A 24 week program on the explicit teaching of critical and lateral

thinking to children 5 - 8 years old

THINKING FOR DOING
The Bong Montesa Thinking School
Overall Purpose
The overall purpose of TFD is to explicitly teach thinking skills to children. This is done by teaching them
fundamental thinking tools which they can use in their everyday lives.
The Benefits for the Students
After finishing TFD, the pupils will enjoy the following benefits:
! Know how to be open-minded
! Be able to see opportunities
! Be better at solving problems
! Enjoy making decisions
! Be more effective in planning
! Find it easier to be creative
! Be able to take advantage of changes in circumstances
! Get things done
! Develop leadership skills
! Own the skill of setting goals more clearly
! Think more efficiently and worry less
! Own a basis for higher communication with others
! Own the general transferable skill of thinking
! Raise the level of awareness and effectiveness
! See information in a new and more useful ways
! Improve their operacy skills

With TFD, pupils will regard themselves as thinkers who are able to use their thinking skills with
confidence, at will and in any direction.
TFD aims to rescue children from poor thinking practices and attitudes like automatic thinking, reflex
responses, prejudice, bias, clich, stereotyping, tunnel-visioning, sloganeering, and short sightedness. How
well the thinking is carried out is actually of less importance than the willingness to use thinking as a
deliberate skill.
In an evolving information-based economy of the future, the skill of thinking will be the most valuable
life skill that every pupil should learn. More than being learners, children must be thinkers using their
minds deliberately for a purpose and can get things done.
Thinking is treated as a separate subject is the answer to the felt need that something essential is missing in
the school system the deliberate teaching of thinking as a skill.
TFD is the first of its kind in the Philippines. It is not embedded in some other subject like Science, Math
or Communication Arts. TFD is modelled after Dr. Edward de Bonos CoRT Thinking Program which
has been successfully implemented in countries like Venezuela, Singapore, United States, United Kingdom,
and Australia.
General Objectives
1. That each pupil is given the opportunity to express and discuss ideas about specific topics without
being required to use reading or other clerical skills.
2. That each pupil is encouraged to broaden their imaginative, creative and cognitive processes free from
the pressure to read, spell, write or use spoken language correctly.
3. That the pupil experiences his/her ideas and conceptual expression in a drawn and written form
equally evaluated without comparison to the work of others, in a medium that is expressive and which
encourages cognitive contributions not literary or technical skill prowess.
4. That each lesson be developed and devised so that both gifted learners and average/learning-disabled/
below average learners can share in a learning unit, without either the gifted being less challenged, or
the non gifted placed at an academic disadvantage or in an embarrassing position.
5. That the pupil develops skills through the program which he/she can transfer to life in general and
also use the same in any other curricular area, without encountering application or transfer problems.
6. That the pupil enjoys thinking and regards himself or herself as a skilled thinker who can use his/her
thinking skills on demand.

Skill Area Objectives
1. Provide each student with an opportunity to develop and maximize his/her cognitive and creative
abilities to the fullest and within the framework of each task.
2. Encourage the expression of individual creativity and provide encouragement, stimulation and success
opportunities for a wide student ability range within each task or lesson module.
Develop student expertise in the following cognitive areas:
Machine design;
Fitting a design or idea to the task for which it is needed or required;
Analyzing a plan, project or proposal, and the
Sequencing of an activity, plan or proposal in a behaviorally logical way.
3. Encourage growth and provide practice in the following areas:
! Verbal reasoning and relating reasoning to a specific situation, issue, problem, etc.
! Language development,
! Synthesis and evaluation
! Analysis, learning organization and decision-making skills.

Subject Format
Cognitive Thinking Skills (CTS)
The following cognitive thinking skills shall be taught to the pupils:
1. PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting) - Each child should be able to identify, from a given selection, which are
the good, bad and interesting points about an idea or suggestion posed. Given the same idea, the child
should also be able to generate the good, bad and interesting points of an idea and explain the reason
behind his or her thinking.
2. CAF (Consider All Factors) When presented with an idea, proposal or topic, each child should be
able to explain what a factor is and come up with some factors which need to be considered. The child
should be able to distinguish between factors to be considered and the plus, minus and interesting of
the PMI.
3. AGO (Aims, Goals, Objectives) Each child should be able to articulate the reasons why someone
might act in a particular way or choose to take a particular course of action in a situation. Given an idea
or problem, he/she should be able to explain one reason why something might be chosen, take place,
etc.
4. FIP (First Important Priorities) Each child should be able to assist in the development of a list of the
most important aspects or features to consider, in examining a problem, issue or situation, etc. He/she
should be able to distinguish the less important points from the more important aspects or
implications in a given situation.
5. APC (Alternatives, Possibilities, Choices) As related to a specific situation, plan, idea, etc. the child
should be able to verbalize the possible explanations for or a way of dealing with it. From a list of
possible explanations, the child should be able to choose the one that is realistically possible way of
dealing with or explaining the situation given.
6. RULES Each child should be able to explain the concept of rules as designed to make life easier
and better for most people. The child must come up with useful rules concerning a topic, situation,
idea, etc. Each child should further understand and be able to express something about the difference
and relationship between a rule and a punishment or reward, as well as between a rule and an order
given to someone.
7. C&S (Consequence and Sequel) Each should be able to explain what the word consequence means
and be able to articulate possible consequences or result given a specific problem, situation, issue, etc.
Given a sequence of events, the child should be able to explain something about what would happen
next or happen as a result of with reasonable logic.
8. OPV (Other Peoples Views) Given a specific situation, problem, etc., each child should be able to
explain what other persons are thinking and/or feeling in a situation. He/she should be able to explain
something about why every other person in a situation feels or thinks this way.
9. Planning Each student should be able to explain what the word plan means, as well as be able to
apply the concept of planning to a specific situation, etc. S/He should further understand that a plan
may be a drawn and/or pictured idea to be carried through or a verbalized idea about how something
is to be or might be done.
10. Decisions Given a specific situation, the student should be able to come up with at least two things
which need to be considered, make a decision about the situation given and explain why s/he made
that particular decision. Each student should also understand something about the relationship
between the former lesson units and the processes of making a decision.
Lateral Thinking Skills (LTS)
The term lateral thinking describes a situation in which all sorts of offshoots and aspect in a situation
would be explored in a creative and lateral manner. Thus, in addition to the Cognitive Thinking Skills, the
students will also be given lateral thinking exercises that will hone and develop their creativity, imagination
and problem solving skills.
Duration
TFD is taught as a separate thinking subject once a week for 24 weeks. Each session runs for 90 minutes.


Schedule (SY 2014 - 2015)
Session Date Cognitive Thinking Tool Exercises
June 14, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM PMI 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
June 21, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM PMI 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
June 28, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM CAF 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
July 05, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM CAF 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
July 12, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM AGO 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
July 19, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM AGO 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
August 02, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM APC 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
August 09, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM APC 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
August 30, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM FIP 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
September 06, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM FIP 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
September 13, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM Rules 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
September 27, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM Rules 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
October 04, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM C&S 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
October 11, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM C&S 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
October 18, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM OPV 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
October 25, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM OPV 3 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
November 15, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM PMI, CAF 4 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
November 22, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM AGO, APC 4 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
November 29, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM FIP, RULES 4 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
December 06, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM C&S, OPV 4 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
December 13, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM Planning 2 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
January 10, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM Planning 2 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
January 17, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM Decisions 2 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises
January 24, 2014; 9:00-10:30 AM Decisions 2 CTS Exercises, 2 LTS Exercises