Habits of Mind

(click on the above words to go to the Habits of Mind web site)

Wolftrap Teachers and Students Learn about Arthur Costa's Habits of Mind!

Monthly Themes at Wolftrap Elementary School

September: - Drawing on Past Knowledge and Wonderment andCuriosity

October: - Flexibility in Thinking and Thinking Interdependently

November/December: - Metacognition and Decreasing Impulsivity

January: - Questioning and Problem - Posing

February: - Persistence and Listening to Others with Understanding

March: - Precision of Language and Finding Humor

April: - Ingenuity and Originality and Taking Responsible Risks

May: - Using All the Senses and Remaining Open to Continuous Learning

A Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it..

Horace Mann, American Educator, 1796-1859.

HABIT OF MIND

WHAT IT MEANS

PERSISTENCE	Keep trying, don't give up
DECREASING IMPULSIVITY	Think before you say or do something
LISTENING TO OTHERS WITH UNDERSTANDING	Listen well and try to imagine yourself as the other person
FLEXIBILITY IN THINKING	Try hard to think of several ideas or answers
METACOGNITION	Think about how you learn and think
CHECKING FOR ACCURACY	Always go back and check your work - make sure it is correct
QUESTIONING AND PROBLEM POSING	Ask questions to help you learn more
DRAWING ON PAST KNOWLEDGE	Think about what you already know and how it can help you learn something new
PRECISION OF LANGUAGE	Try to find the best word, not the first word you think of.. be clear
USING ALL THE SENSES	Be aware of the things around you and use your eyes and ears, as well as your brain
INGENUITY and ORIGINALITY	Try to think of a question or answer that no one else thought of
WONDERMENT and CURIOSITY	Always be ready to learn something new; make learning an adventure
TAKING RESPONSIBLE RISKS	Try new things that are hard, always keeping safety in mind
FINDING HUMOR	Have fun learning, see the humor in things, laugh at situations not at other people
THINKING INTERDEPENDENTLY	Work well with others, share ideas and materials
REMAINING OPEN TO CONTINUOUS LEARNING	Always keep an open mind, you can learn something from each person in the class