Developing Minds Book Review Arthur L. Costa A RESOURCE BOOK FOR TEACHING THINKING Revised Edition, Volume 1 Edited By Arthur L. Costa By Teri Bohr

Summary The basis of this book is best said in a quote from the book’s preface: “Based on the two truisms that schools are a reflection of society, and that society is becoming increasingly global, there is a quiet revolution taking place in education as well--a revolution of the mind. The restructured schools and effective classrooms based on collaborative learning, participative decision making, strategic teaching and peer coaching are having a secondary effect: they are furthering the quest for the intellectual empowerment of the individual.” By Teri Bohr

Art Costa , in Developing Minds, outlines many possible strategies through which schools or districts can develop a program to teach thinking skills and metacognition across all grades and content areas. He emphasizes that the “one-shot” workshop does not thoroughly or cost-effectively help teachers teach thinking skills, but staff development is what is needed to implement any change. By Teri Bohr

 Establish district goals Art Costa outlines the necessary components of an effective staff development program in teaching thinking skills:  Establish district goals  Identify specific micro-thinking skills & build a cohesive thinking skills curriculum  Design lessons to teach each micro-skill  Ascertain each teacher’s ability to use the teaching behaviors that heighten student mastery thinking skills  Design multi-level staff development programs  Add coaching and clinical supervision to ensure high transfer of thinking skills instruction into classroom practices By Teri Bohr

The remainder of the book is used to clarify, define and model the critical attributes of the staff development process, the role of thinking skills in education and the thinking skills themselves. There is such a wealth of information in this book it is truly overwhelming! By Teri Bohr

A final quote from the book to capture the essence of the author’s intention: “The Greeks had a word for it: paideia. The term, popularized by Adler’s Paideia Proposal (1983), is an ideal concept we share: a school in which learning, fulfillment, and becoming more humane are the primary goals for all students, faculty, and support staff. It is the Athenian concept of a learning society in which self-development, intellectual empowerment, and lifelong learning are esteemed core values and all institutions within the culture are constructed to contribute to those goals.” By Teri Bohr

My Teaching Philosophy My teaching philosophy is to supply opportunities for students to learn in a classroom where they feel comfortable and safe. My goal is to empower students with the thinking skills, strategies and knowledge that will help them succeed in life and excel in future math courses. By Teri Bohr

Reflection This book has informed me and enhanced my personal teaching philosophy in several ways. I have always believed that if I could help my students to think critically, they would not only be better math students, but they would also have a skill that will help them succeed in life. This book has helped me to develop better teaching behaviors that heighten student mastery thinking skills. Continued …….

Reflection Continued I have also gained a deeper understanding of thinking skills and learned valuable terminology that aides in metacognition, for myself and for my students. This book has also helped me to evaluate how well my teaching strategies foster thinking skills and metacognition. By Teri Bohr

Application “If we want to engage students in the pursuit of science(or math) as a valid intellectual goal, then we must focus our teaching and learning energies on meaning-making activities that bring students’ hearts and minds into the science(or math) learning cycle.” By Teri Bohr

Application Continued.. I have always attempted to infuse meaning into my teaching, and to foster thinking skills. I now have a bigger “bag of tricks” to use in my classroom to foster critical thinking and metacognition. I hope to be more mindful of these when I make and modify lessons in the future. Too often I do not make a conscious effort to incorporate the two into my lessons. I believe that thinking skills are extremely important and they empower students with skills that will help them tremendously in all aspects of life. By Teri Bohr