I’m a voracious learner. I love to read, collaborate, listen, and make connections. However, one the most important learning strategies has been missing in much of my past professional practice: review. I’m reflective. Maybe, sometimes, too reflective.
“We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience. -John Dewey
But, I often fail to take time to review material in an effective way. So I’m giving myself a challenge: to review more and to review more strategically. This will enable me to remember and synthesize, to be better prepared for coaching conversations and in my work with students. And, by modeling review I can teach others about thinking routines.
Zaretta Hammond talks about the importance of thinking routines in Zaretta Hammond Speaks on Distance Learning and Equity. We need to empower students as learners.
In her book Culturally Responsive Learning and the Brain, Hammond writes about four thinking routines:
- Similarities and Differences
- Whole-to-Part
- Relationships
- Perspectives
In future posts, I hope to incorporate some of my use of thinking routines as I synthesize what I’ve learned. I hope that you find this useful, for yourself as a learner and for the other people you learn alongside.