Tool Kit Activity :
SLO #: 5 Tier: Pre-Core
(1, 2, 3, 4 or 5)
Suggested Class Time : 10 min. Complexity Index: Snapshot
(PreCore, 1000, or Soph)
Snapshot: 10 minutes of class, minimal instructor preparation
Easy: 1 day of class, some instructor preparation
Moderate: 1 – 2 weeks of class; some instructor training/preparation
Complex: 1 – 2 months of class or wholly integrated into class,
instructor preparation should start one semester prior to implementing
In CT3, critical thinking is defined as:
…the disciplined and continuous process of asking the right questions and practicing logical thought processes to come to justifiable conclusions
CT3 SLO statement:
Students will be able to implement continuous improvement in thought processes through reflection.
Title
Contributor(s)
I Used to Think…But Now I Think…
Mwauna Maxwell
Learning Framework Faculty
mmaxwell@dcccd.edu
Objective of Activity:
This “thinking” routine helps students to reflect on their thinking about a topic or issue and explore how and why that thinking has changed. It can be useful in
consolidating new learning as students identify their new understandings, opinions, and beliefs. By examining and explaining how and why their thinking has
changed, students are developing their reasoning abilities and recognizing cause and effect relationships.
This routine can be used whenever students’ initial thoughts, opinions, or beliefs are likely to have changed as a result of instruction or experience. (Ex. after
reading new information, watching a film, listening to a speaker, experiencing something new, having a class discussion, at the end of a unit of study, and so on)
Activity Description:
Explain to students that the purpose of this activity is to help them reflect on their thinking about the topic and to identify how their ideas have changed over time.
For instance:
When we began this study of ________, you all had some initial ideas about it and what it was all about. In just a few sentences, I want you to write what it is that
you used to think about_________. Take a minute to think back and then write down your response to “I used to think…”
Now, I want you to think about how your ideas about __________ have changed as a result of what we’ve been studying/doing/discussing. Again in just a few
sentences write down what you now think about ___________. Start your sentences with, “But now, I think…”
Have students share and explain their shifts in thinking. Initially, it is good to do this as a whole group so that you can probe students’ thinking and push them to
explain. Once students become accustomed to explaining their thinking, students can share with one another in small groups or pairs.
Web Pages for Instructor Preparation for Activity:
http://pzweb.harvard.edu/vt/VisibleThinking_html_files/03_ThinkingRoutines/03c_Core_routines/UsedToThink/UsedToThink_Routine.htm
Web Pages to Access During Activity:
none
Suggested Assessment Technique(s): Collect Individual Written Responses and score:
Level/
Score
4
Category
Description
Advancing
Thinker
-The student demonstrates a clear commitment to reviewing decision
making processes and conclusions.
-The student explicitly states how he/she plans to use “improved”
thinking skills to help make future, personal decisions.
3
Practicing Thinker -The student identifies personal experiences with decision making
and the desired or undesired outcomes.
-The student states an awareness of personal thinking practices (“I
used to think…”) and feasible methods for self-improvement in those
practices (“Now I think…”).
2
Beginning Thinker -The student is able to cite situations in which a flawed thinking
process may have contributed to a poor conclusion/solution.
-The student recognizes thinking practices exhibited by others and
acknowledges a path for improvement.
1
Early Thinker
-The student does not recognize problems in thought processes.
-The student adheres to status quo methods to tackle
issues/problems and opposes improvement.
Bibliographic References:
Activity Borrowed From: Harvard Project Zero
http://pzweb.harvard.edu/vt/VisibleThinking_html_files/03_ThinkingRoutines/03c_
Core_routines/UsedToThink/UsedToThink_Routine.htm
Thinking Routines
Definition and Criteria
Thinking Routines. Procedures, processes, or patterns of action used over and over in the
classroom to activate and direct mental action.
In order to be considered a thinking routine the practice should:
- Be made up of only a few steps that are easy to learn and teach
- Be easily scaffolded or supported by others
- Be used over and over in the classroom
- Have as its primary purpose a broader goal (like understanding) rather than as end in itself
Another Definition:
“A thinking routine is a thoughtful action done again and again that builds up a disposition or habit of
good thinking.” -- Clinton Golding
These are all thinking routines:
KWL (Know - Want to know - Learned)
See - Think - Wonder
What makes you say that?
I Used to Think. Now I Think.
QFT (Produce - Improve - Prioritize)
Key Ideas for Developing Intellectual Character
IN THE CLASSROOM: THINKING ROUTINES
• The Form and Function of Routines. Classrooms are dominated by routines for accomplishing
housekeeping chores, securing classroom management, facilitating discourse, and directing learning.
Such routines are explicit and goal-driven. For these routines to be effective, they usually consist of
only a few steps, are easy to learn and teach, can be scaffolded or supported by others, and get used
over and over again in the classroom.
• Criteria for Thinking Routines. Although thinking routines often can be characterized as learning
or discourse routines, the converse is not always true. Some routines for guiding learning are far from
thinking-rich and do little to engage students mentally. First and foremost, thinking routines must
activate and help direct students' thinking. Because this thinking is not necessarily the goal but
usually a means to a larger purpose such as understanding, we say that thinking routines are more
instrumental in nature. In addition to the criteria for other types of routines, good thinking routines
must also be useful across a wide variety of contexts and be able to operate as both public and
private practices.
• Some Examples of Thinking Routines. Many familiar classroom practices and instructional
strategies can be thought of as thinking routines if they are used over and over again in a way that
makes them a core practice of the classroom. For example, KWL (What do you know? What do you
want to know? What did you learn?), brainstorming, pushing students to give evidence and to reason
by asking them “Why?”, classroom arguments or debates, journal writing, questioning techniques or
patterns that are used repeatedly, and so on.
• Thinking Routines as an Enculturating Force. Thinking routines act as a major enculturating
force by communicating expectations for thinking as well as providing students the tools they need to
engage in that thinking. Thinking routines help students answer questions they have: How are ideas
discussed and explored within this class? How are ideas, thinking, and learning managed and
documented here? How do we find out new things and come to know in this class? As educators, we
need to uncover the various thinking routines that will support students as they go about this kind of
intellectual work or enact new ones if such routines are not readily in our practice.
Ron Ritchhart. Intellectual Character: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Get It (The Jossey-Bass
Education Series) (Kindle Locations 1473-1477). Kindle Edition.
Thinking to Understand
“…are there particular types of thinking that serve understanding across all disciplines? Types of
thinking that are particularly useful when we are trying to understand new concepts, ideas, or
events?” Ron Ritchhart and colleagues David Perkins, Shari Tishman, and Patricia Palmer
developed a list of eight thinking moves that they assert are integral to “understanding and without
which it would be difficult to say we had developed understanding:
1. Observing closely and describing what’s there
2. Building explanations and interpretations
3. Reasoning with evidence
4. Making connections
5. Considering different viewpoints and perspectives
6. Capturing the heart (or core of a concept, procedure, event or work)
and forming conclusions
7. Wondering and asking questions
8. Uncovering complexity and going below the surface of things”
“While these eight represent high-leverage moves, it is important to stress that they are by no means
exhaustive.”
Thinking to Solve Problems
1. “Identifying patterns and making generalizations
2. Generating possibilities and alternatives
3. Evaluating evidence, arguments, and actions
4. Formulating plans and monitoring actions
5. Identifying claims, assumptions, and bias
6. Clarifying priorities, conditions, and what is known”
Again, these six are not meant to be exhaustive.
Ritchhart, R., Church, M. & Morrison, K. (2011). Make thinking visible. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass, 11 – 15.
TOPIC: ________________________________________________________
I used to think…
But, now I think…