Visible Thinking Workshop for the Stories that Move training on November 10 2017

1. Visible
Thinking
Stories that
Move
10 November 2017
Claire Bown @thinkingmuseum

2. Claire Bown
Founder, Thinking Museum
@thinkingmuseum
thinkingmuseum.com
UK-born
Moved to Amsterdam, 2007
Masters in Museology, 2010
Tropenmuseum, Stories Around the
World 2011
Thinking Museum, 2013

3. What is Visible Thinking?
What are thinking routines?
See-Think-Wonder
Zoom-In
Reflection & Q & A
Schedule

4. What is Visible Thinking?
From Harvard’s Project Zero
‘A broad and flexible framework for enriching
learning’
Since 2000
Developed in schools with teachers and students
Key Elements
● Explain & articulate thinking out loud
● Listen to others articulate their thinking
● Engage in discussions while forming
understanding

5. ‘Thinking is pretty much invisible. Mostly, thinking happens
under the hood, within the marvellous engine of our
mind-brain.’
Visible Thinking includes a number of ways of making
students' thinking visible to themselves, to their peers,
and to the teacher, so they get more engaged by it and
come to manage it better for learning and other purposes.

6. ‘When thinking is visible, it becomes clear that school is not
about memorising content but exploring ideas.’
Teachers benefit when they can see students' thinking
because misconceptions, prior knowledge, reasoning
ability, and degrees of understanding are more likely to
be uncovered. Teachers can then address these challenges
and extend students' thinking by starting from where
they are.

7. What is Visible Thinking?
Goals
● Deeper understanding of content
● Greater motivation for learning
● Development of learners' thinking
and learning abilities.
● Development of learners' attitudes
toward thinking and learning and
their alertness to opportunities for
thinking and learning
● A shift in classroom culture toward a
community of enthusiastically
engaged thinkers and learners.

8. What is Visible Thinking?
At the heart of VT are three core
practices:
● thinking routines
● documentation of student
thinking
● and reflective professional
practice

9. Thinking Routines (Video)
Video

10. Thinking Routines
Routines can be used at any level / age /
subject area
Short, have only a few steps
Are easy to teach and learn (and
remembered)
Get used repeatedly
Can be used by individuals or groups in a
variety of contexts.
Targets a specific type of thinking

11. THINKING ROUTINES
Wonder
Make
connections
Consider
different
viewpoints
Interpret
thoughtfully
Summarise
Hypothesise
Draw
Conclusions
Provide
Evidence
Uncovering
Complexity
Observe
carefully
Identify
parts in
a whole
Make
comparisons
Build
explanations
Think
critically

12. Thinking Routines
HOW?
Groups
Small groups
Individually
Multi-modal: written, spoken, drawing,
acting
Low-tech: post-its, worksheets,
whiteboard
Hi-tech: website, iPads, apps

13. Documenting
How?
Charts, tables, drawings, photos,
post-it notes, word clouds, video etc.
Why?
Uncover thoughts and make them
visible.
Can capture, record, and reflect on
the thinking students are doing
Shows what students are interested
in

14. See-Think-Wonder
Careful observations
Thoughtful interpretations
Stimulate curiosity

15. 1. What do you see in this
image?
2. What does it make you
think about?
3. What does it make you
wonder?
See-Think-Wonder

17. Be a Good Facilitator
Encourage & Guide Looking
Pointing & Paraphrasing
Linking
Closing
Be Mindful of Language
Listen Actively

18. Good Facilitation with VT:
Insert Information at Key
Points
We only retain 25% of what we hear!
Insert critical pieces of information in
small amounts
Think about what you can add (and
when) that will make ppl think & lead
discussion further.
Ask people what questions they have,
what they are still wondering about.

19. Encourage group to work
together
Listen to each other in a respectful way
See beyond a single perspective: Learn to accept
other viewpoints
Working together to solve problems, decipher
meanings
Safe space to talk
Everyone’s ideas are valid
Keep process open-ended to encourage further
inquiry

20. Zoom In
Observe closely
Develop ‘tentative’ hypotheses
Describing
Keep open-minded and flexible
Fosters engagement

21. 1. What do you see or notice?What is
your hypothesis or interpretation of
what this might be based on what you
are seeing?
2. What new things do you see?
How does this change your hypothesis
or interpretation? Has the new
information answered any of your
wonders or changed your previous
ideas? What new things are you
wondering about?
3. What lingering questions remain for
you about this image?
Zoom In

27. 5x2
Slow down
Careful observations
Describing
Push beyond first glances/obvious
description

28. 1. Look at the image quietly
for 30 seconds. Let your
eyes wander.
2. List 5 words or phrases
about any aspect of your
image.
3. Repeat steps 1 & 2: Look at
the image or object again
and try to list five more
words or phrases.
5x2

30. Step Inside
Explore different perspectives and
viewpoints
Imagine things differently
Open up thinking
Good to combine with other routines e.g.
5x2

31. 1. What can the person or
thing perceive, see,
observe or notice?
2. What might this person
or thing know about,
understand or believe?
3. What might the person
or thing care about,
value, hold dear?
Step Inside

33. Reflect on your current understanding
of Visible Thinking
Respond to each of these sentence
stems on a post-it:
I used to think…
Now I think...
I used to
think...Now I
think...

34. Be flexible. Combine,
adapt, find your own
way.
thinkingmuseum.com
@thinkingmuseum
facebook.com/ThinkingMuseum
claire@thinkingmuseum.com