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INTRODUCTION


"When we tell students to think, I imagine that many of them are completely puzzled about what we are asking
them to do. For many students, the word think seems to be interpreted as: Be quiet for about ten seconds, look
downward in the general direction of the floor, then look up and nod when the teacher asks, "Well did you think
about it?" (Ritchhart, 2002, p. 131)

Years ago, I taught a 9-year-old boy named Paul. He was a struggling student, but eager to
please others and anxious to do what was expected of him. Occasionally, I found Paul distracted
during a lesson or discussion and engaged him by asking him to think about something specific
related to our class. Paul immediately developed a look of consternation as though he were
seriously mulling over the idea in his head. His whole body language conveyed the picture of
someone thinking and he quietly sat for a minute or two acting deep in thought. After a time
when I asked what was going on in his mind, Paul had nothing to say. His way of thinking was to
take on the demeanor of a thinker, but inside his head, he was not taking action. At this point I
often did the thinking for Paul. I explained the topic or idea I had asked Paul to think about
asked some questions and made connections between aspects of the topic and others with which
Paul was familiar. Paul responded with understanding and our interaction ended with me satisfied
that Paul had learned something through our conversation.

Its not hard for me to realize now that I did Paul a huge disservice by giving him information
the results of my thinkingrather than teaching him how to think. My immediate goals were
always to help Paul understand something, so my actions consisted of explaining things until Paul
showed comprehension. Only in hindsight do I realize how misguided my actions were.

It may seem obvious that as a teacher I am charged with the task of developing the thinking
skills of Paul (and my other students) rather than simply imparting knowledge. After all, almost
one hundred years ago, John Dewey identified that education must combine skill and knowledge
acquisition with training to think. But, schools rarely value or assess how well students think.
Rather they measure what students know and can do. So, as a teacher, for many years I mistakenly
took greater efforts helping my students understand material and learn to do academic tasks rather
than challenging them to think and teaching them strategies to use their minds in complex ways.
This served them in the short-term as it enabled them to display proficiency in the classroom and
to excel on state tests, but I wonder how this model impacted them in the long run? With mere
knowledge and skills (what they remembered, of course) were my students prepared to succeed
outside of school? Were they capable of thinking and responding in new situations? Had they
developed the habits of critical thought and the inclination to apply thinking strategies in various
circumstances?

Since coming to teach at High Tech Elementary (HTe) I have spent a lot of time determining
exactly what the education I am providing is giving to my students. What are they taking away
with them when they leave? Like most teachers, I aim to develop lifelong learnersyoung adults
who show curiosity and interest in the world around them and who can and do think
independently. In the project-based environment of HTe, we focus more on developing 21st
century learning skills like communication, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking than we
do on imparting knowledge. We create opportunities for developing these skills through projects
that require students to manipulate ideas and information, to demonstrate understanding by
creating something new and applying knowledge in different ways, and to work with others and
communicate ideas and learning to others. My concern is that we are treating critical thinking like
the other skills and assuming that by merely providing opportunities for it, students are developing
the skill, habit and inclination to think in complex ways. I worry that simply setting the
expectation for this kind of thinking doesnt necessarily produce critical thinkers in the classroom.

Humans are born with the capacity and inclination to think, so it happens naturally without a
need for understanding how it works. But, skillful thinking requires more. Just as children can
naturally move to music, but require practice and coaching to move with the precision and style to
become professional dancers, so do children need explicit teaching of thinking strategies in order
to become skillful thinkers who can understand concepts, solve problems, judge options and
develop and evaluate ideas. And since thinking is an internal process, unlike dance, students
cannot simply observe others doing it to learn to be expert thinkers themselves. In order for
students to learn the processes and to develop the inclination to think in various situations,
thinking needs to be externalized.

Furthermore, beyond developing thinking abilities, we need to encourage students inclination
to use these skills and the sensitivity to opportunities for thinking in their lives. Just because
students have the ability to do something does not suggest students will employ these abilities or
even recognize moments when their abilities should and can be used. Thinking dispositions
refer to the combination of thinking ability, sensitivity and inclination. Cultivating thinking
dispositions requires more than teaching about thinking. It means creating an environment in
which thinking is valued, given time for, discussed, and reflected upon.

My question for research was, How can I create a classroom culture that nurtures in my
students the skill and will to think deeply? My project explored how to cultivate thinking
dispositions in my 5th grade classroom. This involved presenting occasions for thinking; making
thinking visible by both modeling it and using thinking routines to structure thinking; and
demonstrating my value for thinking by providing time for thinking and reflecting on thinking and
learning in our class.