Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind, Chapter 2. Describing the Habits of Mind by Arthur L. Costa
Author: Edited by Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick
“Chapter 2. Describing the Habits of Mind.” Edited by Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick, Describing the Habits of Mind, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2009, www.ascd.org/publications/books/108008/chapters/Describing-the-Habits-of-Mind.aspx.
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When we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work, and when we no longer know which way to go we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.
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Aug 3I think managing impulsivity is certainly one of the toughest challenges when it comes to teaching students. Students often act before they think which forces teachers to come up with solutions beforehand in advanced. Because teachers can anticipate what might happen with certain students, they have to condition them to think a certain way before any conflicts arises
Aug 4As a special educator, I learned about ABC (antecedent conditions, behavior, consequences). When you describe a teacher anticipating what may happen, you recognize that a teacher who can determine what the triggers are that cause the impulsivity has a “leg up.” I believe that anticipation requires careful observation of a student within the classroom context. Then you can determine how to modify the antecedents. By doing so, you will short circuit the impulsive behavior. I have seen teachers successfully teach students to use a meta-cognitive checklist (sometimes with visuals).
Aug 3I think posing problems and questioning students is the perfect way for teachers to reassure that they’re re students are learning. When they’re asked to show their evidence to prove their source is accurate, it shows that they’re not just answering questions to complete a task but that they’re critical thinkers as well.
Oct 22I like when a teacher asks why because the answer to why shows how much the student is understanding.
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Jan 24Here at NowComment, our Room 407 students have been engaging with Margaret Wheatley’s “Willing to Be Disturbed” pieces. I think that the Berry quote here brings us to this sort of disturbance/disruption of both routine. . .and perhaps policies. What is blocking our stream? And…is it a song or a dirge?
Aug 30I feel like all of us seniors can relate to this first line. After senior year, we will be making our own decisions almost completely for the most part. Until this point most of us rely on our parents for a whole lot. But now, it’s kind of up to us if we want to go to college, and where we would want to go if we decide to.
Aug 30I feel like as kids in High school we don’t really take the time to understand that our lives are actually about to start sooner than we think.
Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 0Aug 22I can relate to this line of the poem as I find myself perplexed at times in my own coursework. It is then that I take my own inventory. Is the confusion a result of my level of engagement? What strategies might I employ to remedy the confusion? Is there a hole somewhere in my understanding that I can patch? But, I know that my confusion has a source as much as might enlightenment and understanding will have a place. How do I get to that place? It cannot be by abandonment. That would mean simply being stuck in place.
—Wendell Berry
This chapter contains descriptions for 16 of the attributes that human beings display when they behave intelligently. In this book, we refer to them as Habits of Mind. They are the characteristics of what intelligent people do when they are confronted with problems, the resolutions to which are not immediately apparent.
It would be good to have an image as well attached to this description – instead of each Habit of Mind – I know this is a scholarly article – but this would also maybe appeal to students more with accompanying visuals
Throughout this article Costa and Kallick describe in depth how essential it is that teachers are developing the learning power of students of all ages. In the article we see that both authors give a lot of concrete examples of how these learning dispositions have made a difference. These 16 habits presented to us are teaching kids, whether it is from their parents or teachers, habits that are performed by them on a day to day basis. The meaning behind this book is to help students get into the habit of behaving intelligently. A Habit of Mind is a pattern of intellectual behaviors that leads to productive actions. This is why we are trying to inform kids of these habits and consider what it means.
Finding some background information online, I noticed that their are four books in the ASCD ground-breaking Habits of Mind series. The volume we are discussing today presents a compelling case for why it’s more relevant than ever to align the missions of schools and classrooms to teaching students how to think and behave intelligently when they encounter problems and challenges in learning and in life. My thoughts behind the reading for the day is that all students of all ages should be learning and incorporating these 16 habits in their teachings.
There are certain habits of mind and ways of thinking that our society traditionally values and rewards. However, I’ve lately been thinking and learning about neurodivergence and understanding this not as a deficit but as a different way of thinking. I have not yet had time to really think through whether these 16 habits encompass that divergence, but it is something I am attuned to. And, in general, I become uncomfortable with attempts to definite “intelligence” in very specific ways that don’t account for different kinds of intelligence. I appreciate that the habits of mind are trying to focus on an approach to learning rather than narrow, discrete skills or content. But I also find myself uneasy.
I would not expect these types of reading to have an overview of what is going to be read. I think it is very beneficial to know what is going to be read. It gives the read a gist of what they are getting into.
Who gave them the name Habits of Mind and why are they named that? Could they have different names?
I feel as though whether one is intelligent or not there can improvements on the way one reacts to a problem or situation. We all face problems in life. How we respond to those problems is what will closely define our character and the type of person we are. One does not have to be intelligent to respond in a respectful manner to an issue. It is very important although, for all people to understand and study these habits of mind. For we can all advance alongside one another and become more mindful and educated people.
These Habits of Mind seldom are performed in isolation; rather, clusters of behaviors are drawn forth and used in various situations. For example, when listening intently, we use the habits of thinking flexibly, thinking about our thinking (metacognition), thinking and communicating with clarity and precision, and perhaps even questioning and posing problems.
I love this quote- to me, it lets me and students know, they can do amazing things when they might feel they are lost, instead of feeling and despair, if we can train our minds to “roll with it” and see where we can take ourselves when we find ourselves not exactly where we expected to be, but also, teachers have to be willing to let students possibly end up with a different meaning of topics as well if they see students interpreting things differently than they imagined.
The meaning I took from this portion of the Wendell Berry quote was if you are not confused, your mind is not working hard enough. If you think things are simple you are missing the complexity of life and its content. I made a text-to-text connection to this portion of the quote. We recently did and assignment over Wheatley Essays. One article titled “Willing to be Disturbed” and the other titled “The Works: Your Source to Being Fully Alive, Summer 2000”. These articles explain how opening up your mind to other peoples opinions can make your opinion richer or possibly change your viewpoint. This potion of the quote summarizes those articles perfectly. Everything is worth exploring whether it be someone else opinion of the complexity you find within life. Don’t be satisfied with the opinions and thoughts you have now, go out and find a source to challenge those thoughts and make your brain wonder.
Habits of the mind are usually performed together in groups and almost never alone. Kind of like multitasking.
Several habits of mind occur at the same time without us even knowing. This simply goes to show just how powerful the mind truly is, even when we are not cognizant of it.
I think the temptation is at times to take an itemized list and then work them separately. Quite possibilty assign or assess for them separately. These habits in synthesis allow for a little more room to talk about our employment/engagement of the Habit.
Diving into the habits of mind is interesting to learn about. The Habits of Mind would be beneficial for future speeches/public presentations
One characteristic of many (not all) autistic people is rigid thinking. But, they also tend to think and communicate with clarity and precision. Non-autistic people might respond to this clarity and precision by saying that they are not being flexible. So, in this scenario, these two habits of mind might be in contradiction. And it might be that an individual may possess one to a greater degree than, and possibly at the expense of, the other. Rather than looking at these as attributes every individual must possess, it might be helpful to see them as contributions individuals make to a greater whole.
Listening intently is the first step to more intelligent thinking. Before we can form our own thoughts and opinions, we must shape them through the concepts we listen to all around us.
As the introduction of Habits of Mind continues, the author begins to open up about the perhaps the comparison of listening intently vs not intently. As he quotes about what happens when we listen intently, I fully agree with Costa. I have noticed within my own life and experiences that if I say something to someone then they have a different response when listening intently or not. If we are listening intently we can open up to these habits of mind more and be able to respond in the most effect way. Listening intently is very important for effective communication.
Do not conclude, based on this list, that humans display intelligent behavior in only 16 ways. The list of the Habits of Mind is not complete. We want this list to initiate a collection of additional attributes. In fact, 12 attributes of "Intelligent Behavior" were first described in 1991 (Costa, 1991). Since then, through collaboration and interaction with many others, the list has been expanded. You, your colleagues, and your students will want to continue the search for additional Habits of Mind to add to this list of 16.
This is a simple comment, though one i feel justified making. It’s all too common now a days for people to claim their research to be absolute. This small sentence works nicely to show that we are still learning and that it’s okay, and even encouraged for research like this to change and evolve.
I like this paragraph because it reassures me that the habits of my mind do not have to fit into this list of 16. It leaves room for expansion and an even deeper understanding of our habits of mind.
To assume that there are only 16 habits of mind is something that I along with assumingly some of my classmates likely inferred based off of the list that was presented to us. However, when thinking of these 16 habits of mind it makes senses that one may find themselves not relating specifically to any one habit.
I feel that humans display intelligence in different ways depending on the person, and that there is no way that there are only 16 ways to display it. Some people may be good with “traditional” intelligence, but others may have more common sense.
There are many ways to display intelligence, yes. I feel that a lot of younger students struggle with this, as they think their intelligence is defined by test grades and report cards. This sometime dictates a student’s success until they find the right concepts to apply their intelligence to.
It is shocking to see the list of habits increase dramatically. It makes me wonder how habits are found and who decides that they are habits?
I feel like this sentence was a great addition to the intro as it says that we are always allowed to add and expand to the habits of mind.
As the Arthur L. Costa explains the initial data to this list began in 1991. At the time the list was minimal, at only 12 habits of mind. However, as a society we have grown and found new possibilities and expanded this list to 16. I feel as though the Habits of Mind list can be continued as we continue studying and abiding by the current terms on the list. We may be able to find truth in one habit of mind to lead to a new discovery. In order to keep advancing, we must be optimistic to new advances and new opportunity of growth for the future of Habits of Mind. I feel as though my class should come together with the common goal to present one, or possibly two, new Habits of Mind to add to the list.
The line about adding to the list of habits of mind interests me because there is so many out there. It would take a lot of time and thought to expand this list to its full potential. We can explore them in the classroom but it seems like our work would almost never be done.
Habits of Mind as Learning Outcomes
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 Habits of Mind are performed in response to questions and problems, the answers to which are not immediately known. 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.
Traditional setting for learning is slowly but surely giving way to new modes of learning that incorporates different learning styles. This is not to say any negative of traditional setting I definitely see the need to enhance what previously obtained finding new ways to do reach similar . The previous year has shown this even clearly as virtual classroom took over every level of learning.
I agree, higher thinking involves several things happening at the same time!
In this sentence, it talks about a traditional setting in school. It is hard to imagine what this traditional setting would look like because we have gone so long now with seeing people through a screen or classrooms being empty. I would love to see a traditional setting again where everyone is together and not just through a screen but I do not know if this will happen before I graduate.
nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.
When I think of “traditional school” I reminisce about better days. Ciara, I believe you are right, I don’t think traditional will ever be the same. At least before we are long gone.
I think I speak for everyone when I say I’m sick of it, but that doesn’t need to be said, we all know. I do believe though, that in some nonsensical roundabout way, that this will eventually help the educational system and its flaws. School never feels like learning, it feels like someone cramming a book down your throat and expecting you to understand its contents. I think Covid outlining kids use of cheating, not turning in assignments, not showing up to class really shows just how much the public school system has messed up. Recognizing these flaws we can eventually change our production line style education into something more productive.
I think the way you just worded this is perfect. Even though Covid has messed a lot of things up I think it has helped not only helped show how students act under pressure, but it also shows the schools and teachers what their students home life is like.
This not knowing is not celebrated but rather met with consequence (usually detrimental and/or dire). Cruz’s book focuses upon the origins of mistakes and how to claim/own/address/move.
When A person does not know an answer, they turn to a learning tactic they’re comfortable and familiar with in order to get the question answered. This tactic that they are familiar with is going to be the one they used the most. This is the building blocks for the HoM.
I think this is funny to think about. Getting flustered and looking all around the room and through all of your papers to try and find the answer and you can feel your face getting red and all of your classmates eyes on you.
This is very good information to know so we can play to our Habits of Mind when tasked with something difficult.
Replicate to Create.
Inculcation to Innovation.
Rote to Rendered.
This sentence relates heavily to today’s schooling system as a whole. Many students succeed within school because they can simply remember a subject for a test, but then forget about it right after. This method for learning seems to be encouraged by the schooling system, but it provides no true benefits to its students.
Students need to be able to understand what is going in thier brain and grasp the meaning of it. Do not jut collect info and forget about it. Collect info and understand the meaning of it.
This line refers to producing knowledge as coming up with something on your own. It refers to reproducing knowledge as simply remembering something said to you or something you had to memorize. When testing for habits of mind, they test of knowledge students must come up with themselves (produce) instead of things they remember from recent assignments or tests (reproduce).
Habits of Mind is wanting to help students find a ‘critical stance’ within their work. While reading this, ‘flexibility’ caught my eye. Within this past year, our school has been forced to go online a number of times, so of course students are having to be flexible with their work, but this is not what I wanted to talk about. If teachers and the school would be more flexible with their work and not so much on turning things in on time, I would feel so much more obliged to do my work. But instead, I am on a time limit every single day balancing my school work, my job, and my mental health which overall has not been the best this past year. ‘Learning from another’s prospective’ caught my eye as well. Not everyone has a stable environment to be continuously sit at a desk and pump work out for a due date the following night. Again, this pulls into flexibility. If we were able to turn assignments in at our own pace and was more lenient with their students, I feel as that building a stance with my mind and work would be easier.
I love this quote because I agree with it 100%. Intelligence is great in itself, but we have to know how to apply it in our everyday lives. What good is it to have information and then not use it? If you learn something share it, form an opinion, and act accordingly.
this sentence presents the idea that studying and reviewing the habits of mind may teach some students different ways in which they can act on information that they have. It provides suggestions and options for those who may be confused.
I like this quote. It makes me think about the old saying “knowledge is power”, but that is only true if you know what to do with it.
What behaviors indicate an efficient, effective thinker? What do human beings do when they behave intelligently? Vast research on effective thinking, successful people, and intelligent behavior by Ames (1997), Carnegie and Stynes (2006), Ennis (1991), Feuerstein, Rand, Hoffman, and Miller (1980), Freeley (as reported in Strugatch, 2004), Glatthorn and Baron (1991), Goleman (1995), Perkins (1991), Sternberg (1984), and Waugh (2005) suggests that effective thinkers and peak performers have identifiable characteristics. These characteristics have been identified in successful people in all walks of life: lawyers, mechanics, teachers, entrepreneurs, salespeople, physicians, athletes, entertainers, leaders, parents, scientists, artists, teachers, and mathematicians.
What do the others do to achieve or to settle into some degree of comfort with the challenges presented to us each and every day? Inside or outside of school?
The speaker submits to us that people with certain qualities are often attributed with being successful. But I’d like to point out the differences with what is a widely held standard of success, and what is small, but equally as impactful, personal success. There is no quantifying success. To do so only succeeds in alienating individuals and creating biased imagery of success.
It has been such a misconception for many years now that one must go to school and college in order to be intelligent and successful. As seen within this sentences to author makes a relation to intelligence to careers that require a college diploma. However, this reasoning has been found to be misconstrued, since many individuals have the ability to be intelligent in many aspects of life, rather than simple school subjects.
Horace Mann, a U.S. educator (1796–1859), once observed that "habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it." In Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind, we focus on 16 Habits of Mind that teachers and parents can teach, cultivate, observe, and assess. The intent is to help students get into the habit of behaving intelligently. A Habit of Mind is a pattern of intellectual behaviors that leads to productive actions. When we experience dichotomies, are confused by dilemmas, or come face-to-face with uncertainties, our most effective response requires drawing forth certain patterns of intellectual behavior. When we draw upon these intellectual resources, the results are more powerful, of higher quality, and of greater significance than if we fail to employ such patterns of intellectual behavior.
To a degree, classrooms and the actual structure of classes need to revamped to help stop resisting against a new model of education. In having lessons and units focused around the concepts, principles, etc that are still unknown, it would be interesting how education could be giving more unknowns than known material and find connections and ways to bring an understanding to those topics that have been largely unknown. When I was in Mexico, the culture there allowed me to write, reflect, and ponder much more thoroughly because there was not an inherent push to rush as fast and accurately as possible. The culture of thinking critically was approached differently than in the U.S., and the same can be said of realizing the proper educational environment needs to allow for a huge shift of emphasis to achieve such a shift and change in the approach of the environment, students are learning in.
What is it about these characteristics make these successful people successful?
By encouraging students to determine which habits they can apply to themselves can help them to recognize the kind of work they do and are capable of. BY defining them to a specific habit they are able to concentrate to that habit ti helping them.
It kind of intimidates me at how fast someone can pick up a habit. If it’s a good and healthy habit, it’s a great thing. Although more often than not, I feel as though one can pick up on the unhealthy habits easier. It makes me thing of softball. I can accidently pick up a bad batting habit and when I go to lessons, my coach will call me out for it. We’d end up taking weeks just to try to lessen the affects of this new habit.
Horace Mann was a Massachusetts educator in the 1800s, who was an enthusiastic supporter of public education. Mann would serve as both Secretary of Education for Massachusetts, along with being a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
When Horace Mann said the “habit is a cable,” i believe him. Habits are one of the hardest things to break and and it takes a strong minded person to break them. One of my habits is shaking my leg up and down when i am sitting. If i focus on it, I can stop it, otherwise it always happens.
Each situation in which our minds behave intelligently in order to work towards an answer builds upon one another. This allows us to utilize a vast majority of these situations to think critically when more evolved circumstances arise later in life.
The operative word here seems to be a pattern vs. a part of the set.
When these kinds of situations occur, we go back to our personal “habits of mind.” Although these are personal, most of us probably learned these ways of thinking from someone else. These behaviors were most likely a reflection of what we have seen others do in our lives.
A Habit of Mind is a composite of many skills, attitudes, cues, past experiences, and proclivities. It means that we value one pattern of intellectual behaviors over another; therefore, it implies making choices about which patterns we should use at a certain time. It includes sensitivity to the contextual cues that signal that a particular circumstance is a time when applying a certain pattern would be useful and appropriate. It requires a level of skillfulness to use, carry out, and sustain the behaviors effectively. It suggests that after each experience in which these behaviors are used, the effects of their use are reflected upon, evaluated, modified, and carried forth to future applications. Figure 2.1 summarizes some of these dimensions of the Habits of Mind, which are elaborated in Chapter 3. The following sections describe each of the 16 Habits of Mind.
How is it that we can use the Habits of Mind in our everyday life?
I believe the answer to your first question is experience. This can work for productive or non productive habits of mind. For example a kid hitting another child to get a toy, it worked before so it should work again. A more mature example would be someone properly communicating their plans for a large project to a potential backer, if they explain their intentions clearly like they did with the last one they should get the same desired outcome.
The text basically states that by incorporating these Habits of Mind in your everyday life, many benefits will come from it.
If these intellectual behaviors are habits, then we really cannot choose when or not to use them. A habit is something that someone does without really realizing, because it is so common in their lives. Most of us cannot “choose” when to pursue these behaviors that we call habits.
We must skillfully apply these prior building blocks, or familiar situations, to help solve problems when they arise. Simply experiencing a similar situation at a previous occurrence is not enough, hence the reason it all depends on how we behave “intelligently.”
So much to say about the potential power and impact of reflection in the secondary classroom. Whole group. Individual. Teacher and student.
Our students are preparing to draft a larger paper in the next few days. I’ve included the Habits of Mind as an attachment to their work folder. We’ll be using these as a means of reflection into the paper and out of the product.
Figure 2.1. Dimensions of the Habits of Mind
Persisting
When I learn or consider tasks associated with learning, I belive persistance is key. It is important that one focuses primarily on the task at hand, rather than being preocupied by the tasks lingering on their to do list. While being persistent within our work, it allows us to put our best work forth since that is what the mind is focused on, and the completion of the task results in a positive outcome.
Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they never quit.
It took me years to realize that it is never too late to pursue a career. I had to push myself out of the hole I was stuck in and work towards what I really want in life and that is to become an educator. No one but you can take the steps necessary to get to where you want. Here I am today continuing my education and so close to the end.
I totally agree and I can see myself in those sentences. I had a period of tie that I thought was not able to succeed, that I am a failure and I was able to quit. Taling to myself and thinking about mistakes that made me stronger I was able to fight that fear, and try and try again to achieve my goals. Today when I look back I see those mistakes, and action as a positive rewards that made me who I am today.
This is very true. You must take action before you ca be successful.You can not just sit around and do nothing and expect everything to be handed to you. You must work for want you want and it is never to late to start.
Success cannot always come easy. Without action, things would never get done. Being successful comes with responsibilities, like putting in the work. Working towards anything will make you better. For something to feel rewarding, the work must come first.
That’s related to me because success is having achieved popularity, and I still today care for my education and moving forward.
We can’t even begin to move towards what we desire without putting some work in. Our actions are driven by our want to succeed.
In this line we see how successful people keep moving even after mistakes they never quit. In the Ted Talk by Diana Nyad she explains that even though the journey of swimming from Cuba to Florida had never been done she found a way and did it, after it taking 4 tries.
During all of the years, I have achieved things but also I have fallen. I was blamed for not being able to do that or this, but I talked to myself that mistakes and experiences teach us how to do things next time the appropriate method. Mistakes make us face our fears. I never thought I was able to handle alone my life in another country far away from my family. I moved to the USA alone when I was 25 and through my hard work, mistakes, during my moments of crying and laughing I was able to succeed and to achieve my goal.
If people “keep moving,” and are persistent with their actions, they can accomplish success.
I actually used this HOM on my finite test this morning. There was one problem in particular that I kept getting stuck on, but instead of giving up I tried every possible equation I could think of to solve the problem until I got it.
—Conrad Hilton
Efficacious people stick to a task until it is completed. They don't give up easily. They are able to analyze a problem, and they develop a system, structure, or strategy to attack it. They have a repertoire of alternative strategies for problem solving, and they employ a whole range of these strategies. They collect evidence to indicate their problem-solving strategy is working, and if one strategy doesn't work, they know how to back up and try another. They recognize when a theory or an idea must be rejected and another employed. They have systematic methods for analyzing a problem, which include knowing how to begin, what steps must be performed, what data must be generated or collected, and what resources are available to assist. Because they are able to sustain a problem-solving process over time, they are comfortable with ambiguous situations.
I think it’s really important that high-profile athletes are modeling what it looks like to know one’s own limits and how to advocate for their own physical and mental health. The price for when people don’t feel like they can do that is often too high. As educators, I think we also have a responsibility to help our students develop this ability – and to support them in those choices.
“I was like: I think the girls need to do the rest of the competition without me. They were like ‘I promise you’ll be fine, we watched you warm-up’. But I said ‘no, I know I am going to be fine but I can’t risk a medal for the team and I need to call it…
You usually don’t hear me say things like that because I usually persevere and push through things, but not to cost the team a medal. So they were like: OK, if Simone says this, we need to take it pretty serious. I had the correct people around me to do that."
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/27/sport/simone-biles-tokyo-2020-olympics/index.html
I think this habit is important because people will often procrastinate or even not fully complete a task. Persistence is an important habit because it allows us to have complete work as well as displaying our best work and knowledge. It is important to stick to a task until it is completed.
Staying on top of things is an important habit to have. Procrastination is a word that everybody knows because everyone has done it at some point in their life. Being an efficacious person will make life ten times easier, not giving up until your task is completed
Being persistent and having a good work ethic kind of go hand in hand for me. If you’re persistent and can finish a task that you are assigned in the time that it needs to be finished, you also have a good work ethic. You worked hard and tirelessly to finish that task at hand.
When reading this Habit of Mind it made me think of how I am. When ever something is thrown my way I have to complete it then and there. Not only do I do that but it has to be perfect in my eyes. It has helped me develop a system of working.
I find that being persistent has always been on of my key attributes. Whether it is in school, sports, or extracurricular activities I have always been describes as persistent. Being a gymnast at a young age taught me to not give up when things get tough. To push through and persevere was the best way to accomplish your goals.
I would like to preface my next statement with the fact that I support and commend hard workers who try their best on every single task they are assigned. This is something that is very difficult. However, in the context of this sentence, and the paragraph as a whole, I do not believe this to be a healthy standard. The ability to be persistant is an admirable trait, but is also an all too easy way to suffer burnout in strong waves of crippling self doubt and perfectionist lines of thinking. Always be mindful of your emotional and mental state before starting on any task. Breaks can make those assignments blossom a hundred times easier than just bum rushing through it.
What mental connections are made to have these things align?
This sentence will stay with me forever. When I have the opportunity to teaching in a classroom, I would love to take this sentence as a part of the classroom. I believe this sentence is very meaningful, and as a future educator, I will teach the students that if they feel stuck completing a task, they need to analyze and look for other strategies to see if work but they should never give up.
I agree with you Laura. The way that this sentence is crafted is direct and impactful. It labels what it means to persevere and identifies the actionable steps that are essential characteristics of individuals who persevere. It definitely is a sentence worth sharing with students!
i believe sometimes its easier to not give up on a goal when you have a bigger purpose or motivation . recognizing when its worth trying to accomplish or solve something in life its also very important when its about being persisting as well
Students often give up when they don't immediately know the answer to a problem. They sometimes crumple their papers and throw them away, exclaiming "I can't do this!" or "It's too hard!" Sometimes they write down any answer to get the task over with as quickly as possible. Some of these students have attention deficits. They have difficulty staying focused for any length of time; they are easily distracted, or they lack the ability to analyze a problem and develop a system, structure, or strategy of attack. They may give up because they have a limited repertoire of problem-solving strategies, and thus they have few alternatives if their first strategy doesn't work.
I find this paragraph ture about myself. I often will sometimes “give up” or “get distracted” when I can not find a solution to the homework or if I do not understand the homework. Instead of trying to find help or find ways to get the help, such as asking a classmate or a teacher to elaborate on the homework I instead find myself pushing the homework to the side and coming back to it later. I would not necessarily say I have an attention deficit, I just sometimes put something aisde if I does not seem “easy” on the surface. One of my goals for 2021 is to take a dive and challenge myself, whether it is doing the hardest homework first or challeging myself at the gym.
I see this too often and I personally have urges sometimes t give up on a problem that takes too much effort to solve. I know many times in Calculus class I have to redo a problem 10 times before I am able to get it right on my own. I know that I could just look in the back of the book and write down an answer but the relief of finally getting it is such a perfect feeling. Too many students are missing out on this feeling of accomplishment. They lack the drive. Often times I think about the end to motivate myself in the beginning. Just thinking about how great it will feel to exercise my mind and feel success is enough to give me a little push.
I definitely see this a lot personally I always get stuck trying to start tasks however when I get to it I end up enjoying the activity. Habits are difficult to break however taking on tasks as time goes by it gets easier. I put the goal in mind to give myself a jumpstart.
As teachers we should give students the tools to explore rather than make them feel there is no in-between correct and incorrect.
I read this sentence and I can see myself doing the same thing couple of years ago. changing my carrier from being a lawyer was not an easy decision. When I started taking a science course, sometimes I felt exhausted and I want it to drop the course. it was not an easy process to talk to myself and find a solution, I saw that are many different ways to solve this problem, and asking for help is a way that I do not feel uncomfortable anymore. I start to build plan B or C, in case my plan A does not work. I was not seeing that as a failure but as a way to persist in my success.
I can relate to this sentence because this happens with my 14 year old son. During parent teacher conference, his teachers always speak highly about his participation in class but that he falls behind when it comes to completing assignments in class. To them it seems that he is always in a rush to complete an assignment when he has trouble understanding what it is asking. I believe that there are students who need extra support from teachers. Assignments should be broken down for them and teachers should encourage students to ask questions when they don’t understand something.
I believe as students, we have all experienced some form of writing down any answer to get an assignment done. Whether it may be writing down a condensed, sloppy answer, to a completely incorrect one, sometimes we can be so exhausted or tired we just do it to get the assignment done.
People with ADHD are often given tips and tricks for how to better focus their attention. They are trained to work against rather than with their brain’s natural way of functioning. While I generally agree that people with ADHD can benefit from learning how to focus their attention and manage their time, I think many also cause themselves unnecessary pain trying to work against their natural inclinations. People with ADHD are better described as having “variable attention” and can be astonishingly focused (“hyperfocused”) on tasks that engage and interest them. Instead of always trying to better focus on externally mandated tasks, we can also give people with ADHD the opportunity and means to engage with tasks that are meaningful to them. We can help them to leverage their ability to hyper-focus and to think creatively. But this requires starting from a standpoint of seeing ADHD as a divergent way of thinking and processing (with attendant strengths and challenges) rather than simply as a deficit.
While I do agree with this, I believe they fail to mention the students who’s anxiety holds them back sometimes. It’s never “This is too hard, I can’t do it,” but more of “I feel like this isn’t good enough,” so they’ll do everything they can do avoid that feeling all together. Unfortunately, that sometimes results in no answer at all. Ultimately, I think educators should recognize that not all students lack skill, but simply fear what skills they have are not enough.
I agree. One piece this section fails to mention is the outcome that maybe it is not that students choose not to work but rather feel as if the work they do is not enough to secure the grade they would like. Just about everything we do is to keep ourselves from drowning, to get ourselves to the next assignment. Sometimes, the only answer we can come up with is none at all.
I think this lacks empathy and imagination for the many reasons a student might struggle to persist. I also think we should consider what we can do as educators to create conducive environments rather than simply looking to change the mindsets of students.
I think persisting is an important way to deal with problems. When you’re facing a problem, you need to try to find ways to solve it. Coming up with a plan and strategies to help you is a vital life skill.
in my personal opinion this was me with math instead of trying to learn i was always choose to leave alone or give it up to somebody, eventually i understood and caught interest and even doe its still hard i try to find my ways around the problems .
Managing Impulsivity
Impulsivity can lead to many negatives when attempting to focus on the task at hand. Technology plays a major part in this problem. When we hear notifications from our personal devices we impulsively and instinctively look to see if someone has responded to us or messaged us first. So if try to manage this impulse, only then can we learn and tackle the challenge at hand.
Goal-directed, self-imposed delay of gratification is perhaps the essence of emotional self-regulation: the ability to deny impulse in the service of a goal, whether it be building a business, solving an algebraic equation, or pursuing the Stanley Cup.
—Daniel Goleman
Effective problem solvers are deliberate: they think before they act. They intentionally establish a vision of a product, an action plan, a goal, or a destination before they begin. They strive to clarify and understand directions, they develop a strategy for approaching a problem, and they withhold immediate value judgments about an idea before they fully understand it. Reflective individuals consider alternatives and consequences of several possible directions before they take action. They decrease their need for trial and error by gathering information, taking time to reflect on an answer before giving it, making sure they understand directions, and listening to alternative points of view.
I feel like, as teenagers, this may be what we struggle with the most. Most of us don’t think twice about what we say or how it could hurt someones feeling. I myself have been working on that along with a load of other things for months and am very proud of how far I have come and the work I’ve done
This can related to all of us teenagers some of us don’t think about it before doing it cause children are adults (in their 20s) their brains are not fully developed.
1. have a vision
2. a plan
3. a goal … before I begin? I fear that I would never get anything done if I had all of that before I took action.
4. get clear on directions
5. consider different paths
6. gather info to avoid trial and error.
Wow… wow… this feels like a lot to work on. I’m curious to know how taking action and getting ready to take action mix in this habit.
This habit is the one that I struggle with the most. While learning virtually I can have many impulses that can prohibit my education such as wanting to sleep in more or to go get coffee. At times, these impulses can have consequences to my learning. As the habit explains, I need to think about and access the consequences of an action before acting on it.
This is something I have been told since I was a child. I am a very impulsive person. I can think of plans on the spot and have people and times within the hour. But that can also be a bad thing in some situations. Sometimes I say things without thinking about what I’m about to say and sometimes I do things and realize later that it may not have been the smartest idea. Learning to think before you act can be beneficial to everybody and can even save some relationships or friendships.
This sentence is very good at explaining problem solvers as many people make decisions before they really take the time to think about the consequences so it is always good to think before you act.
Thinking before acting is something intelligent because it may be that you can get out of a problem and win a game or fight if you can think I think that persisting before acting is very intelligent in its own way
Being impulsive can be seen as an active problem solver. Being impulsive can mean you are aware of what needs to be done or improved around you, with the right guidance and structure this can be a positive thing.
Impulsivity is a trait which comes from some people who may not be aware of the Habits of Mind. Thinking before acting is very crucial. For example if one is having a conversation, it is important to review the tone and message you want to send across before doing it. For if one impulsively says something it may portray to the wrong audience and be taken in an unintended way. As humans, with sensitive feelings, we should have an action plan or a goal before almost and activity whether that is a conversation, action, etc.
My main step to accomplishing a goal its writing it down and giving myself a period of time to solve it after that i develop a strategy on how to accomplish my goal.
In a high school classroom there are many situations where a direction or strategy is given through coursework. For example in my math class experiences, I have found that the more impulsive people are quick to give up when given a hard equation. However, the more effective people who are aware of the Habits of Mind take more time to understand the directions and find a way to figure out the problem. I feel as though this taps into being impulsive for if one is not willing to instantly understand and have their “gratification” then how will they make any other valuable decisions in life. Sometimes it takes a little longer to figure something out. This is okay, for it will only benefit us an give us more understanding of issues.
Understanding all aspects of a situation is important when evaluating what the best course of action should be. There is a lot less room for error when one takes each possible outcome into consideration. Looking at all alternatives can allow for a person to make the “right” decision.
Impulse its an emotion to me that we reflect the wrong way at times by just letting things out. for example i fought a person at work because i was holding in a lot of anger towards them and ended up getting fired . wrong move lead by impulsivity
Often, students blurt out the first answer that comes to mind. Sometimes they shout an answer, start to work without fully understanding the directions, lack an organized plan or strategy for approaching a problem, or make immediate value judgments about an idea (criticizing or praising it) before they fully understand it. They may take the first suggestion given or operate on the first idea that comes to mind rather than consider alternatives and the consequences of several possible directions. Research demonstrates, however, that less impulsive, self-disciplined students are more successful. For example, Duckworth and Seligman (2005) found
This sort of progression we have looked into more and more over the past few weeks. We read about the perception that the ideal thinker is one that already knew what to do, did not have to think further, and has already begun acting to solve the problem. We learned that it has not always been this way, but more recently in our culture the man chosen for a job first is the one who does not need to think about it. We have morphed thinking first and acting later into a sign of weakness. If you don’t move fast, you will eat the dust of your fellow man. Clearly, this mentality that is still pushed not only inhibits success, but even more importantly, it inhibits creativity.
For years, I always wondered why certain students would blurt out whatever came to their mind when a question was asked. Even when a question wasn’t asked, something would come out and almost always it was annoying. Through out the years, I have learned to exercise patience when I come across this, but never knew it was an actual habit of the mind. Reading this has made me more alert and I will come up with ways to help manage this if/when I come across it.
I’m a very impulsive person and do a lot of things on the regular without analyzing, i agree with this statement that less impulsive people are definitely more successful
Highly self-disciplined adolescents outperformed their more impulsive peers on every academic performance variable, including report-card grades, standardized achievement test scores, admission to a competitive high school and attendance. Self-discipline measured in the fall predicted more variance in each of these outcomes than did IQ, and unlike IQ, self-discipline predicted gains in academic performance over the school year. (p. 940)
Self-discipline roots from impulsivity. A person who is impulsive, says impulsive remarks, or performs action impulsively, has a low self-discipline most of the time. There is a difference between a person who lives life on the edge vs. someone who is impulsive. I like to say I am someone who lives life on the edge. However, that does not mean I am not making smart decisions as I am still very aware of my grades, work, priorities, but also still trying to find a sense of adventure and creating a fun life. It is fully convincing that those who are impulsive have a lower IQ or grades that suffer. Self-discipline is important and one should always think of their actions before making a decision.
Listening with Understanding and Empathy
If one were to analyze my character, they would find that I am a very empathetic and understanding person, which is where Listening with Understanding and Empathy works in my world. One thing I excel at is paying attention to one’s thoughts, feelings, and ideas. I constantly put myself in the shoe’s of those around me, and use my personal experience to connect with them. A key factor in having a strong relationship with those you care about, is the ability to empathize with them when they face trials and tribulations. This is why Listening with Understanding and Empathy makes the list of top three Habits of Mind that are most involved in my life.
Listening is the beginning of understanding. … Wisdom is the reward for a lifetime of listening. Let the wise listen and add to their learning and let the discerning get guidance.
On one of the previous Now Comment articles, I commented something similar to this sentence. I said that if I talked to every one in the world, I am quite certain I would be the smartest person in the world. When you actually pay attention to what people are saying, you are not only giving them respect, you are learning from them! My grandpa always has insightful things to say, and I always learn something when I talk to him. Everyone you know knows at least one thing that you don’t. It is only when you truly listen to them that you learn it.
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