“Having a disposition toward behaving intelligently when confronted with problems, the answers to which are not immediately known”. – Art Costa

1. Habits of Mind: Arthur L. Costa
Researched and Prepared by
Rajeev Ranjan
Principal
B.Ed(English)
Post Graduate Diploma in Teaching English (PGDTE)
English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad
&
BA & MA (English)
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Email .Id: rajeevbhuvns@gmail.com
An intensive study of Habits of Mind which helps us to become a better
problem solvers. My effort is to share the great work of Costa “ Habits of
Mind” to understand the people and the situation properly in a way to be
more intellectual and more productive.

2. Habits of Mind: Arthur L. Costa
“Having a disposition toward behaving intelligently when confronted with problems,
the answers to which are not immediately known”. – Art Costa
Art Costa and Bena Kallick coined the phrase “Habits of Mind” to describe a series of
intelligent behaviors that would help people be better problem solvers and thus have more
success in their lives. Art Costa and Bena Kallick looked at results from surveys performed by
other educational researchers that considered behaviors that made people successful in their
job. The results showed that certain behaviors were common to all people who were
successful. Costa and Kallick termed these intelligent behaviors “Habits of Mind”. Costa
defined Habits of Mind as “having a disposition towards solving a problem to which the
solution is not readily apparent”. Habits of Mind empower individuals to be responsible
problem solvers. It emphasises teaching and learning away from teachers and allows
students the chance to grow and learn through their own initiative.
Habits of Mind is to know how to behave intelligently when you DON'T know the answer.
It means having a disposition toward behaving intelligently when confronted with problems,
the answers to which are not immediately known: dichotomies, dilemmas, enigmas and
uncertainties.
Mind explores one answer to that challenge: the cultivation of habits of mind, or habits of
thought, as John Dewey (1933) called them. The idea is that we should have habits of mind
such as persistence and flexible thinking, just as we have habits like brushing our teeth or
putting the dog out or being kind to people. Habits are not behaviours we pick up and lay
down whimsically or arbitrarily. They are behaviours we exhibit reliably on appropriate
occasions, and they are smoothly triggered without painstaking attention. In fact, behaviour
can be habitual in its management but mindful in what it does. ( Art Cost, Learning and
Leading with Habits of Mind)
Thinking in everyday life is a different matter. We not only have to solve problems, we also
have to find them amid an ongoing, complex stream of demands and distractions. On the
road of life, our thinking is not just a matter of the thinking we can do when we know a peak
performance is demanded. It also is a matter of our sensitivity to occasions and our
inclination to invest ourselves in them thoughtfully. High mental ability alone may serve us
well when we’re sitting at a desk, our pencils poised; but good habits of mind keep us going
in the rest of the world. This point is underscored by scholars such as philosopher Robert
Ennis (1986) with his analysis of critical thinking dispositions, psychologist Jonathan Baron
(1985) with his dispositional model of intelligence, and psychologist Ellen Langer (1989),
with her conception of mindfulness.
The Habits of Mind are an identified set of 16 problem solving, life related skills, necessary to
effectively operate in society and promote strategic reasoning, insightfulness, perseverance,
creativity and craftsmanship. The understanding and application of these 16 Habits of Mind
serve to provide the individual with skills to work through real life situations that equip that
person to respond using awareness (cues), thought, and intentional strategy in order to gain
a positive outcome.

3. 1. Persisting: Sticking to task at hand; Follow through to completion; Can and do remain
focused.
2. Managing Impulsivity: Take time to consider options; Think before speaking or acting;
Remain calm when stressed or challenged; Thoughtful and considerate of others; Proceed
carefully.
3. Listening with Understanding and Empathy: Pay attention to and do not dismiss
another person's thoughts, feeling and ideas; Seek to put myself in the other person's shoes;
Tell others when I can relate to what they are expressing; Hold thoughts at a distance in
order to respect another person's point of view and feelings.
4. Thinking Flexibly: Able to change perspective; Consider the input of others; Generate
alternatives; Weigh options.
5. Thinking about Thinking (Metacognition): Being aware of own thoughts, feelings,
intentions and actions; Knowing what I do and say affects others; Willing to consider the
impact of choices on myself and others.
6. Striving for Accuracy: Check for errors; Measure at least twice; Nurture a desire for
exactness, fidelity & craftsmanship.
7. Questioning and Posing Problems: Ask myself, “How do I know?”; develop a questioning
attitude; Consider what information is needed, choose strategies to get that information;
Consider the obstacles needed to resolve.
8. Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations: Use what is learned; Consider prior
knowledge and experience; Apply knowledge beyond the situation in which it was learned.
9. Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision: Strive to be clear when
speaking and writing; Strive be accurate to when speaking and writing; Avoid
generalizations, distortions, minimizations and deletions when speaking, and writing.
10.Gathering Data through All Senses: Stop to observe what I see; Listen to what I hear;
Take note of what I smell; Taste what I am eating; Feel what I am touching.
11.Creating, Imagining, Innovating: Think about how something might be done differently
from the “norm”; Propose new ideas; Strive for originality; Consider novel suggestions others
might make.
12.Responding with Wonderment and Awe: Intrigued by the world's beauty, nature's
power and vastness for the universe; Have regard for what is awe-inspiring and can touch my
heart; Open to the little and big surprises in life I see others and myself.
13.Taking Responsible Risks: Willing to try something new and different; Consider doing
things that are safe and sane even though new to me; Face fear of making mistakes or of
coming up short and don’t let this stop me.
14.Finding Humour: Willing to laugh appropriately; Look for the whimsical, absurd, ironic
and unexpected in life; Laugh at myself when I can.
15.Thinking Interdependently: Willing to work with others and welcome their input and
perspective; Abide by decisions the work group makes even if I disagree somewhat; Willing
to learn from others in reciprocal situations.
16.Remaining Open to Continuous Learning: Open to new experiences to learn from;
Proud and humble enough to admit when don't know; Welcome new information on all
subjects. (Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick, Habits of Mind: A Developmental Series, Copyright ©
2000)
In teaching toward the Habits of Mind, we are interested in:-
A. Not only how many answers students know but also how students behave when they
don’t know an answer. We are interested in
B. Observing how students produce knowledge rather than how they merely reproduce it.

4. A critical attribute of intelligent human beings is not only having information but also
knowing how to act on it. By definition, a problem is any stimulus, question, task,
phenomenon, or discrepancy, the explanation for which is not immediately known.
Intelligent behaviour is performed in response to such questions and problems. Thus, we are
interested in focusing on student performance under those challenging conditions—
dichotomies, dilemmas, paradoxes, polarities, ambiguities, and enigmas—that demand
strategic reasoning, insightfulness, perseverance, creativity, and craftsmanship to resolve.
Teaching toward the Habits of Mind is a team effort. Because the acquisition of these habits
requires repeated opportunities over a long period, the entire staff must dedicate itself to
teaching toward, recognizing, reinforcing, discussing, reflecting on, and assessing them.
When students encounter these habits at each grade level in the elementary years and in
each classroom throughout the secondary day—and when the habits also are reinforced and
modelled at home—they become internalized, generalized, and habituated. They become an
“internal compass” to guide and direct us toward more efficacious, empathic, and cooperative
actions. We need to find new ways of assessing and reporting growth in the Habits of Mind.
We cannot measure process-oriented outcomes using old-fashioned, product-oriented
assessment techniques. Gathering evidence of performance and growth in the Habits of
Mind requires “kid watching.” As students interact with real-life, day-to-day problems in
school, at home, on the playground, alone, and with friends, teaching teams and other adults
can collect anecdotes and examples of written and visual expressions that reveal students’
increasingly skillful, voluntary, and spontaneous use of these Habits of Mind in diverse
situations and circumstances. This work takes time. The habits are never fully mastered,
though they do become increasingly apparent over time and with repeated experiences and
opportunities to practice and reflect on their performance. (Learning and Leading with
Habits of Mind, 10 )
While discussing student outcomes for the 21st century in ‘Learning and Leading with
Habits of Mind’ A. L. Costa describes that learning and innovation skills are what separate
students who are prepared for increasingly complex life and work environments in the 21st
century from those who are not. Students in our schools today live in a technology- and
media-driven environment marked by access to an abundance of information, rapid changes
in technology tools, and the need to collaborate and make individual contributions as they
prepare for both the workplace and participation in democracy. Today’s life and work
environments require far more than thinking skills and content knowledge.
To be effective in the 21st century, citizens and workers must be able to communicate, to
team, to continuously learn, and to function in a visual, data-rich society. The school and
community must emphasize the increasing importance of learning to learn in light of the
shift to a digital age that values intellectual capital. This vision redefines the purpose of
public education. The school’s vision must seek to create learners who have the self-
confidence, independence, and high-tech proficiencies to continuously learn—meeting
challenges innovatively and creatively (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2007).

5. According to the vision, students need to be prepared with the following skills:
• Creativity and innovation.
• Critical thinking and problem solving.
• Communication and collaboration.
• Flexibility and adaptability.
• Initiative and self-direction.
• Social and cross-cultural skills.
• Productivity and accountability.
• Leadership and responsibility.
Conclusion
Schools are about learning, and the Habits of Mind offer a set of valued intellectual
dispositions toward which teachers and students consciously and consistently work .A
Habit of Mind is a pattern of intellectual behaviours that leads to productive actions. When
we experience dichotomies, are confused by dilemmas, or come face-to-face with
uncertainties, and our most effective response requires drawing forth certain patterns of
intellectual behaviour. When we draw upon these intellectual resources, the results are more
powerful, of higher quality, and of greater significance than if we fail to employ such patterns
of intellectual behaviour. It requires a level of skilfulness to use, carry out, and sustain the
behaviours effectively. (Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind)
Impact of Habits of Mind is concrete and fruitful in the world of education. Through the
Habits of Mind, the group builds an atmosphere of trust in human relationships, trust in the
processes of interaction, and trust throughout the organization. The Habits of Mind
facilitate the creation of a shared vision (Senge, 1990).
By: Rajeev Ranjan

6. References:
Costa, Art. Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind (16 Essential characteristic of
learning) 2011ilead.wikispaces.com/.../Learning+&+Leading+with+Habits+of+Mind. pdf
files.hbe.com.au/.../ Art%20Costa%20Habits%20of%20Mind%20Resources%20
De Bono, Edward. (1992). Teach Your Child to Think. Penguin Books.
Costa, Art. (1991). The Search for Intelligent Life. Developing Minds: A Resource
Book for Teaching Thinking. Vol. 1, ASCD.
Costa, Art. (1991). The Search for Intelligent Life. Developing Minds: A Resource
Book for Teaching Thinking. Vol. 2, ASCD.
Costa, A. (2007). Aesthetics: Where thinking begins. In A. Costa (Ed.), The school
as a home for the mind (Ch. 2). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin
Costa, Art, and Kallick, Bena. (1999). “Teaching and Assessing the Habits of Mind”,
Conference – Faces of the Millennium Our Challenge, Our Future. Dallas, Texas.
Costa, Art, and Kallick, Bena. (2000). Activating and Engaging Habits of Mind. ASCD.
Costa, Art, and Kallick, Bena. (2000). Assessing and Reporting on Habits of Mind. ASCD.
Costa, Art, and Kallick, Bena. (2000). Discovering and Exploring Habits of Mind.
ASCD.
Jensen, Eric. (1998). Teaching with the Brain in Mind. ASDC
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2007). Framework for 21st century learning. Tucson,
AZ: Author. Available: www.21stcenturyskills.org.
Dr. Stirling McDowell Foundation for Research into Teaching Inc.
Web links:
www.chsvt.org/wdp/Habits_of_Mind.pdf
ftp://download.intel.co.jp/education/.../au/.../Habits_of_Mind.pdf
www.ccsnh.edu/.../ CCSNH%20MLC%20HABITS%20OF%20MIND%20COSTA
2011ilead.wikispaces.com/.../Learning+&+Leading+with+Habits+of+Mind. pdf
files.hbe.com.au/.../ Art%20Costa%20Habits%20of%20Mind%20Resources%20
www.habitsofmind.org/.../ Habits%20of%20Mind%20in%20the%20Curriculum.pdf
www.mcdowellfoundation.ca/main_mcdowell/.../64_project_qe.pdf
www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/.../habitsofmind.pdf
www.thinkingschoolsinternational.com/.../The-Habits-of-Mind-Pictures.pdf
www.learningnetwork.ac.nz/shared/professionalReading/MBD09.pdf
vashonsd.org/district/board/Habits_of_mind-1.pdf
https://teachinghow2s.com/.../pinpoint-habits-of-mind.pdf?dl=1
www.furnware.co.nz/.../ 4%20Angela%20White%20%26%20Claire%20Wood.pdf
www.aacp.org/meetingsandevents/AM/.../HabitsofMindHaines.pdf
www.principals.in/uploads/pdf/Pedagogy.pdf