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What are Habits of Mind?
📌 Habits of Mind are intellectual dispositions that help learners navigate complex problems intelligently when clear answers aren't easily accessible[1][2][3]. Imagine these as mental reflexes: automatic tendencies that activate when facing uncertainty.
🎯 PURPOSE: This framework developed because traditional education often focuses on content delivery rather than cultivating adaptive problem-solving approaches[1][4]. Pioneered by Arthur Costa and Bena Kallick in the 1980s, this framework bridges the gap between possessing information and applying wisdom when facing new, uncertain situations that require thoughtful responses rather than memorized solutions[2][5].
⚙️ HOW IT WORKS: This framework includes sixteen specific dispositions including persistence, managing impulsivity, thinking flexibly, and metacognition (reflecting on one's own thinking process)[3][6]. These habits operate as an integrated system - when learners encounter difficult scenarios, they instinctively draw upon multiple dispositions at once, creating layered responses that combine cognitive skills with emotional awareness and past experiences[1][2].
🌍 CONTEXT: Rather than isolated thinking skills or factual knowledge, Habits of Mind act as overarching guides that determine when and why to employ specific strategies[1][2]. They're especially important for 21st-century learners who must handle rapidly changing environments requiring adaptability, collaboration, and continuous learning - capabilities that standardized testing and rote instruction cannot adequately develop[4][7].
Sources —
[1] https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy-posts/what-are-the-habits-of-mind/
[2] http://exploresel.gse.harvard.edu/frameworks/67/
[3] https://crps.bcsd.org/79270_2
[4] https://uen.pressbooks.pub/habitsofmind/front-matter/introduction/
[5] https://www.habitsofmindinstitute.org/about-us/
[6] https://www.edutopia.org/blog/habits-of-mind-terrell-heick
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