ARTFUL THINKING MATRIX from [Link]
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Thinking Disposition Thinking Routine Use When You Want Students to . . . Steps
REASONING WHAT MAKES YOU SAY THAT? • Describe what they see or know and pro- 1. What’s going on (happening) in the picture?
vide evidence and explanation (evidence
2. What makes you say that?
Good starting point for deeper thinking based reasoning).
- can be followed by other routines. • Provide text or graphic evidence for
thinking and writing.
CLAIM/SUPPORT/QUESTION • Reason and provide evidence or support, 1. Make a claim about the artwork or topic (An explanation
especially with topics in the curriculum or interpretation of some aspect of the artwork or topic).
Use with works of art, pieces of text, poems, and that are open to interpretation. 2. Identify/provide support for your claim (things you see,
with topics in the curriculum that invite • Practice argument writing skills. feel, and know that support your claim.)
explanation or are open to interpretation.
3. Ask a question related to your claim (What’s left hanging?
What isn’t explained? What new reasons does your claim
raise?)
QUESTIONING & THINK/PUZZLE/EXPLORE • Connect to prior knowledge. 1. What do you think about this artwork or topic?
Works particularly well when beginning a topic, • Develop own questions of investigation. 2. What questions or puzzles do you have?
INVESTIGATING
and when you want students to develop their own 3. What does the topic or artwork make you want to
areas of interest. explore?
CREATIVE QUESTIONS • Make inferences. Brainstorm a list of at least 12 questions about the artwork
• Develop good questions. or topic. Using starters:
• Think deeply about a topic. Why?
What are the reasons?
What if ?
What is the purpose of ?
How would it be different if ?
Suppose that...
What if we knew?
What would change if ?
SEE/THINK/WONDER • Make careful observations and thoughtful 1. What do you see (hear)?
Versatile, easy to use, and almost never fails to interpretations.
2. What do you think about that?
deepen students’ interest in the topic at hand • Make inferences.
3. What does it make you wonder?
• Distinguish between observations and
interpretations
• Stimulates curiosity and help students
reach for new connections
OBSERVING & BEGINNING/ MIDDLE/ END • Make observations and use their imagi- Choose one of the 3 questions:
A springboard for imaginative exploration. nation to elaborate on and extend their 1. If this artwork is the beginning of a story, what might
DESCRIBING ideas. happen next?
• Look for connections, patterns, and 2. If it this artwork is the middle of a story, what might
meanings. have happened before? What might be about to happen?
• Develop writing or storytelling (narra- 3. If this artwork is the end of a story, what might the
tive) skills and sequencing. story be?
Thinking Disposition Thinking Routine Use When You Want Students to . . . Steps
OBSERVING & LOOKING/LISTENING: 10X2 • Make careful observations about an ob- 1. Look at a piece of art/listen to piece of music for 30
ject, image or work of art. seconds.
DESCRIBING
• Generate/brainstorm descriptive words 2. List 10 words or phrases about any aspect of what you
or phrases for a pre-writing, discussion see or hear.
activity. 3. Share words.
4. Repeat.
COLORS/SHAPES/LINES • Observe details. 1. What colors do you see? Describe them.
• Generate/brainstorm descriptive words 2. What kinds of shapes do you see? Describe them.
or phrases.
3. What kinds of lines do you see? Describe them.
• Prepare for formal analysis of Art
THE ELABORATION GAME • Develop a detailed descriptive vocabulary. 1. One person identifies a specific section of the artwork
and describes what he or she sees(hears).
• Elaborate.
2. Another person elaborates on the first person’s observa-
• Distinguish between what they see and
tions by adding more detail about the section.
what they interpret.
3. A third person elaborates further by adding yet more
• Practice narrative, expository writing
detail, and
skills.
4. A fourth person adds yet more.
COMPARING & I USED TO THINK . . . NOW I THINK • Reflect on how their ideas and impres- Write or say a few sentences using each of the sentence
Use it after reading new information, exploring or mak- sions have changed over time. stems:
CONNECTING ing an artwork, watching a film, listening to a speaker,
experiencing something new, having a class discussion,
• Recognize and consolidate new under-
standings, opinions, and beliefs, • I used to think... (topic, artwork or object)
and so on.
• Become more reflective, self-aware
• Now, I think... (topic, artwork or object)
learners.
CONNECT/EXTEND/CHALLENGE • Make connections between new ideas and Connect: How is the artwork, the ideas, or information pre-
A natural place to use this routine is after students prior knowledge. sented CONNECTED to what you already knew?
have experienced something new. Try it as a reflec- • Reflect on/assess their learning and Extend: What new ideas did you get that EXTENDED or
tionduring a lesson, after a longer project, or when increase metacognition. pushed your thinking in new directions?
completing a unit of study. Try using it after
another routine! • Review/summarize new material, lesson Challenge: What is still CHALLENGING or confusing for
or unit.
you to get your mind around? What questions, wonderings
or puzzles do you now have?
CREATIVE COMPARISONS • Use metaphorical thinking to create com- 1. What do you see in the artwork? What do you know
parisons between dissimilar things. about the topic?
• Understand unfamiliar subjects by link- 2. Choose a category (musical instruments, plants, video
ing it to what they already know game, toy city, part of the body, etc. )
• Stimulate new insights and solutions 3. Imagine: If this topic/artwork was a kind of (provide
category), what would it be?
4. Explain three ways that it compares.
Thinking Disposition Thinking Routine Use When You Want Students to . . . Steps
COMPARING & HEADLINES • Summarize lesson, unit. 1. If you were to write a headline for this topic or issue
This routine helps students identify right now that captured the most important aspect that
CONNECTING • Draw conclusions. should be remembered, what would that headline be?
and clarify big ideas.
• Clarify their thinking. 2. (Later) How has your headline changed based on today’s
discussion? How does it differ from what you would
have said yesterday?
FINDING COMPLEXITY PARTS/PURPOSES/COMPLEXITIES • Identify components, purpose and rela- Ask 3 questions:
tionships. 1. What are its parts? (What are the pieces or compo-
• Seeing the layers and dimensions of nents?)
things. 2. What are its purposes? (What is it for, what does it do?)
3. What are its complexities? (How is it complicated in its
parts, purposes, the relationships between the two or
other ways?)
COMPLEXITY SCALE • Build a more multi-dimensional mental 1. Say some broad things you know about a topic –observa-
model of a topic by identifying different tions, facts, ideas. Think up different kinds of things.
aspects of the topic and considering their 2. Place each statement somewhere on the complexity
complexity. scale (Simple -----------> Complex)
• Encourage the reasoning required for
students to choose and explain their 3. Explain why you want to place it there.
ratings. Of less is importance is assign- 4. Reflect: What new insights and questions do you have
ing each idea to the “right” place on the about the topic?
complexity scale.
*Feel free to discuss and debate placement. You can even
place a statement in more than one spot on the line (sometimes
things are simple in one way, but complex in another).
EXPLORING STEP INSIDE • Do some perspective-taking and close Choose a person, object or element in an image or work of
(PERCEIVE/KNOW/CARE ABOUT) looking through projection, a technique art, and step inside that point of view. Consider:
VIEWPOINTS in which students project a persona into
a person or thing in order to explore • What can the person/thing perceive and feel?
ideas from a new viewpoint. • What might the person/thing know about or believe?
• See beyond the surface story and explore • What might the person/thing care about?
different viewpoints.
Take on the character of the thing you’ve chosen and im-
• Help students bring abstract concepts,
pictures, or events to life. provise a monologue. Speaking in the first person, talk about
who/what you are and what you are experiencing.
• Make a personal connection to a topic.
CIRCLE OF VIEWPOINTS • See and explore multiple perspectives. 1. Brainstorm a list of different perspectives.
• Understand that different people can 2. Choose one perspective to explore, using these sen-
have different kinds of connections to tence-starters:
the same thing, and that these different • I am thinking of...(the topic) ... from the view-
connections influence what people see and point of...(the viewpoint you’ve chosen).
think.
• I think...(describe the topic from your viewpoint. Be an
• See other perspectives or when things actor--take on the character of your viewpoint).
seem like there are only two sides to an
issue. • A question I have from this viewpoint is...(ask a
question from this viewpoint).
• Discuss dilemmas and other controversial
issues.