International Conference
on
Building Cultures of Thinking
Herschel School, Cape Town: 9th & 10th May 2025
Kingsmead College, Johannesburg: 13th & 14th May 2025
This conference has been designed for leaders, educators, educationists, and anyone engaged in the field of education, and it aims to intentionally promote ways to deepen students thinking and to develop an inquiry-based teaching and learning approach, so that teachers are able to implement these and ultimately improve student outcomes. In the classroom, small shifts can lead to powerful gains.
A range of international and national speakers will be presenting keynote addresses and workshops across the two days, with a focus on practical application in the classroom to empower schools to develop a culture of critical, creative, and collaborative thinking, fostering independent lifelong learners and problem solvers.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Mark Church
Mark has been in education for 25 years; first as a classroom teacher and then as a facilitator of learning for other teachers and school leaders.
He is currently a consultant for Harvard Project Zero’s Making Thinking Visible and Cultures of Thinking initiatives. Mark works throughout the world with schools that wish to create cultures of thinking in their classrooms. He believes in the difference teachers can make for students when they strive to make thinking visible, valued, and actively promoted as part of their every-day experience.
Mark has co-authored “The Power of Making Thinking Visible” and “Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners” with Ron Ritchhart, principal investigator at Project Zero.
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Trevor MacKenzie
Trevor MacKenzie is an experienced teacher, author, keynote speaker, and inquiry consultant, who has worked in schools around the world, including Australia, Asia, North America, Europe, and South Africa.
His passion is in supporting schools in implementing inquiry-based learning practices. Currently, Trevor is an inquiry practitioner as a teacher with the Greater Victoria School District in Victoria, Canada.
Trevor is author of "Dive into Inquiry: Amplify Learning and Empower Student Voice", "Inquiry Mindset: Assessment Edition", "Inquire Mindset: Elementary Edition" and "Inquiry Mindset: Questions Edition".
Trevor has vast experience supporting schools across several years in implementation strategies in public schools, international schools, and International Baccalaureate programmes.
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