Changing Habits of Mind
Habits of Mind Professional Development
Last year three of my colleagues and I were given an opportunity to attend a 3-day training session on the Habits of Mind as defined by Art Costa and Bena Kallik. During this training we learned how to teach students to use a set of 16 intelligent behaviors that help them solve problems in and out of school. Throughout the school year, as we received training, we tried out the strategies in our classroom. It was
This year my colleagues and I planned and presented three professional development sessions to introduce all of the habits and help the staff learn the three that we would focus on school-wide. Knowing that adult learners are more engaged when learning occurs around knowledge that can be applied to solving real-life problems, we started our first session with teachers listing the characteristics they felt their students needed in order to be successful. After completing the list, we were able to make the connection to the Habits of Mind and how they can help our students achieve success. During these sessions, we spent most of our time facilitating teacher discussions and collaborations. Although we presented new material, teachers worked together to develop ideas for how to best incorporate the use of the habits in the classroom.
Since the implementation of the Habits of Mind, students can be heard in the hallways using the language of the habits with each other. Teachers and students are using them more frequently in their classrooms. Teachers are also incorporating the use of the Habits of Mind for solving their own problems. One teacher used the habit of “thinking interdependently” at a staff meeting recently to give the rationale for working together on a school-related flash mob. Although I will not be at the school next year, I know that the other members of my team will continue the work. I hope to be able to bring this knowledge and experience to my new school.
Teachers learning about the Habits of Mind Habits of Mind Summary Card
Habits of Mind Parent Workshop
As a school leader, it is important to communicate and collaborate with all stakeholders, including families, in order to ensure the success of our students. With our school-wide focus on the Habits of Mind, I thought it was important to also teach our parents about these habits and how they can
apply them at home. To do this, I enlisted the help of a colleague who helped me plan the workshop and who could offer Spanish translation support. Just as our team did with the teachers, we began by soliciting ideas for what characteristics parents would like to see in their own children. We then shared videos
and descriptions for each of the focus habits and asked parents to work together to find examples and non-examples of using each habit. Finally, we ended with presenting a common scenario and asking parents to think together about which habits they could encourage their child to use in the situation. Parents were engaged in the training and asked for more workshops on the Habits of Mind for the future. Our principal also reported that parents gave her positive feedback on the workshop. Again, this is something that can be carried out next year by my colleagues and something that I hope to bring to the families in my new school community.
Click image to see PowerPoint slides.
