Habits of Mind
An Introduction
Agenda
• Overview: What do we mean by
Habits of Mind?
• Why make it part of teaching?
• Discovering the 16 Habits
• Reflection & Questions
• HoM in the Classroom: Principles
• HoM in the Classroom: Activities
Definition
“Intellectual dispositions that are skillfully and mindfully
employed by characteristically successful people
when confronted with problems, the solutions to which
are not immediately apparent.”
Definition Deconstructed
• Ways of thinking
• Approaches to problem-solving
• Patterns of intelligent behaviors
When confronted by a
challenging task, how do
you handle it?
•
•
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Procrastinate? Or make a plan and get started?
Give up? Or stick to it even if it’s hard and scary?
Try to go it alone? Or ask for help if you need it?
Run with the first idea that comes to you? Or
brainstorm a list of possible options and then select
the one you think is best?
With poor Habits of Mind, things turn
out differently.
The bus that you take to work has been arriving late
for the last few days. Today your boss noticed that
you got to work 15 minutes late. Choose the BEST and
the WORST ways to solve this problem.
Why integrate HoM?
Interdisciplinary & Applicable to:
• Academics
• Work
• Parenting
• Community engagement & leadership
Do-able!
• Unlike children, adults are developmentally
mature enough to employ all the Habits if
they apply themselves
Discover the 16 Habits
• Work with a partner
• Match the 8 Habits with their Mottos &
Descriptors
• Share your solution with your table
• Learn about the other 8 Habits from
your table partners
• Check your work
Reflection
• Which of the 16 Habits of Mind did you
draw on to successfully complete this
task?
• Which of the 16 Habits do you see your
students already applying well? Which
do they need to develop?
A Growth Model
• Skill levels, applied differently across contexts:
o
o
o
o
Novice/Beginner
Apprentice
Skilled
Expert
• Develop over the lifespan.
We all have room to grow!
Questions?
• Which of the 16 Habits would you
like to know more about?
Habits of Mind
in the
Classroom
Making the Habits Real
How do we teach the Habits?
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•
•
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•
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Introduce
Identify
Model
Operationalize
Promote self-reflection
Integrate
Introduce the Concepts
• Discuss the habits with students
• One or two at a time
• Allow learners to describe & identify
the habit in their own
language/examples
Identify the Habits
• Name them!
o Posters, word wall, etc.
• Use the terms
o In feedback, in discussion, etc.
• Point out when a habit is displayed
and offer praise/encouragement.
Model the Habits
“Teachers design and pose powerful
questions so students experience,
analyze, and compose powerful
questions themselves.”
“Teachers laugh at themselves and
guarantee that no lesson is successful
without finding humor.”
(Costa & Kallick, pg. 93)
But remember…
• Students will not learn from what they
do not notice. So…
• Call explicit attention to your use of
the habits.
“Operationalize”
• Make the abstract real and tangible
• What does the habit look like, sound like,
feel like when it is employed?
• Activity: Y-chart
Y-Chart Instructions
• Only positives:
“Yes, we see that, hear that, feel that.”
• Listening with empathy: “Not interrupting” is
a negative. What actions do we see/hear?
Promote Self-Reflection
Checklists for specific behaviors – completed by
learners about their own use of the habits
Integration: Writing Prompts
• Tell about a time when you had to persist
through something challenging. What
happened? What did it feel like?
• Tell about a time when you came up with a
creative new idea. What was the idea?
How did you come up with it? How did you
feel?
• Claude Levi-Strauss (maker of blue jeans!)
once said, “The wise man doesn’t give the
right answers, he poses the right questions.”
What do you think this means? Why are
questions important?
Habits of Mind are
Hiding in Your Classroom
Try the “Mark the Margins” exercise.
What Habits of Mind will students draw
on to complete this exercise? How
could you make sure students notice
their use of those habits?
Once you start seeing Habits of Mind, you can’t stop!
Reflection
• Think about your classroom and the
activities you like. What Habits of Mind
do these activities foster?
For More Information
• http://www.instituteforhabitsofmind.com/
• http://www.habitsofmind.org/
• http://www.habitsofmind.co.uk/teachinghabits.html
What Questions do you
Still Have?
Thank You!