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 […]
De-escalation with Habits of Mind

Many situations in life can be overwhelming and overstimulate your brain. When this occurs it is a sign that your brain needs a rest. This video will help you learn more about getting from your downstairs brain to your upstairs brain through the use of five Habits of Mind. And, giving your body and […]
The Launch Pad for Success

Sight. Sound. Touch. Taste. Smell. That’s right! When those five senses are stimulated they can make us more creative and effective. This video will hopefully guide you to discovering your senses and how they can best be utilized in creating a working station for success. As teachers, we can encourage autonomous learning through habits […]
Stepping to the Upstairs Brain with Habits of Mind

So often we find students in an over-stimulated state of mind. Some of the most telltale signs and symptoms show up via inappropriate behaviors, outbursts, negative comments, and anxiety-ridden stares and actions – such as fidgety body movements, leg shaking, and clenching of fists. These visuals should raise concern and worry, putting educators in […]
The 9 Habits of Mind for Powerful Writing

For many individuals the ability to select a topic, conjure up ideas, and then write about it is a tough process. Even more arduous is the action of physically building focused behaviors to continue writing with reader appeal in mind. It takes persistence, focus, pacing, planning, questioning yourself, developing your senses, and thinking outside the […]
Building a “Noticing Notebook”

By Scott Wright Keeping a notebook is the single best way I know to capture and develop the habit of responding to the wonderment and awe of everyday, seeming ordinary, life. It encourages you to pay attention to your world, both your internal world and the external world. A notebook can work as a […]
Gathering Data Through All Senses

By Bena Kallick and Arthur L. Costa “Nothing reaches the intellect before making its appearance in the senses.” Latin proverb Does this quotation shock you? Or should we say, shock your senses? Perhaps it is surprising to realize that your brain reduces the world to its elementary parts: photons of light, molecules of smell, […]
Leading Personalizing Learning: ASCD CEL 2016 Reflection

By Allison Zmuda Bena Kallick and I presented to a few hundred educators on leading personalized learning with Habits of Mind (HOM). As we canvased the room to find out who was there, I was thrilled to see a group of educators from Newtown, Conn. where I started my teaching career. The opportunities I […]