At Oxford International College Brighton (OICB), we believe that education should nourish curiosity, resilience, and collaborative spirit as much as it develops academic excellence. In the last year, our commitment to metacognitive teaching and learning advanced to another level, also thanks to the research undertaken by Aaron and Fab. This culminated in an extraordinary few days at Harvard for the DELTA Conference 2025, in collaboration with their Project Zero research.
What is the DELTA Project?
The DELTA Research Project, a ground-breaking partnership between Nord Anglia Education, Project Zero at Harvard, and leading international schools, set out to answer a question whose apparent simplicity masks its true depth: What teaching and learning patterns best support the dispositions of critical thinking, curiosity, creativity, compassion, commitment, and collaboration? Across the 2024–25 academic year, selected educators engaged with a rolling programme of seminars, classroom experiments, and rich collaborative reflection, all built on innovative thinking routines and best-practice documentation. It is exciting Aaron and Fab were selected as teacher-researchers to represent OICB in this dynamic international community.
Research at OICB: Critical and Creative Thinking in Action
Over the course of the year, Aaron and Fab trialled and refined several metacognitive routines to fit their mathematics classrooms with the idea of creating highly effective innovative approaches.
By introducing routines such as “Think That | Stand Back | Push Back”, Aaron enabled Year 12 students to move from passive acceptance towards active justification and robust, dialogic proof-writing. The primary aim was to move beyond reliance on mathematical ideas as dogma and to foster greater openness to discovery. Students were challenged to scrutinise, test, and revisit their assumptions through collaborative analysis.
Fab’s approach centred on open-ended problem-solving with a cyclical “What If Instead” routine. Year 13 students delved into the world of polar curves by continually reimagining parameters, constructing new scenarios, and reflecting on their processes. This cyclical model of thinking, sharing, refining, and repeating encouraged everyone to reach beyond the obvious and trivial, developing both mathematical flexibility and creative confidence.
These classroom experiments were not limited to critical and creative thinking: throughout the year, both Aaron and Fab worked with routines cultivating curiosity, compassion, commitment, and collaborative resilience, always pushing for deeper, richer student engagement.
Harvard Bound: Sharing Innovation with the World
August 2025 brought an extraordinary milestone: Aaron and Fab represented OICB at the DELTA Conference at Harvard University. It was much more than just a conference, it was a truly international meeting of minds, gathering teacher-researchers and academics to reflect, share, and plan the future of metacognitive practice.
Aaron shared his findings on fostering rigorous, critical mathematical dialogue, while Fab presented his models for nurturing student creativity in complex problem-solving. They also shared their ideas on the potential of AI to enhance mathematical thinking and creativity adding a forward-looking dimension to the discussion. “Exhilarating” does not do justice to the energy, exchange of ideas, and sheer sense of possibility that defined those Harvard days.
Next Steps: Spreading the Impact at OICB (and Beyond)
One thing was crystal clear: this is only the beginning and plans are underway to broaden OICB’s metacognitive lens. Aaron and Fab will be working to bring thinking routines to every classroom, supporting colleagues in adapting these strategies across subjects and key stages, regardless of background or prior experience.
Building on the DELTA experience, OICB has been invited to join two new Nord Anglia international projects, delving deeper into how specific metacognitive practices can be tailored to different year groups, learning intentions, and mathematical backgrounds. Dedicated workshops, collaborative forums and reflective practice will now form an integral part of our approach to staff professional growth.
One of the most exciting discussions at Harvard was centred on harnessing AI in support of deeper learning. Inspired by recent MIT research demonstrating the power of long-term, intentional AI use (rather than superficial, ‘quick-fix’ applications), there is genuine excitement about how AI tools can help prompt, scaffold, and extend thinking routines. We look forward to sharing more about our experiments as the new term unfolds.
Why This Matters
Metacognition, the ability to think about one’s own thinking, goes beyond academic convention. It is the foundation of adaptability, problem-solving, and lifelong learning. At OICB, we don’t just talk about these values; we live them, embedding them in daily classroom life and future-ready research.
As we move toward a new academic year, we stand out not simply for our exam results, but for empowering young people to ask better questions, challenge assumptions, and become compassionate, creative, collaborative thinkers, prepared for a world no one can yet fully imagine. We are proud to be at the forefront of this educational transformation, and cannot wait to see where our teaching and research journey takes us next.
Mr Aaron Eckhoff, Head of Mathematics
Dr Fabrizio Brienza, Maths Teacher and Second in Department
