Developing Thinking Dispositions: When Thinking Becomes Routine

Delve further into the core principles of Visible Thinking and thinking routines with an emphasis on cultivating not only essential thinking skills—but also thinking dispositions. 

In a world demanding greater adaptability, flexibility, and solving problems in uncertain and unknown situations, education must evolve beyond simply covering content. Classrooms and learning contexts that nurture deep learning are places that support deep thinking. This course is dedicated to learning how to develop thinking dispositions—the critical habits of mind that support students to develop agency in their own learning with strategies for engaging with a complex world.
 

Overview

If we want learners to be empowered and their learning to be transferable, we must make thinking both visible and intentional in our classrooms and schools. Over the four weeks, you will consider the power of developing dispositions and experiment with practical strategies. Through the continued exploration of an expanded set of thinking routines, participants will learn practical strategies for supporting students to develop lasting thinking habits, leading to deeper content understanding. In this course, you will:

• Examine how thinking is typically discussed and framed in schools, and consider how its visibility serves both learning and teaching
• Unpack the concept of "thinking dispositions"—the inclination, sensitivity, and ability to use thinking skills—and understand why they are the key to deep learning
• Practice using thinking routines in ways that encompass the ideas of thinking dispositions and deeper learning
• Explore concrete ways to reframe conversations around thinking within your own teaching context
   

Who Should Participate

• Teachers, teacher leaders, and school administrators and leaders
• Museum educators and educators working in informal learning environments
• Facilitators of pre-K to adult learning
   

Time Commitment

Anticipate a workload of 2.5-3 hours per week for four weeks. The course provides 12 total hours of professional learning. During each session: 

• Team Meeting: This 1-hour live, synchronous team meeting happens every week, scheduled and facilitated by the team members with PZ-designed agenda. 
• Reading, Practice, and Assignments: Plan remaining time for reading and individual reflections/assignments. If you are not currently working in a school or educational organization, you will need a classroom context or a consistent group of students with whom you can try out/practice the ideas you are learning throughout the course.
   

Schedule

Each weekly session opens on a Monday and ends on a Sunday. Participants decide when to work on the course material and when to schedule their team meetings within each session.

• Session 1: February 22-February 28, 2027
• Session 2: March 1-March 7, 2027
• Session 3: March 8-March 14, 2027
• Session 4: March 15-March 21, 2027
   

Tuition, Discounts, and Financial Aid

For mini courses (four sessions, four weeks), the tuition is: 

• $355 for educators joining as part of a team (three to six members from the same organization) 
• $385 for educators joining as part of a team of two (from the same organization) who will be placed on a virtual team with other teams of two (as attendance allows) 
• $399 for educators joining as individuals to be placed on a virtual team

Financial aid is limited and awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, and typically covers 50-70% of a course's tuition for eligible educators. Applications must be submitted and accepted prior to registration. Review our financial aid criteria.
 

Questions?

Visit the FAQs page for more information on PZ online courses, or email pzlearn@gse.harvard.edu.