Thinking Schools are infant schools, primaries, secondaries and all through schools. They are state funded, charitable trusts and privately owned. Some are part of school groups, some are resolutely independent. They are growing in number around the world. Whatever their context they have one thing in common – a desire to develop independent thinkers and learners.

Thinking School leaders have a vision for their schools that goes beyond preparing pupils for exams. They seek to create a culture of progress where the whole school is explicitly focused on developing the human intelligences that will allow students to succeed in an AI augmented world. How to learn and think independently therefore sit at the heart of a Thinking School.

Thinking School teachers weave their knowledge of the science of learning into their pedagogy. They teach with an understanding of how memory works to engage and embed knowledge. They consciously create opportunities for pupils to use knowledge in order to become better at solving complex problems and creating new ideas.

Thinking School pupils learn how to use metacognitive tools to better understand themselves and to develop their underlying thinking processes. They become cognisant of the skills and attitudes needed to optimise their potential and they become fluent in the use of deliberate practice to improve and cement the habits that will allow them to succeed and lead the fourth industrial revolution.

The main cognitive skill Google are looking for is “learning ability”..