PRIME

In 2017 the driving question for our schools Integrated Unit was, Working as an advocate for refugees what is one innovation you can come up with in response to the refugee crisis? I worked alongside the TAS faculty as we planned this unit and was first introduced to the acronym PRIME, Problem statement, Research, Ideation, Make, Evaluation. PRIME was a useful tool for guiding the students through the design process. It encouraged them to think more deeply about the refugee crisis and to be free to imagine multiple solutions. It also encouraged reflection and evaluation of their solution, something that I often found lacking as the desire for task completion often outweighed the drive to continually improve and refine their ideas. Implementing PRIME across 300 Year 6 – 8 students was a challenge that may not have hit the high notes for all but it certainly gave me an insight into a useful thinking tool. Later as I explored the ACARA learning continuum it occurred to me that PRIME succinctly covered the big ideas within this continuum.

Have another look at the continuum and see if you can also see PRIME in the big ideas.

Here is where I found evidence of PRIME in the continuum.

P – Posing questions. This in an interesting one for me, as for the majority of my 30 years of teaching it has been me posing the questions to the students. In a later blog I will explore how I am going about changing this in my classrooms so the students are now involved in the process of asking questions.

R – Identify and clarify information and ideas. I often find students like to skip this step. I find them posing a question and deciding on their own answer, then proceeding to the making of a solution. The seem to have the P and M under control but it is the R, I and E that deepens their engagement in the thinking process.

I – Imagine possibilities and connect ideas. If students can be encouraged to slow down and not move straight from the posing questions to the make step, the potential for creativity and innovative solutions increases as their engagement in the process deepens.

M – Seek solutions and put ideas into action. At this point in my journey I see this as the subject content and skills coming to the fore. But this step, like the others does not sit in isolation and the ACARA continuum uses language such as best solution, and testing consequences. How many times do we give students the opportunity to explore this is depth? It is one of my challenges.

E – Evaluate procedures and outcomes. At Level 2 in the continuum the description is to evaluate whether they have accomplished what they set out to achieve .  So many times I see my students tick the task completed box and appear ready to move on. Engaging them in effective evaluation of their work is one of my goals for my own practice. How do I make time in my classroom for students to make corrections and reevaluate their work if they have not accomplished what they set out to achieve?

PRIME itself is not a linear model that students have to move through. It is a simplification of the concept of Critical Thinking so that it can be made more visible and provide a platform to explicitly teach and discuss Critical Thinking. I have found that encouraging students to present their work using PRIME as a scaffold helps me to see their strengths and weaknesses. In this manner I now have the necessary evidence to provide feedback to students about where they are now and where they need to be, as well as a tool to discuss how to get there.

The other wonderful thing about PRIME is it took a complex activity and broke it into 5 key parts for me to focus on in my own practice. I am in the middle of the journey exploring these aspects. This year I am keen to focus on Evaluation and how I can make this meaningful in improving my students thinking. In our learning this year you might like to target one of these 5 areas of Critical Thinking in your practice. Some of our staff, including Liz, Nat and Marten are already using PRIME in their teaching practice and you might like to talk to them about their experiences to date. I am sure there are others and I look forward to hearing about your work and how you are building the disposition of Critical Thinking in our students.