actual intellectual work needed to think with the tools, methods, and big ideas that various subject-areas offer them.
It becomes an exciting mission for teachers to take on: casting middle schoolers as explorers, not just work-completers! To help make thinking visible, give it value, and promote it at every turn, many teachers have found it is useful to reflect upon and articulate the kinds of thinking moves people in their subject area tap into to create, develop, and deepen understanding. What kind of thinking habits do those in the field regularly bring to that which they explore, long after school days have come and gone?
Looking toward the far horizon, we know that scientists regularly make and test hypotheses, observe phenomenon closely, and build explanations in the course of that which they’re trying to figure out. Mathematicians look for patterns, make conjectures, form generalizations, and construct arguments as they investigate. Historians consider different perspectives, reason with evidence, and strive to uncover complexity when examining the issues they handle. Readers, artists, linguists — they all
make interpretations, seek connections, and follow-through on predictions. It’s just what they do as they set about their authentic explorations.
What might it mean for middle school classrooms to regularly engage in the habits of thinking those in the field regularly engage in? If classrooms are to be rich places of exploration for middle school students, then where will teachers invite rich thinking moves in what students regularly experience as the middle school years unfold?
As teachers commit to teaching early adolescents and all that brings with it, they might wonder: If students are not actively building explanations, reasoning with evidence, making connections, or looking at things from multiple perspectives in middle school classrooms, might students’ natural inclination to explore get schooled out of them? When teachers articulate the kind of thinking that serves learning well in their subject area, it becomes easier for them to cultivate deep habits for thinking in substantive ways while addressing significant content matters. By helping middle school students become actively aware of thinking processes that unlock understanding, teachers can then wrap their instruction around these middle school explorers and grow more independent and engaged, and dare I say, thought-full learners.
When teachers articulate the kind of thinking that serves learning well in their subject area, it becomes easier for them to cultivate deep habits for thinking in substantive ways while addressing significant content matters.
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