- Persisting
– Why should I keep trying?
- Managing impulsivity
– What do I do when I am driven by emotions?
- Listening with understanding and empathy
– How might it feel to be…?
- Thinking flexibly
– In what other ways might I think about this?
- Thinking about thinking (metacognition)
– What kind of thinking is called for in this situation?
- Striving for accuracy
– How can I continue to perfect my craft?
- Questioning and posing questions
– What questions do we need to ask?
- Applying past knowledge to new situations
– What do I already know, and how does it apply here?
- Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision
– What are the consequences of imprecision?
- Gathering data through all senses
– What sources of data should I consider?
- Creating, imagining, and innovating
– What is another way of seeing or doing this?
- Responding with wonderment and awe
– Why is this so amazing, interesting, or mysterious to me?
- Taking responsible risks
– What might be the effects of taking this risk – or of not trying?
- Finding humor
– Am I taking myself too seriously?
- Thinking interdependently
– How can we work best together? How can we avoid “group think”?
- Remaining open to continuous learning
– What do I still wonder about?
Parents and caregivers may want to think aloud about their own Habits of Mind and how they also apply them. Journaling together around these questions can also be helpful and fun. And maybe before embarking on a distance learning project, students can reflect on the Habit of Mind that could be useful or choose one per day that resonates. As the authors wrote, “By visiting and revisiting the essential questions across the grades, students will come to better understand and internalize these productive mental dispositions. Ultimately, we want students to be asking these questions of themselves, without prompting. The long-range goal is for students to develop an internal compass to help them recognize the need for, and appropriately invoke, the appropriate habit(s) when confronting new challenges and opportunities, within school and throughout their lives.”
I hope your first week with distance learning has gone well and please share any of your habits that you are developing that have been helpful.
