"If some things were different, other things would be otherwise.
- "The Griffin and the Minor Canon" by Frank Stockton

Return to Overview of Design, Process and Outcomes

Habits of Mind

1. How do you know what you know? What's the evidence? Is it credible?
2. What point of view are you hearing, seeing, reading? Who is the author? Where is she/he standing? What are his/her intentions?
3. How are things connected to each other? How does "it" fit in? Where have you heard or seen this before?
4. What if...? Supposing that...? Can you imagine alternatives? How might things be otherwise?
5. What significance does it have? Why is this important? Who cares?

Related pages

• Strategies of Mind for Analyzing a Controversial Topic: Racial Privacy
• Choose the Best Search Engine for Your Information Needs
• Self-Assessment of Research Competence

With thanks to Mark Gordon November 3, 1996 and Deborah Meier who founded Central Park East schools in New York City.