Habits of Mind

1.Persisting
2.Managing impulsivity
Stick to it! Persevering in task through to
Take your Time! Thinking before
completion; remaining focused. Looking
acting; remaining calm, thoughtful and
for ways to reach your goal when stuck.
deliberative.
Not giving up.

3.Listening with
understanding and empathy 4.Thinking flexibly
Understand Others! Devoting mental Look at it Another Way! Being able
energy to another person’s thoughts to change perspectives, generate
and ideas. Make an effort to perceive alternatives, consider options.
another’s point of view and emotions.

5.Thinking about your thinking

6.Striving for accuracy
(Metacognition)
Check it again! Always doing your best.
Know your knowing! Being aware of your
Setting high standards. Checking and
own thoughts, strategies, feelings and
finding ways to improve constantly.
actions and their effects on others.

7.Questioning and problem posing 8.Applying past knowledge to new

How do you know? Having a questioning
attitude; knowing what data are needed
and developing questioning strategies to
produce those data. Finding problems to
solve.
situations
Use what you Learn! Accessing prior
knowledge; transferring knowledge
beyond the situation in which it was
learned.

9.Thinking and communicating with clarity

10.Gather data through all senses:
and precision
Use your natural pathways! Pay attention
Be clear! Striving for accurate
to the world around you Gather data
communication in both written and oral
through all the senses; taste, touch,
form; avoiding over generalizations,
smell, hearing and sight.
distortions, deletions and exaggerations.

12.Responding with wonderment and awe

11.Creating, imagining, and innovating
Have fun figuring it out! Finding the world
Try a different way! Generating new and
awesome, mysterious and being intrigued
novel ideas, fluency, originality
with phenomena and beauty.

13.Taking responsible risks 14.Finding humor

Venture out! Being adventuresome; living Laugh a little! Finding the whimsical,
on the edge of one’s competence. Try new incongruous and unexpected. Being able
things constantly. to laugh at oneself.

16. Remaining open to continuous learning

15.Thinking interdependently
I have so much more to learn! Having
Work together! Being able to work in and
humility and pride when admitting we
learn from others in reciprocal situations.
don’t know; resisting complacency.
Team work.

Images © 2000 Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development,1703 N. Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311 USA
This and other resources available at www.habitsofmind.org