habitsOfMind

Habits of the Mind

Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick [|Habits of Mind website] "Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day and at last we cannot break it" - Horace Mann

A Habit of Mind means having a disposition toward behaving intelligently when confronted with problems, the answers to which are not immediately known: dichotomies, dilemmas, enigmas and uncertainties. Our focus is on performance under challenging conditions that demand strategic reasoning, insightfulness, perseverance, creativity, and craftsmanship. The critical attribute of intelligent human beings is not only having information, but also **knowing how** to act on it.

The 16 Habits of Mind identified by Costa and Kallick include: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
 * **Persisting**
 * **Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision**
 * **Managing impulsivity**
 * **Gathering data through all senses**
 * **Listening with understanding and empathy**
 * **Creating, imagining, innovating**
 * **Thinking flexibly**
 * **Responding with wonderment and awe**
 * **Thinking about thinking (metacognition)**
 * **Taking responsible risks**
 * **Striving for accuracy**
 * **Finding humor**
 * **Questioning and posing problems**
 * **Thinking interdependently**
 * **Applying past knowledge to new situations**
 * **Remaining open to continuous learning**