Culture is about the messages and values we internalise. Ron Ritchhart talks about mindsets, principles, and values.

• Mindsets are a way of seeing something, internalised beliefs.
• Our principles are our articulated mindsets.
• Values are evident in the messages we send about what is important in teaching, learning, and what we think is smart.

If we want a culture of thinking for students, then we have to have a culture of thinking for teachers. The way teachers are treated in a school gets mirrored in a classroom. If it is about accountability, strict supervision, and rigid curriculum, then this pressure shifts to the students. As Deb Meier says, “If we don’t feed the teachers, they will eat the children.” When teachers are involved in active discussion, problem-solving, learning from colleagues, questioning practices, trying things and reflecting, then learning goes up for students. Teachers need regular times to meet together to actively engage in conversations, and these should be beyond subject teams. This requires embedded time, driven by teachers, where teachers are active agents in driving the learning. It is about exploring and building on each other’s ideas, meaning-making, asking authentic questions, and wondering. Inquiry should be ongoing and span meetings. It involves dialogue, hypothesising, and living with ambiguity. It is both personal and collective. How do we want to ‘be’ together? Sometimes we gather and prove what we already know. It makes us feel safe and leaves limited room for new insights. Think about really concrete actions. Wouldn’t it be cool if…?

Data is more than test scores and numbers. It can come directly from teacher observation, real student work, and real student interactions.

There is the myth of multi-tasking. The pull of technology is really seductive. 80% of students study with social media on in the background and their performance drops dramatically.

We can’t directly teach dispositions. We need a long-term view. Teaching is often a short-term view. The two master dispositions are curiosity and metacognition.

Learning is a consequence of thinking. The most effective teachers of thinking can answer the question, ‘what kind of thinking?’ They use the language of thinking, they highlight it, and lead with it.

Relationships and interactions are central. We should rethink the grammar of schooling. This is a personal business, kids have stories. We must value and respect people. Do our students feel like we know them? Teaching is made up of moments. How are we building connection with our students? There is the danger of a single story, and we want more rounded, complete students. We all having unwitting biases.

We must change the role of a teacher and students. When teachers hold all the power, student engagement decreases. We need more student talk and teacher listen, and co-construction of curriculum and assessment. “The way a child learns to make decisions is by making decisions, not following directions.” (Alfie Kohn)