Post written by Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick
A lot is said and written about the whole child. We often forget, however, that we should be considering the whole adult as well. A teacher's performance in the classroom, and the resulting performances of the students, depend on a cluster of ingredients not the least of which are the teacher's attitudes and dispositions which we refer to as Habits of Mind, which concern not only what teachers can do (abilities) but what they are likely to do. For example,
| What is the likelihood that: | Habit of Mind |
|---|---|
| they will persevere through disappointment and challenge in their teaching, spending additional time, consulting others, reviewing and revising their decisions when hoped for results have not occurred? | Persisting |
| in the process of teaching and concentrating on the responses of an individual student, they use an eagle view of the classroom to monitor the entire class? | Metacognition (Thinking about Thinking) |
| faced with stubborn problems they can perceive them flexibly from various perspectives of the disappointed mother, the ambitious father, or the anxious child? | Thinking Flexibly |
| they will take disappointments in |