At Terra Nova, developing confident, reflective thinkers is central to our approach to learning. Across Years 5 to 8, in Maths we have been embedding Problem Solving sessions, supported by a carefully structured Thinking Frame designed to strengthen pupils’ reasoning and metacognitive skills.
The Thinking Frame guides pupils through four deliberate stages, encouraging them to think deeply and approach complex mathematical problems with clarity and confidence.
- Understand – pupils begin by carefully dissecting the problem, identifying key information and clarifying the core objective.
- Strategise – they then connect the task to prior learning and plan the steps needed to tackle it.
- Execute & Reflect – pupils attempt the problem while actively reflecting on their progress and adjusting their approach where needed.
- Review – finally, they check that the question has been fully answered, that their working is clear and that their solution is logical.
This structured approach has had a significant impact. Pupils are much more confident in articulating their thought processes, explaining not just what they did, but why they did it.
So strong has the progress been that the Thinking Frame will be shared with Years 4 to 8, modelling high-quality reasoning and supporting pupils to learn from one another.
