Thinking Routines

Harvard's Project Zero’s Thinking Routines Toolbox was created by its Graduate School of Education. This toolbox highlights thinking routines developed across a number of research projects. A thinking routine is a set of questions or a brief sequence of steps used to scaffold and support student thinking. These thinking routines were designed to deepen students’ thinking and to help make that thinking “visible.” Thinking routines help to reveal students’ thinking to the teacher and also help students themselves to notice and name particular “thinking moves,” making those moves more available and useful to them in other contexts.

If you're new to thinking routines and PZ's research, please click here to explore more about thinking routines. For Tips for Using Thinking Routines Effectively, click here. For an overview of the Thinking Categories, click here.

Below, I've highlighted my top 7 thinking Routines.

Headlines

This routine helps students identify the essence, or the core idea, of the topic/issue being discussed and reinforces taking notice of central themes as an essential tool in cultivating understanding.

What makes you say that?

This routine cultivates observation, description, explanation-building, and evidence-based reasoning. Because students share their interpretations, they are encouraged to see multiple perspectives.

Claim, Support, Question

This routine supports reasoning by having students form claims, explanations, or interpretations and support them with evidence. Questioning claims helps students see reasoning as an ongoing process.

Compass Points

This routine helps students flesh out an idea or proposition and eventually evaluate it.

Connect, Extend, Challenge

This routine helps students connect new ideas to those they know and encourages them to reflect upon how they have extended their thinking as a result of what they are learning about or experiencing.

I used to think... Now I think...

This routine helps students to reflect on their thinking about a topic or issue and explore how and why their thinking has changed. It helps consolidate new learning.

See, Think, Wonder

This routine encourages students to make careful observations and thoughtful interpretations. It helps stimulate curiosity and sets the stage for inquiry.

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If you need supported in the implementation of thinking routines, please do not hesitate to contact math@apslearns.org

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