Visible Thinking K-12
Trainer: Engy Hammam
Duration: 15 Hours
Objectives
By the end of this PD course, participants will be able to:
1. Understand the principles and purpose of Visible Thinking and its role in fostering deep learning, critical thinking, and student engagement.
2. Explore and apply a range of Visible Thinking routines to make student thinking explicit and visible in their classrooms.
3. Design and implement lesson plans incorporating Visible Thinking routines aligned with their subject content and grade level.
4. Develop strategies to create a classroom culture of thinking, where students’ ideas are valued, explored, and built upon.
5. Assess and reflect on students’ thinking processes using documentation and formative assessment tools.
Detailed Course Outline
Session 1 — Introduction to Visible Thinking
• Purpose and benefits of making thinking visible. What is visible thinking?
• The difference between Visual Thinking and Visible Thinking.
• Link between thinking and learning: understanding metacognition
• Overview of Project Zero (Harvard) and the Visible Thinking framework
Session 2 — Thinking Routines: Tools for Engagement
• What are thinking routines? Purpose, structure, and key features
• Categories of routines:
o Core routines (e.g., See-Think-Wonder, Think-Pair-Share)
o Digging deeper routines (e.g., Claim-Support-Question, Circle of Viewpoints)
o Synthesizing and organizing routines (e.g., Connect-Extend-Challenge)
Session 3 — Designing Lessons with Visible Thinking
• Embedding routines in daily lessons and unit plans
• Linking routines to content standards and learning objectives
• Differentiation and scaffolding routines for diverse learners
• Lesson planning lab: Participants design a mini-lesson with one routine
Session 4 — Building a Culture of Thinking
• Elements of a classroom culture that promotes thinking
• Teacher moves and language that support thinking
• The role of teacher modeling and scaffolding
• Creating physical and digital spaces that make thinking visible
• Encourage risk-taking and intellectual humility
• Collaboration and discussion norms
• Reflection protocols and student self-assessment tools
Session 5 — Documenting and Assessing Thinking
• Why document student thinking? Linking to formative assessment
• Tools and strategies for capturing evidence
• Analyzing and interpreting student thinking artifacts
• Planning for ongoing implementation and evaluation