The Art of Thinking

I once heard this great analogy:

"In the US, when we see people on the phone, talking to others, etc., we don't bother them because they're busy.  In China, when they see people sitting quietly thinking, they don't bother them because they're busy."

I think about this quote a lot (I'll confess that I don't know if it's an accurate cultural statement) as I realize that we fail to allow ourselves, and possibly our students, enough time to just think, to figure it out...

How do you get your students thinking?  Do you require them to think on a regular basis?  It's the reason I push for engagement and authenticity so heavily...if we get students engaged in relevant enriching learning, we get them thinking!

An interdisciplinary thinking exercise:  students in social studies are calculating pyramids, determining work force and designing buildings.

Peer Conferencing/Evaluation -  Here, students are evaluating (one of the most sophisticated forms of thinking) other students' work.  What's noteworthy is that each student will evaluate 4 other student's writing.  

Here's an example of the peer evaluation sheet.  Not only are students evaluating multiple pieces of writing, but they area also evaluating a different skill set each time.

Look at that!  I can see him thinking! Plus, there's the benefit that the students being evaluated may use the feedback to strengthen their writing!


We often think about peer conferencing/evaluation as a benefit to the student getting the feedback, but in reality, the learning benefit is to both the student being evaluated and those doing the evaluation.