Building a Classroom Culture with Empathy in Mind
By Allison Zmuda and Bena Kallick Focusing on the first weeks of school with a personal reflection signals to your students what you value and how you value them. So, using an empathy map as a personal reflection that can be shared with classmates is a great place to start. However, what we do the […]
Designing Curriculum with Habits of Mind
By Bena Kallick and Allison Zmuda for Eduplanet21. Enter most schools today, and you will hear discussions about one of the most significant losses for students during the pandemic — their opportunity to think interdependently — to socialize their learning as they develop their intelligence. Research suggests, to make this happen requires a combination of […]
HoM Meets the James Webb Space Telescope
by Art Costa, Co-director, The Institute for Habits of Mindand Craig Gastauer, Life Science Teacher, Vista High School,Vista Unified School District The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Conceived in September 1989 and launched into space on Christmas day, 2021, the gift of JWST will explore the mysteries in our […]
Cultivating Cultural Competence through Cross- Cultural Collaborations
By Sarah Evans How can we build cultural competence in elementary school-aged children? In a recent interview with Dr. Bena Kallick, co-founder of the Institute for Habits of Mind, she emphasized the need for building “equity consciousness”, which she defined as “the ability to pay attention to how much individuals have in common in […]
Entering a School with Music: A Place to Practice Habits of Mind
Growing up, music had a huge influence on my life. Let’s just say that I come from a family of music enthusiasts. My brother is a pianist and my mother was a dancer. Suffice to say, I grew up under the influence of melodies and beats. That’s why I’m in a perfect position to […]
Four Ways to Bring Your Authentic Self to School
By Bena Kallick and Giselle O. Martin-Kniep We educators keep hoping for certainty and stability. Many of us have assumed that we could create a predictable and linear path to learning for our students. However, since the pandemic, we are humbled by the realization that our best laid plans may not address the needs […]
The Depth Behind Icebreakers
By Shawna Parkinson Beginning school again after a year of teaching during a pandemic may leave school buildings and teachers looking for intentional moves that will unite and inspire students and staff in the first week. One approach could be to focus on building relationships through the implementation of icebreaker activities that teachers, from […]
Be a Thermostat Not a Thermometer
This is the first of three posts in a series. Our students are coming back to school whether in person or remotely with different experiences of social connection over the seventeen months (since March of 2020). As we prepare our lessons and physical spaces for students, let’s also attend to the social climate of […]
Empathy is Foundational During Our Current Uncertainty
By Allison Zmuda, Bena Kallick and Art Costa Empathy is a foundational part of healing from the political and social issues we are currently facing. Empathy can also be a response to a joyful experience. This newsletter focuses on the powerful experience people have experienced when they have been listened to with understanding and empathy. […]
Learning Empathy with Compassion Projects
By Jaime Crane and Lisa Bradley 1st-grade teachers, North Canaan Elementary School How do we grow the capacity of our young students for empathy? Last year, the first grade teachers focused on the Habit of Mind animation “Listening with Understanding and Empathy” in their classes. This was part of a larger regional project […]
Empathy in This Moment
By Jennifer Norman Empathy is an invitation to discover yourself by connecting with others in a symbiosis and bonding that heals us. Empathy is the recognition that the meaningful connection to others is where healing takes place, where we can find one another and resonate. Five years ago I met a remarkable young superintendent […]
How to Listen with Understanding and Empathy: Who Is the Spotlight Shining On?
By Arthur L. Costa, Bena Kallick, and Allison Zmuda “To listen fully means to pay close attention to what is being said beneath the words. You listen not only for what someone knows, but for what he or she is. Generative listening is the art of developing deeper silences in yourself, so you can […]
Establishing a Three-Way Relationship in Service of Deeper Learning
By Bena Kallick and Giselle O. Martin-Kniep. This article was first published on ASCD Inservice. “I, Thou, and It – a three-way relationship in which “I and Thou” are the people (often a teacher and child, though not always) and “It” is the content that compels both.” —David Hawkins, The Informed Vision, 2003 […]
Personal Reflective Journaling
By Art Costa, Bena Kallick, and Allison Zmuda Healing is about taking the time to notice what gets in the way of feeling connected to your life, your community, and your sense of possibility. Healing, at its core, is about slowing down so that we can better listen to ourselves and each other. […]
Expressing Gratitude for the Habits of Mind
By Lory Peroff and Fourth Grade Students November is a month for gratitude. We often express our thankfulness for people we love or special things we have in our lives. I wondered, in addition to people and things, what else do we have to be thankful for here in our Waikiki school community? What […]
Thank You, John, For Sharing Gratitude
By Lisa Parker and Emily Skinner Lisa Parker, is a retired teacher, and continues to conduct workshops and mentors in the education arena. She lives in Fairfield, California with her husband David. Loves being a grandma, hiking, gardening and all things in nature. Emily Skinner, is a busy mom of 4 and puts her […]
Deepening the Disposition of Gratitude
By Jennifer Norman What feels like a short while ago I began posting lists on Facebook. I called these lists “Jenn’s Tens.” It seemed like a small act at the time. My goal was to find ten things I was thankful for and if I could not, then to look at the small things […]
With an Attitude of Gratitude
By Wendy Baron, MA “Gratefulness not only changes your life, but also extends beyond your intimate sphere. It gives rise to compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and empathy, and thus informs how we treat others and how we act in the larger world.” ~ Kristi Nelson What is Gratitude? Grat·i·tude /ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/ noun a feeling of […]
Gratitude for Leadership and a Cohesive Community
By Lauren Wells In the midst of two uncontrolled pandemics, COVID-19 and racial injustice, Newark, New Jersey, is unique as a place where Black lives matter and everyone belongs. I chose to live in Newark a decade ago because of this. Now, as COVID-19 cases surge around the world for a second time, Newark […]
Restorative Discipline: Using Habits of Mind to Resolve Conflict and Restore Relationships
By Sharon Brown Imagine sitting at a table across from someone you had a disagreement with and working it out. Imagine going to a safe place to meet with a teacher to settle a problem you are having in class. These are just two examples of scenarios that became reality for many Furr high […]
Three Interrelated Keys to Greater Student Engagement and Deeper Learning
By Liz Locatelli, Ed. D. I have left most recent conversations with educators and students feeling very sad. Leaders are overwhelmed, teachers are exhausted and frustrated and students are bored. I couldn’t get my head around how we could make a difference until I had the opportunity to read a draft of Kallick and […]
Investing in the Citizens We Want
By Giselle O. Martin-Kniep For many years now, we have minimized and even ignored civic education in our schools. Now we are paying the price for that ignorance. We are surrounded by the polarized and intolerant discourse of our political representatives and the media. While this is the current state of our nation, it […]
Teaching Habits of Mind is Not Enough
By James Anderson Teaching the Habits of Mind is important, but it’s not enough. Here’s why. I remember when I first came across the Habits of Mind back in the late ’90s. I was so excited about them. I couldn’t wait to start teaching them to my students. And as a school leader, I […]
How the Habits of Mind Become a Shared Language of Learning
By James Anderson Are you talking the talk? Or walking the walk? There’s nothing quite like walking into a school where the Habits of Mind have been adopted as a language for learning. You see the Habits of Mind displayed on the walls. You read about them in school documents. And you hear parents, […]
The Tipping Point for Succeeding with Habits of Mind
By James Anderson Stop using the Habits of Mind and start improving them! Over the years, we’ve seen countless schools adopt the Habits of Mind. For many, their Habits of Mind journey has been disappointingly short lived, with little enduring impact on student learning outcomes. But for a few schools, the results have been […]
Your Whole School Approach To Habits of Mind
By James Anderson It’s been more than 25 years since Art Costa and Bena Kallick introduced the world to the Habits of Mind. In that time, the Habits have become a classic in education, transforming teaching, learning and school cultures around the world. Unfortunately, not all schools that started their Habits of Mind journey […]
Musicals that Support “Persisting” Habit
By Dr Keith Mason The 16 Habits of Mind can impact education in numerous subjects. This article focuses on Habit of Mind Number 1: Persisting, and how it is ever present in musicals. Themes, characters and songs in musicals can beautifully illustrate persisting, while students explore the persisting habit through musicals. The process of […]
Music and the 16 Habits of Mind: Persisting and More
By Dr. Keith Mason The Habits of Mind framework, a set of 16 habits or dispositions, provides individuals strategies for life challenges, including subject area mastery. Two professors, Art L. Costa and Bena Kallick, developed the framework. This article focuses on applying these powerful and versatile habits to vocal and instrumental music students. Keep […]
Culinary Arts Using a Curricular Approach Lens
By Dr Keith Mason Culinary arts are interdisciplinary in nature, inviting treatment in several school subjects. This encourages including food to foster subject-area concepts and skills. Curricular frameworks can be utilised to frame food-related lessons. Within the English-speaking world, food preparation has traditionally been part of home economics. In North America, the field has […]
Redefining Coaching in the Science Classroom
By Michael Mohammad Just over 2 months ago, my district moved to a virtual learning model with our students in response to the COVID-19 Outbreak. We will continue with virtual learning through the end of the school year. That means 13 weeks total of a virtual learning model for students (and teachers) who […]
Coaching Learners to Bolster Engagement and Action
By Scott Wright As many of us so often do while reflecting on the people and conditions we interact with, questions often lead us to new learning and motivation. This is one that I have been repeatedly asking myself as my role continues to change. How might teachers and parents provide feedback that […]
Integrating SEL into Our New Normal
By Wendy Baron, MA Yesterday, a colleague shared that a 5th grade student began to cry during their synchronous distance learning session. “I HATE Coronavirus!!! I miss my friends! I need a hug!” At that moment, the teacher and other students in the class offered comfort. “I’m hugging you,” said one student. Others […]
Broadening our Coaching Model
By Jeanne Tribuzzi In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. Einstein If there has ever been a time for thinking interdependently as educators within a school, it’s now! Never has there been a more important time than now when teachers, in collaboration with leadership, must work together to support students and families in […]
Helping Your Child to Persist
By Angela Iadavaia-Cox On yet another long afternoon at home during the coronavirus, I was trying to set up a new bath toy with my four-year old granddaughter. It was not working. She called it a “dud.” I suggested an alternative, “time for persistence.” We pretended to be scientists, attempting different ways to position […]
The Coach’s Dilemma
By Art Costa Mark is a mentor/coach in a regional service center in a midwestern state. He was invited to take this position because of his vast experience not only as a High School math teacher but also as a teacher of special education. One of his sons is dyslectic and Mark developed great […]
An Intersection of Adult Education with Habits of Mind
By Carol Hill Adults with low academic skills struggle in a number of ways. Statistics are only part of the narrative. Most adult basic education students have stories of failure and resilience. Oftentimes failure describes academic struggles (Belzer, 2004; Crowther, Maciachlan & Tett, 2010; Davis, 2014). Furthermore, failure also characterizes the personal, financial, and […]
Teaching Habits of Mind Through a Picture Book
By Robyn Ackerman One of my most favorite ways to teach children curriculum is through the pages of an engaging picture book! M is for Mindful is an extraordinary example! Author Robin L. Flanigan uses beautiful prose to describe each letter of the alphabet in such a thought-provoking way, you can’t help but see […]
New Rule: Navigate VUCA with Habits of Mind
By Bill Sommers So, as I sit here in my home under COVID19 stay at home restrictions, one question keeps reverberating with me in how to lead during this time: “How do we respond in a VUCA world that doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon?” When I was a principal, a […]
Mediating Uncertainty with Patient Inquiry
By Giselle O. Martin-Kniep “The most effective people are those who can ‘hold’ their vision while remaining committed to seeing current reality clearly.” Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization Patience, as defined by the Marrian-Webster dictionary 1: bearing pains or trials calmly or without […]
Leading in the VUCA World: Not Much Has Changed
By Dr. Jeff Dillon Leading in a VUCA World initially seems unattainable when education is so firmly built upon traditional pedagogical instructional models. As educational leaders, we take comfort in this model because it is predictable and safe. Why would a leader leave this place of self-comfort to embrace the VUCA World? The COVID-19 […]
Leveraging The Habits of Mind In The Midst of Disruption
By Craig Gastauer March 13, 2020 was the day we received the news that all districts in San Diego County were shutting down physical operations due to COVID-19. A week later, our teachers were directed to begin thinking in terms of what was essential for students to learn between now and the end of […]
Resources for Home Learning
By Aixa Perez-Prado The need for all of us to shelter in place during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surplus of interesting, innovative and informative free online resources for home learning. The following are just a few of the many remote learning opportunities available for parents and children to access online. Many […]
Leaning on Habits of Mind in Times of Fear and Uncertainty
By Dr. Nick Bruski “The Easter Bunny came! He took a responsible risk!” (heard from a 3rd grade student) The Institute for the Habits of Mind has a vision, “To create a more thoughtful, cooperative, compassionate generation of people who skillfully work to resolve social, environmental, economic and political problems.” Just over two years […]
How Habits of Mind Helped Keep Me A Little More Balanced
By Tyler Muth, Personalized Learning Facilitator It’s been two weeks since we closed school because of the COVID-19 virus and like most educators, we self-reflect. So naturally, I felt the need to step back and reflect on how I’m managing this as a professional. Upon reflection of this past week and thinking about the […]
Learning at Home: Tips, Tricks and Opportunities for Critical and Creative Thinking
By Aixa Perez-Prado Although home learning may not have been your choice, it may provide an opportunity to encourage your children to nourish their personal interests and passions and help them thrive during this crisis. You, as the parent, can provide guidance, resources, and encouragement. However, you do not need to provide all of […]
When Teachers Become Solutions to The Problems Schools Face
By Thomas R. Feller, Jr., Ashley Smith and Lauren Bowers John Hattie wrote “the greatest effects on student learning occur when teachers become learners of their own teaching, and when students become their own teachers” (emphasis ours) (Hattie, 2012). Based on our combined 50+ years experience in multiple districts and states, as well as […]
What have you failed today?: Strategies on how to deal with our bad days
By Lory Walker Peroff It had been a tough day. After the bell rang, I collapsed into my chair and reflected on the failures of the day. The list was long. I had failed to communicate effectively with a student resulting in his mother telling me he thought I didn’t like him. I failed […]
Leading Growth Mindsets: Setting Up for Success
By James Anderson This collection of articles is intended for your school’s Growth Mindset leadership team. I outline key research you need to be familiar with, as well as many of the pitfalls you’ll want to avoid, as you adopt Growth Mindsets as part of your whole-school initiative. Importantly, I outline how to prevent […]
Habits of Mind: What You Need to Know Before You Start
By James Anderson In this collection of articles, I outline some of the key ideas related to the Habits of Mind. This is not a manual for introducing the Habits of Mind to your school. Rather, it is an overview of the key understandings you’ll want to have before you embark on your Habits […]
16 Habits of Mind Fostering Successful Language Learning
by Keith Mason How can the Habits of Mind help foster language learning? The Habits of Mind framework, a series of 16 problem-solving strategies, can help an individual throughout life. Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick have been promoting the Habits of Mind through books, articles, seminars and online venues. Developing Habits of Mind […]
Musicals Foster Habits of Mind
By Keith Mason The Habits of Mind offer much to teachers because the Habits are so versatile and can potentially impact learning in so many subject areas. The Habits of Mind framework is a series of 16 problem-solving strategies and dispositions that can help an individual throughout life. In January 2017, Bena Kallick and […]
Developing Self-Directed Teacher Leaders Using Habits of Mind
By Thomas R. Feller, Jr., Seth Brown, Ph.D., and Lauren Bowers Sometimes the best solutions to a wicked problem come from a well formed question. One wicked problem our district has been facing is the loss of some of our best teachers. Upon some internal investigation we discovered that many teachers who left […]
Mind over Matter: Overcoming Learning Obstacles by Building Habits of Mind
By Jacquelyn Whiting Educators and students all bring particular habits of mind with them when they enter their schools and classrooms. And under the pressure of data crunching and competition for high scores, some of those habits — developed over an educational lifetime — become self-sabotaging. As a public high school Social Studies teacher, […]
Setting the Record Straight on Growth Mindset: Part 2
By James Anderson Last week, I spoke about the first of two crucial points that must be understood about the Growth Mindset that allow us to respond thoughtfully to current criticisms. That is, the Growth Mindset is not growth – it is simply the understanding that growth is possible. The second point we need to understand […]
Setting the Record Straight on Growth Mindset
By James Anderson Several recent studies have unfairly thrown doubt on the importance of the Growth Mindset. To respond accurately to this criticism, two crucial points must be understood: The Growth Mindset is not growth. The Growth Mindset existed before Carol Dweck. Over the next two weeks, I’ll unpack these points and explain why […]
The Agile Learner
By James Anderson CHANGE AND THE 21ST-CENTURY LEARNER You don’t have to go far today before someone starts talking to you about the need to prepare our children for the future. Children in our schools will change not only jobs, but careers, multiple times. They will be using technologies that haven’t been invented […]
Success with Habits of Mind: Three Important Lessons
By James Anderson What have I learnt over the past 20 years working with Habits of Mind? In the early days, as I worked with hundreds of schools around Australia, it became clear that although schools could easily see the potential of the Habits of Mind, not all of them could translate and […]
Insights Into Habits of Mind
By James Anderson This is a unique book. In the context of Habits of Mind there is nothing else like it available – nor is there ever likely to be. A few years ago, I had the pleasure to sit down with Professor Art Costa and ask him about the Habits of Mind. The […]
Adding Personalized Learning to Our Annual Writing Project
By George Yeager and Sarah Evans At a recent Personalized Learning presentation, we participated in a coaching session with Bena Kallick on a writing project we were currently working on with our third-grade students. We were hoping to learn how we could increase personalization within the project. We had initially believed that this series […]
Is 16 Habits Too Many?
By Nick Bruski, first in a series. In an educational landscape of rigorous Common Core Standards, NGSS, new curricula, mindfulness, and a neverending stream of local initiatives, one might ask, “where the heck do I find time to teach Habits of Mind, and how in the heck am I going to get to all […]
Creating a Symbolic Heart for the Habits of Mind on Your Campus
By Nick Bruski, second in a series. Ron Ritchhart of Harvard University says that everything you do sends messages about what you value. As you begin to think about the Habits of Mind and your environment, a community should ask itself, “What messages are we sending?” and “What messages do we want to send?” […]
When Communities are Struck by Disaster, Habits of Mind are More Important than Ever
By Dr. Nick Bruski, Principal at Montecito Union School. Third in a series. Ignited in December of 2017, the largest wildfire in California history ravaged nearly 300,000 acres of hillsides and homes, leaving a charred and barren landscape. This damage, combined with incredibly intense rainfalls in the early morning hours of January 9th, caused […]
EPIC Update: A Day in the Life of a Learner
By Travis Lape and first published on EdSurge. Travis Lape (@travislape) is a Technology Integrationist at Harrisburg South Middle School in South Dakota, and worked with Harrisburg Freedom Elementary on this project. Our learners will arrive to school around 8am. Once they arrive they spend some time out on playground until around 8:10am. At […]
Cultivating the Habits of Mind Online for the Adult Learner: An Andragogical Perspective
By Jennifer Levin-Goldberg Ed.D Abstract Adult online learners represent a burgeoning population in institutions of higher learning and according to predictive indicators, will continue to outpace enrollment of younger students. Due to these current and portending trends, it is essential that postsecondary institutions accommodate and cultivate the needs of this demographic. One way […]
Infusing Robotics Curriculum with Essential Life Skills
By Robert E. Walker, Robotics Teacher, Moanalua High School, Honolulu, Hawaii and Arthur L. Costa, Professor Emeritus, California State University, Sacramento Robotics courses must be more than learning about how machines perform human functions. The ever-changing technological advances require employees to possess a vast knowledge base. Well-prepared students who seek a career in engineering, […]
