Let me start by suggesting you pick up a copy of Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners (2011) by Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church, and Karin Morrison first before you launch into professional learning with his newest book, Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools (2015). Click on my reading page for an overview of the book.
My journey with Cultures of Thinking (CoT) began 3 summers ago when we were interviewing for a new position at our school. One of the candidates led us through a "thinking routine" in her interview. Intrigued, I asked my principal for more information. She gave me a copy of Making Thinking Visible and that fall, we enrolled in a CoT Foundations Seminar. We begin to dig into the ideas and slowly build our leadership team and share what we were learning with other staff members. We are going into our 4th year of embracing the CoT vision and I am so excited about the new book.
In the back of the book, Ron shares cases of school transformations with CoT. Some common themes that have emerged with schools in this journey are leadership, time, documentation, and ownership. He ends the book with advice that building a Culture of Thinking is not a "one and done" program, but rather an ongoing transformation that requires time. Whether you are just beginning and asking yourself "How will we begin?" or if you are immersed in the process asking "How will we push ourselves to the next level?" you must allow time to study, reflect, and continue to learn and grow (p. 303).
It is my hope this year to personally pursue the following question inspired from Mark Church's case study in the back of the book:
What else might I do to grow and develop my thinking about students' learning and deepen the culture of thinking in my classroom and at my school?
I plan to embark on a in-depth study, along with our school CoT leadership team, that includes reading, discussion, action, and reflection on the 8 cultural forces in the upcoming year. It is my hope that you will join me! Here is how it will work. Approximately every month we will study a cultural force. We will begin by reading the chapter. I will post a reflection on the chapter at the on by the below listed dates with probing thoughts and questions for others to discuss and think about. Then I will select one of the possible actions at the end of the chapter to try. I will return toward the end of the month and share my thinking about what I noticed. I encourage you also to select one of the actions to try each month! Here is the schedule:
- October 16th - Chapter 8 Interactions: Forging Relationships That Empower Learners
- November 10th - Chapter 9 Environment: using Space to Support Learning and Thinking
- January 12th - Chapter 2 Expectations: Recognizing How Our Beliefs Shape Our Behavior
- February 2nd - Chapter 3 Language: Appreciating Its Subtle Yet Profound Power
- February 9th- Chapter 4 Time: Learning to Be Its Master Rather Than Its Victim
- March 15th- Chapter 5 Modeling: Seeing Ourselves Through Our Students' Eyes
- March 22nd - Chapter 6 Opportunities: Crafting the Vehicles for Learning
- May 3rd Chapter 7 Routines: Supporting and Scaffolding Learning and Thinking
Note: I intentionally started with interactions and environment because these are the cultural forces that teachers are naturally engrossed in at the beginning of the year. I also left routines for last because routines are often where teachers begin when developing a culture of thinking, and that's okay, but they are just one of the 8 cultural forces to consider.
Adam Scher, principal of Way Elementary says in the case story featured in the back of the book, "What is the role of the adult as a learner and a facilitator in a culture of thinking?" and "How could we possibly expect our students to engage in reflection if we were {are} not constantly modeling what good reflection looks like?" I hope you will join me and others in reflection and dialogue about transforming our schools into Cultures of Thinking!