Click on the links below for:

Tony Ryan's Thinker Keys Habits of Mind - Arthur Costa | Bena Kallick

The Big 6 - Mike Eisenberg | Bob Berkowitz Howard Gardiner's Multiple Intelligences

Bloom's Taxonomy - Benjamin Bloom Habits of Mind - What are they?




Thinker’s Keys

These are tools invented by Tony Ryan to help us look at problems or situations in ways that we otherwise might not think of. As Tony Ryan writes,

"Thinker's Keys should be linked with the thematic approach to teaching, as outlined in 'Adventures in Thinking'. Naturally, there is nothing new about the teaching of thinking or about the thematic approach. Thousands of teachers throughout the world have been applying these philosophies for many years.

THE NEED FOR CREATIVE THINKING

The majority of the Keys place emphasis upon the development of innovative and creative thinking. I have done this for three important reasons:

1. Creative thinking can be exciting and enjoyable. This active participation can then create a positive attitude towards the learning process.

2. The stimulation of creativity in learning heightens the emotional link with that learning. This emotional involvement boosts the effectiveness of our memory systems.

3. Developing our creative potential will strengthen our ability to cope with change. If there is one thing that we can guarantee into the 21st century, it will be the exponential rate of change that will affect the world. When our thinking is openended and accepting of new ideas, we become much more capable of adapting to these changing circumstances.

THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Creative thinking assumes even greater importance when we consider the potential of artificial intelligence. The world is now well into the Information Age, and computers continue to rapidly overtake many of the analytical thinking functions that we formerly entrusted to our brains. It is obvious that computers will eventually be able to fulfil most of these functions. Thus, the occupations waiting for today's students in the 21st century will be those that computers are not capable of doing. These future occupations are likely to involve a strong creative and personal component. Where does this leave today's students? There is no point in radically altering the present curriculum, because rapid change has never worked anywhere, particularly in the education system. Keeping this point in mind, however, it is important that we integrate creative activities into our present structures, and provide children with strong coping mechanisms for their uncertain future."



The Big 6

The Big 6 is an Inquiry Process used / designed to get student to think more deeply about a task or problem. As the name suggests it has 6 steps which include:

TASK DEFINITION -- INFORMATION SEEKING STRATEGIES -- LOCATION AND ACCESS -- USE OF INFORMATION -- SYNTHESIS -- EVALUATION

The Big6 is an information and technology literacy model and curriculum, implemented in thousands of schools. Some people call the Big6 an information problem-solving strategy because with the Big6, students are able to handle any problem, assignment, decision or task. It provides a "logical," well designed process to work with and it provides the students with a "common vocabulary"



Bloom's

In 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who developed a classification of levels of intellectual behavior important in learning. Bloom found that over 95 % of the test questions students encounter require them to think only at the lowest possible level...the recall of information.

The Revised Taxonomy

During the 1990's, Lorin Anderson (a former student of Benjamin Bloom) led a team of cognitive psychologists in revisiting the taxonomy with the view to examining the relevance of the taxonomy as we enter the twenty-first century.

REMEMBERING

Recognise, list, describe, identify retrieve, name …. Can the student RECALL information?

UNDERSTANDING

Interpret, exemplify, summarise, infer, paraphrase ….. Can the student EXPLAIN ideas or concepts?

APPLYING

Implement, carry out, use … Can the student USE the new knowledge in another familiar situation?

ANALYSING

Compare, attribute, organise, deconstruct … Can the student DIFFERENTIATE between constituent parts?

EVALUATING

Check, critique, judge hypothesise ... Can the student JUSTIFY a decision or course of action?

CREATING

Design, construct, plan, produce ... Can the student GENERATE new products, ideas or ways of viewing things ?



Habits of Mind

"Habits of Mind are the characteristics of what intelligent people do when they are confronted with problems, the resolutions of which are not immediately apparent." (Costa)

Understanding what Habits of Mind are, and what each of them encompasses, is something that develops and deepens as we work with them. The table below gives a brief description of each Habit of Mind. Note that all the Habits are verbs. In Room 16 we have touched on some of these over the last Term.

Persistence - Stick to it! Persevering in task through to completion; remaining focused. Looking for ways to reach your goal when stuck. Not giving up.

Managing Impulsivity - Take your Time! Thinking before acting; remaining calm, thoughtful and deliberative.

Listening with Empathy and Understanding - Understand Others! Devoting mental energy to another person's thoughts and ideas; Make an effort to perceive another's point of view and emotions

Thinking Flexibly - Look at it Another Way! Being able to change perspectives, generate alternatives, consider options

Thinking about your Thinking : Metacognition - Know your knowing! Being aware of your own thoughts, strategies, feelings and actions and their effects on others.

Striving for Accuracy - Check it again! Always doing your best. Setting high standards. Checking and finding ways to improve constantly.

Applying Past Knowledge - Use what you Learn! Accessing prior knowledge; transferring knowledge beyond the situation in which it was learned.

Questioning and Posing Problems - How do you know? Having a questioning attitude; knowing what data are needed and developing questioning strategies to produce those data. Finding problems to solve

Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision - Be clear! Striving for accurate communication in both written and oral form; avoiding over generalizations, distortions, deletions and exaggerations.

Gathering Data Through All Senses - Use your natural pathways! Pay attention to the world around you Gather data through all the senses. taste, touch, smell, hearing and sight

Creating, Imagining & Innovating - Try a different way! Generating new and novel ideas, fluency, originality

Responding With Wonderment and Awe - Have fun figuring it out! Finding the world awesome, mysterious and being intrigued with phenomena and beauty. Being passionate.

Taking Responsible Risks - Venture out! Being adventuresome; living on the edge of one's competence. Try new things constantly.

Finding Humour - Laugh a little! Finding the whimsical, incongruous and unexpected. Being able to laugh at oneself.

Thinking Interdependently - Work together! Being able to work in and learn from others in reciprocal situations. Team work.

Remaining Open to Continuous Learning - Learn from experiences! Having humility and pride when admitting we don't know resisting complacency.



Multiple Intelligences

Essentially Multiple Intelligences could be called ones Learning Style or how an individual prefers to learn. They are different ways in which we express our intellectual abilities. Knowing your learning style will help you develop coping strategies to compensate for your weaknesses and capitalize on your strengths.

The seven Intelligences as described by Gardiner are:

Visual/Spatial Intelligence - ability to perceive the visual. These learners tend to think in pictures and need to create vivid mental images to retain information. They enjoy looking at maps, charts, pictures, videos, and movies.

Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence - ability to use words and language. These learners have highly developed auditory skills and are generally elegant speakers. They think in words rather than pictures.

Logical/Mathematical Intelligence - ability to use reason, logic and numbers. These learners think conceptually in logical and numerical patterns making connections between pieces of information. Always curious about the world around them, these learner ask lots of questions and like to do experiments.

Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence - ability to control body movements and handle objects skillfully. These learners express themselves through movement. They have a good sense of balance and eye-hand co-ordination. (e.g. ball play, balancing beams). Through interacting with the space around them, they are able to remember and process information.

Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence - ability to produce and appreciate music. These musically inclined learners think in sounds, rhythms and patterns. They immediately respond to music either appreciating or criticizing what they hear. Many of these learners are extremely sensitive to environmental sounds (e.g. crickets, bells, dripping taps).

Interpersonal Intelligence - ability to relate and understand others. These learners try to see things from other people's point of view in order to understand how they think and feel. They often have an uncanny ability to sense feelings, intentions and motivations. They are great organizers, although they sometimes resort to manipulation. Generally they try to maintain peace in group settings and encourage co-operation.They use both verbal (e.g. speaking) and non-verbal language (e.g. eye contact, body language) to open communication channels with others.

Intrapersonal Intelligence - ability to self-reflect and be aware of one's inner state of being. These learners try to understand their inner feelings, dreams, relationships with others, and strengths and weaknesses.