Visible thinking routines to engage students and check for understanding

The following teaching and learning activities are modified from a session presented at the SEV VCE Teachers' Conference in 2016. The activities were framed around the key knowledge from the Units 1 and 2 Study Design for Australian and Global Politics, however, the routines can be adapted for any topic, at any level. Visible thinking has been the subject of much scholarly writing in education. Harvard Graduate School of Education's 'Project Zero' defines visible thinking as 'any kind of observable representation that documents and supports the development of an individual's or group's ongoing thoughts, questions, reasons, and reflections.'