What are Thinking Routines?
Thinking routines are essential for helping students develop a deep understanding of content. According to John Hattie’s research on student learning strategies, the incorporation of strategies that support “student metacognitive and/or self-regulated learning” have some of the highest effect sizes. Like any instruction, thinking routines should be intentionally planned for and modeled to students. The end goal of incorporating thinking routines into instruction is to help students develop a robust “tool-box” of thinking routines that can be selected and applied independently. Watch the following video on thinking routines from Project Zero to learn more!
Why are Thinking Routines important?
Thinking Routines help students...
- Build capacity to approach independent learning/tasks
- Apply simple routines for deeper understanding
- Build a community of learners
- Apply thinking routines across all content areas
How can we make Thinking Routines work in a variety of learning environments?
These Thinking Routines can be a powerful tool in any type of learning environment. Although these routines were originally built for face-to-face learning, they are easily adjusted to fit hybrid, concurrent, and fully virtual classrooms. Over the next four weeks, we will be introducing four different thinking routines and demonstrating ways in which they can fit into our current educational models. Along the way we would love to hear from you and how you have incorporated thinking routines into your classroom.
~ Mindy Cairney and Gina Rogers
Digital Learning Consultants
Resources
- Project Zero Thinking Routines Toolbox
- Visible Learning Plus: 250+ Influences on Student Achievement