Cultures of Thinking

Session 3
October 31, 2017
Liz Barrow and Erin Michalak
7 Norms of Collaboration
Promoting a spirit of inquiry
“I’d like to know more about…” or “Tell me more about…”
Pausing
Allow think time for yourself and others
Paraphrasing
“So what you are saying is…” or “You’re thinking…”
Probing for specifics
“I’d like to hear more about…” or “Specifically what…”
Putting ideas on the table
“Here is one idea…” or “Another consideration might be…”
Paying Attention to Self and Others
How am I reacting to what is being said? What am I feeling?
Presuming Positive intentions
Give others the benefit of doubt. We are in this together.
21st Century Learners Crafting a New Story

As you watch think

about these questions:

“How am I teaching this new

generation of learners?”

“What might I try to do

differently?”
Connecting to our Previous session...
Used to Think, Now I Think...
★ Read over what you wrote at the end of last session about
Expectations

★ “Turn and Talk” to a person at your table. The person with the
birthday closest to today goes first.
★ Help your partner make their thinking visible
by asking questions, paraphrasing,
or probing for specifics
Expectations For Students
Focusing students on the learning vs. the work (p. 43-46)

Teaching for understanding vs. knowledge (p. 47-50)

Encouraging deep vs surface learning strategies (p. 50- 54)

Promoting independence vs. dependence (p. 54-55)

Developing a growth vs. fixed mindset (p. 55-58)

Small group Jigsaw (Part 1)
● Read through your selection of pages.
● Record your own thoughts for the following questions,
then have a discussion with your small group about your
findings and thoughts.
○ What does this mean?
○ How can we think differently about it in our classrooms?
Small group Jigsaw (Part 2)
● Hold up the appropriate number of fingers to indicate
which section you read
● Mingle until you find a group of people who represent
all 5 sections
● Share your biggest takeaways, focusing on how this
translates into what we do in our classrooms
 The 8
Mind Frames of
Teachers Who Impact Student
Learning
Principles and Mindframes
COT Key Principles
1. Skills are not sufficient; we must also have the
disposition to use them.
2. The development of thinking and understanding
is fundamentally a social endeavor.
3. The culture of the classroom teaches.
4. As educators, we must strive to make students
thinking visible.
5. Good thinking utilizes a variety of resources and
is facilitated by the use of external tools to
“download” or “distribute” oneʼs thinking.
6. For classrooms to be cultures of thinking for
students, schools must be cultures of thinking for
teachers.
Hattie’s 8 Mindframes
1. Educators believe that their fundamental task is to
evaluate the effect of their teaching on students’
learning
2. Educators believe that success and failure in student
learning is about what they as educators did or did not
do
3. Educators should talk more about the learning than
the teaching
4. Educators see assessment as feedback about their
impact
5. Educators engage in dialogue not just monologue
6. Educators enjoy the challenge
7. Educators believe it is their role to develop positive
relationships in classrooms and staffrooms
8. Educators inform families about the language of
learning
 ★ Take a closer look at
pages 59-60; “Exploring and
Developing Expectations”

★ Choose a bullet point

idea to reflect on and
give it try between
now and January
Questions, Comments, Concerns?