Summary of Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church & Karin Morrison's Making Thinking Visible

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The word think is used frequently in classrooms. However, teachers have never considered what they want their students to do mentally when they hear the word think.

#2 The thinking required in teachers’ lessons is often identified using Bloom's taxonomy, which focuses on three domains: affective, psychomotor, and cognitive. However, the idea that thinking is sequential or hierarchical is problematic. In reality, there is a constant back and forth between ways of thinking that interact to produce learning.

#3 The idea of levels of thinking is meaningless when considered in isolation. It makes more sense to consider the levels or quality within a single type of thinking. For instance, one can describe a situation at a high and detailed level or a superficial level.

#4 The idea of levels of thinking is problematic when it comes to parsing thinking. Thinking does not happen in a lockstep, sequential manner. It is much messier, complex, and interconnected than that.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822502628

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on Ron Ritchhart and Mark Church & Karin Morrison's Making Thinking Visible

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The word think is used frequently in classrooms. However, teachers have never considered what they want their students to do mentally when they hear the word think.

#2

The thinking required in teachers’ lessons is often identified using Bloom's taxonomy, which focuses on three domains: affective, psychomotor, and cognitive. However, the idea that thinking is sequential or hierarchical is problematic. In reality, there is a constant back and forth between ways of thinking that interact to produce learning.

#3

The idea of levels of thinking is meaningless when considered in isolation. It makes more sense to consider the levels or quality within a single type of thinking. For instance, one can describe a situation at a high and detailed level or a superficial level.

#4

The idea of levels of thinking is problematic when it comes to parsing thinking. Thinking does not happen in a lockstep, sequential manner. It is much messier, complex, and interconnected than that.

#5

The Teaching for Understanding framework and Understanding by Design are two current curricular planning tools that help teachers focus on understanding. However, in most school settings, educators have focused more on the completion of work and assignments than on a true development of understanding.

#6

When classrooms are about activity or work, teachers tend to focus on what they want their students to do in order to complete the assignments. These physical steps and actions can be identified, but the thinking component is missing.

#7

To develop understanding, students must engage in authentic intellectual activity. This means solving problems, making decisions, and developing new understanding using the methods and tools of the discipline.

#8

When we are trying to understand something new, we must observe it closely and describe what’s there, build explanations and interpretations, reason with evidence, make connections, and consider different viewpoints and perspectives.

#9

The six thinking moves listed above are just a few of the many that can help develop students’ understanding. They can be used to plan units, and teachers should pause class before or after an assignment to discuss the types of thinking that were involved.

#10

Curiosity and questioning are important in propelling learning. When our curiosity is sparked and we have a desire to know and learn something, our engagement is heightened. We can identify many thinking moves that further flesh out the key eight in ways that are useful.

#11

Thinking is not just about understanding, but also about solving problems, making decisions, and forming judgments. The eight key thinking moves help us solve problems, make decisions, and form judgments.

#12

When schools take on the mission of cultivating students' thinking and enculturing the habits of mind and dispositions that can support lifelong learning, the issue of how students construe thinking and their general metacognitive awareness becomes important.

#13

The researchers developed a method for teachers to use in their classrooms that allows students to draw a concept map on thinking. The prompts for the map were purposely general in order to support students’ responses.

#14

The students’ responses on the concept maps were often 70 percent associative and 10 percent emotional. They did not have much knowledge of the strategies they could use to facilitate and direct their thinking. Without this knowledge, they were less effective, less independent, and less engaged as learners.

#15

The goal of making thinking visible is to enhance students’ understanding. To do this, students must be able to develop a greater awareness of their thinking processes, which can then be used to guide