Habits and Mindsets
Students reference their teacher's guidance in organization, study habits, character traits and values. They have internalized these traits beyond just talking about them which has led to personal growth on the part of the student.
Introduction
In my classroom, there is a focus on students' holistic development. While it is innate to measure their academic growth, we can negate the responsibility to help students build strong character traits without having a clear idea of the habits we are striving to develop. Fortunately, Arthur Costa and Bena Kallick have identified 16 Habits of Mind that equip students to tackle problems that do not have immediate solutions (Costa & Kallick, 2000). The Habits of Mind are as followed:
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Persisting
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Managing Impulsivity
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Listening with Understanding and Empathy
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Thinking Flexibly
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Thinking about Thinking
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Striving for Accuracy
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Questioning and Posing Problems
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Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations
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Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision
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Gathering Data through all Senses
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Creating, Imagining, Innovating
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Responding with Wonderment and Awe
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Taking Responsible Risks
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Finding Humor
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Thinking Interdependently
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Remaining Open to Continuous Learning
By focusing on these 16 habits, students will become more independent learners ready for the 21st-century career and college goals we set for them.
During my time as a masters student, I choose to prioritize two habits of minds with my students; striving for accuracy and managing impulsivity. After working as a math teacher for two years, I made a note of a consistent behavior inhibiting students in 5th-grade mathematics. Students consistently got select all or multiple-step work problems incorrectly. From sifting through their work, I concluded that there was no academic skill gap. Instead, students lacked the commitment to proving each answer choice is right or wrong. By introducing students to the Habit of Mind of Striving for Accuracy, students were able to grapple the importance of accuracy and practice it effectively. Due to various reinforcement activities and consistent communication around this habit, students were able to increase their work quality and thereby mastery on these critical thinking based questions.
Similarly to the above, the second Habit of Mind was chosen based on teacher observations. While observing students' behavior, I was able to identify trends in student behavior such as calling out, talking during quiet independent work time, getting out of their seat without permission, and inappropriate reactions to consequences. While our system strives to issue a consequence to prevent the behavior from perpetuating, this was not the case with my students. For this reason, I aimed to incorporate more rationale and strategies for students to understand the importance of managing their impulsivities. Their response to these activities was tremendous. Students made immense growth in their ability to self-regulate, appropriately advocate, and reflect on their actions. The links below will elaborate on these activities and thereby, student growth.
Conclusion
By introducing my students to the Habits of Mind and engaging in various reinforcement activities, my students have been able to grow holistically this year. Most importantly, students have gained a new level of independence they did not have at the beginning of the yar that will allow them to tackle real-world problems critically in the future. Furthermore, their ability to reflect and control their impulsivities demonstrates a level of maturity that will prepare them for all components of life. From my intentional work, students have internalize these two habits and are prepared to strengthen others in the coming years.