In The Brain: Developing Habits for Lifelong Learning, you will learn about the thinking and learning skills that today’s students should be cultivating in order to become successful adults in the dynamic, rapidly changing, and “flattened” world in to which they will graduate. You will be introduced to the idea of “habits of mind,” survey 16 distinct ways of seeing, understanding, and interacting with the world, and learn instructional strategies to help your students develop each of these thinking and learning “habits.” In Modules 3-6, you will also be provided with activity suggestions and materials that can be downloaded and used in the elementary or secondary classroom.
Course Objectives
- Explore how the changing job market will make collaboration, critical thinking, and lifelong learning crucial skills for tomorrow’s workers.
- Embed an emphasis on collaboration and critical thinking within core curriculum instruction and assessment.
- Define “habits of mind” and explain their importance in developing life-long learners.
- Connect thinking and learning habits to personal moments of success and achievement.
- Explore the value of habits of mind relating to persistence and questioning.
- Design instruction to encourage and strengthen persistence and questioning.
- Explore the value of habits of mind relating to independent and creative thinking.
- Design instruction to encourage and strengthen independent and creating thinking.
- Explore the value of habits of mind relating to openness and curiosity.
- Design instruction to encourage and strengthen openness and curiosity.
- Explore the value of habits of mind relating to listening and understanding.
- Design instruction to encourage and strengthen listening and understanding.
Syllabus
(ASCD PD Online course, 2011) Reimagined self-paced asynchronous online course. Upon completion, learners will be awarded an ASCD Certificate worth up to 20 Clock Hours.