Making Thinking Visible

One of the biggest evolutions in teaching and learning since we have found ourselves in the knowledge age where information is easily accessible with a click is that the goals for learning are more about thinking than knowing. Knowing content is essential. Each domain still has certain foundational knowledge from which all else flows, however knowing is not enough. Thinking, problem-solving, and working through problems collectively are critical learning goals.

Helping students develop rigorous thinking and analytical abilities as they learn domain knowledge is the goal of "Making Thinking Visible" and "Making Learning Whole." Much of these thinking routines can be accomplished in collaborative learning with teams and with project-based learning.

From Making Thinking Visible by Ron Ritchhart and David Perkins (February 2008) in Educational Leadership

Six key principles of Visible Thinking:

1. Learning is a consequence of thinking. Students understand and remember content better when they think through it. Teaming allows learners to build and share knowledge with each other.

2. Good thinking is part skill and part attitude. It is essential to develop and foster open-mindedness, curiosity, attention and observation skills, imagination, inventiveness, and growth mindsets.

3. The development of thinking is a social endeavor. We learn best from those around us and our engagement with them. Social interaction in classrooms should be all the time, not sporadic.

4. Fostering thinking requires making thinking visible. Externalizing and documenting our thoughts in various ways helps us become aware of our thinking and how to make it grow.

5. Classroom culture sets the tone for learning and shapes what is learned. Depending on their form, these forces can support or undermine the rhythm of thoughtful learning:

(1) classroom routines and structures for learning
(2) language and conversational patterns
(3) implicit and explicit expectations
(4) time allocation
(5) modeling by teachers and others
(6) the physical environment
(7) relationships and patterns of interaction
(8) the creation of opportunities.

6. Schools must be culture of thinking for teachers. Instruction can only improve as teachers learn and develop. Administrators need to value, create, and preserve time for teachers to discuss teaching and learning, grounded in observation of student work.

How do we fostering thinking about thinking in our work across the grades?
What would we like to explore to evolve our practice?
What might be the pros and cons of adopting more thinking routines in our teaching?