DEVELOPING SKILLS FOR A LIFETIME OF LEARNING: STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP FLEXIBLE THINKING

This research investigated forty, ten to twelve year students in their final two years of primary schooling. It investigated their capacities to develop the cognitive competencies of executive function. The framework used was the Multiple Intelligences perspective of executive function. The findings discussed are those pertaining to the students' development of the component of executive function known as flexible thinking. Investigated as part of a larger action research study which was implemented in three classrooms over a six month period, the findings in this domain demonstrated considerable improvement from the skills recorded as part of the baseline data. The baseline data had indicated that none of the students were able to demonstrate the cognitive capacities of flexible thinking. The results are significant in that they can be directly related to changes in pedagogical practice. The findings are significant also for the three participating teachers as they serve to highlight the challenges they faced. They are indicative of challenges that may be faced by other teachers as they seek to implement intervention programs effectively and to question some of the pedagogical strategies and beliefs with which they had formerly engaged confidently.