“The Power of Making Thinking Visible” lives up to its name. There are many strategies and routines for getting your students to not only think more, but think better. When students make their thinking visible to us as teachers we are able to go further with our instruction by building off their thinking. Here are some of the real “powers” of MTV:
- Visible Thinking Routines: There are various thinking routines that help students articulate their thought processes. These routines are not just designed for teachers to be able to see their thinking, they also develop students metacognitive skills in the process. These routines encourage deeper understanding as well as providing more opportunities for students to engage with the content.
- Getting Students Talking: MTV stresses the importance of collaborative dialogue. When students share their thinking, they learn from each other, which fosters a community of inquiry and enhances critical thinking skills.
- Student Agency: Making thinking visible empowers students by giving them ownership of their learning. When they can express their thoughts clearly, they become more confident learners. This confidence in turn drive students to seek out more opportunities for learning.
- Assessment for Learning: Thinking routines double as formative assessment practices that focus on understanding students’ thinking. This approach helps educators tailor their instruction to meet students’ needs.
- Developing Thinking Disposition: By promoting the idea that thinking can be developed and improved, teachers can cultivate a thinking disposition in their students. When students have these dispositions they have the ability, inclination, and sensitivity to deploy their thinking routines.
For more on thinking dispositions check out this video:
+1! A Thinking Routine in Action!
In my 9th grade Biology classroom this week I used the “+1” routine. This routine is designed to cultivate retrieval practice, that is, the recall of information, by identifying key points from a text. The importance of retrieval practice is something that has been explored in The Learning Scientists blog. Check out this blog for more on this important skill.
I presented my students the video below, based on the recommendation of the authors, for this activity they recommend that the information presented “conveys a variety of facts, ideas, or concepts to recall and find key points worth taking note of”.
After watching the video, the students were asked to write down 3-4 key points that they remember. Once they had their ideas on the paper, it was passed to the student next to them, where they then added one additional idea to that students list. This process was repeated once more, and then the papers were returned to the original owner. Afterwards, we did a debrief where I wrote down the ideas they shared:
Overall, I was happy with the way the thinking routine went! I wasn’t met with the semi-frequent groans and complaints about trying something new, I think this routine might have actually broke through some of the monotony of are usual classroom procedures. However, my students did struggle with the task, that is, they found it difficult to come up with key points- at first. After a little coaxing they were able to write down some ideas, not all were the picture perfect responses I had hoped, but they were participating which can be a success on its own. But as they passed their papers around and started to read the responses of their classmates the sound of “aha!” and “Oh yeah!” started to chirp up throughout the room. The prompting of other students key ideas reminded them of other ideas from the video! Before doing this routine again I plan to show the concept map below to my students and discuss the reasoning behind this routine in the first place.
If you would like to use this routine in your classroom, check out this blog for tips and tricks on how to implement it in your space:
TCE Threshold Concepts
The strategies that are put forth in MTV align well with TCE threshold concepts especially: “curriculum is more than standards, textbooks, or course of study” and “both students and teachers have empowerment/agency”. These two threshold concepts are imbedded in the foundation of MTV by promoting students to become better thinkers.
Curriculum is More Than Standards, Textbooks, or Course of Study
- My goal extends beyond having students memorize facts, I want them to leave my classroom as well-rounded, thoughtful individuals, ready to engage with the complexities of the world around them. When MTV strategies are consistently integrated into daily lessons, they become an essential part of the learning process. This means that students are not just learning the technical steps of DNA replication, for example, but are also building habits of mind that encourage them to think more deeply and critically. These skills help shape them into better problem solvers and reflective learners, qualities that will serve them long after they leave the classroom.
Both Students and Teachers Have Empowerment/Agency
- One way that thinking routines are structured is through routines designed for engaging in action. These routines encourage students to delve into significant and relevant concepts that connect to real-world issues, motivating them to take meaningful action. They not only provide the framework for students to explore these topics but also offer the support and structure necessary to take steps toward making a difference. By incorporating these thinking routines, the learning process extends beyond the classroom, prompting students to consider how they can positively impact their communities and the broader world.
Hi!
I also used the “+1” thinking routine for the first time this week! I Really liked the video you used and it inspired me to try other kinds of information presentation when I try this again. I also had trouble with some students struggling to recall key concepts. When I discussed this trouble with my assistant principle it was recommended that I provide a model for students (perhaps a guided fishbowl) before letting them all try on their own. Additionally, sentence stems or some kind of word bank with terms that would inspire deeper thinking. I hope that’s helpful! I also am a big fan of the +1 work for my students so I hope we can both grow in this work with our students.
Hey Annie, thank you for the reply. It is nice to hear that I’m not alone in my struggles with using the +1 routine. I think modeling with sentence stems in the future would be a good way to improve the responses from the students to really get them thinking. I’m glad you liked the video, I hope you will find more success on the next go around.
Hi! I liked that you had your students write down a few important points. That probably helped them stay focused and engaged throughout the lesson. This approach showed that your strategy effectively got your students to try something new, especially since there were no complaints or groans. In my opinion, that’s a huge win. I think it’s interesting to see how your students were able to build on each other’s ideas. They knew the key points and needed to be reminded of them. I know you plan to incorporate the concept map next time you use this strategy. Have you considered including specific prompts or guidelines to help students generate their initial key points more easily?
Thank you for taking the time to read my post! To answer your question I think I will use some sentence stems or other prompts to help guide the students when coming up with their responses. A lot of the time I hear from my students that when they are struggling it often starts at the beginning. They just need a little help to get them started and then they are off to the races!
Hi there,
I like that you presented the video and had students jot down 3-4 points that they remembered, that keeps it as fresh as possible. I know the familiar groan for different activities and I’m happy this one worked well. As coaxing was needed, I might suggest to pause the video every so often just to give students time to digest what they heard and maybe write as they go. In a fact dense video, just a small mental pause can alleviate any feeling of being rushed or overwhelmed and hopefully result in better responses from the start. I hope this helps!
Hi Andrew, I appreciate your suggestion about providing time for the students to think during the video. Although the goal is to build that working memory, in the beginning it might be helpful to provide students a little bit of grace, and easier information to remember their first go around. I will try that the next time I use the routine!