Documenting Learning with Habits of Mind is an online assessment tool developed by Teaching Preschool partners that allows programs and teachers to rate collected information on children’s expression and development of Habits of Mind and to enter those ratings into an online system.
What are Habits of Mind and the Associated Traits?
Habits of Mind are what successful people do when they are confronted with problems, the resolutions of which are not immediately apparent (Costa & Kallick, 2008). For children, Habits of Mind are evident when children are offered open-ended questions, proposals, and challenges that hold multiple possibilities with no single, obvious solution.
The five Habits of Mind assessed by Documenting Learning with Habits of Mind include,
• Focuses attention to pursue an interest, gratify curiosity, respond to a challenge, or try out an idea.
• Communicates ideas and emotions clearly and appropriate to the setting.
• Makes connections, notes relationships, and organizes items based on observed details.
• Collaborates with others to accomplish a shared goal.
• Thinks strategically, creatively, and reflectively to follow an interest or tackle a challenge.
The traits associated with each habit are the observable elements that help adults determine the extent to which a child is expressing a habit.
For example, observable traits associated with focuses attention to Pursue an Interest, Gratify Curiosity, Respond to a Challenge, or Try Out an Idea consists of the following,
• Engages – slows down and notices detail.
• Manages distractions – knows where to focus and what to ignore.
• Harnesses impulsivity – self-regulates and delays gratification.
• Persists – doesn’t give up easily.
• Works and plays with intention and purpose.
The online system compiles and analyzes Habit and Trait ratings, allowing programs to report with confidence the growth and development of children in the program. The system also produces individual compilations that can be shared with families to support conferences or home visits. Class or program summaries can be generated for funding agencies as documentation of program effectiveness.
Reporting Capability
The Documenting Learning system produces individual compilations that can be shared with families to support conferences or home visits.
Class or program summaries can be generated for funding agencies as documentation of program effectiveness. Documenting Learning with Habits of Mind has been aligned with Oregon’s Early Learning and Kindergarten Guidelines. With its foundation in capability, Documenting Learning with Habits of Mind strongly and positively influences formative assessment interpretations, classroom planning, and individualization. Rather than allowing assessment data to drive curriculum and planning, teachers in programs based in inquiry approaches pay attention to and document the habits/traits that children are acquiring overtime, rather than what the child cannot yet do or has not yet expressed during a particular period. Inquiry approaches as assessed through Habits of Mind takes a strengths first approach, maintaining that as children express and practice their capabilities in a relaxed alert state, those capabilities will grow in strength and will gradually appear in other contexts and with other peers over time.
In planning for individuals, small groups, and the entire classroom community, teachers use their understanding of children’s Habits of Mind expression to provide engaging contexts and opportunities for discovery that will continue to nurture exploration and development. Rather than seeking to isolate and “work on” a particular Habit or Trait, intentional teachers look for and plan for opportunities to increase the depth and complexity of the contexts in which children might encounter problems that engage their curiosity and optimally challenge their thinking about the world.
TPP began the development of the Documenting Learning with Habits of Mind online assessment tool for preschool and kindergarten teachers in 2015. In 2016 the tool was piloted by TPP’s teaching preschools and is now available for use at TPP’s demonstration preschool sites and other early learning schools around Oregon. Documenting Learning with Habits of Mind is accepted for use by the State of Oregon’s Preschool Promise Program as an assessment tool to document children’s growth in the early years and is aligned with Oregon’s Early Learning and Kindergarten Guidelines.
If you are interested in learning more about purchasing and implementing the Documenting Learning with Habits of Mind assessment tool in your educational setting, please reach out to Teaching Preschool Partners at
connect@teachingpreschoolpartners.org.
One of our dedicated staff members will be happy to answer any questions you may have about integrating this innovative tool into your unique educational program.