Intersections

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Intersections

• Collaborative Forces
• Wellington 2-4 July 2007

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Making a Habit of Thought-full Learning

• Thinking for Understanding_at_ Rangi Ruru
• Judi Hancock
• Information Services Manager

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Background Information on RR

• Independent
• All girls school
• 700 roll
• Academically successful
• History of GATE

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Background 2004

• Major review of RR Strategic Plan
• Focus on future proofing
• Project Teams created
• Thinking Skills Project team formed with most
  faculties represented.

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Identified Desired Result

• The implementation of a school wide programme
  which empowered staff and students to effectively
  use flexible thinking strategies to enhance the
  teaching, learning understanding already taking
  place.

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Identified the essential question

• Why change what we are doing if our exam results
  are already so good?

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The Short Answer

• Dealing with a different kind of girl
• Confirmed by JoAnn Deak others
• Key characteristics staff wanted in students were
  independence and flexibility
• Room to improve on level of understanding vs
  level of knowing

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Pam Hook visit April 2005www.hooked-on-thinking
.com

• Positive qualities of a RR girl (lots!)
• Less positive
• Not inclined to question
• Not inclined to think critically
• Not inclined to analyse
• Not inclined to independent learning

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Key Points

• If school wide, then staff need to value it
• Need to involve staff in deciding what is worth
  having and what is worth doing
• Very useful to have a common thinking language
• Use underlying values of the school

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Gathering data

• Big PD push. TT given preference
• Staff attend Powerful Learning Conference in
  Auckland (9)
• Staff attend 1 day seminar in ChCh with Costa,
  Claxton et al (14)
• Staff attend Karen Boyes seminar in ChCh (4)
• Management Team attended International Thinking
  Conference in Melbourne

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Conclusion

• Art Costas 16 Habits of Minds came through as
  something that applied to every subject, every
  girl and every staff member!
• Thinking strategies needed to be highlighted more
  effectively.

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A Habit of Mind?

• Is about a predisposition, inclination, set of
  behaviours that a person can choose in
  approaching a task in life.
• Habits of Mind is the work of Dr. Arthur L.
  Costa, professor emeritus of the California State
  University. He has identified a total of 16
  habits that successful people exhibit as
  cognitive as well as character traits

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16 Habits of Mind

• Persisting
• Managing impulsivity
• Listening
• Thinking flexibly
• Metacognition
• Accuracy precision
• Questioning
• Applying past knowledge

• Clarity precision
• Using all senses
• Creating, imagining, innovating
• Wonderment awe
• Responsible risks
• Finding humour
• Thinking interdependently
• continuous learning

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Art Costa Visit

• In half an hour put us 6 mths ahead!
• Asked staff what qualities we wanted in our
  students.
• Independence
• Flexibility
• Ability to understand transfer knowledge
• Showed (briefly) how the HoM could help
• Met with Thinking Team

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Art Costas Advice

• Go slowly with implementation plan
• Go for ripple effect through faculties
• Values crucial to underpin HoM
• Avoid 1 HoM per term scenario (although can see
  why schools do it)
• Develop a school wide vocabulary
• Think about how you will sustain it

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The Plan

• No major launch
• Building on what we are already doing
• Part of an ongoing journey
• Important for staff not to be overwhelmed by yet
  another new initiative

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Key Recommendations to Staff

• Art Costas 16 Habits of Mind
• be adopted by staff, students and
• parents and that they be
• Linked to the RR values
• Supported by appropriate teaching strategies
• Adopted voluntarily by staff

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RR Values

• Respect
• Aroha
• eNdeavour
• Generosity of spirit
• Integrity
• Why is it essential to have the HoM underpinned
  by values?

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School wide

• Posters for all the HoM designed and distributed
  around school and Boarding House
• HoM in student handbook
• Information in parent newsletter
• Language in reports

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Faculty focus

• Each faculty chose 2/3 HoM to focus on
• Hn visited each faculty helped them unpack
  their HoM
• When a Science student shows persistence she is
  expected to..
• When a Science student shows persistence she is
  seen to
• Subject specific posters created

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Faculty documentation

• HoM present in the Faculty documentation? Faculty
  report? Faculty scheme?

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Student focus

• HoM referred to in
• Planning of units of work
• Assignments
• Evaluations/Learning Logs
• Marking schedules

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Examples kept in folder in every faculty
added to evidence

• English Wide Reading. HoM used by characters
  how/why/effect
• Science match HoM to scientific method
• Science identify HoM used by famous scientists
• Visual Arts in wording of student assessment
  (If I had persisted more I could have.)
• Christian Living HoM identified for each topic
  and related to religious/current/relevant
  issues/individuals
• Intermediate School self assessment for
  learning
• P.E. HoM needed to kayak roll successfully
• SS HoM employed by world leaders (good and bad)

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Teaching Learning Strategies

• Focus on questioning posters, workshop
• Staff who had been to conferences shared ideas
• What to do when dont know what to do poster
• Try 3 then ask me
• Jot down ideas before answering questions for
  richer thinking (metagognitting)
• Expected behaviours in front of book refer to
  them when not being met

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Contd

• Staff slots in staff meetings
• Thinking Tour of classrooms
• Thinking Fountain in FirstClass
• Tapes/conference papers available from me
• Books catalogued under 001 so easy to find!
• Goal in staff IRS
• New staff have session with Hn

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Key Competencies

• Rangi decided to follow the OECD (Organisation
  for Economic Co-operation Development) key
  competencies rather than the NZ ones
• Involved writing a Thinking for Understanding
  competency

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Any difference?

• Reflective practice more focused language being
  observed by RPs
• Language coming through in reports
• Language coming through in student responses
• HoM being applied to co curricular activities as
  well

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Examples of student responses

• Persistence in kayak rolling
• When attempting the full roll for the first
  time I couldnt get up but I kept trying and
  thinking about technique even when it became
  frustrating. I eventually did it.

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English

• Cameron has used some useful Habits of Mind
  methods to cope with his challenges. One of the
  Habits of Mind he used is Persistance. He knows
  what he wants therefore he sticks to it and goes
  for it.Another habit of mind method he used was
  thinking flexibly. This is shown when he comes up
  with a plan to go out with Kat so that he can
  date Bianca. Thinking flexibly is a good habit of
  mind to have so that we are trained to think of
  other solutions if one solution does not work.
• (Response to Text Yr 10 Exam)

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Report General Comment

• D. has a lot of potential both academically and
  in her co curricular activities. Curbing her
  impulsivity and being a little more aware of the
  needs of others will help her to realise that
  potential.

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2007 Language of Thinking

• Each faculty to focus on
• Modelling of language in the classroom to create
  thinking routines
• Explanations direct teaching of terms
  concepts
• Interactions expectation that students will use
  the language of thinking themselves
• Feedback use precise language
• Booklet to record ideas. To be shared with other
  faculties

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Challenges Ahead

• Maintaining momentum
• Changing habits of a lifetime of staff students
• Making the Habits/new strategies habitual