Thinking CapsActive learning spaces and collaborative approaches to enhance student engagement learning'Thinking Caps' Active and Collaborative Learning Approaches to Enhance Student Engagement

This paper examines how parallel thinking approaches were used to support enquiry-based learning in small group teaching. These collaborative approaches enriched students’ understanding, of the learning process and enabled them to think laterally and identify alternative solutions to their research questions. A change of approach to the learning environment enhanced pedagogical innovations. Introducing role-play and gaming helped to remove learning barriers and encouraged peer interaction. The outcomes enabled the students to apply new thinking approaches to a range of creative challenges.