curriculum areas such as problem solving. They
appeared to be poor thinkers and unable to apply their skills to real situations. They
were neither confident with nor engaged in their learning. There was certainly no
excitement about learning for these students.
It was necessary to improve student outcomes. This was done by teaching the
students to think clearly and well, and to have confidence in their ability to think. The
vehicle was the teaching of philosophy to all students.
Why is Philosophy so good as the vehicle for creating a thinking school?
Having students engage in the discipline of philosophy enables them to think. (Sizer,
1992) Philosophy in Schools was not introduced to be a new subject with new content
for students to master. It is independent from the views of particular philosophers and is
generalised from different philosophical traditions. The ‘philosophy’ of philosophy for
children is designed with the aim of helping our students learn to ‘do’ philosophy
themselves. It is primarily concerned with thinking about and within every subject.
Philosophy in Schools, and the reason it is so good at enabling thinking, can be
understood best by exploring its aim, process, content, and the role the teacher has in
the philosophy classroom.
The aim of Philosophy in Schools is to make sense of ourselves, the world, and the
connections between them. This is a different epistemic aim from getting the right
answer, for example, and cannot be met by simply getting answers to a factual
question. Reaching this aim requires students to invest and engage all their cognitive
abilities. In order to make sense of something, for example, students must question,
explore possibilities and alternatives and think through connections and distinctions.
The process of Philosophy in Schools is the community of inquiry. In a community of
inquiry the students are not being led to what the teacher has decided is the best
answer, nor are they just swapping opinions or chatting. The community of inquiry is a
rigorous process of engaging with ideas in order to make sense of them and ultimately
make progress. It is the process of rigorously thinking with others. Students must listen
to one another and consider the ideas being put forward. They must listen to the
reasons of others, decide whether they agree or disagree and why, and be prepared to
explain their decision to others. When students speak, it is considered and thoughtful,
and relates to and builds on previous comments.
During philosophy sessions, good thinking is modelled, expected and practised. This is
not so much about teaching skills of thinking, but about enculturating the habits or
dispositions of being a good thinker. Students immerse themselves in a community and
culture of good thinking and good thinkers. They listen to one another, consider the
ideas of others and build on one another’s ideas. They give and expect reasons, offer
examples and counterexamples to support their arguments, seek alternatives, draw
conclusions and recognise faulty reasoning. Participating in such a community requires
students to engage in good thinking, scaffolds their increasing abilities to think well and
helps them to internalise good thinking dispositions. By immersing themselves in
shared, rigorous inquiry, students pick up important skills and habits of thinking. For
example, they must test their ideas by sharing them with others so they become more
careful and self-correcting thinkers. They are exposed to many different views so they
learn to become deeper and discerning listeners.
The community of inquiry combines both the cognitive and social domains leading to
not only improved learning outcomes in literacy and numeracy, but also to improved
social skills, behaviour and attitudes. As well as critical and creative thinking, students
develop into caring thinkers concerned with others.
The content of philosophy in schools is rich concepts and philosophical questions.
Students engage with big issues that are of concern to them – fairness, family, the
mind, thinking, responsibility … They explore these ideas by asking and answering
philosophical questions. These cannot be answered by gathering facts, asking an
expert or reading a book, but can be answered only by rigorous inquiry and thinking.
For example, What is the mind, Should we always be fair to people, Can any group of
people be a family?
There are particular effects from students engaging with philosophical questions rather
than other types of questions. Philosophical questions provide a thinking treasure for
students. Philosophical questions awaken wonder and evoke speculation and
discussion which can go on informally for days or weeks. To begin with, the question
itself becomes a focus, rather than simply the trigger for finding a piece of information.
It becomes a source of interest in its own right. ‘Does every creature have the right to a
home?’ is much more interesting for children than ‘What sort of bird lays a blue
speckled egg?’ Instead of the question being seen as a source of work (go the library,
find a book about birds, look it up, write the answer in my own words…), a philosophical
question sparks the imagination and excites the intellect. Children will burst into the
classroom in the morning and say ‘I’ve thought of a great question for philosophy!
“What is it that makes me, me?” Can we put that on the board and talk about it later?’
Philosophical questions are also excellent thinking treasure because good thinking is
the only way to resolve such questions. The teacher and students are investigating
questions which, on one hand, cannot be settled by getting the facts or an expert view.
On the other hand, nor are these questions about mere preferences where there are no
right and wrong. Some answers given to philosophical questions are better than others.
The only way to resolve such questions is by application of good thinking. One answer
is better than another because of the quality of thinking involved.2
The teachers’ role in philosophy in schools is also very important in making philosophy
an excellent vehicle for creating a thinking school. Because the point is for students to
engage in their own thinking about their own questions in order to make sense of them,
the teacher cannot be doing the thinking for the students. Instead the teacher becomes
a thinking coach and philosophical guide for the students. They help the students to
learn how to think for themselves.
2 For example if answering ‘is the mind the same as the brain?’ a poor answer would be ‘Yes, I think
with my brain’. However this is superficial and fails to deal with the complexity of the issue. An answer
such as ‘We first need to examine what we mean by the mind and its connection with thinking. If we take
the mind to be whatever thinks, and we can prove that the brain thinks then we have to say the brain is
the mind. However, the mind might be something more than just what thinks …’
Philosophy and the community of inquiry is an excellent way to meet all the features of
a thinking school. Having students engage in philosophical communities of inquiry
enables them to think clearly and well and to have confidence in their ability to think.
Why can Buranda State School be described as a thinking school?
The major contributor to the development of thinking at Buranda State School is the
teaching of philosophy across the whole school. Every child at Buranda State School
participates in philosophy classes, and every teacher teaches reasoning and good
thinking through philosophy classes. There are no exceptions. Because of this whole
school approach, the features that make philosophy so good at supporting a thinking
school have become the very features that are characteristic of Buranda State School.
A culture of thinking exists at Buranda State School. This is consistent through
administration, all teachers and all year levels because it is mandated as part of the
school structure. The school abounds with a sense of wonder, an insatiable curiosity
and a healthy, respectful scepticism. Buranda State School students don’t just know
about thinking or know some thinking tools; they actively puzzle, imagine, question, talk
and think. They consider information and they examine values. They do this alone and
they do it together. They are thoughtful, enthusiastic, energetic, reasonable and
optimistic.
On a day-to-day basis, Buranda State School students listen to one another
respectfully and consider the views of others. They talk quietly, reasonably and
reflectively with one another. They know how to respectfully disagree with someone
else’s idea, and they are comfortable changing their minds about an issue.
The students have well developed reasoning skills and are aware of themselves as
thinkers. They can be seen following an argument, applying prior knowledge, giving
examples and counterexamples, making distinctions, listening intently, seeing things
from different points of view, thinking reflectively and so on. They make good decisions
based on sound reasoning and a consideration of ethical and practical implications.
Through asking and discussing open inquiry questions such as ‘Is it always good to be
fair?’ and ‘Is progress always a good thing?’ students demonstrate their capacity to
monitor their own thinking. ‘I think I’m making an assumption here … ’, ‘I’m not sure
what I think about this idea …, and ‘I think we asked good questions today’ indicate
metacognitive processes at work. Extending on the metacognitive processes, they
know what they are good at and what they are not good at, and are comfortable with
that. They see mistakes as a normal part of learning.
The expectations developed in the philosophical community of inquiry - to think deeply
and well and to listen respectfully to others - are translated to all other areas of
operation within the school.

Students are expected to become independent, responsible learners, both
individually and as part of a team.

They are expected to take responsibility for what happens around the school, and to
help develop solutions to problems that arise, be they of an academic or social
nature.

They are expected to support one another and seek support when needed.
Buranda State School is a thinking school. This is recognised both within and outside
the school where thinking is central to everything that is done. The students know they
are part of a school that is seen as successful, and that operates differently from many
other schools. They are proud that this is so. If asked why the school is successful,
they will correctly identify the teaching of philosophy and thinking as the key. Many
parents seek enrolment for their children because they want them to learn to think.
Is Buranda merely a thinking school?
It could be thought that even though Buranda can be described as a thinking school,
this is not something to be emulated if Buranda does not measure up on other
academic standards. It would not be valuable to create a thinking school if the school is
not performing in other important areas.
However, since Buranda State School has become a thinking school, the students have
received outstanding academic results. Despite the fact that, as a cohort, the students
have a normal range of abilities, they now achieve results well above state and national
means in all aspects of literacy and numeracy. This took about three years to achieve
and has been sustained for the last six years. Buranda is a thinking school, but it is also
a high-performing school in other areas.
The students are now excellent problem solvers, being happy to focus on the process
rather than the answer. When they participate in activities such as Opti-Minds (formerly
Tournament of Minds) or other group problem solving competitions, they invariably
achieve success.
In the 2003 World-Class Tests designed for gifted 9-year-olds, there were 222 entrants
from Queensland schools. Only two gained Distinction. Both of these were from
Buranda State School.
It is also evident that Buranda State School students with learning disabilities do better
than their cohort in other schools. Last year Education Queensland commissioned
Griffith University to identify and investigate around 10 schools in the state where
students with learning disabilities/difficulties were ‘succeeding’ when compared with
their cohort in other schools. They chose to investigate Buranda as one of the schools.
The results from this study will be published in 2007.
The systemic School Opinion Survey indicates that parent and student satisfaction on
the item ‘School Climate’ is above or well above the State mean. There are few
behaviour problems at the school, despite there being some very difficult students.
Visitors to the school describe a ‘stillness’, a ‘quietness’ and a sense of purpose about
the school that they have not seen elsewhere. One visitor commented, ‘Your kids don’t
fight, they negotiate’.
There is little or no bullying at the school. The children won’t allow it. For example,
recently a group of Year Seven students went to see the principal to discuss what they
described as an ‘unacceptable act of bullying’. They outlined behaviour they had
witnessed that they thought was inappropriate and unkind, and together with the
principal discussed what steps could be taken. The situation was resolved amicably.
What led to success in Buranda State School becoming a thinking school?
Clinton Golding (2005) outlined what he considers to be the eight main areas for
consideration to support a school cultural change that would result in a thinking school.

Ensure the development of thinking is an explicit aim of the school.

Model and personally promote the development of thinking.

Create a school environment that promotes the development of thinking.

Ensure curriculum time is explicitly set aside for the development of thinking.

Have teachers consider themselves as thinking coaches and facilitators.

Have students consider themselves as learners and thinkers.

Provide time, resources and training to support teachers in developing thinking
students.

Inform and involve the wider school community in creating a thinking curriculum.
This paper applies this theoretical framework to Buranda State School. This is done to
isolate the specific features that have led to Buranda being such a successful thinking
school. As part of this process, the framework has also been expanded by a close
focus on Ritchhart’s ‘Cultural forces’ [Ritchhart 146] and to accommodate special
features of Buranda that did not sit comfortably in the 2005 framework.
Ensure the development of thinking is an explicit aim of the school.
A thinking school must place the development of thinking as one of its explicit and core
values and aims. This is very important in creating a thinking school. If development of
thinking is an add-on to the core values of the school, or not even an explicit value of
the school, then the time pressures to complete the core requirements will mean that
the development of thinking never happens. When it comes to the crunch, time will be
devoted to only the explicit core values and goals.
The teaching of philosophy, and hence the development of good thinking, is at the
heart of Buranda State School. It is what the school is good at and world renowned for.
It is fundamental to the school’s identity. Thus the school’s aim to develop good
thinking is present in all documents and publicity about the school. The goal ‘to provide
all children with challenging opportunities which promote critical, creative and caring
thinking’ is articulated in the school’s mission statement not just as one of the goals, but
as a core goal. Other curricular requirements or initiatives do not detract from this. All
school information and promotional material states that philosophy is taught to all
students. For example, a bookmark was produced with the words ‘Buranda State
School: for lots of reasons’ – making reference to the fact that students learn to give
good reasons to support their arguments.
Ensure resources (time and money) are committed to developing thinking
We show what we value by our actions. Students pick up on what we actually value,
not what we say we value. Some of the most important actions schools can take to
show they value things is by how much time and money they spend on it. A thinking
school spends time and money on the development of thinking. Explicit statements that
the development of thinking is a core value of the school will be no more than empty
rhetoric or overstated publicity if a school does not put their resources behind what they
say is valuable. At Buranda State School the actions show that thinking is of prime
importance. This is shown in practice not just words.
The teaching of philosophy is described and budgeted for each year in the Annual
Operational Plan and the Annual Report at Buranda State School. The success of
implementing philosophy in the school has brought access to further funding, through
grants and prize money. This funding was put straight back into the development of
Buranda State School as a thinking school. It enabled the purchase of additional
resources and further staff professional learning, including follow-up visits and
workshops with university philosopher-educators. In 2004, 48% of the General
Component of the School Grant Budget was spent on learning and development for
Buranda State School staff. The main source of expertise for professional learning is
now the Buranda State School staff members themselves.
The school has also put aside enough time, both day-to-day, and as a long term
commitment, for the development of thinking. On a day-to-day basis, the teaching of
philosophy is timetabled into all classes. Longer term, to create a thinking school
requires a culture change in the organisation. A change of this magnitude requires a
minimum of 3-5 years. [reference? Costa? Still looking] It is necessary to make a longterm time commitment and be prepared to wait, whilst never losing sight of the goal to
be a thinking school. Buranda has made this long-term time commitment to create a
thinking school.
Provide resources and time to train and support teachers in developing the thinking of
their students.
One prime area that a school must take action consonant with its values is in the area
of teacher training and support. To create a thinking school, teachers need a great deal
of training and support.
There was a clear understanding at Buranda, from the outset, that success would be
achieved only if a serious, consistent, ongoing, long-term commitment was made to
teacher development. If philosophy was to be taught to all students at Buranda State
School, it would be taught well. That this would require time, energy and money was
acknowledged and accepted.
What transpired as a result of this commitment was, and remains, exceptional. The
teachers participated energetically, enthusiastically, and with integrity in the
implementation of philosophy at Buranda State School. They asked for help when they
needed it and watched for opportunities to offer support to others. They improved their
own practice through trial and error. Through efforts to become a thinking school,
Buranda State School became a learning community, with both teachers and students
being learners. They undertook extensive professional development activities, prepared
papers for conferences, and willingly shared their expertise with other schools. They
hosted visitors to their classrooms and went to other schools. This is ongoing.
The outcome is a group of teachers with expert knowledge of and passion for
pedagogy and practice that lead students to think well. They know about the teaching
of philosophy and they know how to teach children to inquire and to think. They
engage in a continuous conversation about learning, thinking, students, programs and
ways of improving their own practice. After all, there is no greater motivator than to see
that what you are doing is working.
The process of training and developing teachers to teach philosophy was carefully
organised. As well as demonstrating in action that thinking is important, many features
of this process create a culture of good thinking for the teachers. Many of the features
of this process emphasise the teachers becoming a community of independent learners
and thinkers. The process also emphasises the need for teachers themselves to
become good thinkers before they can teach good thinking. The following occurred:
A clearly articulated commitment to the teaching of philosophy was made in 1996 when
Lynne Hinton became the new Principal of the School. Everyone who taught at
Buranda State School would teach it, and there would be no exceptions.

There was an expectation, articulated overtly, that each teacher would move
forward professionally as quickly and as thoroughly as they could. It would be their
responsibility to identify shortcomings in their own practice and the means by which
they would overcome these.

All teachers visited another school to observe philosophy lessons.

All necessary resources were purchased. No request for additional materials was
ever refused.

A university-based philosopher-teacher from interstate was brought in to act as a
critical friend and mentor to the school. With an on-going relationship established,
the mentor provided demonstration lessons and information sessions for teachers
and the wider school community. This included group sessions and individual
assistance, as determined by need.

All classroom teachers, both permanent and temporary, participated in training to
attain their basic certificate to teach philosophy to children.

Two teachers and the Principal travelled to Melbourne University for a 10-day live-in
teacher educator workshop for Philosophy in Schools. This extended their
knowledge and allowed them to provide training to other teachers on staff. Since
than, ten Buranda State School teachers have been accredited as teacher
educators in Philosophy in Schools.

Over the next two years, all teachers travelled to Sydney or Melbourne for
Philosophy in Schools conferences – to present papers, to be conference
participants, or to participate in workshops. Requests for Buranda State School
teachers to present papers at conferences or work with groups of teachers have
been unremitting for several years.

Teachers visited each other’s classrooms to observe good practice, talk together
and celebrate successes. Initially there was resistance to this, as teachers are used
to operating alone in their classrooms, and traditionally do not share their practice
with one another very much. Buranda teachers now willingly share their classrooms
with each other and with visitors to the school.

A mentoring system was instigated between staff members so that each teacher
had a person to whom they could turn for assistance. This applied to long and short
term teachers. This allowed for empowerment of teachers through shared
leadership, and strengthened individual commitment to the teaching of philosophy.

There is ongoing monitoring and reflection about individual staff member’s progress
in teaching philosophy - their successes, and how they intend to continue to
improve their practice. Teachers regularly complete questionnaires and participate
in formal discussions about what and how they are teaching philosophy, what
support they may need to improve their practice and what support they may be able
to offer others. This has shown that the teachers were constantly building their
knowledge, individually and as a group.

The critical friend from interstate came to the school on a regular basis and provided
sessions for teachers and parents to upgrade their skills. This process is ongoing.

Thoughtful discussion from staff was expected. The topic of thinking is regularly
discussed at an informal level in places such as the lunch-room. This relates to
both classroom practice and the development of the teacher’s own reasoning skills
(For example, many conversations have occurred about denying the antecedent,
which is a common mistake in reasoning). Teachers are expected to participate in a
monthly teacher-led community of inquiry.

Buranda State School teachers provided philosophy information sessions and
demonstration lessons at the school for visiting educators.

Buranda State School teachers provided training to other teachers, in the teaching
of philosophy in schools.

Using Quality Teacher Program funding, an online course was developed by
Buranda State School teachers, to allow people remote from Brisbane to learn to
teach philosophy in schools. This is currently being accessed worldwide.
All the factors described (eg expectation, commitment, informal and formal discussions,
staff communities of inquiry, professional development, the mentoring process, training
of other schools, etc) have resulted in the culture of thinking being fundamental to, and
embedded in everything that is done at Buranda State School. It is simply the way the
school operates. No single part of this process can be identified as being the one that
keeps it all going. It is the whole package. When new staff are appointed, they must
embrace this package and learn to operate in the Buranda manner. This is invariably
done willingly, with energy and enthusiasm.
There is also a sense always of ‘Where to next?’, inasmuch as teachers seek to learn
more, to improve their skills and to help others. For example, teachers are currently
working towards the publication of a book of teacher materials to be used for the
teaching of philosophy.
Create teachers as expert teacher educators about thinking
As shown in the process of training and development of staff, Buranda State School
has gone one step further than most schools in setting up their teachers as thinking
coaches. They have not just trained and developed their teachers as expert thinking
coaches, they have trained them to be national and international experts and
consultants in creating a thinking school. Following the view that you learn something
best by teaching it to others, many teachers have taken on training other schools in
philosophy and the ethos of Buranda as a thinking school. For example, teachers at
Buranda State School have:

developed materials to train other schools in the teaching of philosophy.

become ‘teacher educators’ in the teaching of philosophy. They visit schools and
hold workshops across Australia and internationally.

developed an online course in the teaching of philosophy. This project was
undertaken using federal funding, and is being accessed by educators worldwide.

presented papers at conferences and workshops about the teaching of philosophy
in Australia and Internationally.
The expertise that Buranda has in creating a thinking school is being recognised
outside the school. Buranda State School attracts a lot of interest from the world
educational community, who are seeking information about how to develop a culture of
thinking at their own school. A consequence of this is that there are a lot of visitors.
Teachers and students are well used to having others observe their lessons. A major
benefit is that this demands that teachers continue to strive to improve their own
practice and become even better at what they already do well. Students too, rise to the
challenge, and really try hard to demonstrate good thinking.
Ensure curriculum time is explicitly put aside for the development of thinking.
All students at Buranda State School, without exception, take the time to participate in
activities designed to develop thinking. This is ensured through the explicit timetabling
of activities to this end, and involves considerably more than simply learning a
particular ‘thinking skill’ from time to time. As well as time specifically timetabled for
thinking, there are also frequent times when the opportunity to develop thinking occurs
spontaneously in the classroom. When other activities such as sports carnivals
encroach on classroom time, teachers are instructed to ensure this does not impact on
the time devoted to developing thinking. The development of thinking is simply too
important to be left to chance.
A minimum of an hour a week is timetabled in every class for the teaching of
philosophy. Junior classes may take two 30-45 minute sessions, whilst older students
may do up to two, hour-long sessions weekly. Lessons are planned carefully and in
detail by the teacher, who has a clear idea of what concepts will be thoughtfully
investigated as well as what types of thinking will be developed. These may or may not
be integrated into the other curriculum work of the class. The view is taken at Buranda
that the development of thinking per se, is of sufficient importance to stand alone.
As well as time explicitly set aside for doing philosophy, time is also given to openended inquiry of other types. Senior students are encouraged to participate in group
problem solving activities such as the international ‘Naturally Mathematical’
competition. Students who elect to participate are released from normal class activities
for the necessary time. All classes are expected to devote time each week to openended investigative mathematics problems (which are timetabled) as well as to other
open ended problems, to which the teacher may or may not know the answer. These
may be undertaken individually, in small groups or as a whole class. These are often
done in conjunction with other classes so the children have the opportunity to work with
a greater number and variety of other children.
Good thinking must be promoted through the leadership of the School
One way the explicit goal of becoming a thinking school is put into action is by spending
the resources of the school on this goal. A second way is for the principal (and senior
management) to show their practical commitment to this goal by their own actions.
Even with the best intentions, a thinking school will not result if the leadership is not
right. If the principal shows that they are not really interested in good thinking, then
regardless of what is said to be the school’s goal it will be difficult to create a thinking
school. If school leaders have, for example, an authoritarian leadership style stressing
doing things the way the principal sees best, or stressing compliance and working hard,
then it will promote values contrary to independent thinking. This leadership style will
make becoming a thinking school much harder, if not impossible.
The leadership style and decisions of a principal need to encourage and demand good
thinking in the school if the school is to be a thinking school. The school leader must be
prepared to make the hard decisions to put the money and time and resources where
they will count to create a thinking school. They need to be willing to stick with it long
enough so it actually works rather than some half-hearted muck-up or something that
really only exists on paper. They need to make sure staff and students do things in
ways that promote, not discourage good thinking.
In the case of Buranda, the principal shows her personal commitment to good thinking
in her day-to-day actions by personally modelling good thinking, and by employing a
leadership style and making leadership decisions consistent with creating a thinking
school. She makes sure that everything about the school promotes good thinking and
learning. None of the features identified in this paper would have occurred at Buranda if
the principal had not made the necessary decisions and taken the necessary actions
over the long term to make it so. The principal demonstrates the dispositions and skills
of a good thinker in her function as school leader showing that she values good thinking
in theory and practice. On a daily basis, she demonstrates her passion for thinking and
her expectation that everyone else will do the same. She provides a model of good
thinking that staff and students emulate. It is from this individual that a large part of the
questioning and wonderment evident at Buranda State School originally stems. It has
now become the ‘modus operandi’ for everyone there.
For example, the following list of how the principal personally models good thinking in
her everyday role as school leader comes from teachers at Buranda.

Always keeps school vision in mind and expects staff to do the same

High expectations of staff and students – raises the bar

Raising the topic of thinking on a regular basis in staff meetings – in particular the
teaching of philosophy.
Supportive environment needed for good thinking
To create a thinking school there needs to be a supportive environment. It is only in
such an environment that good thinking can be nurtured. [Golding 2005a, P.12-13] This
environment is created firstly from the principal. This is well illustrated by the actions of
the principal at Buranda.

Highly supportive and caring, and prepared to find best in everyone.

Actively and carefully listens to all – staff, students and parents – and tries to see
their point of view. As a result all feel like they have a voice worth listening to.

Celebrates difference and encourages others to do the same.

Encourages individuals to build on strengths and overcome difficulties.

Encourages individual development and learning by providing support, mentoring,
feedback and professional development.

Attends to relationships, individual growth, learning and development.
Encourages a community of thinkers and learners
The principal deliberately developed the staff at Buranda State School to be a
community of learners and thinkers. The organisation of the staff mirrored how the
organisation of the students needed to be to have a thinking school. The organisation
of staff models to students how they should act to be thoughtful citizens.

Democratic style of leadership where she encourages dialogue and collective
thinking among staff and among students and between these groups.

She willingly instigates and joins in with open inquiry processes and she expects the
teachers and students to do the same.

Encourages sharing of knowledge and skills – deprivatisation of practice.

Always prepared to ask for or take advise from staff who have skills in specific
areas.

Delegates responsibility effectively so that all staff have the opportunity to develop
and grow professionally and personally.

Interested in the thinking of others. Asks us what we think – does not tell us what to
think. Always asking for staff (and student where appropriate) input into school
based decisions.

Meeting with individual students who require or desire extension activities, to
provide them with open-ended investigative problems. On completion these are
returned to the principal for one-on-one discussion. This allows students who are
particularly interested in or good at this type of activity to indulge this passion. It is
also an enjoyable indulgence on the part of the principal!
Models good thinking
Modelling good thinking is not the same as demonstrating good thinking. We model
good thinking when we approach ordinary tasks in a thoughtful way, rather than by
putting on a show of how well we can think. It is precisely the times when we employ
good thinking without having prepared to do so that we model good thinking and show
to others that this is something that is part of how we operate. Good thinking is caught
from those who model good thinking not those who merely demonstrate it. Comments
about the Buranda principal include:

Prepared to take a risk.

Shares her thoughts, passions and questions with other staff and students.

Focused, passionate and consistent.

Views mistakes as learning experiences.

Quiet and reflective.

Discourages negativity.

Models passion for deep thinking and problem-solving.

Listens and thinks before acting in problem situations.

Always gives reasons to adults and children for decisions made.
These qualities in a leader model how to think and behave in all situations. Staff
members are encouraged to treat students with the same degree of respect and this in
turn encourages students to behave respectfully, thoughtfully and reflectively. It creates
a domino effect.
Overall philosophy of education and learning must support a thinking school
Not all views of education and learning will allow a school to become a thinking school.
To achieve the culture necessary to create a thinking school, the principal and teachers
must adhere to an educational philosophy that values exploration and inquiry from
students rather than only valuing a transmission model of direct teaching. If the view of
education and learning of schools, teachers and students (and parents) does not place
a high value on students being good thinkers, the culture of the school will not
encourage good thinking. It will encourage what is actually valued, for example,
passing exams. The philosophy of education at Buranda State School places thinking
at the heart of learning.
There is a school wide constructivist approach to learning. Learning is seen as the
result of student construction of knowledge. In other words, learning is seen as the
result of thinking. The learning environment is mainly open-ended and student centred.
Problem-based inquiry is seen as the most effective pedagogy for quality student
learning. This applies to all curriculum areas.
There is an emphasis on making sense of things rather than getting the right answer,
and it is expected that students who think well will perform better and get good grades
in all other ‘traditional’ subjects. This is the premise on which the school, and therefore
the curriculum, is built. Thinking is the core. Good thinking allows students to be
mindful of what they learn and answer. They learn how to make sense of the curriculum
and so do better with curriculum tests and tasks3. Indeed, since philosophy has been
taught at Buranda State School, student outcomes have improved enormously (Hinton,
2003).
Have teachers consider themselves as thinking coaches and facilitators.
As an implication of their view of education, teachers at Buranda State School see their
most important role to be developers of thinkers. If developing thinking was not
considered to be one of their most important roles in the classroom, they would be
unlikely to spend time doing this.
Teacher is a facilitator of thinking
To encourage a thinking classroom, teachers must see themselves as thinking coaches
and facilitators. [Ritchhart 146, Golding 2005a, p38-39]
Teaching philosophy requires the teacher to be a thinking coach and facilitator. The
teacher has to facilitate students thinking to reach good answers as there are no settled
answers to rely on and only quality thinking will lead to a good answer. The teacher
becomes a co-investigator in the philosophical community of inquiry and so is able to
model being a good thinker for the students. The teachers at Buranda have become
highly skilled at establishing an environment and providing opportunities that will allow
children to talk, wonder, and discover things for themselves. Their job is to allow
thinking time to occur, to encourage thinking, to draw it out of students, to praise it and
reward it when it occurs and to set up routines, structures and scaffolds so that
students actually come to be good thinkers.
Thinking language used
One feature that is important for a teacher creating a thinking classroom is the
language they use. They must use language that promotes good thinking. [Ritchhart
146] On a day-to-day basis, language such as ‘I wonder…’, ‘Let’s think about this for a
moment…’, ‘What are your reasons for thinking that?, ‘Can you clarify what you
mean?’, ‘If that is true, what else follows?’ can be heard all the time in classrooms at
Buranda State School. This occurs formally during philosophy lessons, where the
teacher models the language used in good thinking, and gives names to the thinking
moves that students can make – give reasons, evaluate, give examples, clarify, draw
conclusions and consider alternatives, for example. The teacher also points out to the
students what they themselves are doing, eg ‘Ah… a counterexample’, so the students
are then able to identify for themselves the moves being made. Before long they will
signal their own moves, as with the child who said, ‘I’m going to do one of them
counter-example things’, and then did so.
3 For example students don’t get caught out by problems like the following which are traps for the
unthinking: If there are 14 people who need to go to the zoo by taxi and 4 can fit into a taxi, how many
taxis will be needed? Most kids will tell you 3 ½ and argue black and blue that they are correct.
This language modelling also occurs in the more informal, everyday interaction of the
classroom. The same phrases: ‘I wonder…’, ‘Let’s think about this for a moment…’,
‘What are your reasons for thinking that?, ‘Can you clarify what you mean?’, ‘If that is
true, what else follows?’, once modelled by the teacher and familiar in the philosophy
lesson context, soon become used easily and comfortably by teachers and students in
the general talk of the classroom.
Even outside the classroom, thinking language is modelled. Consider “I wonder if that
was the best/easiest/fairest way of going about it?’ ‘What reason did you have for …?’
‘Did you think about what might result if…?’
Attitudes and expectations towards good thinking
Teachers need to have a positive attitude towards good thinking and expect and
encourage it from students. [Ritchhart 146]
That the teacher values good thinking is beyond doubt at Buranda. Examples of good
thinking are acknowledged, praised and celebrated, both within the classroom and in
the whole school context such as assembly. Teachers talk overtly and frequently with
the students about the goal at Buranda State School and hence their classroom, of
developing good thinkers.
Students are encouraged to find different ways to do things, for example, to solve
algorithms using methods other than those they have been taught. This is to develop
an understanding of the processes involved and hence to enhance understanding and
thinking.
Students are expected to be reflective in all aspects of their schooling, both academic
and social, and they are. Students are considered to be part of a learning team that
includes teacher, child and others (including parents), and are expected to take a large
part of the responsibility for their own learning. They are seen as trustworthy with
regard to their ability to make good decisions about their own learning.
The teacher emphasises the thinking that needs to take place rather than the answer.
For example, sometimes the students are given the problem and the answer and are
asked to find as many different ways as possible of getting from the question to the
answer.
Assessment tasks are clearly articulated and explained. Students know exactly what is
required for a particular grade, and that if they do the work the grade will be
forthcoming. They know that if the task calls for ‘deep understanding’, they must
provide the teacher with evidence to prove this, and what would constitute such
evidence. Discussions about gradings occur between the teacher and the student, and
include teacher, peer and self-evaluation.
Opportunities provided for good thinking
All teachers regularly offer opportunities for students to develop their capacity to think
well. [Ritchhart 146] This may be alone or with others. These activities offer lots of
opportunities for watching and emulating the thinking processes of others, both adults
and children. Students in both upper and lower grades are able to negotiate some
aspects of the curriculum with the teachers. This may be whole class decisions about
what will be explored, or decisions about what an individual student will do. The
thinking involved in this is much more sophisticated than that of dealing solely with
teacher decided content.
Regular opportunities for reflection are offered. For example, at the end of every
philosophy class, students write in a ‘reflection log’. They are also asked to reflect
regularly on their own learning and behaviour, and how these might be improved. Goal
setting and monitoring are undertaken with students.
Environment for good thinking
For good thinking to occur, teachers need to set up an environment where good
thinking can flourish. [Golding 2005 a, p12-19] A significant feature of the successful
community of inquiry is the creation of an environment where students feel safe to
explore their ideas together free from the threat of ridicule. This environment then
becomes normal for the class, allowing for inquiry learning to occur in all curriculum
areas.
All class groups develop a set of class rules that set the ground rules necessary for
good thinking to occur. There are frequently revisited. Rules decided upon by the
children include those such as ‘Listen carefully to others’, ‘Respect other people’s
ideas’ and ‘Be prepared to think’.
[Gap: More could be said about progress with thinking and showing that thinking is
valuable.]
[Gap: More about personal modelling from teachers]
Students do the thinking work not the teachers
In developing students who are good thinkers, the role of the teacher must be clearly
understood. This is probably one of the major points of departure from more
traditionally understood classroom practice.
A very clear distinction needs to be made between teaching students what to think and
teaching them how to think. In developing students to be good thinkers, teachers do
only the latter. They train and coach the students’ thinking, but do not do the thinking
for them. Teachers provide opportunities for the student to do the thinking, without
which, the students will never learn to think on their own.
A good analogy is that of the conductor of the orchestra. The conductor directs,
encourages, keeps things moving in the right direction and is fully involved in the music,
yet at no time plays an instrument. The orchestra would not function productively
without the conductor. Similarly the teacher directs, encourages, keeps the discussion
moving, and is fully involved in the topic under discussion, yet at no time offers an
opinion or an answer. The classroom community of inquiry would not function
productively without the teacher.
In such circumstances, the students are making their own choices with their learning
rather than always the teachers. They are doing their own evaluations and making their
own judgements, rather than the teachers always doing this. It is the students who
decide what is relevant or whether they are moving forward or not.
Have students consider themselves as learners and thinkers.
One further implication of the view of education at Buranda State school is that
students have no doubt that they are at school to become good thinkers. Students at
Buranda State School have no doubt that they are at school to think and learn. That is
their job, and they take it seriously.
An interesting feature is that these days, the vast majority of students know no other
way of operating at school. Traditional methods would be foreign to them. They are
used to looking at how they can improve their learning and thinking rather than
competing with others. They are used to working with others to solve problems. They
see thinking as an important contribution to why they succeed and enjoy their work.
Some ways that the role of students as thinkers and learners has been developed
include the following, with the key being that students don’t just do the thinking activities
as a separate task, but they see the thinking as fundamental to their own learning.
Students understand that their role in a community of inquiry or when problem solving
is to think together with others to try to resolve the issues the class has chosen to
explore. They focus on the thinking process – the moves being made in the discussion
– as well as the content. They inquire together in an ordered, rigorous and respectful
way, in which their ideas and the ideas of others are considered seriously by others.
Thinking is overtly valued by the students at the Buranda State School. To illustrate:
One afternoon after school was finished for the day, a group of 12 year old boys was
heard outside the office energetically discussing the mathematics problem that had
been put on the wall by the principal. The administration officer commented ‘This place
is mad! I’ve worked in lots of schools and I’ve never known 12 year old boys to
voluntarily stay back after school to argue about a maths problem! Most kids would be
out in the yard kicking a football!’
[Gap: need some more evidence and ideas about how the students actually see
themselves as good thinkers – the focus is on the students views of themselves, not
the views or expectations of the teacher]
Create a school environment that promotes the development of thinking.
We have already described how curriculum time and Professional development time
needs to be given to development of thinking in order to create a thinking school.
However, a school must go further than this and create an everyday school
environment that promotes thinking. To have a thinking school, the routines and
structures that give the life of the school, and the physical environment and artefacts in
the room [146] need to encourage not discourage good thinking. At Buranda, every
aspect of the school environment promotes the development of thinking, from the way
people interact with one another and the day-to-day procedures, to the physical
environment of the place.
Ways in which the school environment encourages the development of thinking include,
but are not limited to, the following:

Celebration of thinking
Instances of good thinking are celebrated at assembly. This may be an example of
solving (or attempting to solve) a problem by an unusual method or it may be related to
helping another student in some way. This is not necessarily the same as academic
achievement.
[GAP: How else is thinking celebrated in the school?]

Thinking is physically displayed
Students are encouraged to bring ‘questions that make me wonder’ to school for
display in the classroom or outside the school office. Open-ended logic problems and
philosophical questions are regularly placed on the wall outside the office. Students
respond to the open-ended problems by putting their answers into a box. The principal
reports back to the students on assembly each week. One of the most active
participants is the school groundsman! Classroom walls are adorned with philosophical
questions, reflections, results from thoughtful discussion, attempts to solve open-ended
problems, and the like. Signs promoting good thinking are placed around the school
and classroom (eg ‘Don’t let your brain shrink, THINK!’) It is common to see small
groups of students standing discussing them. This is seen in all rooms, from the Year
One and Two rooms to the seniors in Year Seven.
[GAP: more about how the physical environment of the school promotes good
thinking?]

Behaviour management and disputes procedures
Behaviour management does not follow the usual crime-and-punishment model.
Students are expected to explain and justify their actions, understand the impact of
their behaviour on others, and work with others to decide how to prevent a
reoccurrence. Adults are expected to listen fairly and openly to students, and to help
the student develop a plan of action in the event of similar circumstances arising again.
This is not a negative, retributive process. It is done in the spirit of trying to help
students learn to live with others in peace and harmony. As a result, Buranda State
School has little or no bullying. The students will not allow it.
At all times, but especially in times of dispute, students know they will always receive a
fair and thoughtful hearing. Teachers will always make time and provide opportunities
to listen to and discuss the views of all participants. Efforts are made to encourage
children to see how the situation may appear to the other party, with the resolution
often being that a ‘misunderstanding’ has occurred. This is extremely valuable for
having children understand that outcomes or perceptions are not always as intended.

Assessing and reporting
Teachers gather assessment data and evidence of student work related to thinking,
which is reported to parents. Examples include ‘Asks relevant questions’, ‘Consistent
when developing points of view’, and ‘Able to express ideas coherently’. This requires
the teacher to look carefully at how the student is operating, as opposed to whether the
student is finding correct answers. Student learning in philosophy is reported to parents
in writing twice a year (eg ‘is able to give relevant examples and counter-examples’).

Classroom environment
Classrooms are set up so that students are able to work together in small groups. This
encourages discussion among students about the work being undertaken, and thus
gives children insight into how others think. It is not uncommon to walk into a
classroom at Buranda State School and be unable to immediately find the teacher!
During philosophy classes or class meetings, students sit in a circle in such a way that
they can see every other person’s face and thus share their thinking effectively. Desks
are deliberately and permanently set around the edges of the room so there is a space
in the room for this to occur. At these times the teacher is part of the circle.
The classroom environment reflects that of the whole school, where opportunities are
presented that will encourage questioning, discussion, risk taking and problem solving.
Competition between individuals is de-emphasised, with the focus being on trying to
improve one’s own performance through trial and error. In general there is an
atmosphere in classrooms and in the school of an excitement about what is possible, of
what might be there to discover, and of having to keep searching and asking questions
(“Could there really be a bunyip out there?”).
[GAP: Are there other structures and practises in the school that encourage good
thinking? Are there any other types of structure we could focus on – eg hiring practise?]

School operations
Students are encouraged to have thoughtful input to the running of the school. Students
are involved in solving problems that affect them in the day-to-day operation of the
school. Classes have regular class meetings. Issues raised can be brought to staff
meetings for consideration. This is also a forum for students to raise general issues of
concern related to the playground, and again require them to see and accept the
perspectives of persons other than themselves.
Students are encouraged to bring written proposals to the principal for tabling and
consideration at staff meetings. They are expected to join with teachers to discuss pros
and cons of such suggestions, and to help organise where possible. For example, a
group of older students wanted the opportunity to play football against a neighbouring
school. This led eventually to the inaugural ‘Buranda Cup’, which is now part of the
school culture. Another example is the Year Seven boy who single-handedly organised
the school’s contribution to the fundraiser ‘Shave for a Cure’. He liaised with the
leukaemia foundation, wrote in the school newsletter, organised the local media,
collected permission slips, distributed hair dye (for those who wanted to colour not
shave their hair) and ultimately was responsible for the raising of several thousand
dollars by the school towards leukaemia research.
Inform and involve the wider community in creating a thinking community.
The relationship between the development of a thinking school and the wider school
community is twofold. Firstly there is the extent to which the community is involved in
the decision to become a thinking school, and their understanding of what it actually
means. That is, their understanding of philosophy and the impact it could have on the
thinking of their children, and their desire to have this happen in their school. This is
important so that parents and community do not unintentionally undermine the
development of thinking that happens in the school. Secondly, there is the extent to
which the wider community contributes to the development of good thinking on the part
of the students. If students are to see good thinking as valuable, they need to see how
it impacts and is used in the wider world.
As has been described, the decision to develop Buranda State School as a thinking
school was made jointly by all teachers, with the unequivocal support of the school
community, especially parents. This led to a clear, shared commitment for the
development of a thinking school. This had the whole school community see that good
thinking was the aim of Buranda.
Opinions of the wider school community were sought in the environmental scan that
was undertaken at the outset, with one parent commenting that the parents were
‘thrilled with this innovative, teacher-driven response to increasing the academic and
personal skills of the children’. At all times the opinions of parents were sought and
acted upon. When uncertainty arose among parents, as it occasionally did (‘Will you be
teaching my child to question the law?’), a parent meeting would be arranged and a
teacher released to talk to the parents about the teaching of philosophy.
Some ways in which the wider school community is informed and involved includes:

Whenever the critical friend comes to work with teachers and children, opportunities
are offered for parents to observe lessons. These were, and are always popular.

Parents have always been provided with regular opportunities to participate in
philosophical communities of inquiry. These may be led by a visiting scholar, or
may be teacher led. A state Member of Parliament, himself a one-time philosophy
lecturer, has contributed to this activity. As a result, parents themselves develop
something like the culture of thinking that is present in children’s classrooms.

Parent evenings are held to inform parents of the teaching of philosophy and
thinking. This includes showing the one hour CD that was produced to support the
online course.

Regular communities of inquiry are held at the local council library. These are often
led and attended by teachers from Buranda State School.
Students are given many opportunities to understand how the good thinking habits they
learn at school can be used in the world beyond the classroom. They liaise with the
council to discuss and make informed decisions about problems related to the health of
the local waterway, they contact officers from the Environmental Protection Agency with
relevant concerns, they write letters to the editor of the city newspaper, and they
approach local members of parliament when necessary. One group presented a
petition to the local MP, which was tabled in parliament and recorded in Hansard.
Some ways in which the thinking of students is placed within the wider school
community include:
Buranda State School students are very involved in community issues. For example,
the students have worked with the local council to revegetate the banks of the creek
adjacent to the school grounds. The students researched what plants would have
originally been in the area, then approached the council. The council provided the
plants and the students did the planting. The council also took responsibility for planting
areas such as steep banks which would have been unsafe for the children to do. In this
way, the creek banks are now unrecognisable as those of a few years ago. Whilst
activities such as this are taking place, the students in their philosophy classes are
discussing questions such as ‘Is progress always a good thing?’ and ‘Does every
creature have the right to a home?’.
In philosophy classes, students discuss issues that affect communities (after first
considering what constitutes a ‘community’). This enables them to see the thinking that
occurs behind community decisions.
Students are involved in many school based decisions that relate to them. This allows
them to understand the thinking behind those decisions, even if the outcome may not
be what they were hoping for.
In the course of their curriculum work, students have many opportunities to ‘ask an
expert’. Members of the wider community are invited to share their experiences and
expertise with the children to help recognise the importance of clear and rigorous
thinking. For example, students undertaking a task that required them to design, make
and market a product, invited several ‘experts’ to help them understand the thinking
needed for making the right decisions. The results were stunning.
There would appear to be little doubt that Buranda State School has developed a
culture of thinking, through the teaching of philosophy to all students. It could be
described as ‘a thinking school’ (Golding, 2005). It is clear also that an extraordinary
amount of commitment, energy and expertise has been expended to achieve this end.
It has been well worth it.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Costa, A. (1992) The School as Home for the Mind, Australia: Hawker Brownlow
Education Dewey, John. (1996). Democracy and Education. New York: The Free
Press (Originally published in 1916).
Golding, C (2005) “Creating a Thinking School”, Designing a Thinking Curriculum, ed.
Susan Wilkes, Revised edition, Melbourne: ACER Press
Golding, C. (2005a) Developing a Thinking Classroom: A Workbook for Professional
Learning Teams, Melbourne: Hawker Brownlow Education
Hinton, L. (2003) ‘Reinventing a School’, Critical and Creative Thinking: The
Australasian Journal of Philosophy in Schools, Vol 11, no. 2, p. 47-60.
Ritchhart, R. (2002) Intellectual Character: What it is, Why it Matters, and How to Get it,
San Francisco: Josey-Bass
Sizer, T. (1992) Horace’s School. Redesigning the American High School. New York:
Houghton Mifflin