Learning Opportunities

Creating a Cultures of Thinking

Increasingly, we are recognizing the importance of the culture of the classroom as foundational for learning.  And yet, we often don’t give teachers many tools for or understanding of how to create group culture that can foster deep learning and build understanding.   During the workshop, we will focus on the practical and concrete ways educators can create a culture of thinking in their schools and classrooms, foster the kinds of thinking opportunities that lead to deep understanding of content, and develop our skills of how to look for evidence of student thinking and understanding. This workshop offers a unique opportunity to explore the cultural forces of: interactions, modeling, environment, routines, language, opportunities, time, and expectations. Throughout the workshop, participants will use a variety of thinking routines to facilitate their own learning and explore how each of these can be used to create more thoughtful classrooms.

Participants will explore and build their understanding around:

• What is a culture of thinking? What does it look like and feel like?
• The role messaging plays in both understanding and shaping of group culture
• How can we assess, understand and shape the culture of our classrooms and schools to most effectively build a culture of thinking?
• How can the cultural forces that exist in each classroom support and further develop a culture of thinking?
• How can educators use thinking routines to structure, scaffold, and support students’ thinking?

AGENDA AND WORKSHOP OVERVIEW

SESSION 1:  January 20, 2021

A New Vision of Education

• How can we create a culture of thinking for ourselves as educators?
• In what ways has our understanding of the goals of education and good teaching changed, shifted, and developed?
• What do we want the students we teach to be like as adults?

SESSION 2: February 24, 2021

Unpacking Culture

• How can we unpack group culture to be understand how it is created and supported?
• 3 Stories: What are the stories of learning we have been told, have told ourselves, and what story do we want to be telling our students?
• How do we “tell” a new story of learning? The 8 Cultural Forces.
• What do the cultural forces look like in action?

SESSION 3:  March 17. 2021

The Cultural Force of Language

• What are out insights and questions around a culture of thinking thus far?
• How can we better learn to look closely and recognize the cultural forces in action? A second look at the cultural forces
• How can be better understand the different ways language gets used in the classrooms, and how it effects students?

SESSION 4:  April 14, 2021

Creating Powerful Learning Opportunities

• What do we already know about powerful learning opportunities from our experience as teachers?
• What does research say about the crucial elements of powerful learning opportunities?
• How can we better pay attention to these elements in our design of powerful learning?