Creating Cultures of Thinking

For more than a decade, I have been an ardent fan of Ron Ritchhart's work. Ron Ritchhart is currently a senior researcher at Harvard's Project Zero, whose mission is "...to understand and enhance high-level thinking and learning across disciplines and cultures and in a range of contexts, including schools..." (http://www.pz.harvard.edu) Previous to Project Zero he was a Denver based educator and staff developer with the Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC).

Mr. Ritchhart has written numerous books, including several that have become my favorites: Intellectual Character: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Get It; Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners; and most recently, Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools.

In the midst of countless other initiatives, and in a variety of roles, I have always recognized the vision set forth in Ritchhart's books as the heart of my purpose. It's the red thread that runs through everything I do in my classroom. My mission is to nurture, inspire, and manifest a purpose and a passion for learning, and that's what Creating Cultures of Thinking is all about.

"The literate life includes far more than reading and writing.  Literate people have a passion for asking questions both big and small; a hunger for learning new things and for making connections.  In short, they have a particular stance toward the universe: one of constant engagement and learning."  -Don Graves

In Creating Cultures of Thinking, Ritchhart writes, "If we truly value thinking, then we must be able to articulate what kind of thinking we are after, why they are important, and how they might help one's learning or accomplishment of the task at hand." (31) One of the purposes of this blog is to reflect through writing on my work toward that goal. Through writing here I intend to clarify and streamline my own thinking, enter into a dialogue with others on this learning path, and to keep an ongoing record of growth as I seek to develop in students thinking dispositions that will serve them for a lifetime as citizens, scientists, mathematicians, readers, and writers.