Making Thinking Visible

A proven program for enhancing students' thinking and comprehension abilities Visible Thinking is a research-based approach to teaching thinking, begun at Harvard's Project Zero, that develops students' thinking dispositions, while at the same time deepening their understanding of the topics they study. Rather than a set of fixed lessons, Visible Thinking is a varied collection of practices, including thinking routines?small sets of questions or a short sequence of steps?as well as the documentation of student thinking. Using this process thinking becomes visible as the students' different viewpoints are expressed, documented, discussed and reflected upon. Helps direct student thinking and structure classroom discussion Can be applied with students at all grade levels and in all content areas Includes easy-to-implement classroom strategies The book also comes with a DVD of video clips featuring Visible Thinking in practice in different classrooms.

A proven program for enhancing students' thinking andcomprehension abilitiesVisible Thinking is a research-based approach to teachingthinking, begun at Harvard's Project Zero, that develops students'thinking dispositions, while at the same time deepening theirunderstanding of the topics they study. Rather than a set offixed lessons, Visible Thinking is a varied collection ofpractices, including thinking routines?small sets of questions or ashort sequence of steps?as well as the documentation of studentthinking. Using this process thinking becomes visible as thestudents' different viewpoints are expressed, documenteddiscussed and reflected upon.* Helps direct student thinking and structure classroomdiscussion* Can be applied with students at all grade levels and in allcontent areas* Includes easy-to-implement classroom strategiesThe book also comes with a DVD of video clips featuring VisibleThinking in practice in different classrooms.

List of Figures and Tables ixDVD Contents xiForeword xiiiPreface xviiAcknowledgments xxiAbout the Authors xxvPART ONE Some Thinking about Thinking 1ONE Unpacking Thinking 3Beyond Bloom 6Beyond Memorization, Work, and Activity 8A Map of Thinking Involved in Understanding 11Other Kinds of Thinking 14Uncovering Students' Thinking About Thinking 15TWO Putting Thinking at the Center of the Educational Enterprise 23How Does Visibility Serve Both Learning and Teaching? 27How Can We Make the Invisible Visible? 30PART TWO Using Thinking Routines to Make Thinking Visible 41THREE Introduction to Thinking Routines 43ThreeWays of Looking at Thinking Routines 45How Are the Thinking Routines Organized? 49FOUR Routines for Introducing and Exploring Ideas 53See-Think-Wonder 55Zoom In 64Think-Puzzle-Explore 71Chalk Talk 783-2-1 Bridge 86Compass Points 93The Explanation Game 101FIVE Routines for Synthesizing and Organizing Ideas 109Headlines 111CSI: Color, Symbol, Image 119Generate-Sort-Connect-Elaborate: Concept Maps 125Connect-Extend-Challenge 132The 4C's 140The Micro Lab Protocol 147I Used to Think. . . , Now I Think . . . 154SIX Routines for Digging Deeper into Ideas 163What Makes You Say That? 165Circle of Viewpoints 171Step Inside 178Red Light, Yellow Light 185Claim-Support-Question 191Tug-of-War 199Sentence-Phrase-Word 207PART THREE Bringing the Power of Visible Thinking to Life 215SEVEN Creating a Place Where Thinking Is Valued, Visible, and Actively Promoted 217Making Room for Reflection 222Making Time for Our Own Learning 229The Making of an Elaborated Conversation 234The Forces That Shape Culture 240EIGHT Notes from the Field 247The Challenges of Making Thinking Visible in a Mathematics Class andBeyond: The Case of Mark Church 250Content + Routines + Students = A Culture of Thinking: The Case of Sharonne Blum 256What These Cases Reveal About the Use of Routines 261Stages of Development in the Use of Thinking Routines 262Common Pitfalls and Struggles 267In Conclusion 272References 275Index 281How to Use the DVD 293