Habits of Mind

Habits of Mind is a collection of sixteen diverse problem-solving skills developed by Drs. Arthur L. Costa and Brena Kallick, who co-founded the Institute for Habits of Mind. Costa and Kallick reasoned from their research that intelligent and successful people from various walks of life generally use sixteen daily habits when faced with a challenging problem. These habits include using high-level deductive reasoning skills, being aware of environmental cues and how to interpret them, drawing on their own and others’ experiences, and tying these skills with knowledge and insight to troubleshoot an especially perplexing situation.

While some of these tendencies, or as Costa and Kallick refer to them, dispositions, may come naturally to some people, the researchers argue that these thinking skills can be learned, especially by students in school, with the proper training. According to the researchers, the habits are not simply acquired behaviors but a lifelong mindset of approaching a problem and thinking it through. These habits become a mental outlook that consistently displays a propensity for acting wisely and creating innovative solutions. Because these habits are invaluable for use in an educational context, they are often integrated into a school curriculum designed to improve learning, leadership, and problem-solving skills. Although the sixteen habits are intended for a classroom setting and focus on education, proponents say they can help anyone deal with any puzzling problem.

Background

The concept of the sixteen Habits of Mind and the analysis of how intelligent people successfully approach and solve problems began with Costa’s 1981 book Intelligent Behaviors. In this publication, he points out that critical and creative thinking skills are necessary to solve complex problems. Costa had much experience as a teacher in a classroom and working in curriculum and administration with schools in the Sacramento, California, area.

In 1991, Costa helped develop Developing Mind: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking with ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development), an organization dedicated to working with professional educators. This brought together specialists, such as philosophers, psychologists, and researchers, who all studied how people think. He began to notice a pattern of thinking from what was brought out by these cognition professionals, and this led him to the idea that sixteen habits of thinking can be identified in people who make good decisions. He also felt that students could improve their problem-solving skills in and out of the classroom by studying these habits.

Kallick, who had begun working with Costa in the mid-1980s, specialized in understanding group behaviors and dynamic and alternative assessment educational skills. She created a children’s museum based on innovative thinking skills in the late 1970s. Costa used Kallick’s studies and perspective to further refine the sixteen Habits of Mind. Their first co-authored book was Learning Organization. This 1995 publication led to further articles and books on the subject, such as Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind, Habits of Mind Across the Curriculum, and Dispositions: Reframing Teaching and Learning. These and other books further explore and explain the sixteen habits. The titles have become popular educational references.

Costa and Kallick founded the Institute for Habits of Mind, an organization dedicated to propagating the Habits of Mind. In 2017, Allison Zmuda, an expert on education and learning, joined Costa and Kallick at their institute and published another book, Students at the Center. After this book, she became a third co-director of the Habits of Mind Institute along with Costa and Kallick. The institute offers resources to make the Habits of Mind approachable to students, parents, teachers, and leaders. It also provides certification opportunities and research to further the expansion of the theory behind the habits and specific instances of how communities, school districts, office managers, and instructors may incorporate the habits into their learning environments for children and adults.

Overview

The sixteen Habits of Mind, according to Costa and Kallick, are as follows: persisting; managing impulsivity; listening with understanding and empathy; thinking flexibly; thinking about thinking; striving for accuracy; questioning and posing problems; applying past knowledge to new situations; thinking and communicating with clarity and precision; gathering data through all senses; creating, imagining, and innovating; responding with wonderment and awe; taking responsible risks; finding humor; thinking independently; and remaining open to continuous learning.

Persistence helps a person to remain focused and see the problem-solving strategy through to the end without giving up, which also employs managing impulsivity to stay calm and deliberately think before acting. Listening with understanding and empathy helps a person to see another’s point of view and draw from their thoughts and experiences, which can help a person be a flexible thinker and change their mind and perspective to consider all the alternatives and options. Thinking about thinking, or metacognition, allows a person to be aware of this process going on in their mind while striving for accuracy, which ensures meeting high standards and continual improvement.

Questioning and problem-posing develop the attitude to see what is exactly needed, which assists in identifying which past knowledge can apply to the present situation. Clarity and precision in all types of communication ensure accuracy and help to avoid generalizations or mistakes. Gathering data through all a person’s senses allows information from the world around an individual to provide additional information. It lends itself to creation, imagination, and innovation. In turn, this allows a person to respond with wonderment and awe to the natural world and find innate pleasure in problem-solving.

Problem-solving also requires skills such as responsible risk-taking to try new things while finding humor and enjoyment in oneself. Thinking independently involves using one’s own mind and learning from others through teamwork. Finally, remaining open to continuous learning allows a person to understand that they do not know everything there is to know in the world, enabling them to leave their mindset open to new experiences and continual growth.

These habits are not as much about behavior as they are intent or a predisposition toward using higher-level thinking ability when a person is confronted with a challenging problem or situation. In addition, these habits involve developing relationships and communicating with other people to work together to decipher and resolve challenges. Habits of Mind training courses and educational materials aim to prepare a person to perform better in demanding situations that call for strategic thinking, perceptiveness, tenacity, creativity, and expertise to tackle complex challenges. Their cognition model involves not shying away from the challenges but eagerly approaching them with a positive attitude and open mind, finding joy in problem-solving, and sharing the journey by connecting with others.

When faced with a contradiction, ambiguity, or dilemma, these sixteen patterns of the intellectual process can be brought to the fore to generate a better outcome. They all require a diverse set of cognitive abilities to prioritize the best method of problem-solving as well as an awareness of other people, oneself, and nature. These sixteen habits are not used in isolation but work seamlessly together in an interconnected manner, considering the situation's particular context and how these patterns of thinking can be applied in any given circumstance. Assessment and adjustments are continually made to use lessons learned and new perspectives realized throughout the process to the present challenge and any future challenges that may present themselves.

The list of habits is not exhaustive. Costa and Kallick recognize facets of Habits of Mind that other research institutions have compiled that extend the list related to a particular situation or add to the depth of existing habits. However, no matter how difficult or complex a specific situation may be, understanding how to solve one single problem is not enough. The main goal of the sixteen Habits of Mind is to continually cultivate and broaden the skills problem-solvers utilize and build on what they have learned to address a wide range of difficulties, including those in their communities, their world, and their personal lives. The habits must be internalized and become a pattern of thinking. In their various publications, Costa and Kallick recognize that having answers to complex problems is admirable. However, they are more intrigued by how a person acts and interacts with others when they do not know the solution or a problem seemingly has no answer.

Bibliography

Berenhaus, Molly, and Gerald Cupchik. "Transferring Habits of Mind from an Aesthetic Context to Everyday Life." International Association of Empirical Aesthetics, vol. 38, no. 1, 2019, doi:10.1177/0276237419868949.

Costa, Arthur L., and Bena Kallick. "Habits of Mind: Strategies for Disciplined Choice Making." The Systems Thinker, 2018, thesystemsthinker.com/habits-of-mind-strategies-for-disciplined-choice-making/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

Costa, Arthur L., et al. "Building a Culture of Efficacy with Habits of Mind." ASCD, 1 Nov. 2021, ascd.org/el/articles/building-a-culture-of-efficacy-with-habits-of-mind. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

Costa, Arthur, L., et al. "The Powe of "Habits of Mind" to Increase Emotional Awareness." ASCD, 1 Mar. 2024, https://ascd.org/el/articles/the-power-of-habits-of-mind-to-increase-emotional-awareness. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Kende, Meg. "Understanding the 16 Habits of Mind." Stony Brook University, 15 Mar. 2022, stonybrook.edu/commcms/ctlc/blog/posts/understanding‗16‗habits‗of‗mind.php. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

"The 16 Habits of Mind." Teach Thought, 2022, teachthought.com/pedagogy/what-are-the-habits-of-mind/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

"What Are Habits of Mind?" Habits of Mind Institute, 2022, habitsofmindinstitute.org/learning-the-habits/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

"Who We Are." Habits of Mind Institute, 2022, habitsofmindinstitute.org/about-us/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

Wiyarsi, Antuni, et al. "Promoting Students' Scientific Habits of Mind and Chemical Literacy Using the Context of Socio-Scientific Issues on the Inquiry Learning." Frontiers in Education, 25 May 2021, doi:10.3389/feduc.2021.660495.