This week the Preparatory School enjoyed hosting Dr Ron Ritchhart, Senior Research Associate at Harvard Graduate School of Education and Principal Investigator of the Cultures of Thinking Project. A well-known educational researcher, Dr Ritchhart has been working with various teachers across the College over the past two years to help us think harder about developing the ‘intellectual character’ of our boys. Dr Ritchhart works with schools and universities around the world to create ‘cultures of thinking’, where the thinking of a group is ‘valued, visible and actively promoted’, and where students are equipped with the meta-cognitive tools to articulate not just what they have been taught but what they have learnt and understood. You can watch footage of Dr Ritchhart’s presentation to Preparatory School parents here and find more of his resources at www.ronritchhart.com.

ScotsResearch also conducted an interview with Dr Ritchhart about his work on the Cultures of Thinking Project, his understanding of the place of thinking routines in experiential education, and his views on the relationship between thinking in schools, universities and industry. You can watch the full video above, as well as other Research Bites here. 

How can we motivate our young men to achieve their best?
Over 100 parents, staff and members of the community enjoyed a stimulating evening at the Motivating Boys: A ScotsIdeas Symposium. Our panel of guest speakers offered thoughtful, honest and entertaining answers to the audience's questions about such topics as:

• Components of motivation, extrinsic and intrinsic
• Differences between boys and girls
• Myths around the need for more male teachers
• Technology and distractions
• Boys and reading
• Feedback and goal-setting in sporting and academic settings
• The pros and cons of homework

Guest panelists included:

Professor Herb Marsh, Australian Catholic University
Recognised as one of the world's most productive educational psychologists and the 11th most productive researcher across all disciplines of psychology, he is an expert in measuring motivation and teaching effectiveness.

Dr Helen Proctor, Senior Lecturer in Education at The University of Sydney
Author of several books in education history and policy, including Controversies in Education (2015), A History of Australian Schooling (2014), and School Choice: How parents negotiate the new school market in Australia (2009).

Mr Scott Monk, novelist and editor at The Australian
Author of acclaimed novel Raw (an HSC set text), Beyond the Knock Knock Door and other books that have ‘got boys into reading’, now an editor at The Australian newspaper.

Mr Lee Morley, The Scots College
A former professional rugby player in the UK, now a Scots Business Studies and Economics teacher and winner of the College’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2014.

Video of the symposium can be viewed here.