Thinking Development Self Assessment printable pdf download

The Development of a Culture of Thinking in My Classroom: Self-Assessment

Imagine s omeone w ere t o s top i nto y our c lassroom o n a ny r andom d ay o r t ime. H ow l ikely w ould

this v isitor b e t o n otice e ach o f t he f ollowing a ctions d escribed b elow. F or e ach s tatement a ssign

a r ating b etween 5 a nd 1 u sing t he f ollowing s cale:

5 = H ard t o m iss i t

4 = H ighly l ikely t o n otice

3 = H it o r m iss d epending o n t he c ircumstances

2 = N ot v ery l ikely t o n otice

1= I d oubt a nyone w ould n otice.

EXPECTATIONS

Rating

I m ake a c onscious e ffort t o c ommunicate t o s tudents t hat m y c lassroom i s a p lace i n w hich

thinking i s v alued.

I e stablish a s et o f e xpectations f or l earning a nd t hinking w ith m y s tudents i n a s imilar w ay t hat

I e stablish b ehavioural e xpectations.

I s tress t hat t hinking a nd l earning a re t he o utcomes o f o ur c lass a ctivity a s o pposed t o

‘completion o f w ork’.

“ Developing u nderstanding” i s t he g oal o f c lassroom a ctivity a nd l essons v ersus k nowledge

acquisition o nly.

Student i ndependence i s b eing a ctively c ultivated s o t hat s tudents a re n ot d ependent o n t he

teacher t o a nswer a ll q uestions a nd d irect a ll a ctivity.

LANGUAGE

Rating

I m ake a c onscious e ffort t o u se t he l anguage o f t hinking i n m y t eaching d iscussing w ith

students t he s ort o f t hinking m oves r equired b y v erbs s uch a s ‘ elaborate’, e valuate’, ‘ justify’,

‘contrast’, ‘ explain’ e tc.

I s eldom u se g eneric p raise c omments ( good j ob, g reat, b rilliant, w ell d one) a nd i nstead g ive

specific, t argeted, a ction-‐oriented f eedback t hat f ocuses o n g uiding f uture e fforts a nd a ctions.

I u se “ conditional” p hrases s uch a s ‘ could b e’, ‘ might b e’, ‘ one p ossibility i s’, ‘ some p eople t hink’

or ‘ usually i t i s t hat w ay b ut n ot a lways’.

I t ry t o n otice a nd n ame t he t hinking o ccurring i n m y c lassroom. F or e xample, m ight I b e h eard

to s ay t hings l ike, “ Sean i s s upporting h is i deas w ith e vidence h ere”, o r “ Sam i s e valuating t he

effectiveness o f t hat s trategy r ight n ow”, o r “ Iris h as p resented a n i nteresting a nalogy t oday”.

I u se i nclusive, c ommunity-‐building l anguage b y t alking a bout w hat “ we” a re l earning o r “ our”

questions.

MODELING

Rating

T hinking i s r egularly o n d isplay ( my o wn a s w ell a s s tudents) i n t he c lassroom.

I d emonstrate m y o wn c uriosity, p assion, a nd i nterest t o s tudents.

I d isplay o pen-‐mindedness a nd a w illingness t o c onsider a lternative p erspectives.

I t i s c lear t hat I a m l earning t oo, t aking r isks, a nd r eflecting o n m y l earning.

Students m odel t heir t hought p rocess b y s pontaneously j ustifying a nd p roviding e vidence f or

their t hinking.

Developed b y S . B rooks & R . R itchhart 2 012

Thinking Development Self Assessment