Learning & Leading With Habits of Mind

Students who have developed this Habit of Mind can abstract meaning
from one experience and apply it to a new one. We know students are
growing in this ability when we hear them make statements like “This
reminds me of.. .” or “This is just like the time when we... !” We also
see evidence of this ability when students explain what they are doing now
with analogies about or references to previous experiences. We see them
call upon their store of knowledge and experience to support theories that
explain a situation or to outline a process to solve a new challenge.
We d e f i ni t e l y k n ow s t u d e n t s a r e t r a n s f e r r i n g t h ei r k n ow l e d g e t o n e w
situations when parents and other teachers report how a student’s think-
ing has changed at home or in other classes. For example, parents may
report increased interest in school. They may see their child better plan
the use of time and money. Or they may report increased organization of
the child’s room, books, and desk at home. At school, a social studies or
an industrial arts teacher may describe how a student used a problem-
solving strategy that originally was learned in science or math class.

Thinking and Communicating

with Clarity and Precision

A word to the wise is not sufficient if it doesn’t make sense.

—James Thurber

As students acquire more exact language for describing their work, they
begin to recognize concepts, identify key attributes, distinguish similari-
ties and differences, and make more thorough and rational decisions. If
value judgments are made, students spontaneously offer the criteria on
which the judgments were based. When comparing, they describe the
attributes and significance of their comparisons. They state the reasons
behind their generalizations, and they voluntarily provide data to support
their conclusions.
Students who have developed this habit use the correct names for
objects, ideas, and processes. When universal labels are unavailable, they
use analogies such as “That’s crescent shaped” or “It’s like a bow tie.” They
speak in complete sentences, voluntarily provide supporting evidence for
their ideas, elaborate, clarify, and define their terminology. Overall, their
speech becomes more concise, descriptive, and coherent.

184 Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind