Two members of La Cote International School teaching team, Primary Maths Lead and Year 6 Teacher, and Ms. Hardwicke, Deputy Head of Secondary are taking part in an innovative education project with one of the world’s top educational graduate schools. Twenty-five Nord Anglia Education schools are involved in Project DELTA (Dispositions for Engaging Learning Today), exploring how the use of ‘Thinking Routines’ can support the development of student thinking and skill development.
‘Thinking Routines’ are a sequence of steps that enable students to approach their thinking in a conscious, deliberate way. By following the proposed thinking structure – a Thinking Routine - students are better able to discuss their thinking, understand their thought processes effectively, and consolidate their learning. Frequent use of Thinking Routines encourages our students to think more critically and deeply about the world around them, becoming the alert, aware, engaged members of society that is a core goal of our teaching at LCIS.
Routines are organised into ten categories including ‘Core Thinking Routines’, ‘Digging Deeper Into Ideas’, ‘Exploring Art, Images and Objects’, ‘Synthesising and Organising Ideas’. Teachers can also find recommended routines by subject matter.
Emily Hardwicke has been using the Thinking Routine think that, step back, push back. With this routine students are encouraged to reflect on how they arrive at a judgement or idea.
“This makes the critical thinking process very clear, and students can then unpick whether they have responded to a stereotype or made an unfair judgement because they haven't considered another perspective. Sometimes this can be uncomfortable, and it challenges students to think metacognitively about their learning,” she explains.
Another routine Ms Hardwicke has used is the Messenger / Message routine,
“Students assess what sources they are getting information from and how credible it is based on what the message is and who has said it. This is a really useful routine to get them to think about the content they consume on social media and what makes a reliable source.”
In Primary, Year 6 Maths Lead Laura Kibbe has enjoyed seeing her students’ responses to Thinking Routines including:
The purpose of LCIS’s involvement in the DELTA Research Project is to support our growth as a school community, and our students in deepening their thinking and learning. The data we collect will be used by teachers, school leadership, and program leaders to strengthen and improve teaching and learning opportunities.
Laura Kibbe, Primary Maths Lead and Year 6 Teacher, is an experienced international educator with a passion for fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment. She has over two decades of teaching experience across Switzerland, the UAE, Germany, Mexico, and the UK. With a background in curriculum coordination and leadership roles, Laura is dedicated to supporting students in overcoming challenges, particularly in mathematics. Drawing from her own experiences as a learner, she emphasises resilience, growth, and a supportive approach to mathematical confidence in her classroom.
Emily Hardwicke, Deputy Head of Secondary, has been at LCIS for ten years. She is an experienced educational leader with a Master’s in Educational Leadership, specialising in MYP/IB and IGCSE/A Level curricula. A former MYP Coordinator and Head of English from early in her career, she has contributed to research initiatives such as Let's Think in English (King’s College London) and the Media Literacy Project (English and Media Centre). Passionate about nurturing critical thinking, Emily has led INSET (In Service Education and Training) on Creating Cultures of Thinking and developed the LCIS Core Competency framework, integrating thinking routines into the Lower Secondary Curriculum.
