How Do We Help Our Students Grow the Dispositions for Learning?

I’m reading a new book by Arthur Costa (one of the creators of cognitive coaching) and Bena Kallick titled Dispositions: Reframing Teaching and Learning. The authors organize the book around three essential questions:

  1. How do we make dispositions come alive in the minds of students?
  2. How do we produce a paradigm shift in the thinking of education leaders, parents, the public, and our political decision-makers?
  3. How to we reclaim the role that education must play in protecting our democracy.

For me, the book couldn’t come out at a better time. As we work to implement Alabama’s new standards, it is important to blend content with dispositions for learning. Early in the book, the authors point to the college and career readiness expert David Conley and the seven dispositions that he uncovered during his extensive research about the meaning of college and career readiness. The dispositions are:

  • Open-mindedness
  • Inquisitiveness
  • Analyzing the credibility and relevance of sources
  • Reasoning, argumentation, and explaining proof and point of view
  • Comparing, contrasting ideas, analyzing, and interpreting competing or conflicting evidence
  • Knowing how to arrive at an accurate answer
  • Finding many ways to solve problems (Costa & Kallick, p. 7)

But how can we help our young people develop these dispositions, and how can we assess where each student stands? The chapter titled “Deciding on Dispositions” features a useful chart (p. 37), reproduced here. The authors provide tips on how to develop important dispositions among children based on what you hear them say. (As I read this, I wondered whether this chart could also be adapted to adults with whom we all work?)

What do I infer from my dip into this new and interesting book? Effective implementation of Alabama’s new standards will require BOTH an emphasis on the content AND a focus on developing the type of dispositions that will not only help students be successful in school, but in life. And, stay tuned. My guess is that this won’t be my only blog on this subject!

Read Cathy’s second post: How to Strengthen Student Dispositions in Your School

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