Starting Good Habits Early

A “Habit of Mind” means having a disposition towards behaving intelligently when confronted with problems, the answers to which are not immediately known.

Noted educators Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick, define and describe 16 types of intelligent behavior which make up the Habits of Mind. Habits of Mind (HOM) assist students in school and adults in everyday life as they are challenged by problems, dilemmas, paradoxes, and enigmas for which the solutions are not immediately apparent. Drawing on the Habits of Mind means knowing how to behave intelligently when you don't know the answers. It means not only having information, but also knowing how to act on it.

The Mabin staff are big supporters of HOM. The concept eloquently restates many of the foundations of our school philosophy and captures much of the professional development we have done around the inquiry method and developing thinking skills. Not only do we find the habits valuable for personal use, but introducing them to our students appeals to a variety of learning styles, giving us a simple and clear common language that can be used school wide between students, subjects and teachers.

Reflection and self-evaluation are an integral part of the evaluative process at Mabin. They are used as tools to help children take ownership for their learning and develop internal motivation. HOM gives children a developed framework with which to reflect. It provides students with an outline, promoting detailed and specific reflection. HOM help children to identify where they have made positive growth. Just as we make connections across the curriculum, children are able to link HOM across the curriculum. A child might identify that they are consistently able to persevere in gym. This same HOM might be more difficult for them in reading challenges. HOM helps them to tap into this knowledge so that they more easily recognize the habits they need to be effective and use their experience to apply these habits in a different situation. The end result is that “habits” become “habitual” and truly integrated into a student's learning profile. The depth of reflection is much greater and goal setting becomes more student driven, accurate and achievable.

No doubt, you will hear and see much of the Habits of Mind terminology being used at Mabin — in report cards, posted on classroom walls and even out of the mouths of the children themselves. We encourage all parents to learn more about the Habits Of Mind. The excellent website, www.habits-of-mind.net, provides much more about the origins of this approach.