Jenny Edwards, Phd

Articles and Research on the Importance of the Habits of Mind By Jenny Edwards, PhD Copyright 2016 Institute for Habits of Mind International www.instituteforhabitsofmind.com 1 Table of Contents Persisting 8 Articles and Studies on the Importance of Persisting 8 For Elementary Students 8 For Secondary Students 9 For Community College and University Students 10 For Adults 12 Managing Impulsivity 13 Research with Elementary Students 13 Research with Secondary Students 17 Research with University Students 21 Research with Adults 22 Listening with Understanding and Empathy 24 Articles on the Importance of Listening with Understanding and Empathy 24 The importance of listening in general 24 The importance of listening in education 26 The importance of listening in business 26 The importance of listening in politics 28 The importance of listening in healthcare 28 Research on the Importance of Listening with Understanding and Empathy 31 Research with elementary students 31 Research with secondary students 31 Research with university students 32 Research with adults 33 Thinking Flexibly 37 2 Articles and Studies on the Importance of Thinking Flexibly 37 In K-12 Settings 37 For Elementary Students 38 For Secondary Students 39 For Community College And University Students 40 For Those In Business 42 For Counselors 42 For Those In Medicine 42 For Adults 43 Thinking About Your Thinking (Metacognition) 44 Articles and Studies on the Importance of Thinking About Your Thinking 44 In K-12 Settings 44 For Elementary Teachers 45 For Secondary Teachers 46 For University Professors 47 For Adults 47 Striving for Accuracy 48 Articles and Studies on the Importance of Thinking Interdependently 48 For elementary students 48 For secondary students 49 For university students 50 For those in business 51 For those in medicine 51 For adults 52 Questioning and Problem Posing 53 3 Articles and Studies on the Importance of Questioning and Problem Posing 53 In K-12 Settings 53 For Elementary Teachers 54 For Secondary Teachers 55 For University Professors 56 For Adults 57 Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations 59 Articles and Studies on the Importance of Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations 59 In K-12 Settings 59 For Elementary Students 60 For Secondary Students 61 For University Students 62 For Adults 63 Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision 67 Articles and Studies on the Importance of Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision 67 In K-12 Settings 67 For Elementary Teachers 69 For Secondary Teachers 70 For Those in Business 71 For Those in Medicine 72 For Adults 73 Gathering Data Through All Senses 75 Articles and Studies on the Importance of Gathering Data Through All Senses 75 For all learners 75 4 For elementary students 76 For secondary students 78 Creating, Imagining, and Innovating 81 Articles and Studies on the Importance of Creating, Imagining, and Innovating 81 For K-12 Students 81 For Elementary Students 82 For Secondary Students 83 For University Students 84 For Leaders 86 For Those In Business 86 For Those In Nursing 88 For Therapists 88 For Adults 88 Internationally 89 Responding with Wonderment and Awe 91 Articles and Studies on the Importance of Responding with Wonderment and Awe 91 For All Learners 91 For Adults 97 Taking Responsible Risks 99 Articles and Studies on the Importance of Taking Responsible Risks 99 For K-12 students 99 For elementary students 99 For secondary students 100 For university students 101 5 For leaders 101 For those in business 102 For those in medicine 102 For adults 103 The Importance of Humor 105 The Use of Humor in Educational Settings 105 By Teachers 105 By Librarians 106 By Physical Education Teachers 106 By Secondary Teachers 106 By University Faculty 107 The Use of Humor By and With Adults 109 In Family Settings 109 In Medical Settings 109 By Nurses 109 By Doctors 110 By People Who Want to Be Healthy 111 In Mental Health Settings 111 In Work Settings 112 In Romantic Relationships 112 By Older Adults 113 Thinking Interdependently 114 Articles and Studies on the Importance of Thinking Interdependently 114 In K-12 Settings 114 For Elementary Students 114 6 For Secondary Students 115 For Community College And University Students 116 For Faculty 117 For Those In Business 118 For Adults 119 Remaining Open to Continuous Learning 120 Articles and Studies on the Importance of Remaining Open to Continuous Learning 120 For Secondary Students 120 For University Students 121 For Those in Business 122 For Librarians 122 For Those In Nursing 123 For Adults 123 References 127 7 Persisting Costa and Kallick (2000) suggested that learners will benefit from developing the Habit of Mind of persisting. Numerous researchers have studied the importance of persistence in various contexts. Some of the studies are summarized below. Articles and Studies on the Importance of Persisting This section includes articles and studies on the importance of persisting for elementary students, secondary students, community college and university students, and adults. For Elementary Students Carrier and Wiliams (1988) explored the degree to which 114 6th grade students persisted in using a computer program. One group was able to choose “the type and amount of instruction they received,” (p. 303), while the other group was not. When students were able to choose their instruction, they achieved at lower levels when they did not persist, and they achieved at higher levels when they persisted. Kikas, Peets, and Hodges (2014) examined 523 first-grade students’ academic skills (mathematics, and reading) and their task persistence in relation to child-centered, teacher-direct, and child- dominated teaching practices of their teachers to determine the development of students’ task persistence and academic skills the first two years the students attended school. When the students were in second grade, the researchers gathered data on their mathematics, reading, text comprehension, and spelling abilities, along with their task persistence. Kikas et al. found that when children have high levels of persistence, teachers should use child-centered teaching as opposed to teacher-directed practices. On the other hand, if children have difficulties with being persistent on tasks that are new, teachers should use more teacher-directed methods. Students who have difficulty focusing and are low in their academic abilities might benefit from rules and drill. The authors emphasized, “that child-centered rather than teacher-directed practices enhance autonomy which is important for the development of self-regulated learning and enhanced mastery orientation” (p. 280). They also cautioned that teachers should be consistent in their teaching practices and avoid switching from one method to another. Kikas et al. also found that when students had high math skills initially, they tended to have “higher second-grade reading comprehension, spelling, and math . and higher task-persistent behavior” (p. 281). On the other hand, “children who showed less task persistence in first grade had lower reading, spelling , . and math scores in second grade” (p. 281). The authors concluded that the results “show that task persistence predicts achievement over and beyond initial skill levels” (p. 281). Mokrova, O’Brien, Calkins, Leerkes, and Marcovitch (2013) gathered data from 264 children from diverse backgrounds when they were three years old and again when they were in kindergarten (age 5). Data included demographic information, early cognitive-linguistic skills, and kindergarten academic skills. According to the authors, children who were more persistent in completing a challenging task at age 3 showed greater language and math skills at kindergarten than their less persistent peers, after accounting for child early cognitive-linguistic skills and demographic factors. This finding indicates that very young children’s ability to persist in a challenging task may be an important aspect of their developing school readiness. (p. 1500) 8 Stoeger and Ziegler (2013) explored the relationships between children’s fine motor skills, their persistence, and their achievement. They collected data on cognitive abilities, fine motor skills, persistence, and scholastic grades from 53 fourth-grade students who were gifted. Thirty- eight of them were achievers, and fifteen were underachievers. They found significant correlations between grade point averages and cognitive abilities. In addition, underachievers had significantly lower levels of fine motor skills. Underachievers also demonstrated significantly lower levels of persistence than achievers. Finally, they found that “the differences attributed to persistence decreased when fine motor skills were statistically controlled” (Abstract). For Secondary Students Andersson and Bergman (2011) explored the relationship between young adolescents’ task persistence and their ability to be successful when they reached middle adulthood. The study included data from 1,092 13-year-olds, 569 43-year-old women, and 393 47-year-old men. According to the researchers, task persistence was found to be related to changes in grades between age 13 and age 16, over and above other childhood factors. Task persistence at age 13 was also a significant predictor of both income and occupational level in middle adulthood for the men, controlling for a number of childhood factors (including intelligence), and even when educational attainment in adulthood was taken into account. Finally, task persistence was related to educational attainment

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