Visible
Thinking
UTEC 2011
Prof. Martín U. Aparicio
What is Visible Thinking?
Visible Thinking is a flexible and
systematic research-based approach
to integrating the development of
students' thinking with content
learning across subject matters.
• This is a project out of Harvard
University. (1969)
• The essence of this project is a series
of routines or perhaps “mantras” for
thinking.
Goals of VT
- to cultivate students' thinking skills and thinking dispositions
( curiosity, concern for truth and understanding, a creative
mindset)
- to deepen content learning.
- greater motivation for learning
- development of learners' thinking and learning abilities.
- development of learners' attitudes toward thinking and
learning and their alertness to opportunities for thinking and
learning (the "dispositional" side of thinking).
- a shift in classroom culture toward a community of
enthusiastically engaged thinkers and learners.
How does it work in the classroom?
• At the core of Visible Thinking are
practices that help make thinking
visible: Thinking Routines loosely
guide learners' thought processes and
encourage active processing.
• They are short, easy-to-learn mini-
strategies that extend and deepen
students' thinking and become part of
the fabric of everyday classroom life.
Thinking Routines
• Routines exist in all classrooms; they are the patterns by which we
operate and go about the job of learning and working together in a
classroom environment.
• A routine can be thought of as any procedure, process, or pattern of
action that is used repeatedly to manage and facilitate the
accomplishment of specific goals or tasks.
• Classrooms have routines that serve to manage student behavior and
interactions, to organizing the work of learning, and to establish rules
for communication and discourse.
• Classrooms also have routines that structure the way students go
about the process of learning. These learning routines can be simple
structures, such as reading from a text and answering the questions at
the end of the chapter, or they may be designed to promote students'
thinking, such as asking students what they know, what they want to
know, and what they have learned as part of a unit of study.
• Core Routines
• THINK / PUZZLE / EXPLORE - A routine that sets the stage for deeper inquiry
THINK PAIR SHARE ROUTINE - A routine for active reasoning and explanation
SEE / THINK / WONDER - A routine for exploring works of art and other interesting
things
I USED TO THINK…, BUT NOW I THINK… - A routine for reflecting on how and why our
thinking has changed
CIRCLE OF VIEWPOINTS ROUTINE - A routine for exploring diverse perspectives
COMPASS POINTS - A routine for examining propositions E excited W Worrisome N need
to know S = Stance or Suggestion for Moving Forward
WHAT MAKES YOU SAY THAT? - Interpretation with Justification Routine
• Creativity Routines
• OPTIONS EXPLOSION - A routine for creative decision making
OPTIONS DIAMOND - Exploring the tensions of decision making routine
DOES IT FIT? - A routine for thinking creatively about options
CREATIVE QUESTIONS- A routine for generating and transforming questions
CREATIVE HUNT - A routine for looking at parts, purposes and audiences
STEP INSIDE: PERCEIVE, KNOW ABOUT, CARE ABOUT - A routine for getting inside
viewpoints
• Fairness routines
• REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK A routine for separating fact and feeling
MAKING IT FAIR: NOW, THEN, LATER A routine for finding actions
HERE NOW / THERE THEN A routine for considering presentist attitudes and judgments
CIRCLE OF VIEWPOINTS ROUTINE A routine for exploring diverse perspectives
TUG OF WAR A routine for exploring the complexity of fairness dilemmas
• Truth Routines
• TRUE FOR WHO? A routine for exploring truth claims from different perspectives
HOTSPOTS A routine for noticing truth occasions
CLAIM / SUPPORT / QUESTION A reasoning routine
TUG FOR TRUTH A routine for exploring tensions of truth
• Understanding Routines
• THINK / PUZZLE / EXPLORE- A routine that sets the stage for deeper inquiry
THINK PAIR SHARE ROUTINE - A routine for active reasoning and explanation
QUESTION STARTS - A routine for creating thought-provoking questions
HEADLINES ROUTINE - A routine for capturing essence
THE EXPLANATION GAME - A routine for exploring causal understanding
CONNECT / EXTEND / CHALLENGE - A routine for connecting new ideas to prior knowledge
WHAT MAKES YOU SAY THAT? - Interpretation with Justification Routine
