Creating Cultures of Thinking

Discover why and how schools must become places where thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted As educators, parents, and citizens, we must settle for nothing less than environments that bring out the best in people, take learning to the next level, allow for great discoveries, and propel both the individual and the group forward into a lifetime of learning. This is something all teachers want and all students deserve. In Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools, Ron Ritchhart, author of Making Thinking Visible, explains how creating a culture of thinking is more important to learning than any particular curriculum and he outlines how any school or teacher can accomplish this by leveraging 8 cultural forces: expectations, language, time, modeling, opportunities, routines, interactions, and environment. With the techniques and rich classroom vignettes throughout this book, Ritchhart shows that creating a culture of thinking is not about just adhering to a particular set of practices or a general expectation that people should be involved in thinking. A culture of thinking produces the feelings, energy, and even joy that can propel learning forward and motivate us to do what at times can be hard and challenging mental work.

Discover why and how schools must become places where thinkingis valued, visible, and actively promotedAs educators, parents, and citizens, we must settle for nothingless than environments that bring out the best in people, takelearning to the next level, allow for great discoveries, and propelboth the individual and the group forward into a lifetime oflearning. This is something all teachers want and all studentsdeserve. In Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We MustMaster to Truly Transform Our Schools, Ron Ritchhart, author ofMaking Thinking Visible, explains how creating a culture ofthinking is more important to learning than any particularcurriculum and he outlines how any school or teacher can accomplishthis by leveraging 8 cultural forces: expectations, language, timemodeling, opportunities, routines, interactions, andenvironment.With the techniques and rich classroom vignettes throughout thisbook, Ritchhart shows that creating a culture of thinking is notabout just adhering to a particular set of practices or a generalexpectation that people should be involved in thinking. A cultureof thinking produces the feelings, energy, and even joy that canpropel learning forward and motivate us to do what at times can behard and challenging mental work.

List of Figures ixAcknowledgments xiAbout the Author xiiiINTRODUCTION Demystifying Group and Organizational Culture 1A New Standard for Education 5The Forces that Shape Culture 6Tools for Transformation 10ONE The Purpose and Promise of Schools 13Thinking Differently about Outcomes 16Teaching as Enculturation 19Culture as the Enactment of a Story 20Enacting Our New Story, Realizing Our Vision 34Uncovering the Story of Your School or Classroom 35TWO Expectations: Recognizing How Our Beliefs Shape Our Behavior 37Focusing Students on the Learning vs. the Work 43Teaching for Understanding vs. Knowledge 47Encouraging Deep vs. Surface Learning Strategies 50Encouraging Independence vs. Dependence 54Developing a Growth vs. a Fixed Mindset 55Exploring and Developing Expectations 59THREE Language: Appreciating Its Subtle Yet Profound Power 61The Language of Thinking 68The Language of Community 71The Language of Identity 74The Language of Initiative 75The Language of Mindfulness 78The Language of Praise and Feedback 81The Language of Listening 82Leveraging Language 84Becoming Proficient Users of the Languages of the Classroom 85FOUR Time: Learning to Be Its Master Rather Than Its Victim 87Recognizing Time as a Statement of Your Values 96Learning to Prioritize and Always Prioritizing Learning 98Giving Thinking Time 102Investing Time to Make Time 105Managing Energy, Not Time 107It's Time to Rethink Time 110Getting a Better Perspective on Time 112FIVE Modeling: Seeing Ourselves through Our Students' Eyes 115Dispositional Apprenticeship: Being a Role Model of Learning and Thinking 125Cognitive Apprenticeship: Making Our Thinking Visible 129Gradual Release of Responsibility: Modeling for Independence 132Interactive Modeling: Learning from Examples, Practice, and Reflection 135Learning from Models 136Modeling for the Development of Thinking, Learning, and Independence 138SIX Opportunities: Crafting the Vehicles for Learning 141Constructing Character: Using Mathematics to Understand Othello's Iago 144VoiceThread: Using Storytelling to Understand Migration 150Music 2 Save Music 154Categorizing, Recognizing, and Realizing Learning Opportunities 159Analyzing and Creating Opportunities for Learning 169SEVEN Routines: Supporting and Scaffolding Learning and Thinking 171A Routine Is More Than an Activity 177Using Claim-Support-Question to Delve Into Number Theory in Fifth Grade 179More Than a Game: Differentiating Mathematics in Second Grade 185Making CSQ Fly in Secondary Mathematics 188Tools, Structures, and Patterns: Establishing Routines in the Classroom 190Making Thinking Routine in Our Classrooms 196EIGHT Interactions: Forging Relationships That Empower Learners 199New Roles for Students: Empowering Disenfranchised Learners 204Beyond Sit and Get: Teaching Students to Build on One Another's Ideas 212Building Culture through Affect and Actions 218Shaping Interactions through Roles 220Asking "Good" Questions 221Creating New Patterns of Discourse 223Promoting Interactions That Support Thinking and Learning 225NINE Environment: Using Space to Support Learning and Thinking 227New Learning in an Old Container 231Curating a Classroom 234Designing for Thinking 242Creating Environments to Enhance Learning and Build Culture: Four Fronts 247Creating Environments That Bring Out the Best in Learners 259TEN Moving toward Transformation 261A Close Look at Substantive Change 263Supporting Change on a Large Scale 267Building a Vision across a School District 276Learning Together for the Long Haul 281Creating Opportunities 287Building the Capacity of Teachers to Teach One Another 293Using Inquiry-Action Projects to Go Deeper 298Sameness and Difference in the Journey to a Culture of Thinking 303APPENDIX A My Reflections on the Learning Activities in This Class 307APPENDIX B Ladder of Feedback 309APPENDIX C Success Analysis Protocol 311APPENDIX D Looking At Students' Thinking (LAST) Protocol 313APPENDIX E Six Key Principles of the Cultures of Thinking Project 315APPENDIX F Laying the Foundation for a Culture of Thinking 317APPENDIX G Leading a Culture of Thinking at My School 319APPENDIX H The Development of a Culture of Thinking in My Classroom 323APPENDIX I Assessment Ladder 327References 329Subject Index 351Name Index 361