Clarify and Extend Thinking

In order to develop a teacher's capacity to support students to Clarify and Extend Thinking,  the coach will use the continuum above, as well as available data sources, to facilitate reflection and identify next steps. One approach may be to turn the continuum bullet points into questions. 

The following resources align with the continuum:

1. Engaging Students in Dialogue and Writing to Question, Explain, Justify, and Ground Their Thinking

   • Why Students Should Write in All Subjects (Edutopia)

   • Deepening Student Understanding With Collaborative Discourse (Hess, 2019)

   • Low-Stakes Writing and Critical Thinking (Edutopia)

2. Helping Students Develop Metacognitive 

   • Metacognition: Nurturing Self-Awareness in the Classroom (Edutopia)

   • Thinking Routines (Project Zero) 

   • Treating Reflection As a Habit, Not an Event (Edutopia) 

3. Teaching Students to Ground Their Thinking in the Language of the Discipline

   • 8 Strategies for Teaching Academic Language (Edutopia)

See also Clarify and Extend Thinking Checklist (Developed by APS Coaching Cadre, 2021-22) 

The indicator "Clarify and Extend Thinking" supports teachers' ability to provide opportunities for students to question, explain, justify, and ground their thinking in evidence from complex texts, tasks, and problems. This indicator speaks to the need for teachers consider the purpose of their discourse- what type of work do they want students to gain by engaging in discourse (making meaning, critiquing)? Teachers also must consider the structure that will engender the type of thinking that we are asking of students. For example, a structure that supports students questioning might look very different than a structure to support explaining. A teacher also needs to consider the supports to allow each student to engage in discourse that will allow them to clarify and extend their thinking.