Making Thinking Visible Building the Future for Our Students Bay City Public Schools February 4, 2013 Making Thinking Visible

What do we want the children we teach to be like when they are adults?

The Residuals of Education Curious Skeptical Open-Minded Imaginative Strategic Metacognitive Reflective Truth Seekers Inquisitive Responsible Independent Listeners Adventurous Inventive Original Creative Flexible Questioning Risk-Takers Mindful Considerate Full of Wonder Compassionate Balanced

So…How do schools help get them there?

Enculturation Children grow into the intellectual life around them.

The Story of Learning Is a process of gradually internalizing the messages & value that we repeatedly experience through our interaction with the social environment. This internalization takes time as we identify the messages and values that are consistent and recurring in our environment

The Old Story... What is the story of learning you were “told” when you were in school? What did you learn about learning? How it happens? Its purpose and value?

A Story of Work… The goal of school is the completion of work done for someone else. The larger purpose behind activities isn’t always clear. Thus, assignments become ends in themselves. Grades are the pay off/outcome for work. Doing school work is seen as students’ job. Good students do the work they are assigned without question.

A Story of Alienation… School isn’t about me, my life, my culture. School isn’t about learning, it’s about having the answers. Some people are just smart and know how to do it, others (like me) can never get it. Rewards go to those who can guess what the teacher wants. You study by memorizing. Smart means being fast with the answer.

A New Story… What is the story of learning we truly want to tell and make a reality for our students?

A New Story What messages about learning are the students in this classroom receiving? Think-Pair-Share

The Beginning of a New Story… Learning is a consequence of thinking. Learning and thinking are as much a collective enterprise as they are an individual endeavor. Learning involves uncovering complexity and delving deeply. Learning is often provisional and frequently changes with time. Learning is an active process and involves getting personally involved. Questions not only drive learning but also are outcomes of learning.

The Beginning of a New Story

Gallery Walk Think/Puzzle/Explore Talk to the practitioners

Begin With the End in Mind Creating a culture of thinking in the classroom can help educators prepare today’s thinkers for tomorrow by promoting: Thinking and learning Awareness of our growing and changing society Respect for others

Creating a Culture of Thinking What do we mean by a culture of thinking? Why is a culture of thinking important to a learning community: teachers, students, and parents? How is a culture of thinking developed? Think-Pair-Share

Defining a Culture of Thinking A culture of thinking exists in a classroom when the cultural forces of that classroom are directed toward and aligned with the support of good thinking.

Cultural Forces According to Ron Ritchhart, there are 8 cultural forces that define our classrooms. Time Opportunities Routines and Structures Language Modeling Interactions and Relationships Physical Environments Expectations

Thinking is…

Communicating Expectations for Thinking We need to examine the messages we send about thinking through the cultural forces and explicitly set and agenda of understanding by telling students what it is we want them to understand versus merely know about.

Creating Opportunities for Thinking To promote good thinking and deep understanding, we must create a ladder of understanding performances on which students can stand as they strive to ascend to the next level of performance.

Teachers’ Words and Actions What do your students hear you saying over and over? What is the mantra in the classroom? What questions, expressions, and reactions are your words and actions promoting? Think-Pair-Share

Routines A few steps Easy to learn and remember Get used over and over Useful across many contexts Public and private practices Activate and help direct thinking

Types of Routines Housekeeping Routines: rules for living and working together – lining up, putting things away, transitions and movement Management Routines: procedures for getting ready to learn – clapping rhythms, structures for working in groups Discourse Routines: procedures for talking and communicating – raising hands, guidelines for listening Learning Routines: how we learn new things – textbook use, using journals, posing questions to explore

What is a thinking routine? Is goal oriented in that it targets specific types of thinking Gets used over and over again in the classroom Consists of only a few steps Is easy to teach and learn Is easy to support when students are engaged in the routine Can be used across a variety of context Can be used by the group or by the individual

Mining in Michigan Cookie Mining in Michigan See/Think/Wonder The History of Copper Mining in Michigan Headlines The Future of Copper Mining in Michigan? Tug of War

Cookie Mining in Michigan See/Think/Wonder Look at your cookie (no eating it yet!) What do you see? Record your observations with words and pictures. What do you think? What are you wondering?

The History of Copper Mining in Michigan Headlines Create a HEADLINE that captures the essence of the article.

The Future of Copper Mining in Michigan? Tug of War Should mining companies pursue mining opportunities in the Upper Peninsula?

Thinking Routines Resources Visible Thinking Ron Ritchhart