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1 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 aboutasked 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 informationthe
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.