For the third year, educators at Hildreth Elementary School are applying a teaching philosophy called Habits of Mind, with the goal of enhancing their students' critical thinking skills.

In the book, "Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind: 16 Essential Characteristics for Success," edited by Drs. Art Costa and Benna Kallick, education experts write that "Educational outcomes in traditional settings focus on how many answers a student knows. When we teach for the Habits of Mind, we are interested also in how students behave when they don't know an answer."

The book outlines a philosophy of dispositions that the editors developed to enable teachers and students to employ thinking tools and strategies.

"The Habits of Mind are performed in response to questions and problems, the answers to which are not immediately known," Costa and Kallick write. "We are interested in enhancing the ways students produce knowledge rather than how they merely reproduce it. We want students to learn how to develop a critical stance with their work: inquiring, editing, thinking flexibly, and learning from another person's perspective. The critical attribute of intelligent human beings is not only having information but also knowing how to act on it."

Hildreth Elementary School launched its Habits of Mind initiative in Sept. 2009 to support the Harvard Public Schools Strategic Plan goal number one: "Harvard's entire pre-K-12 curricula will integrate core content knowledge with the critical thinking skills needed for success in the 21st century."

The three habits selected for use this year are:

• questioning and posing problems;
• applying past knowledge; and
• responding with wonderment and awe.

After teachers selected the habits, they developed a reading list of thematically appropriate books that will be used by the entire school. The books were presented to students at school-wide read-aloud sessions and in classrooms. Additionally, teachers select books from the developed lists that are appropriate for each grade level.

From left: Cameron Mead, Abigail Ames, and Ruby Farough share their drawings of wonderment and awe after reading the book “Owen and Mzee,” about a tortoise who befriends a hippo rescued from the 2004 tsunami. (Photos by Lisa Aciukewicz)

Lauren Munz practices striving for accuracy and precision in her work.

The two main books for this semester are "Twilight Comes Twice," by Ralph Fletcher, illustrated by Kate Kiesler; and "Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship," by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Paul Kahumbu, with photos by Peter Greste.

The book choices are integral to the success of the Habits of Mind philosophy, said Hildreth Elementary reading specialist Peggy Bragg.

"The books embody the Habits of Mind," Bragg said. "They demonstrate that these types of learning dispositions can be nurtured in even our youngest students. They build a foundation for cognitive strategies that we can develop over the school years."

After launching the program in 2009, teachers at the elementary school sought training and consultation from educational experts so they could establish a foundation of knowledge about the Habits of Mind philosophy and apply it to their content. Many faculty members attended a four-day course by Costa and Robert Schwartz, director of the National Center for Teacher Thinking.

Currently, teachers receive continuing education on the Habits of Mind philosophy throughout the school year through sessions led by their peers. Much of the training was developed to reflect suggestions and feedback the Habits of Mind committee at Hildreth Elementary received. Although teachers also have access to the Habits of Mind website developed by creators Costa and Kallick, Elizabeth Egan, special education teacher and Habits of Mind committee member, saw a need for additional material.

"I think it's important to note that what's happening at HES is unique," Egan said. "Heading into this endeavor, it was assumed that we could model our initiative after districts already engaged in Habits of Mind at the building or district level. Similarly, we expected to find a plethora of ready-made instructional materials. This is a large part of what we hoped to glean from the two external professional development seminars. Unfortunately, we quickly discovered otherwise and have had to implement this initiative from the ground up, requiring a tremendous amount of time, research, and energy."

In spite of the additional time commitments, Egan said she feels that the endeavor has been worthwhile and that the time is right for a community partnership.

"We wanted to get it right here before reaching out to the greater community at large. We took the first step this fall during curriculum nights when teachers discussed the Habits of Mind initiative with parents," she said. "The next step is that Habits of Mind will replace the previously used 'Social and Learning Skills' on February report cards. As parents become familiar with the philosophy and language of Habits of Mind, noticing and acknowledging this type of skillful thinking in their children is a simple and effective means of "cementing" the philosophy. And, noticing and acknowledging Habits of Mind in others—friends, relatives, public figures—is also helpful."

The impact of Habits of Mind is highly visible at Hildreth Elementary School. The classrooms and hallways display student and faculty materials that reflect what they have learned. Many teachers have seen the habits reflected in student behavior and in language at recess and in the cafeteria.

Principal Linda Dwight said she is a strong proponent of this culture of learning.

"The power of the Habits of Mind initiative is that it creates a language for teaching a complex variety of critical thinking skills," Dwight said. "Teachers and parents have been passing these important concepts on to their students and children for generations, so this isn't new. It now gives us the same words to use for greater impact."

The goal of Dwight and other educators at Hildreth Elementary is to continue the success they have seen at the school level. At the same time, Dwight said, they see an opportunity for community collaboration.

"The more that we all [in the community] use the same language when talking about critical thinking skills, the greater the impact for students," Dwight said.

When asked what the community members can do to help this effort, Dwight said, "Become familiar with the terms and then use them with students."

More information about Habits of Mind can be found at www.instituteforhabitsofmind.com. Additionally, a reading list developed by Hildreth Elementary School faculty is posted for parents and caregivers on the HES Edline homepage www.edline.net/pages/Hildreth_Elementary_School.