ICOT09 Day 4

Educating towards the unknown future has been the key focus of the conference as the theme is "Nurturing the Design of a Better Future". The plenary session speaker, David Perkins, envisioned learners to be "flexpertise"; equipped with content knowledge which will be used proactively to make sense of the world.

David Perkins' presentation

Group photo after the day's sessions

The night's team dialogue covered the following:


1. Leadership

- Disciplined in thinking

- Effective use of data in decision-making

- Importance of culture; value system accepted and practised



2. "See, Touch and Feel" of the Rivervale Brand of Education through Envisioning



3. Reflections on Learning; New perspectives of thinking and its application in:

- Leadership

- Teaching and learning

The dialogue ended at 1212am.

ICOT09 Day 3

Day 3 started off with an inspiring keynote address by Tony Buzan on "Creativity, the Ultimate Thinkers in the Century of the Brain" which centred on images and association as a human language.

Tony Buzan presenting his mind mapping technique

A Kodak moment (time to relax the mind)

Another Kodak moment (just before attending a presentation)

Jonathon presented on "Curriculum 2.0 in the 21st Century". The focus of his presentation is how teachers can use web 2.0 tools to enhance teaching and learning the "Rivervale way".

Jonathon during his presentation
Picture time with Team Rivervale

A job well done!

Attending the Gala Dinner at the Renaissance Hotel

The team did not dialogue as they attended the Gala dinner.

ICOT09 Day 2

Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamed started the day with his keynote address on Asian Political Leadership: Disciplined Thinking for Change. He shared with the audience how a political leader is the change agent who determines the direction and progress of a nation.

Dr Mahathir's address set the focus for the conference today as members went on to attend workshops/presentations respectively.

A very engaging presentation by Dr Mahathir

Inside the Plenary Hall

End of Day 1 with group photo with the convention centre in the background

Another picture just before dinner in Suria KLCC

The team gathered for another session of reflective dialogue to share with one another on the theories and concepts learned in Day 2.

The session concluded at 11.25pm with the following reflections

1. To promote creativity, schools need to set in place time and space

2. The question now is not about how thinking can be taught but how best to teach thinking

3. The focus should be on creative and not reactive tension because when we are reactive, we focus on how we feel to get rid of bad feelings. For creative tension, we focus on what we want to create. In the process, this can bring about mindset change!

"The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking" ~ Albert Einstein

ICOT09 Day 1

The team arrived in Kuala Lumpur at 0815am and headed for KLCC to attend the conference. Tony Buzan unveiled Age of the Intelligence, Century of the Brain and Millennium of the Mind.

Tony Buzan launching the Century of the Brain

The team met up for the plenary session before attending respectively parallel paper presentations and workshops.

Mr Yeo meeting up with the Team

Group photo with Petronas Twin Towers in the background

The team consolidated the day's learning through sharing the sessions attended. Mdm Maria facilitated the discussion while the members reflected the various research and theories presented. Members also asked pertinent questions that generated critical conversations on teaching and learning, systems and structures.

The team had a fruitful conversation which ended at 1030pm with the following takeaways

1. 9 Core areas of the 21st century learning

2. Building learning power - skills versus dispositions

3. New conception beyond thinking skills and habits of mind

Pre-Trip and Information

The 14th International Conference on Thinking (ICOT) will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia June 22-26, 2009.

The theme for the conference is “Thinking Minds: Nurturing the Design of a Better Future”. More information about the conference can be view by clicking HERE.

Team Rivervale members include
Maria Salim - Vice Principal
Gayle Ng - School Staff Developer
Agnes Wong - Head of Department, Mathematics
Yeo Peng Quee - Head of Department, Science
Gerallyn Yeo - Level Head, English
Jonathon Loh - Head of Department, Information, Communication and Technology

From left, Mdm Maria, Mrs Gerallyn, Mr Yeo (Principal), Mrs Agnes, Mrs Gayle and Mr Jonathon

The team has met up on 17 May 2009 to discuss the rational and the expected outcomes of attending the conference. The main objective of attending the conference is for the team to look into redesigning new curriculum that supports C2015 in alignment with TLLM and MP3.

Jonathon will be presenting a paper presentation "Curriculum 2.0 of the 21st Century with ICT" which focus on how educators can harness technology and optimise resources to enhance teaching and learning in the 21st century.