Arthur L. Costa

Somehow we missed this collection of essays last year, but when personal characteristics such as habits of mind or dispositions are discussed, teacher librarians need to perk up their ears. In the first part of this book, Costa and others list and discuss briefly what the recognized habits of mind are. Here is there list: persisting; listening with understanding and empathy; questioning and posing problems; thinking and communicating with clarity and precision; creating, imagining, and innovating; taking responsible risks; thinking interdependently,; managing impulsivity; thinking flexibly; striving for accuracy; applying past knowledge to new situations; gathering data through all senses; responding with wonderment and awe; finding humor; and, remaining open to continued learning. So, for a quick guide to habits of mind, this is an eay reference, and the use of all the habits as a cook essay is a great one to used with adults and kids to help them understand the various concepts. So, just for the brief explanations, this book is worth a quick inspection. Then various teachers discuss how they have used the habits to work into their teaching of various content areas. Costa recommends as do we, that the book should be approached and shared in just bits and pieces. You are trying to teach or discuss the habits of mind and need a few examples; this is your book. Recommended as a quick reference or good discussion stimulator in a professional development session.… (altro)

The new AASL Learning Standards, 2007, ask teacher librarians to guide stuent research beyond just a step by step process of what to do. They ask us to cultivate responsibility, attitude toward learning, and self-assessment. These are areas we notice in the students we teach and probably address without thinking, but as we look toward creating world-class learners, we need to think more deeply about and take consistent action. Costa pushes us into the world of habits of mind and metacognition to examine what we and our students are doing and how the entire school can become a true community of learners. We think about the many books on the market that describe first-year teachers who meet their classrooms full of hope at the beginning of the year but fall prey to total disruption and have little support from either administrators or colleagues who are struggling themselves. We think of teacher librarians who know they are suppose to be collaborating but find barriers so high, they are blocked from what they were taught was their role. Costa covers a number of topics about promoting a whole-school learning community. There are many checklists, rubrics, recommendations, and examples from real schools. This is not a book to read in one setting. Rather, read and think about a chapter at a time and its implications. Perhaps use selected chapters as the basis of a serious discussion in a professional learning community meeting. For teacher librarians, we are going to need a different kind of professional literature if we are going to go beyond the teaching of research skills alone. Highly recommended.… (altro)