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Thinking Skills

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17 Units

114 Lessons

2 Years

This course develops a set of transferable skills, including critical thinking, reasoning and problem solving, that students can apply across a wide range of subjects and complex real world issues. The syllabus enables students to develop their ability to analyse unfamiliar problems, devise problem solving strategies, and evaluate the diverse ways a problem may be solved. During a Thinking Skills course, students learn to put their personal views aside in favour of examining and evaluating the evidence. Students learn how to make informed and reasoned decisions and construct evidence-based arguments.

Course Structure

The course covers the following topics:

Minimum entry requirements

To successfully study Cambridge International AS and A Level with us, students need to have attained:

a grade C (or grade 4) and above in IGCSE English and Mathematics (or the equivalent in an internationally recognised qualification).
No previous knowledge of Thinking Skills is required.

It is the school’s responsibility to ensure that the student has met these minimum entry requirements. Pamoja Taught courses and Pamoja teachers assume that these minimum entry requirements have been met and the student therefore has the necessary foundational knowledge and ability to work at the pace required by the course.

Benefits for students

Taking International AS and A Level Thinking Skills will enable students to:

become experienced in a wide range of technical and social tools
develop skills like time management, communication and digital literacy

Resources

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*Course available from September 2020, for first exams in June 2022.

Course structure

Both the AS and A Level syllabi cover the same subject content; Problem Solving and Critical Thinking. However, these skills are applied to different depths in each year of the course. In the Year 1 AS Level course students will develop and use skills in a limited range of scenarios and with limited data. When students get to A Level in the second year, the scenarios and problems presented are longer and complex, requiring more detailed analysis and covering a wider range of sources of data. The units studied are:

Year 1 - AS Level

Critical thinking – first skills
Further critical thinking
Problem solving skills
Modelling and processing skills
Critical reasoning
Revision and exam preparation
Introducing A Level Thinking Skills

Year 2 - A Level only

Advanced critical thinking
Advanced problem solving
Data analysis, models and investigation
Reasoning with data
Constructing a case
Revision and exam preparation

In each year there is also time for revision and trial examinations.

Activities and assessments

The course includes the following activities: readings, case studies and worked examples, quizzes, self-assessments and marked written assignments. Teachers will review and grade assignments during the course. Some assignments require peer review and collaboration. There are also unit discussions to support students with each topic. The final examination consists of four externally-assessed papers:

Paper 1—1 hour 30 minutes, 50% AS/25% AL, questions on Problem Solving
Paper 2—1 hour 45 minutes, 50% AS/25% AL, questions on Critical Thinking
Paper 3—1 hour 30 minutes, 25% AL, questions on Problem Analysis and Solution
Paper 4—1 hour 45 minutes, 25% AL, questions on Applied Reasoning

Advice from our teachers

In order to succeed in International AS and A Level Thinking Skills, we recommend students set aside ten to fifteen hours a week to study. It is important that students regularly keep up with the readings and the course activities in a timely manner. And that they contact their Pamoja teacher if they fall behind or need help with assignments.

*Please note, that all courses offered are subject to receiving a minimum enrolment number. Your Pamoja point of contact will be in touch as we approach the start date if we are unable to take a course forward.