Ways of Teaching Thinking Thinking through Dispositions	Ways of Thinking Contents Introduction Thinking through Thinkpoints     - Big Ideas     - Practical Profile     - Action Guide Thinking through Dispositions     - Big Ideas     - Practical Profile     - Action Guide Thinking through Transfer     - Big Ideas     - Practical Profile     - Action Guide Thinking through Assessment     - Big Ideas     - Practical Profile     - Action Guide
Big Ideas Behind Thinking through Dispositions Good thinking is more than just a matter of skill. Good thinking involves attending to one's attitudes, values, of habits of mind A thinking disposition breaks down into three parts. ability or skill (one's capacity to carry out a particular thinking task), inclination (one's tendency to engage or invest critically in a thinking opportunity), and sensitivity (one's tendency to detect or notice thinking opportunities). In order to cultivate students' thinking dispositions, teachers should attend to each of the three components when designing lessons, projects, or activities. Dispositions are teachable. Cultivating thinking dispositions involves providing lots of good thinking models, thinking-centered interactions with other students, teachers, and experts, thinking-centered feedback, and direct explanation about the types of good thinking behaviors or dispositions desired. Good thinking is learnable. Attending to thinking dispositions helps students learn how to navigate their way around new knowledge and deepen their understandings of that knowledge. Detection is key. In many cases, good thinking begins with detecting or noticing an occasion to think critically. In other words, students need to be sensitive to occasions to apply the skills they possess. Unfortunately, students don't tend to notice important and potentially generative thinking occasions. This lack of sensitivity has been found to be a significant bottleneck in students' thinking and learning performances. Psychology plays a role. Students generally possess the basic skills or ability to perform a thinking task when prompted (e.g. generate a reason or an alternative option). However, without explicit scaffolding or prompting from a teacher or some other source, students often tend not to notice or fully engage in the task. This gap between students' ability to think critically and their tendency to invest fully in a thinking opportunity can be thought of as a "dispositions effect." A goal for teachers is to minimize the dispositions gap as much as possible.
Next Steps:
More on Teaching through Dispositions Practical Profile of Thinking Through Dispositions Action Guide for Thinking Through Dispositions Ways of Thinking Contents Introduction Thinking through Thinkpoints     - Big Ideas     - Practical Profile     - Action Guide Thinking through Dispositions     - Big Ideas     - Practical Profile     - Action Guide Thinking through Transfer     - Big Ideas     - Practical Profile     - Action Guide Thinking through Assessment     - Big Ideas     - Practical Profile     - Action Guide The Thinking Classroom Quick Menu - select a destination - The Thinking Classroom Home Page Introducing the Thinking Classroom >Ways of Thinking     Thinking through Thinkpoints     Thinking through Dispositions     Thinking through Transfer     Thinking through Assessment >Information & Resources     Pictures of Practice     Articles >Curriculum Design Tools     Design Tools     Classroom Resources >Communication & Community     News Notes     Forum >Reflect & Connect     Reflection Activities     Reflection Journal

Backpack: [Designs] [CCDT Trailhead] [Forums] [Notepad] [Links] [Address Book] [User Profile]
Main Regions: [Look] [Reflect] [Explore] [Build] [Connect] [Learn]
[Logout] [Chat]

WIDE World Online Courses! WIDE World is a distance learning initiative from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. It offers educators high-quality, coaching-based professional development at a distance, with a focus on teaching for understanding, thinking, assessment, and the integration of new technologies. Click here for more information.

Questions about this site: ALPS Webmaster (alpswebmaster@gse.harvard.edu)
Please provide us with feedback on this site.