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.
From the Author
Over the last 12 years we have had the pleasure of working with schools, museums, and organizations all over the world. As we shared our research and classroom tested ideas about how to make thinking visible, be it in a classroom or with a group of adult learners, people kept asking us where they could read more about them. How could they learn more about how others were using them? How could they ensure that they and their students weren't just using the thinking routines as activities? To answer those questions we put together this book with help from educators around the world.
Since its debut, the response has been overwhelming. We've been getting emails and facebook comments (facebook.com/MakingThinkingVisible) about how people have used the book and more importantly how the ideas are transforming learning both in and out of classrooms. As teachers have started using the ideas, parents have begun to request more information on how they too can use the routines with their children to support their thinking and learning. This has lead to the creation of some great applications for parents. At a time when teaching for the test is the order of the day, it is so inspiring to see the thirst from students, parents, and teachers for deep learning, critical and creative thinking, and true engagement in the learning process.
From the Back Cover
MAKING THINKING VISIBLE
How can classrooms become places of intellectual stimulation where learning is viewed not in test scores but in the development of individuals who can think, plan, create, question, and engage independently as learners?
Making Thinking Visible offers educators research-based solutions for creating just such cultures of thinking. This innovative book unravels the mysteries of thinking and its connection to understanding and engagement. It then takes readers inside diverse learning environments to show how thinking can be made visible at any grade level and across all subject areas through the use of effective questioning, listening, documentation, and facilitative structures called thinking routines. These routines, designed by researchers at Project Zero at Harvard, scaffold and support one’s thinking. By applying these processes, thinking becomes visible as learners’ ideas are expressed, discussed, and reflected upon.
Making Thinking Visible includes instructive video clips featuring visible thinking strategies being applied in a variety of classrooms.
PRAISE FOR MAKING THINKING VISIBLE
“There is a worldwide movement afoot to make the development of the intellect a priority for education in the twenty-first century. This book will become a landmark in that journey.”
―ARTHUR L. COSTA, Ed.D., professor emeritus, California State University, Sacramento; coauthor, Habits of Mind series
“Making Thinking Visible is essential reading for every educator who strives to provide students with the skills they need to become thoughtful and enthusiastic directors of their own learning.”
―TINA BLYTHE, author, The Teaching for Understanding Guide and Looking Together at Student Work
“When thinking is made visible, learning is inevitable. Making Thinking Visible invites the reader to craft a new definition of education and presents a dramatic leap forward for education.”
―ADAM SCHER, school principal, Bloomfield Hills Schools, Michigan
About the Author
Ron Ritchhart, Ed.D. is a senior researcher at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is the author of Intellectual Character from Jossey-Bass.
Mark Church is the Learning, Assessment, and Instructional Resource Supervisor for the Traverse City Area Public Schools in Michigan.
Karin Morrison, educator and Children’s Rights advocate, is president of the Janusz Korczak Association Australia. Her experiences as in-school leader for the first Cultures of Thinking project, faculty member for Project Zero Summer Institutes, Project Zero Classroom and Future of Learning, contribute to her working with and for young people to have the right to quality education.
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