One of the reasons we teach the Habits of Mind is that we understand these are the habits of both successful people and learners. We blend the Habits of Mind with Thinking Routines because this provides a tool kit for students and teachers to use as they seek to increase their application of the habits. But is this the sort of process skilled learners do that distinguishes them from those who struggle?
Saga Briggs writes for Open Colleges and describes '25 Things Skilled Learners Do Differently’. In this comprehensive list with succinct descriptions of what learners do one can identify many of the Habits of Mind and also situations where skilled learners are applying worthwhile thinking routines. Saga identifies that the things skilled learners do are learnable and sees the list as a set of strategies we can teach. I would suggest that a useful way of attacking this challenge from multiple angles is to use a combination of Habits of Mind and Making Thinking Visible or Thinkers Key style thinking routines.
What are the 25 things skilled learners do differently?
See how the Habits of Mind and Thinking Routines work together.
by Nigel Coutts