WHOLE SCHOOL
APPROACHES TO HABITS OF
MIND
WEAC Conference 2004
Gill Hubble and Graham Watts
St Cuthbert’s College
COSTA’S INTELLIGENT BEHAVIOURS
(Thinking Behaviour)
Questioning and
Problem Posing
Listening with
Understanding and Empathy
Precision of Language
and Thought
Gathering Data using
all the Senses
The Affective Domain
Drawing on Past
Knowledge
Ingenuity, Originality,
Insightfulness, Creativity
Supports the Cognitive
Persistence
Metacognition
Managing
Impulsivity
Flexibility
in Thinking
Checking for Accuracy
and Precision
Wonderment, Curiosity,
Enjoyment of Problem Solving
Part one:whole school approaches
• why choose the Habits of Mind approach to
make an impact on the learning culture of
the school?
• how did we introduce it?
• what training was required?
• how was it implemented?
Why HOM suited our culture
• clearly defines behaviours wanted
• has books and resources to support it initially
• part of a school wide thinking/ learning
framework:
critical creative caring
cognitive/affective balance
• works well with other strategies: complements those
in the same area of the framework/ enhances those in other
domains
• contributes to common thinking language
Building a framework of the thinking
domain
Cognitive - Affective
METACOGNITION
CRITICAL
CREATIVE
CARING
COOPERATIVE
PROBLEM
DECISION
SOLVING
MAKING
Caring thinking
• valuational thinking - aesthetic worth,
beauty,value of concrete or abstract things
• affective thinking - feelings, empathy,
perspectives
• active thinking - making a difference around you
or in the world
• normative thinking - recognising reality but
having a vision of how things could be (local,
global world view)
Philosophy for children
RE/ Citizenship, service
Habits of Mind
Cultural perspectives
Moral and ethical
reasoning
Community of
enquiry
Learning styles
Multiple intelligences
Emotional intelligence
Autonomous learner grp
Applied
thinking
Main outcomes expected
•
•
•
•
behavioural tool
academic / classroom focus
reflective tool
parent interface
Behavioural
• improved classroom behaviour
• establishes norms/students monitor each
other
• motivation to control behaviour and
improve over time
• enhances values and pastoral programmes
(peer mediation/code of conduct/problem resolution)
• provides connections and focus for school
culture
Academic
• attention to how behaviour impacts on
classwork - 80% attitudinal
• improves quality of work
• part of reward system SCOSCARS
• builds metacognitive language
Reflective tool
• helps students verbalise metacognition
• leads to better self awareness and
improvement
• raises self esteem by seeing advancement
from novice to expert/ and receiving
positive feedback
Parent interface
• understandable
• encourages positive involvement between
school and home
• makes reporting on specific behaviour,
learning and thinking more precise because
more explicit language is used and
understood
Disadvantages of this approach?
• are there any disadvantages that a school
would have to consider?
How did we introduce HOM?
• developed a shared vision: values and
school philosophy questions
• explored with teachers the place of caring
thinking in the school culture
• whole staff training day with Art Costa
followed by parents evening
• introductory sessions with each year level
on whole HOM overview and why it
matters
Establishing the culture…..
•
•
•
•
what do we value as teachers? As learners?
what behaviours do we value in our school?
what are the best ways to encourage these?
what do we have that is already effective in
encouraging these?
• where are we ineffective or could do better?
• what outcomes would we expect from
HOM?
• are we all prepared to do this?
What training?
• teachers already had prior knowledge
• staff only day, with workbooks for each
teacher on teaching and assessing HOM
• developed model lessons and rubrics. This
was critical to success (** human graph)
• established expectations and responsibilities
of ALC, teachers, students
• staff meeting training…..to Horizon Hour
• new staff training
How was it implemented?
• timeline: initial overview, then one per term
focus
• term themes for year selected
• posters/ daily notices/ assemblies
• model lesson in advance, then delivered in
explicit slot
• range of metacognitive questions developed
• syndicates/ depts required to plan for
infusion across all subjects
Supporting teachers with explicit
instruction of HOM
•
•
•
•
Thinking Skills Working Party
ALC lead role
Habit of Mind for the Term
PD with new staff, departments, syndicates
and individuals
• Classroom resources
• Explicit delivery in Thinking Skills lesson
Supporting teachers infusing HOM in the
curriculum
• Metacognitive lesson plan
• Teachers develop own repertoire
• Multiple and flexible use, eg
* do a PMI on thinking interdependently
* use a Thinking Map to show how you have applied prior
knowledge in this lesson
* use the green, yellow & black hats to consider how best to
find humour in this subject
* do a KWL diagram to consider how you manage
impulsivity
Reflecting on HOM in the classroom
• Metacognitive questions
• Reflective journals and evaluations
• Student and teacher assessment
How do we know it makes a
difference?
• for teachers: common language, competencies,
end of year research responses, evident in
planning eg metacognitive lesson plans
• for departments:annual plans, annual report on
student progress in selected habits
• for students: various forms of self assessment
demonstrate sophisticated level of metacognition
on all habits
• for school: sense of connectedness to common
goals