We incorporate into our teaching the 16 Habits of Mind defined by the educators Arthur Costa and Bena Kallick.

Our children learn about Habits of Mind as ways of thinking about how to behave intelligently when they DON'T know the answer.

A Habit of Mind is a disposition toward behaving intelligently when confronted with problems, the answers to which are not immediately known: dichotomies, dilemmas, enigmas and uncertainties.

The 16 Habits of Mind identified by Costa and Kallick are:

• Persisting
• Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision
• Managing impulsivity
• Gathering data through all senses
• Listening with understanding and empathy
• Creating, imagining, innovating
• Thinking flexibly
• Responding with wonderment and awe
• Thinking about thinking (metacognition)
• Taking responsible risks
• Striving for accuracy
• Finding humor
• Questioning and posing problems
• Thinking interdependently
• Applying past knowledge to new situations
• Remaining open to continuous learning

More information about Habits of Mind can be found at www.habitsofmind.net