Habits of Mind

Integrating the 16 Habits of Mind
The Habits of Mind by Art Costa and Bena Kallick don't simply represent fragments
of practice to "add on" to what you already do, but rather new ways to think about
how people learn.
1. Persisting
Have students identify characteristics of persistence shown by individuals in well-

known events, or imagine what might have occurred if more or less persistence was
shown in a given scenario.
2. Managing Impulsivity
Model the use of patience in the classroom, including wait time during discussion, or
using helpful sentence stems that reflect intentional choice (such as "After reviewing
all of the possible solutions . . . ").
3. Listening to Others with Understanding and Empathy
Identify the most common "listening set-asides" in conversation so that students can
begin to recognize common "errors" that occur in everyday communication. These
errors might include comparing, judging, placating or giving advice instead of really
listening and understanding a message.
4. Thinking Flexibly
Use RAFT assignments (Role, Audience, Format, Topic) where students must
consider a situation, letter, speech or poem from a perspective other than their own,
or that of the original speakers.
5. Thinking About Our Thinking (Metacognition)
Ask students to map out their own thinking process. This can be done simply at first,
e.g., diagramming the relationship between a want and a need, a gesture and a
need to gesture. Then make it increasingly complex -- mapping out how characters
from books or thinkers in history might have arrived at certain starting or stopping
points in thought.
6. Striving for Accuracy and Precision
Use "three before me," a strategy that insists on any important assignment being
checked by at least three other people before being handed in.
7. Questioning and Posing Problems
Create a "parking lot" area in the classroom -- stocked with post-it notes -- where
students can post questions that may not fit into the pace or format of a given class.
Then highlight the better questions periodically, or use them as jumping off points for
discussion or even lesson planning.
8. Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations
Use question stems like "What do you remember about . . . ?", "When have you ever
seen anything like this?" or "Tell me what you know about . . . " Whether you
consider this activating schema, prior knowledge, or simply getting students more
comfortable and in tune with what they already know, it can be a huge boost to the
learning process.
9. Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision
Remind students to avoid the vagueness and abstraction -- and imprecision -- of

terms like always, never, all, everybody, teachers, celebrities, technology, they, we,
should and must. Post these kinds of words or phrases where students can be
reminded of them -- and know to avoid them. And hopefully know why they should
avoid them.
10. Gathering Data Through All Senses
Playfully allow students to "cite" sources from sensory data in addition to traditional
textual sources. Also consider including the compelling use of such data in a rubric
for formal assessment.
11. Creating, Imagining and Innovating
Offer persistent sources of inspiring thought, design, art or multimedia through

writing prompts, discussion points or simply as a daily class closure. This models not
only creativity, but also expertise, and is readily available on YouTube, Pinterest and
Instagram.
12. Responding with Wonderment and Awe
Don't just allow opportunities for student choice in topics, formats or learning
pathways -- insist on it. Refuse to move the class forward until they are bringing their
own passions into the learning experience.
13. Taking Responsible Risks
Create an environment where failure is analyzed, not punished.
14. Finding Humour

Point out humor where it is not immediately apparent, especially in stories and
examples from your own life. This can help establish the "relativity" of "things," which
supports more accurate analysis. Humor makes everything better.
15. Thinking Interdependently
Using digital and social media imposes at least a topical need for interdependence
from the beginning. The more thinking is published and shared, the more opportunity
there will be for cognitive interdependence, though even opportunities aren't
guarantees that it will happen.
16. Learning Continuously
Intermittently revisit old ideas, writing and projects to identify areas for development,
improvement or revision. This is especially natural in digital domains, where content
is more fluid -- updated, shared, hyperlinked, curated, reformatted into more or less
visual terms, then shared again.
I know that these are just the tip of the iceberg and that there are many approaches
one can take. Which of these Habits of Mind need the most support for your
students? How do you integrate these habits into your classroom?

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Integrating the 16 Habits of Mind

Have students identify characteristics of persistence shown by individuals in well-

3. Listening to Others with Understanding and Empathy

5. Thinking About Our Thinking (Metacognition)

6. Striving for Accuracy and Precision

8. Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations

9. Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision

Remind students to avoid the vagueness and abstraction -- and imprecision -- of

10. Gathering Data Through All Senses

11. Creating, Imagining and Innovating

Offer persistent sources of inspiring thought, design, art or multimedia through

12. Responding with Wonderment and Awe

13. Taking Responsible Risks

Create an environment where failure is analyzed, not punished.

14. Finding Humour

15. Thinking Interdependently

16. Learning Continuously

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