(Project Zero :: Thinking Routines (2014) from Sue Borchardt on Vimeo)

Two of my notes from Trevor Mackenzie’s talk on Inquiry & what it means to be a Constructivist Educator, read; “Thinking Routines, such as ‘Notice (observations), Wonder (share a Provocation such as an artifact or question) and Know’,  promote equity as they allow all students to engage and develop critical thinking & question asking (the ungoogleable question!!) skills,” and “The smallest things can have a huge impact”.   As a pre-service teacher, I recognize that I will need a hot minute to figure out what guiding a classroom full of students is going to look, feel & Be like, but I believe that these two ideas are central to a successful Inquiry based practice.  As I look forward to my first practicum,  fostering the development of Thinking Routines and modelling a culture of kindness in the classroom, seem like a great place to start and a solid foundation on which to build my practice.

Resources

The Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero’s Thinking Routines Toolbox,  describes Thinking Routines as “the patterns by which teachers and students operate and go about the job of learning and working together in a classroom environment”  and the site has sooooo many great articles and resources that support establishing Thinking Routines in our daily interactions with students, as well as our overall pedagogy & professional practice — I would suggest taking a look!

Barefoot TEFL Teacher’s article,  “What are Thinking Routines?”  references Project Zero,  and also provides a list and explanation of 5 quick Thinking Routines that can be woven into your practice immediately.

Make & Do; Thoughts on Education, Technology, Creativity, productivity, and Balance, a blog by Tracy Ann Clark, provides a great summary around the importance of Visible Thinking, as well as a Visible Thinking: Prompt Picker ‘fortune teller’ template. The template prompts students to consider, but could be adapted for practical use, the different Thinking Routines.