Visible Thinking

Language Study Group

December Meeting, 2011

Lic. Mariana Ferrarelli

Harvard University

Graduate School of Education

Project Zero (Research Group)

Cultures of Thinking

Innovating with Intelligence

Artful Thinking

L@titud

Visible Thinking

Visible Thinking – ppt layout

PART ONE: Theory

1. Main Tenet2. The Big Question3. Elements of the

approach:1. Routines2. Ideals3. Documentation

PART TWO: Practice

1. Sample Routines

2. Visible Thinking at the Biltmore School (Class observation: videos & photos)

3. Florida International University

PART ONE

Theory

1. Visible Thinking – Main Tenet

When thinking becomes a more visible and apparent element in the classroom…

Students develop thinking dispositions…

which in turn allow for thoughtful and deep learning.

1. Visible Thinking – Main Tenet

VISIBLE THINKING

DEEP LEARNING

2. Visible Thinking – The big Q

How can teachers make thinking visible so that genuine and long-term learning can take

place?

ROUTINES DOCUMENTATION

THINKING IDEALS

3.1. ROUTINES

Routines can be used at any level / age / subject area

From an epistemological point of view routines consist of a few steps which demand a series of cognitive behaviours as students are asked to…

3.1. ROUTINES

∞ Think critically∞ Provide evidence∞ Justify with explanations∞ Compare & connect∞ Summarise ∞ Explore multiple perspectives∞ Identify parts in a whole∞ Draw conclusions∞ Hypothesize∞ Reflect on their own learning process

3.2. THINKING IDEALS

UNDERSTANDING FAIRNESSTRUTH CREATIVITY

They constitute the aims at which thinking is oriented.

They can be used to assess students’ progress.

3.3. DOCUMENTATION

When thinking is visible it can be recorded in different ways:

- Mind maps- Charts- Lists- Videos of classroom work- Diagrams- Students’ reflections in a journal or logbook

3.3. DOCUMENTATION

Once students’ work has been documented, teachers get together in study groups and analyze what their students have achieved.

LAST**

MYST**Protocols

** For more information refer to: http://pzweb.harvard.edu/vt/VisibleThinking

RECAP

ROUTINES

THINKING IDEALS Thinking

DOCUMENTATION

Visible

Deep Learning

≠ rote learning personal involvement

new to prior knowledge

PART TWO

Practice

1.1. Sample RoutinesLooking 10x2

1. Look at the image or artifact for at least 30 seconds. Let your eyes wander.

2. List ten words or phrases about it(3. Share your thoughts with your partner)4. Repeat steps 1 & 2

This routine helps students explore a new topic and compare different perspectives.

1. What's going on?2. What do you see that makes you say

that?

This routine helps students describe what they see or know and asks them to build explanations*. It calls for evidence and helps learners learn how to justify their claims.

* Source: http://pzweb.harvard.edu/vt/VisibleThinking

1.2. Sample RoutinesWhat makes you say that?

If you were to write a headline for this topic or issue right now that captured the most important aspect that should be remembered, what would that headline be?

This routine helps students think of a summary or synopsis of the topic discussed. It works especially well at the end of a class discussion or session in which students have explored a topic and gathered a fair amount of new information or opinions about it*.

1.3. Sample RoutinesHeadlines

2. Visible Thinking at the Biltmore School

School:Founded in 1926150 students & 30

teachersAnnual tuition & fees:

USD 10,000

Headmistress:Gina Romero

Class:3rd form8 & 9 year-olds

Teacher’s name:Daphne Vega

Number of Stds: 12

Visible Thinking at the Biltmore School

CLASS OBSERVATION1. Intro: Looking 10x2 (video)

2. Share-Look again (video)

3. Where are they from?

4. Smart-board search

5. Headlines

Aulas Heterogéneas (video)

3. FIU – Angela Salmon, PhD

Learning is doing, not just absorbing information passively

Learning starts with the learner’s own ideas: students are asked to draw on previous knowledge motivation

Learning is an active process in which learners construct new knowledge by building on ideas they already have

3. FIU Highlights

Learning means getting personally involved engagement

Questions are means and ends: routines are based on questions to create debates, look for connections and expand knowledge

Learning is an enquiry-oriented process

3. FIU Highlights

Visible Thinking allows for metacognition

the thinking process becomes explicit and so it can be analyzed, assessed and finally improved

3. FIU Highlights

FURTHER RESOURCES "Making Thinking Visible" Ron Ritchhart and David Perkins. "Making Thinking

Visible," Educational Leadership 65, no. 5 (February 2008): 57-61. "Uncovering Students' Thinking about Thinking Using Concept Maps"- a

paper prepared for the AERA Conference, March 2008. Cultivating a Culture of Thinking in Museums Ron Ritchhart, “Cultivating a

Culture of Thinking in Museums,” Journal of Museum Education 32, no. 2 (Summer 2007): 137-54.

Life in the Mindful Classroom: Nurturing the Disposition of Mindfulness Ron Ritchhart and David N. Perkins, “Life in the Mindful Classroom: Nurturing the Disposition of Mindfulness,” Journal of Social Issues 56, no. 1 (2000), 27–47.

Making Thinking Visible David N. Perkins, “Making Thinking Visible,” (2003) Visible Thinking Shari Tishman and Patricia Palmer, “Visible Thinking,”

Leadership Compass 2, no. 4 (Summer 2005). The Thinking Classroom, Shari TIshman, David Perkins & Eileen Jay. Allyn &

Bacon, 1994. Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and

Independence for All Learners, Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church & Karin Morrison, Jossey-Bass, 2011.

marianaferrarelli@hotmail.com