Teaching Thinking:
A Guide for the Perplexed
Yoram Harpaz
[email protected]
A simple and sweeping idea
Instead of teaching knowledge, teach how to
deal with knowledge – to think
Thinking: combining knowledge in new ways
Good thinking: combining knowledge in critical,
creative and effective ways
A few reasons for the acceptance of the
teaching thinking idea
• The state of knowledge (explosion,
obsolescence, accessibility)
• The picture of knowledge (relativity)
• Knowledge economy
• Democratic society
• Effective learning
• The cognitive science
• The charm of teaching thinking
• The savior syndrome
The result:
inflation and cacophony
“There are an awful lot of theories around.”
(Robert Sternberg)
“With so much controversy in the air, it’s
understandable that only a few teachers and
schools make the attempt.” (David Perkins)
“Mind Workers Unite!” (Arthur Costa)
A possible cure: conceptual map
Approaches to Teaching Thinking
• The skills approach
• The dispositions approach
• The understanding approach
Definitions
Thinking Skills: Thinking tools and efficient
(fast and accurate) use of them.
Thinking dispositions: Intellectual traits; Habits
of mind; Motivated patterns of thought
Understanding: Locating a concept in a
relevant and rich context; Performing cognitive
moves with a concept
Teaching thinking is…
• Imparting thinking skills
• Cultivating thinking dispositions
• Constructing understanding
Theories and programs
Approaches
Characteristics
Theories,
programs, ideas examples
The Skills Approach
The Dispositions
Approach
The Understanding Approach
De Bono – CoRT 
Ennis - Taxonomy of
critical chinking 
Beyer - Direct
teaching of thinking 
Perkins - Thinking
frames  Perkins &
Swartz - Graphic
organizers  Swartz
& Parks – Infusion 
Sternberg Intelligence implied 
Treffinger, Isaksen &
Dorval - Creative
problem polving 
Johnson & Blair Informal logic 
Chaffee - thinking
critically 
Whimbey &
Lochhead - Problem
solving  Feuerstein.
- Instrumental
Enrichment  Lipman
- Philosophy for
children
Perkins Dispositions theory
of thinking 
Tishman - Thinking
dispositions  Costa
- Habits of mind 
Baron -Theory of
rationality  Langer
– Mindfulness 
Barrel –
Thoughtfulness 
Facione - Critical
thinking dispositions
 Passmore Critical thinking as a
character trait 
Siegel - The spirit of
the critical thinker 
Sternberg Successful
intelligence 
Golman - Emotional
Intelligence 
Lipman - Philosophy
for children
Perkins - Understanding
performances  Gardner Understanding in the
disciplines  Wiske Teaching for understanding 
Wiggins & McTighe Understanding by design 
Paul - Critical thinking in the
strong sense  McPeck - The
reflective critical thinker 
Brown - Community of
learners  Smith Understanding as good
thinking 
Brooks & Brooks Constructivist instruction 
Lipman - Philosophy for
children  Harpaz & Lefstein
- Community of thinking
The metaphorical aspect
The skills approach: toolbox
The disposition approach: deep currents
The understanding approach: net
The patterns of teaching Thinking
Teaching: education through knowledge
The elements of teaching: Teacher + Knowledge +
Students
Skills: The pattern of impartation (direct) = demonstration
(teacher) + taxonomy (knowledge) + practice (students)
Dispositions: The pattern of cultivation (indirect) =
modeling (teacher) + explicitness (knowledge) +
identification and internalization (students)
Understanding: The pattern of construction (semi-direct)
= stimulating (teacher) + “big ideas” (knowledge) +
inquiry (students)
Two Essential Questions
1. What to believe –
why three?
2. What to do –
which approach is best?
1. Why three?
Three elements of good thinking against three
components of thinking:
Thinking skills
Processes of
thinking
Thinking disposition
Qualities of
thinking
Understanding
Contents of
thinking
2. Which approach is best?
Understanding; The pattern of Construction
Because…
• Good thinking is a product of understanding
• We teach content in school
• Understanding valuable ideas is a key
educational objective
Understanding understanding:
1. locating in context
Philosophical
perspective
Historical
perspective
Global
perspective
Democracy
Sociological
perspective
Constitutional
perspective
Cultural
perspective
Understanding understanding:
2. understanding performances
To present
knowledge
To operate on and
with knowledge
To criticize and
create knowledge
To express
knowledge in your
own words
To analyze
knowledge
To give reasons to
knowledge
To explain
knowledge
To synthesize
knowledge
To find
contradictions or
tensions in
knowledge
To interpret
knowledge
To imply
knowledge
To question
knowledge
Understanding understanding:
2. understanding performances (continued)
To present
knowledge
To operate on and
with knowledge
To criticize and
create knowledge
To construct a
model
To bring example,
To expose the
to invent metaphor, basic assumptions
to make
of knowledge
comparison, etc.
To present
knowledge in
various ways
To generalize
To present
knowledge from
different
perspectives
To predict on the
To generate new
basis of knowledge knowledge
To formulate
counterknowledge
Thinking =
processes + qualities +
content
Good thinking =
skills + dispositions +
understanding
The understanding
approach
understanding - content
substantive
understanding
reflective understanding
Thank You!
Wish you good thinking.
Yoram Harpaz
[email protected]