See / Visualize
Guidance for teachers - Part A
'See' has a special meaning in the Thinking Frames process. We refer to it as visualization. During this section of the Thinking Frames Approach the pupils are not expected to draw the equipment they have used (or are planning to use) nor how they set up the experiment. The challenge is for them to visualize the scientific reason behind HOW or WHY something happened and to produce one or more labelled pictures to explain the process(es) involved.
When first introducing the Thinking Frames Approach to a group of children many teachers have found it helpful if they model their own progression of ideas and the stages of their own thinking first. Here we would encourage teachers to use their whiteboards to make clear what they are thinking during the "Brainwave" and "See" stages as they act out solving a problem.
Encouraging Visualisation
When answering a WHY question often all is needed is one large detailed drawing.
Once they are happy with the quality of their drawing, then children should discuss their work with their peers and/or their teacher and annotate the drawings by applying the words and phrases that they have identified during the Brainwaves section.
As children do this, their diagrams often help them to identify new "Brainwave" words and phrases that they had not thought of earlier. They should be encouraged to go back and record these new words in their Brainwaves section in a different colour and prioritising them if they decide to do so.
It is during this stage that teacher- pupil interaction is key to establishing levels of understanding. Here teachers should help children become aware of any misconceptions or vocabulary difficulties that they may have.