Question Starts
  A routine for creating thought-provoking   questions 
     
     

Brainstorm a list of at least 12 questions about the   topic, concept or object. Use these question-starts to   help you think of interesting questions:     Review the brainstormed list and star the questions   that seem most interesting. Then, select one or more of   the starred questions to discuss for a few moments.     Reflect: What new ideas do you have about the topic,   concept or object that you didn't have before?
 
     

   
 
Purpose: What kind of thinking   does this routine encourage?
  This routine provides students with the opportunity to practice   developing good questions that provoke thinking and inquiry into   a topic. It also helps students brainstorm lots of dif-ferent kinds   of questions about a topic. The purpose of asking deep and interesting   questions is to get at the complexity and depth of a topic. The   purpose of brainstorming varied ques-tions about a topic is to get   at the breadth, and multi-dimensionality of a topic.
 
Application: When and Where can   it be used?
  Use Question Starts to expand and deepen students'thinking,   to encourage students' curios-ity and increase their motivation   to inquire. This routine can be used when you are introduc-ing a   new topic to help students get a sense of the breadth of a topic.   It can be used when you're in the middle of studying a topic   as a way of enlive

 

     
     
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The core routines are a set of seven or so routines that target different types of thinking from across the modules.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Visible Thinking makes extensive use of learning routines that are   thinking rich. These routines are simple structures, for example a set   of questions or a short sequence of steps, that can be used across various   grade levels and content. What makes them routines, versus merely strategies,   is that they get used over and over again in the classroom so that they   become part of the fabric of classroom' culture. The routines become   the ways in which students go about the process of learning.

What   makes these routines work to promote the development of a students thinking   and the classroom culture are that each routine:
 

 
• Is goal oriented in that it targets specific types of thinking
• Gets used over and over again in the classroom
• Consists of only a few steps
• Is easy to learn and teach
• Is easy to support when students are engaged in the routine
• Can be used across a variety of context
• Can be used by the group or by the individual

You might even use more than one   routine in teaching a single lesson. Thus, you shouldn't think about   the routine as taking time away from anything else you are doing, they   should actually enhance what you are trying to do in the classroom.

Because of   their simple nature, the routines do not need to be taught but can simply   be used as a means of investigating and working with existing subject   matter. Nonetheless, when teachers first introduce a routine he or she   may choose to do so with one of the suggested topics or a topic that   may not be a regular part of students' study. For example, the "What   makes you say that?" routine might be introduced with an engaging   picture or photograph, though later a teacher might want to use it with   a poem, artifact, or scientific experiment. With all of the routines,   teachers will need to think about what topics are most appropriate for   their introduction and continued use.

Thinking Routines

10 ways to encourage students to take responsibility for their learning…

1. Don’t make all the decisions

Allow choice. Encourage students to make decisions about how they learn best. Create opportunities for them to pursue their own interests and practise skills in a variety of ways.  Cater for different learning styles. Don’t expect everyone to respond in the same way. Integrate technology to encourage creative expression of learning.

2. Don’t play guess what’s in my head

Ask open-ended questions, with plenty of possible answers which lead to further questions.   Acknowledge all responses equally. Use Thinking Routines to provide a framework for students to engage with new learning by making connections, thinking critically and exploring possibilities.

3. Talk less

Minimise standing out front and talking at them.  Don’t have rows of learners facing the front of the class.  Arrange the seats so that students can communicate, think together, share ideas and construct meaning by discussing and collaborating. Every exchange doesn’t need to go through the teacher or get the teacher’s approval, encourage students to respond directly to each other.

4. Model behaviors and attitudes that promote learning.

Talk about your own learning. Be an inquirer. Make your thinking process explicit. Be an active participant in the learning community. Model and encourage enthusiasm, open-mindedness, curiosity and reflection.  Show that you value initiative above compliance.

5. Ask for feedback

Get your students to write down what they learned, whether they enjoyed a particular learning experience, what helped their learning, what hindered their learning and what might help them next time. Use a Thinking Routine like ‘Connect, extend, challenge’. Take notice of what they write and build learning experiences based on it.

6. Test less

Record student thinking and track development over time. Provide opportunities for applying learning in a variety of ways. Create meaningful assessment tasks that  allow transfer of learning to other contexts. Have students publish expressions of their learning on the internet for an authentic audience. Place as much value on process and progress as on the final product.

7.  Encourage goal setting and reflection.

Help students to define goals for their learning. Provide opportunities for ongoing self-evaluation and reflection. Provide constructive, specific feedback.   Student blogs are great tools for reflecting on learning and responding to their peers.

8. Don’t over plan.

If you know exactly where the lesson is leading and what you want the kids to think, then you‘re controlling the learning. Plan a strong provocation that will ‘invite the students in’ and get them excited to explore the topic further. But don’t  plan in too much detail where it will go from there.

9.  Focus on learning, not work.

Make sure you and your students know the reason for every learning experience. Don’t give ‘busy work’. Avoid worksheets where possible. Don’t start by planning activities, start with the ‘why‘ and then develop learning experiences which will support independent learning.  Include appropriate tech tools to support the learning.

10.  Organise student led conferences

Rather than reporting to parents about their children’s learning, have student led 3-way conferences, with teacher and parents. The student talks about her strengths and weaknesses, how her learning has progressed and areas for improvement. She can share the process and the product of her learning.