Facilitating more evenly distributed opportunities for participation and higher-order thinking in undergraduate tutorials using the Thinking Environment

This paper presents two case studies in a research-intensive, high-tariff entry university in the North-East of England where the Thinking Environment (TE) approach was used in small group tutorials in Chemistry and Mathematics. The case studies investigated whether the TE could be used as an active pedagogy to facilitate a supportive atmosphere where all students felt able to voice their thoughts. An exploratory, concurrent mixed methods design was used, collecting data from peer-observation of sessions, a self-reflection journal for tutors and a survey of students. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data analysed using inductive thematic analysis, with the findings integrated at the data interpretation stage. The study found that the TE approach encouraged active engagement from students, provided an equal opportunity for all students to voice their thinking and created conditions supportive of higher-order thinking over an extended period of time. Both students and tutors acknowledged that the TE approach could be uncomfortable to begin with and that repeated practice was required to become more accustomed to the approach. The paper presents important learning for the implementation of the TE as a pedagogical approach that creates conditions supportive of higher-order thinking and creates a encouraging atmosphere where students feel able to voice their thoughts.