ð BUILDING A MORE THOUGHT-FULL LEARNING COMMUNITY WITH HABITS OF MIND

“ JUST LIKE ME”

HABITS OF MIND: i THE BRAIN’S SURVIVAL MECHANISMS

HABITS OF MIND AND RESEARCH FROM THE NEUROSCIENCES What are Habits of Mind? What are they in the Brain? AND Is your instruction Habit- forming?

AUTOPLASTICITY

BRAIN STRUCTURES Neo-mammalian brain (cortex) Emotional Brain (Limbic System/ Paleo-mammalian Brain) Reptilian Brain (The Brain Stem)

NEUROTRANSMITTERS: THE BRAIN’S “FEEL GOOD” CHEMICALS Endorphins, serotonin and dopamine are chemicals produced by the brain that are active in the brain’s reward system. The brain makes chemicals that are released when certain behaviors increase the probability of survival.

 STRESS HORMONE: CORTISOL THE BRAIN’S “NEGATIVE” CHEMICAL  produced in and secreted by the adrenal glands  secretion is increased in response to physical and psychological stress of any kind.  when the stressful event or situation is over, cortisol levels return to normal.

DOWNSHIFT

16 HABITS OF MIND V Persisting V Managing Impulsivity V Listening with understanding & empathy V Thinking flexibly V Thinking about thinking V Striving for accuracy V Questioning & posing problems V Applying past knowledge to new situations V Thinking & communicating with clarity and precision V Gathering data through all senses V Creating, imagining, innovating V Responding with wonderment and awe V Taking responsible risks V Finding humor V Thinking interdependently V Remaining open to continuous learning

Habits of mind attend to: Value - choosing to behave intelligently Inclination- deciding to use a certain behavior Sensitivity- knowing when to use them Capability- having skills & capacity to use them Commitment- reflecting on improvement Policy- promoting and incorporating their daily use

SURVIVAL MECHANISMS: 1. Metacognition 2. Managing Impulsivity 3. Gathering Data through all Senses 4. Thinking Interdependently 5. Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations 6. Finding Humor 7. Listening with Understanding and Empathy 8. Responding with Wonderment and Awe

HOW THE BRAIN BECOMES HABITUATED 4“HABIT IS A CABLE; WE WEAVE A THREAD OF IT EACH DAY, AND AT LAST WE CANNOT BREAK IT.”

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT HOW THE BRAIN BECOMES HABITUATED 1. Awareness: What is it? 2. Recognition: What does it look like/sound like? 3. Valuing: Why is it important? 4. Adoption: How does it guide my actions? 5. Reflection: How might I improve? 6. Internalization: How might I live it?

FORMING HABITS Levels of Competence— Ü Unconscious Incompetence Ü Conscious Incompetence Ü Conscious Competence Ü Unconscious Competence

Think about your thinking! 1. METACOGNITION Being aware of your own thoughts, feelings, and actions and their effects of on others

Metacognition: à T hink à A loud à P roblem à S olving

T HINK A LOUD P ROBLEM S OLVING Pose challenging problems then: 4 BEFORE: Invite students to describe their plans and strategies for solving the problem/making decisions. 4 DURING: Share their thinking as they are implementing their plan. 4 AFTER: Reflect on/evaluate the effectiveness of their strategy.

Sustaining and Engaging Metacognition 1. Check for Accuracy 2. Clarify 3. Provide data not answers 4. Resist making judgments 5. Stay focused on thinking 6. Encourage Persistence

METACOGNITIVE PROBLEM: COMBINE THE FOLLOWING FOUR SENTENCES: 4The horse jumped over the fence. 4The horse was gray. 4The jump was done gracefully. 4The fence was low and made of brick.

METACOGNITIVE PROBLEM: Betty is shorter than Sally. Cynthia is taller than Sally. Carla is shorter than Betty. Is Sally shorter or taller than Carla?

2. MANAGING IMPULSIVITY Take your time! Acting with forethought and deliberation.

IMPULSIVITY Snake! or Stick?

MANAGING IMPULSIVITY “DON’T CALL OUT IN ASSEMBLY IF YOU LOOSE A TOOTH. YOU WAIT UNTIL ASSEMBLY IS OVER.” GAGE, GRADE 1

Managing Impulsivity WAIT TIME Ü“After having asked a question, the average teacher waits 1 second before either calling on a student, asking another question or answering the question him/herself.” Rowe, M. B. "Wait Time and Rewards as Instructional Variables: Their Influence on Language, Logic and Fate Control. "Journal of Research, in Science Teaching 11, 2: 81 ‑ 84. (Spring 1974).

3. GATHERING DATA THROUGH ALL SENSES Using all sensory pathways: gustatory, olfactory, tactile, kinesthetic, auditory, visual. Use your natural pathways!

ALL INFORMATION GETS INTO OUR BRAIN THROUGH THE SENSORY PATHWAYS: Tasting, Smelling, Touching, Moving Hearing, Seeing.

DESIGNING LESSONS TO EGAGE ALL SENSES

SENSORY INPUT Field trips Hands on Movement Scenarios Role play Demonstrations Illustrations Dramatizations Clay, Collage, etc.

4. THINKING INTERDEPENDENTLY Work together! Working with and learning from others in reciprocal situations.

THINKING INTERDEPENDENTLY BRAINSTORM: HOW WOULD TEAMING, GROUP WORK, AND COOPERATION CONTRIBUTE TO HUMAN SURVIVAL OVER THE YEARS?

THINKING INTERDEPENDENTLY

GROUP COOPERATION A Scoring Rubric 4. Demonstrates interdependence. All members contribute. Shows indicators of cooperation and working together, compromising and, staying on task. Disagreements are welcomed as learning opportunities. Completes task with accuracy and within time limits. Members listen to others points of view. Paraphrasing, clarifying and empathizing are in evidence. 3. Members disagree but reach agreements through arguing and debate. Some paraphrasing and clarifying is in evidence. Group sometimes strays from task. Some members remain silent or refrain from participating. 2. Some members are off task. Group rushes to complete task in the most expedient way due to the pressure of time. Evidence of arguing or encouraging others to get it over with. 1. Few on task. Evidence of arguing and disinterest. Some members occupied with other work. 0. Chaos. Task not completed. Many put-downs. Some members leave before task is complete. Complaints about having to participate in task.

5. APPLYING PAST KNOWLEDGE TO NEW SITUATIONS Use what you’ve learned! Accessing prior knowledge and transferring it to novel situations.

THE BRAIN’S MEMORY SYSTEMS DECLARATIVE: Knowing what. RECALL: “What was the name of your first year teacher?” PROCEDURAL: Knowing how. “What strategies do you employ when you encounter an unfamiliar word while reading?”

APPLYING PAST KNOWLEDGE TO NEW SITUATIONS

6. LISTENING WITH UNDERSTANDING AND EMPATHY Understand others! Devoting mental energies to understanding others’ thoughts and feelings.

MIRROR NEURONS …..neurons in monkeys fire both when the monkey carries out certain specific hand motions and when it views those specific motions being carried out by someone else. The existence of “mirror neurons” indicates that we are built to respond to what others in our environment do. “Mirror neurons” are also found for other gestures,including facial movements. Giacomo Rizzolatti in Caine, G., & Caine, R. (2001). The brain, education and the competitive edge. Lanham, MD: Scarecow Press.

RAPPORT Ù Rapport Phenomena with mammals Work of Jane Goodall and Diane Fossey Ù Applicable across all cultures

THE WAY OF BEING WITH ANOTHER PERSON WHICH IS TERMED EMPATHIC…MEANS TEMPORARILY LIVING IN THER LIFE, MOVING ABOUT IN IT DELICATELY WITHOUT MAKING JUDGMENTS……TO BE WITH ANOTHER IN THIS WAY MEANS THAT FOR THE TIME BEING YOU LAY ASIDE THE VIEWS AND VALUES YOU HOLD FOR YOURSELF IN ORDER TO ENTER THE OTHER’S WORLD WITHOUT PREJUDICE…A COMPLEX, DEMANDING, STRONG YET SUBLTLE AND GENTLE WAY OF BEING. CARL R. ROGERS

COMMUNICATING MEANING

7. FINDING HUMOR Laugh a little! Finding whimsy, incongruity and playfulness. Laughing at yourself.

8. RESPONDING WITH WONDERMENT AND AWE Awesome! Finding the world fascinating, mysterious, intriguing and phenomenal.

“ All thinking begins with wondering” Socrates

SUSTAINING INNATE ZEST FOR LEARNING  Curiosity and questioning  Constructing self-meaning  Being attracted to and intrigued by phenomena and mystery  Naiveté-remaining open to learning  Self-initiating--internal motivation.  Transparency of self--congruence between intention and action.  Sensory learning--intake through all senses.  Openness to feedback--innate desire to improve and achieve  Playfulness--finding humor and joyfulness  Faith in adults--turning for guidance, advice, modeling  Innocence--lacking prejudices, biases and corruption

MODELING: “ What you are speaks so loudly, they can’t hear what you say.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“WE ARE WHAT WE REPEATEDLY DO. EXCELLENCE, THEN, IS NOT AN ACT BUT A HABIT.” Aristotle

To build and promote a community of educators and practitioners of the habits of mind

 To create awareness of the habits of mind through workshops, seminars, publications and the internet.  To be a resource centre to support schools and organisations with books, products and human capital.  To collaborate research in the field of thinking and intelligent behaviours