Critical Thinking Project - University of Queensland

Aspiring Thinkers provides the expert guidance, collaborative network and professional learning pathway required to lead teaching for thinking at your school.

Membership upskills leaders and teachers in how to:

Embed Critical and Creative Thinking across P-10 subjects and 21st century skills within re-developed senior syllabuses;
Develop cognitive skills via a shift in focus from knowledge to inquiry;
Think and plan in the language of student cognition, to facilitate metacognition and provide a language of feedback;
Engage in action research and evaluate the efficacy of this initiative in your school.

Network membership begins via a foundational two-day workshop.

Deeply engage with Peter Ellerton’s pedagogical schema for teaching for thinking, the values of inquiry, critical thinking matrix and more.
Connect with like-minded network members and be inspired to implement teaching for thinking with your students and lead colleagues.
Receive a certificate recognising AITSL Professional Standards developed and officially join the Aspiring Thinkers Network.

See the upcoming foundational workshops.

Join our powerful network

Aspiring Thinkers expands the quality and scale of engagement between Queensland teachers, school leaders, the University of Queensland Critical Thinking Project (UQCTP) and the Department of Education’s IMPACT Centre. International collaboration with educators from the USA and Canada is under development.

Advance teaching and learning

Ongoing collaboration with experts and members ensures that teachers and school leaders continually develop their teaching and learning skills beyond the foundational two-day workshop.
Members have access to an online induction, one full-day masterclass per term, online professional learning teams and expert or member-presented online workshops. Topics include how to improve your questioning and feedback skills, how to engage in effective action research.

Meet 21st century needs:

Critical thinking is fundamental to the idea of a “knowledge economy” — the measure of a society’s capacity to anticipate problems and devise solutions.
Students trained in critical thinking demonstrate advanced analysing, problem solving and questioning techniques, and are better equipped to embrace change as an opportunity rather than a threat.
Critical thinking is a highly transferable skill, applicable in any domain of work or research, and thus the ultimate “21st century skill.” Read article.

Selection criteria

Medium-large schools/clusters must involve a minimum of two leaders and/or teachers who have the mindset to lead change, the interpersonal skills to engage your staff and the dedication to actively participate in the network.
Smaller schools or clusters can select one or more staff members with the attributes described above.

Joining fee

Aspiring Thinkers operates on a cost-recovery basis. Member’s fees contribute to costs incurred in hosting face-to-face workshops, as well as the time and human resources required to engineer an active online community.

Aspiring Thinkers membership fee = $950 per person. Membership is valid for 12 months and includes access to all face-to-face and online activities. An invoice is sent to your school after the foundational workshop.
Learning Place Affiliate Subscriber = $405 per school + $27 per staff member This subscription ensures that your members access the Aspiring Thinkers online community – the major platform for collaboration and learning. An invoice is sent to your school each November by the Department of Education’s Learning Place.