10 Ideas to Start Building a Culture of Thinking at Your School

HaveaconversationusingtheChalkTalkroutine.Therearelotsofpossibletopics,but
oneoptionistolabel4sheetsofchartpaperwith:Engagement,Independence,
Understanding,andThinking.Haveteachersengageinconversationaboutthesetopics
silentlyinwriting.Theycandefinetheterms,saywhytheythinktheyareimportant,
sharewhattheyhavelearnediseffectivepractice,andmostimportantlyraisequestions
andissuesabouthowtomovetheseideasforwardinstudentslives.Afterthesilent
periodidentifykeyideasworthreturningtoandthinkingmoreabout.Someothergood
topicsforChalkTalkdiscussionsare:Whatisgoodthinkingandhowdowepromoteit?
Howcanweknowourstudentsarebecoming21stcenturylearnersandthinkers?Whatdo
wewantthestudentsweteachtobelikeasadults?Ifwecouldntrelyontests,howcould
weknowourstudentsarelearning?
Doaghostwalkatyourschool.Askteacherstogeneratealistofwhattheywould
expecttoseeataschoolthathadthinkingasitscenterpieceandcalleditselfacultureof
thinking.Afteryouhavegeneratedthelist,sendteamsofftolookforsignsofacultureof
thinkingwithintheschool.Wheredoesitshowup?Whereisitmissingthatyoumight
haveexpected?Arethereanymixedmessages?Whatmightwedocollectivelyand
independentlytoshowparentsandstudentsthatthisschoolreallyvaluesthinking?
Engageinanarticleorbookstudy.Thereareseveraloptionsforbooksorarticles
relatedtoculturesofthinking:MakingThinkingVisible,IntellectualCharacter,Smart
Schools,IntellectualCharacter,MakingLearningWhole,andTheGlobalAchievementGap
aresome.Teacherwrittenarticlesfromthewww.StoriesOfLearning.comwebsitecanbe
downloaded.Researcharticlescanbedownloadedfromwww.RonRitchhart.com.You
mightwanttouseadifferentprotocoltostructurethediscussionforeachsession.These
canbefoundathttp://www.nsrfharmony.org/protocol.
Identify,Whatthinkinglivesinmyclassroom?Askeachteachertoidentifythekind
ofthinkinghe/sheistryingtopromoteinhis/herclassroom(thiscanbetakenfromthe
understandingmaporfromtheDelugeofDispositionssheet).Askeachteachertocometo
thenextfacultymeetingwithsomeevidence(anecdote,story,studentwork,narrative)
thatdemonstrateshowthatthinkinglivesinhis/herclassroomandhasaprominentplace
there.Extendthisbysurveyingstudentsaboutwhatthinkingtheythinklivesinthatclass.
Discussavideo.ThereisaDVDincludedwithMakingThinkingVisibleandaDVDon
thinkingroutinesisalsoavailable.Therearelotsofvideostobefoundonthewebaswell
andfromvariousorganizationssuchasEdutopia.Inwatchinganddiscussingvideositis
importanttohaveapurpose/focusandaprotocol/structureforthediscussionsothatthe
sessiondoesntbecomeabouttheteacherortheactivity.Youcanfocusviewingbylooking
forthetypesofthinkingondisplay,thelevelofengagementandindependenceexhibited
bystudents,thewaytheculturalforcesareshapingthelearning,theunderlyingmessages
aboutwhatlearningis,thekindsofquestionstheteacherisasking,andsoon.Asonegets
betteratlookingforlearningandthinking,itraisesyourawarenessofitandhelpsyou
noticeitmoreinyourownclassroom.

Ron Ritchhart, 2011. Cultures of Thinking

 Collectsomedata.Findoutwhatkindofthinkingisgoingoninyourschoolcurrently.
Surveystudentsonthetypeofthinkingtheyfeeltheyaredoingintheirclasses.Collect
assignmentsfromallclassesonagivendayandanalyzethemusingtheUnderstanding
MapandtheSliceprotocol.Observeinclassroomandpayattentiontowhatstudentsare
actuallydoing.Whereandwhendoyouseethemthinking?Whatkindofmentalactivity
aretheyactuallyengagedin?Afteryouhaveasnapshotofwheretheschoolisat,identify
theareasyouwanttoworkongoingforward.
TryaThinkingRoutineschoolwide.Asaschool,pickonethinkingroutinetotryout.
Collectsamplesofstudentworkfromtheroutineandlookacrossgradelevelsandsubject
areastoseewhatitcantellyouaboutthedevelopmentofstudentsthinking.Didolder
studentsproducemorethoughtfulworkordidtheyoungerstudentssurpriseyou?What
doyounoticeabouttherolethecontent/stimulusplaysinproducingdeeper,richer
thinking?
ConveneagrouptousetheLookingAtStudentThinking(LAST)Protocol.Agreat
waytogetteachersmoreattunedtostudentthinkingistoexaminestudentworkand
actuallylookforevidenceofthinking.Conveneagroupofinterestedteachers(68is
good)toengageinthisprocessonaregularbasis(note,itgenerallytakesabout3times
throughbeforepeoplereallygetgoodatusingaprotocol).Asafacilitator,rememberthat
thisisntaprotocoltoassessperformance,norisitabouthelpingateacherplan,theheart
oftheprotocolisaboutlookingforthinkingandraisingquestionsandimplicationsforus
all
InstituteaWhatifWeek:Sometimesteachersarereluctanttotakeonnewideasfor
feartryingsomethingnewwillharmstudentspreparationforimportanttests.Other
timesthereisjustareluctancetotrysomethingnewbecauseitwillfeeluncomfortable.
Youcansendamessagetoteachersabouttheimportanceofexperimentationinteaching
andlearningabouttheeffectsonstudentsbydesignatingaWhatifWeekinwhich
everyoneagreestotrysomethingnew,notjustforday,butforawholeweekthattheyfeel
hasthepotentialtofosterstudentsengagement,independence,understanding,orthinking.
Thispointisimportant.Itisntjusttryingsomethingnew,itishavingahunchthatthis
newthingmighthaveaspecificbenefitandthenactuallytestingitout.Forexample,letting
studentscomeupwiththeirownhomeworkassignmentstonurtureindependenceand
engagementortryingtoaskmorefacilitativequestionstouncoverstudentsthinking.
Everyonethentriestheirideasoutonthesameassignedweek:Attheendoftheweek
everyonereportsbackonwhattheylearned.Someschoolshaveextendedthisideaby
institutingaRiskyJuneattheendoftheyear.
Celebratethinking.Starteachfacultymeetingbysharingexamplesfromclassroomsof
studentsengagedingoodthinking.Thekindofthinkingbehaviorthatmakesateacher
standupandtakenoticebecauseofitsdepth,richness,orinsightfulnature.Identifythe
typeofthinking.Holdagallerywalkofstudentworkthatdisplaysthedocumentationof
studentthinkingandlearning.Invitestudents,parents,andteachersfromotherschoolsto
viewandcommentonthework.

Ron Ritchhart, 2011. Cultures of Thinking