As we see that some students are very good in their study and some are very dull. While some are of average mind. In this case, as a teacher we may adopt following strategies:
Identify which thinking skills should be taught and emphasized upon. Choose a set of thinking skills that are most important to your discipline.
Identify comprehension pitfalls in your subject. For instance, a common problem in Mathematics and Science is over-reliance on formula that is not understood. You may find that in reading, students understand the literal meaning of a paragraph but have difficulty in making inferences from it. A thinking programme may benefit students by addressing such pitfalls.
Know the process by which the skill is to be taught. If you are teaching a lesson on comparison and students had difficulty in understanding exactly how to compare things in a reasonable fashion, you have to demonstrate a series of steps that must be taken to compare.
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(a) Present the objects or ideas to be compared;
(b) Have the students observe and describe them one at a time;
(c) Compare the objects or ideas and make a list of their similarities;
(d) Repeat the process, making a list of differences;
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(e) Identity the criteria used in making the comparisons;
(f) Summarize the significant similarities and differences.
(iv) Encourage active student participation in reasoning. This can be accomplished in a number of ways. A teacher might ask questions requiring students to consider the pros and cons of each issue and specifically point out the reasoning skill being used. Students might be asked to compare or show their understanding of a skill such as making analogies.
(v) Make abstract concepts which are concrete and relevant. Whenever dealing with an abstract concept, ask students to apply the concept to relevant everyday occurrences and generate many examples to show where the concepts can be applied.
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(vi) Use probing questions. Not all teachers’ questions encourage thinking. Often, questions require no more than one or two-word answers and usually require only recall. Teachers can ask probing questions. However, these questions can be built into the lesson. This is not to say that questions that deal with facts and information are not important. They however, after asking factual questions, ask students such questions that require them to think.
(vii) Actively involve the children in generating questions. Student generated questions can stimulate thinking. One possibility is to ask students when reading to translate head and sub-heads into questions.
(viii) Develop listening and observing skills. These skills are basic to communication and thinking. Students may need help in developing the ability to actively listen to their fellow students during class.
(ix) Encourage parents to help in developing their children’s thinking skills. Parents can encourage their children to generate questions and ask their children to imagine what will happen next in a story, to explain why they feel a particular way and to support their opinions.