Thinking Routines From The Artful Thinking Website Http//wwwpzharvardedu/tc/indexcfm Thinking

thinking routines, from the artful thinking website: http://www.pz.harvard.edu/tc/index.cfm thinking routines these routines were creat

Thinking Routines, from the Artful Thinking Website:
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/tc/index.cfm
Thinking Routines
These routines were created by Shari Tishman, Ron Ritchhart, Patricia
Palmer, and other researchers on the Visual Thinking project at
Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education. The versions that
follow are taken from the Artful Thinking website:
http//:www.pz.harvard.edu:tc:content:routines:routines.cfm
Lois Hetland's explanation of Routines for use in Studio Art
Classrooms: Routines are brief, adaptable protocols to guide
conversations and infuse them with thinking. They are simple enough to
do with little or no introduction, and they're memorable so that they
can easily become part of your repertoire in planning and supporting
your students' in thinking about different ideas. Many routines offer
useful ideas for designing critiques. Adapt at will! Also, when
teachers are thinking about integrating art with non-art subjects
(e.g., science, history/social studies, language arts, mathematics) or
with other art forms (dance, drama, music), these routines are simple
ways to ensure that those relationships are non-trivial. That's a good
thing!
BEGINNING, MIDDLE, OR END: A routine for observing and imagining
Choose one of these questions:
1. If this artwork is the "beginning" of a story, what might happen
next?
2. If it this artwork is the "middle" of a story, what might have
happened before? What might be about to happen?
3. If this artwork is the "end" of a story, what might the story be?
-- Use your imagination --
What kind of thinking does this routine encourage?
This routine is a springboard for imaginative exploration. It uses the
power of narrative to help students make observations and use their
imaginations to elaborate on and extend their ideas. Its emphasis on
storytelling also encourages students to look for connections,
patterns, and meanings.
When and where can I use it?
The routine works with any kind of visual artwork that stays still in
time, such as painting or sculpture. (There is an adapted version of
this routine for use with music.)
Use "Beginning, Middle, or End" when you want students to develop
their writing or storytelling skills. You can use the questions in the
routine in the open-ended way that they are written. Or, if you are
connecting the artwork to a topic in the curriculum, you can link the
questions to the topic. For example, if you are studying population
density, you can ask students to keep the topic in mind when they
imagine their stories.
The routine is especially useful as a writing activity. To really
deepen students writing, you can use the "Ten Times Two" routine with
the same artwork prior to using this routine as a way of helping
students generate descriptive language to use in their stories.
What are some tips for starting and using this routine?
Give your students quiet time to look before they begin writing or
speaking. If you like, take a few minutes to ask the class as a whole
to name several things they see in the artwork, before they begin
thinking individually about a story.
If students are writing, they can talk over their ideas with a partner
before they begin to write solo. They can also write in pairs.
If students are doing the routine verbally, they can tell stories
individually, or work in pairs or small groups to imagine a story
together. You can also imagine a story as a whole class by asking
someone to begin a story and having others elaborate on it.
CLAIM / SUPPORT / QUESTION: A Reasoning Routine
1. Make a claim about the artwork or topic
Claim: An explanation or interpretation of some aspect of the artwork
or topic.
2. Identify support for your claim
Support: Things you see, feel, and know that support your claim.
3. Ask a question related to your claim
Question: What's left hanging? What isn't explained? What new reasons
does your claim raise?
WHY
To help students develop thoughtful interpretations of an artwork or
topic by encouraging them to reason with evidence.
WHEN
Use Claim / Support / Question: with works of art and with topics in
the curriculum that invite explanation or are open to interpretation.
HOW
Model the routine for the whole class, and then work in small groups
or individually. Take turns using the routine so that each member of
the group makes a claim, identifies support, and asks a question.
Following each person's report, take a moment as a group to discuss
the artwork or topic in relation to the claim before moving on to the
next person. After everyone has had a turn, reflect on the activity.
Ask students to discuss what new thoughts they have about the artwork
or topic.
COLORS, SHAPES, LINES: WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? WHAT DO THEY DO? A Routine
for Exploring the Formal Qualities of Art
1. Take a minute to look at the artwork. Let your eyes wander over it
freely. What do you see? Take a few observations from students and
then move on to the next step.
2. Observe and describe the colors, shapes, and lines in detail. Make
3 columns.
COLORS: What kinds of colors do you see? Describe them.
SHAPES: What kinds of shapes do you see? Describe them.
LINES: What kinds of lines do you see? Describe them.
3. Choose a kind of color, shape, or line that you listed. How does it
contribute to the artwork overall? (How does it help the
artwork‚"work"?) Consider:
*
How does it contribute to how the artwork feels?
*
How does it contribute to the mood of the artwork?
*
How does it contribute to how the artwork looks?
*
How does it contribute to the story the artwork tells?
*
How does it contribute to the ideas in the artwork?
Do this with at least two elements. They can be chosen from any
column.
4. What new ideas do you have about the artwork? What do you see now
that you didn't see before?
CREATIVE COMPARISONS: A routine for creating metaphors
1. What do you see in the artwork? OR What do you think you know about
the topic?
2. Compare: Choose a category from the list below or identify your own
category.
3. Imagine: If this topic/artwork was a kind of _____________
(category), what would it be?
4. Explain three ways that it compares to the target category you
selected.
Good bet categories: Things that have a wide variety of parts or
types.
*
Musical instruments
*
Plants
*
Toys
*
Cities
*
Parts of the body
*
Machines
*
Artworks of all kinds (for topics that aren't artworks)
*
Paintings (for any topic or artwork that isn't a painting)
*
Music (for any topic or artwork that isn't music)
What kind of thinking does this routine encourage?
The routine encourages metaphorical thinking‚ central to the work of
any artist and to creative thinking in any discipline. Metaphors
provoke our imaginations to create comparisons between dissimilar
things, often leading to deeper and richer understanding of each.
When and Where can it be used?
Creating metaphors help students understand unfamiliar subjects by
linking them to what they already know. Use the routine when you want
to help students make connections between disparate elements or ideas,
or to stimulate new insights and solutions.
What are some tips for starting and using this routine?
Begin by encouraging students to observe the artwork or brainstorm
ideas about the topic at hand. Keep a visible record of students'
ideas. When first using the routine, model a creative comparison for
the class by asking students to share a few ways the artwork or topic
could compare to a plan/toy/city, etc. Remind students to use some of
the brainstormed ideas or observations in the comparison.
Alternatively, students can write their individual responses on
post-it notes and add them to a class chart of metaphors. Keep
students' visible thinking alive over time: Continually refine and add
new thoughts to the lists of ideas and revisit the metaphors as
students' understanding around a topic develops.
CONNECT : EXTEND : CHALLENGE: A routine for connecting new ideas to
prior knowledge
CONNECT: How are the ideas and information presented CONNECTED to what
you already knew?
EXTEND: What new ideas did you get that EXTENDED or pushed your
thinking in new directions?
CHALLENGE: What is still CHALLENGING or confusing for you to get your
mind around? What questions, wonderings or puzzles do you now have?
What kind of thinking does this routine encourage?
The routine helps students make connections between new ideas and
prior knowledge. It also encourages them to take stock of ongoing
questions, puzzles and difficulties as they reflect on what they are
learning.
When and Where can it be used?
The natural place to use the Connect-Extend-Challenge routine is after
students have learned something new. It doesn't matter how much they
have learned: It can be a lesson's worth or a unit's worth. The
routine is broadly applicable: Use it after students have explored a
work of art or anything else in the curriculum. Try it as a reflection
during a lesson, after a longer project, or when completing a unit of
study. Try using it after another routine!
What are some tips for starting and using this routine?
This routine works well with the whole class, in small groups, or
individually. Keep a visible record of students' ideas. If you are
working in a group, ask students to share some of their thoughts and
collect a list of ideas in each of the three categories, or have
students write their individual responses on post-it notes and add
them to a class chart. Keep students' visible thinking alive over
time: Continually add new ideas to the lists and revisit the ideas and
questions on the chart as students' understanding around a topic
develops.
HEADLINES: A Routine for Capturing Essence
This routine draws on the idea of newspaper-type headlines as a
vehicle for summing up and capture the essence of an event, idea,
concept, topic, etc. The routine asks one core question:
1. If you were to write a headline for this topic or issue right now
that captured the most important aspect that should be remembered,
what would that headline be?
A second question involves probing how students' ideas of what is most
important and central to the topic being explored have changed over
time:
2. How has your headline changed based on today's discussion? How does
it differ from what you would have said yesterday?
What kind of thinking does this routine encourage?
This routine helps students capture the core or heart of the matter
being studied or discussed. It also can involve them in summing things
up and coming to some tentative conclusions.
When and where can I use it?
This routine works especially well at the end of a class discussion or
session in which students have explored a topic and gathered a fair
amount of new information or opinions about it.
What are some tips for starting and using this routine?
The routine can be used quite effectively with think-pair-share. For
example, at the end of a class the teachers can ask the class, "Think
about all that we have been talking about today in class. If you were
to write a headline for this topic or issue right now that captured
the most important aspect that should be remembered, what would that
headline be?" Next, the teacher tells students, "Share your headline
with your neighbor." The teacher might close the class by asking, "Who
heard a headline from someone else that they thought was particularly
good at getting to the core of things?"
Visibility: How does it make thinking visible, and how can I document
it?
Student responses to the routine can be written down and recorded so
that a class list of headlines is created. These could be reviewed and
updated from time to time as the class learns more about the topic.
LOOKING: TEN TIMES TWO: A routine for observing and describing
1. Look at the image quietly for at least 30 seconds. Let your eyes
wander.
2. List 10 words or phrases about any aspect of the picture.
3. Repeat Steps 1 & 2: Look at the image again and try to list 10 more
words or phrases to your list.
What kind of thinking does this routine encourage?
The routine helps students slow down and make careful observations
about an object, image or work of art. It asks students to think about
words or phrases to describe the work and encourages students to push
beyond first glance, or obvious description.
When and where can I use it?
The routine can be used with any kind of artwork, especially visual
art. You can also use non-art images or objects.
Use "Ten times Two" when you introduce a new artwork to engage
students in careful looking before having a discussion about it or
before using another routine. You can also use the "Ten times Two"
routine after an in depth discussion about at an artwork to both push
forward and summarize some of the ideas and observations that were
made during the conversation.
The routine is useful before a writing activity. It gets students
thinking about descriptive language and helps students make
observations about the work of art.
What are some tips for starting and using this routine?
Give your students time to look and tell students know that you will
be the time-keeper. Quiet, uninterrupted thinking and looking time is
essential to this routine.
Students can work as a class, in small groups, or individually. You
can also vary the way students work; for example, students might
generate the first list of words solo, writing their ideas down on
post-it notes so that they can be posted to a class list of
observations. The second list could focus on a group situation.
Students should try to write their ideas down, or in a whole class
discussion the teacher might write students' comments on the board.
Make sure that the descriptive words and phrases generated are made
visible for the whole group at some point in the discussion. Add to
the list as necessary during any follow up conversations.
A natural follow up to the "Ten times Two" would be another routine
that encourages students to talk about their observations and
interpretations, for example the "What makes you say that?" routine or
"Claim Support Question."
LISTENING: TEN TIMES TWO: A routine for observing and describing music
1. Listen to a piece of music quietly. Let your ears wander and take
in as much as possible.
2. List 10 words or phrases about any aspect of what you hear.
3. Repeat Steps 1 & 2: Listen again and try to list 10 more words or
phrases to your list.
What kind of thinking does this routine encourage?
The routine helps students slow down and make careful observations
about music. It asks students to think about words or phrases to
describe the work and encourages students to push beyond first listen
or basic description.
When and where can I use it?
The routine will work with any kind of music. Use "Ten times Two" when
you introduce a new piece of music to get students thinking carefully
about it before having a discussion or using another routine. You can
also use the "Ten times Two" routine after an in depth discussion
about a piece of music to both push forward and summarize some of the
ideas and observations that were made during the conversation.
The routine is useful before a writing activity. It gets students
thinking about descriptive language and helps students make
observations about the music.
What are some tips for starting and using this routine?
Give students time to listen to the music multiple times, with an
effort on hearing something new each time. If possible, keep the music
playing at a softer volume while students develop their lists.
Students can work as a whole class, in small groups, or individually.
Students should try to write their ideas down, or, in a whole class
discussion, the teacher could write students' comments on the board.
Make sure that the descriptive words and phrases generated are made
visible for the whole group at some point in the discussion. Add to
the list as necessary during any follow up conversations.
A natural follow up to "Ten times Two" would be another routine that
get students talking about their interpretations, for example the
"What makes you say that?" routine or "Claim Support Question."
Here are some options for pieces of music, but feel free to use any
piece that you may have or one that connects to current topics you are
studying.
*
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 5 in E minor, op. 64 (a symphony, 1878)
*
John Phillip Souza, Washington Post March (a concert band march,
1889)
*
William Christopher Handy, St. Louis Blues, (ragtime blues, 1914)
*
George and Ira Gershwin, Summertime (from "Porgy and Bess" opera,
1935)
THE ELABORATION GAME: A routine for careful observation and
description
As a group, observe and describe several different sections of an
artwork.
1. One person identifies a specific section of the artwork and
describes what he or she sees. Another person elaborates on the first
person's observations by adding more detail about the section. A third
person elaborates further by adding yet more detail, and a fourth
person adds yet more.
Observers: Only describe what you see. Hold off giving your ideas
about the art until the last step of the routine.
2. After four people have described a section in detail, someone else
identifies a new section of the artwork and the process starts over:
Four more people take turns making increasingly detailed observations.
Then the process starts over again, and so on, until everyone in the
group has had a turn or all sections of the artwork have been
described.
3. After the artwork has been fully described, as a group, discuss
some of your ideas about it. For example, what do you think is going
on? (and what did you observe that makes you say that?)
Helpful definitions:
Observe: Describe how something appears
Elaborate: Expand on something in detail
Interpret: Explain what something means
What kind of thinking does this routine encourage?
This routine encourages students to look carefully and deeply at
details. It challenges them to develop verbal descriptions that are
elaborate, nuanced, and imaginative. It also encourages them to
distinguish between observations and interpretations by asking them to
withhold their ideas about the artwork –
their interpretations -- until the end of the routine. This in turn
strengthens students' ability to reason carefully because it gives
them practice making sustained observations before jumping into
judgment.
How should sections of the artwork be identified?
There are two ways to handle this. You, the teacher, can decide how to
divide the artwork up into different spatial sections -- quadrants,
for example -- and then simply tell students which sections to
describe. Or, students can identify different sections themselves.
Either way, be flexible about what counts as a section. For example, a
section can be a smaller area of detail within a larger section that
has already been discussed.
When and where can I use it?
Use this routine with any kind of visual art that stays still in time,
such as painting or sculpture. (There is an adapted version of this
routine for use with music.) You can also use the routine with non-art
objects, such as a microscope, an animal skeleton, or a plant. The
routine works especially well with objects or works of art that have
some degree of complexity.
What are some tips for starting and using this routine?
This routine is pretty much is self-starting. All you need to do is
explain the rules of the game. Decide ahead of time whether you want
to have each student speak in turn, or whether you want students to
raise their hand and offer their observations at will. Don't worry if
the routine feels a bit awkward the first time you try it. It is
challenging to look at things deeply and it sometimes takes students a
while to make new observations and find fresh ways to describe things.
Give students lots of "think time" and they'll soon get the hang of
it.
CREATIVE QUESTIONS: A routine for creating thought-provoking questions
1. Brainstorm a list of at least 12 questions about the artwork or
topic. Use the following question-starts to help you think of
interesting questions.
Why … ?
What are the reasons … ?
What if … ?
What is the purpose of … ?
How would it be different if … ?
Suppose that … ?
What if we knew … ?
What would change if …?
2. Review your brainstormed list and star the questions that seem most
interesting. Then, select one of the starred questions and discuss it
for a few moments. (If you have the time, you can discuss more than
one question.)
3. Reflect: What new ideas do you have about the artwork or topic that
you didn't have before?
WHY
Use Creative Questions to expand and deepen students' thinking, to
encourage students' curiosity, and to increase their motivation to
inquire.
WHEN
Use Creative Questions when you want students to develop good
questions and think deeply works about of art or topics in the
curriculum.
HOW
Work as a whole class or in small groups. Or mix it up. For example,
do step 1 as a whole class, do step 2 in pairs, and step 3 as a whole
class again.
THINK/ PUZZLE /EXPLORE : A routine that sets the stage for deeper
inquiry
1. What do you _think_ you know about this artwork or topic?
2. What questions or _puzzles_ do you have?
3. What does the artwork or topic make you want to _explore_?
WHY
To help students connect to prior knowledge, to stimulate curiosity,
and to lay the groundwork for independent inquiry.
WHEN
Use Think/Puzzle/Explore when you are beginning a topic and when you
want students to develop their own questions of investigation.
HOW
There are three questions in this routine. Begin by giving students a
few quiet moments to consider the artwork or the topic at hand. Then,
work as a whole class or in small groups and brainstorm ideas in all
three areas. Make sure to give adequate time between each question for
students to think up and articulate their ideas. In some cases, you
may want to have students do the routine individually on paper or in
their heads before sharing ideas as a class.
Keep a visible record of students' ideas. If you are working in a
group, ask students to share some of their thoughts and collect a
broad list of ideas about the artwork or topic on chart paper. Or
students can write their individual responses on post-it notes and
later add them to a class list of ideas.
Note that it is common for students to have misconceptions at this
point -- include them on the list so all ideas are available for
consideration after further study. Students may at first list
seemingly simplistic ideas and questions. Include these on the whole
class list but push students to think about things that are truly
puzzling or interesting to them.
I SEE / I THINK / I WONDER: A routine for exploring works of art and
other interesting things
1.
What do you see?
2.
What do you think about that?
3.
What does it make you wonder?
WHY
To help student make careful observations and thoughtful
interpretations; to stimulate curiosity and set the stage for inquiry
WHEN
Use this routine when you want students to think carefully about why
something looks the way it does or is the way it is.
HOW
Ask students to make an observation about the artwork or topic and
follow up with what they think might be going on or what they think
this observation might be. Encourage students to back up their
interpretation with reasons. Ask the students to think about what this
makes them wonder about the artwork or topic.
The routine works best when a student responds by using the three
stems together at the same time, i.e., I see, I think, I wonder.
However, you may find that students begin by using one stem at a time,
and that you need to scaffold each response with a follow up question
for the next stem.
The routine works well in a group discussion, but in some cases you
may want to have students carry out the routine individually on paper
or in their heads before sharing them out as a class. Student
responses to the routine can be written down and recorded so that a
class chart of observations, interpretations and wonderings are listed
for all to see and return to during the course of study.
PERCEIVE, KNOW, CARE ABOUT: A routine for getting inside viewpoints
Three core questions guide students in the process of exploring a
viewpoint:
1. What can the person or thing "perceive"?
2. What might the person or thing "know about or believe"?
3. What might the person or thing "care about"?
What kind of thinking does this routine encourage?
This routine helps students to explore diverse perspectives and
viewpoints as they try to imagine things, events, problems, or issues
differently.
When and where can I use it?
Use the routine when you want students to open up their thinking and
look at things differently. It can be used as an initial kind of
problem solving brainstorm that open ups a topic, issue, or item. It
can also be used to help make abstract concepts, pictures, or events
come more to life for students.
Exploring different perspectives can lead to a richer understanding of
what is being studied. For instance, imagining oneself as the
numerator in a fraction of a math problem. In other settings,
exploring different viewpoints can open up possibilities for further
exploration. For example, following this routine a student might write
a poem from the perspective of a soldier's sword left on the
battlefield.
What are some tips for starting and using this routine?
This routine asks students to step inside the role of a character or
object -- from a picture they are looking at, a story they have read,
an element in a work of art, an historical event being discussed, and
so on -- and to imagine themselves inside that point of view. Students
are asked to speak or write from that chosen point of view.
In getting started with the routine, the teacher might invite students
to look at an image and ask them to generate a list of the various
perspectives or points of view embodied in that picture. Students then
choose a particular point of view to embody or talk from, saying what
they perceive, know about, and care about. Sometimes students might
state their perspective before talking. Other times, they may not, and
then the class could guess which perspective they are speaking from.
In their speaking and writing, students may well go beyond these
starter questions. Encourage them to take on the character of the
thing that they have chosen and talk about what they are experiencing.
Students can improvise a brief spoken or written monologue, taking on
this point of view, or students can work in pairs with each student
asking questions that help their partner stay in character and draw
out his or her point of view.
How does it make thinking visible, and how can I document it?
Students' responses can be written down so that various perspectives
can be examined and contrasted. This might take the form of a grid in
which the perspectives are listed at the top and the three questions
down the left-hand side. Using the grid, a teacher might ask, "Whose
position seems the most similar to each? Different? Most like your
own?"
WHAT MAKES YOU SAY THAT?: Interpretation with Justification Routine
There are two core questions for this routine. The first question asks
for an interpretation. The second question asks for justification.
1. What's going on?
2. What do you see that makes you say that?
What kind of thinking does this routine encourage?
This routine helps students describe what they see or know and asks
them to build explanations. It promotes evidential reasoning
(evidence-based reasoning) and, because it invites students to share
their interpretations, it encourages students to understand
alternatives and multiple perspectives.
When and where can I use it?
Because the basic questions in this routine are flexible, it is useful
when looking at objects such as works of art or historical artifacts,
but it can also be used to explore a poem, make scientific
observations and hypothesis, or investigate more conceptual ideas
(i.e., democracy). The routine can be adapted for use with almost any
subject and may also be useful for gathering information on students'
general concepts when introducing a new topic.
What are some tips for starting and using this routine?
In most cases, the routine takes the shape of a whole class or group
conversation around an object or topic, but it can also be used in
small groups or by individuals. When first introducing the routine,
the teacher may scaffold students by continually asking the follow-up
questions after a student gives an
interpretation. Over time, students may begin to automatically support
their interpretations with evidence with out even being asked, and
eventually students will begin to internalize the routine.
When using this routine in a group conversation, it may be necessary
to think of alternative forms of documentation that do not interfere
with the flow of the discussion. One option is to record class
discussions using video or audio. Listening and noting students' use
of the language of thinking can help you see their development.
Students' words and language can serve as a form of documentation that
help to create a rubric for what makes a good interpretation or for
what constitutes good reasoning.
Another option is to make a chart or keep an ongoing list of
explanations posted in the classroom. As interpretations develop, note
changes and have further discussion about these new explanations.
These lists can also invite further inquiry and searches for evidence.
Other options for both group and individual work include students
documenting their own interpretations through sketches, drawings,
models, and writing, all of which can be displayed and revisited in
the classroom.
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