Making thinking visible in the English language classroom: insights from secondary school teachers in Malaysia

A narrative of ‘deficit’ and ‘lack’ seem to represent Malaysian students as thinkers. In response, we were interested in exploring how teachers utilised Visible Thinking Routines (VTRs) to prompt, scaffold and support thinking among students in English language classrooms. Data were collected over a nine-month period in two phases. Sixty-five open-ended survey responses and eight interviews were analysed thematically and three prominent themes emerged. First, teachers perceived VTRs as the ‘right tool for the job’, recognising their suitability in fostering thinking skills. Second, positive shifts in students' thinking and engagement were observed, with VTRs enabling more active participation, creativity and thoughtful responses. Finally, teachers identified balancing time constraints with deep thinking goals a challenge. Success stories can create ‘buy-in’ to encourage others to consider this tool to promote thinking. If more teachers make thinking central to teaching, then more positive reports on Malaysian students as thinkers may surface, replacing the current narrative of ‘lack’ and ‘deficit’.

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