Life=Risk

Two Habits of Mind--Persisting and Taking Responsible Risks--are evident in this inspirational video.

Persisting through Trial and Error

New research indicates that students learn more effectively through trial and error. This article in Scientific American reports the findings of a recent study by researchers at UCLA, who discovered that trying and failing to retrieve an answer is actually helpful to learning. By practicing the Habit of Mind of persisting through the process of trial and error, students may, in fact learn better.

Finding Humor

Teacher: How do you spell "dog"?
Pupil: d, o, g, enter.

Looking for ways to find humor on the classroom? Check out the teacher page on Museum of Humor, a web site specifically designed to make you laugh and help teachers find and promote humor. Have fun with this one!

Grit = Persisting?

In this article published in the Boston Globe (8/2/09), scientific research and historical antedotes suggest that habits of mind, like persisting, contibute more to success in life than more easily measured cognitive traits, like IQ. Psychologists have termed the ability to set long-term goals and to persist in the face of obstacles as "grit," which sounds exactly like the first Habit of Mind, Persisting. The article suggests that MCAS and other tests administered by schools don't really measure what's truly important in predicting achievement.

Do you have grit? Try the Grit Scale, created by researchers at the University of Pennsylvannia.

Will a critical thinking program work? Click here to open a page from RadicalAcademy.com

At first glance this essay seems to argue against our efforts to incorporate Habits of Mind. However, it seems to me that Dr. Adler's objection is to teaching critical thinking as a singular course, when I believe that our efforts are to incorporate critical thinking into every aspect of our curriculum. But I'm curious to hear other opinions. Dr. Adler's belief that critical thinking programs won't work is definitely thought-provoking.

Emotional Intelligence--the Missing Piece

http://www.edutopia.org/emotional-intelligence-missing-piece

Emotional Intelligence

Listening to Others--with Understanding and Empathy

This "Habit of Mind" is exemplified by emotionally intelligent individuals. In the linked article published in Edutopia, students with well-developed emotional intelligence demonstate not just the abiltity to empathize, but to persist, manage impulsivity, think flexibly, and solve problems.