Attitudes, Values, Disposition, & Habits of Mind
Creating philosophies, goals, & outcomes for attitudes, values, disposition, & habits of mind
Character is simply habit long continued.
Plutarch
Introduction
Attitudes, values, dispositions, or habits of mind are the most important aspect of an education and maybe the least planned elements of a curriculum. They are often referenced in philosophies, goals, and outcomes as attitudes, values, disposition, and habits of mind in different documents. While there are minor differences in the meanings of these four words. I believe what they are used to describe are arguably mostly used to describe goals and actions which are pretty much the same thing.
In curriculums they refer to attitudes, values, dispositions, and habits of mind that educators and learners have or are desirable for them to attain. This article describes:
- How to write philosophies, goals, and outcomes as attitudes, values, dispositions, or habits of mind to include in mission statements, goals, philosophies, outcomes, or other documentation.
- Suggestions for combining them to include in a code of conduct, philosophies, rules, & curriculum documents.
- Provides an alphabetical list of - attitudes, values, dispositions, and habits of mind - that have been found in different curriculum documents to review to create your documents.
Suggestions, Ideas, and Examples
Suggestions for writing attitudes, values, dispositions, and habits of mind
Some words alone are not attitudes or imply value. While they can be defined as an attitude or value, it is usually better to add a value word.
For example: Communication - doesn't communicate a value for communication.
To make it a value statement, disposition, or attitude; add value words or statements. FOr example:
- Values communication.
- Desires to communicate.
- Feels communication is important and useful.
- States communication is important and powerful for understanding.
How many attitudes, dispositions, or habits of mind should be included in a document?
If you want them to be remembered, it is important to limit them. If a list goes beyond six or seven, it becomes harder to remember.
However, if you can't seem to limit them to six or seven, then you might try to provide assistance in remembering them by grouping them into categories. Possible categories:
- Personally related,
- Group related,
- Professional,
- Subject,
- Communication, and
- Creating ideas.
Examples of attitudes, values, dispositions, and habits of mind
- Acceptant of failure - Considers failure as an occasional part of learning.
- Caring, Conscientiousness - Cares for others, the natural world, and human-made objects. Caring includes the ways that people individually and collectively participate for the well being of all things for the present and future sustainability of a community.
- Cooperative - Works with others for common goals and shares ideas.
- Curious - Asks and answers questions to understand at deeper levels.
- Creative - Imagines ideas that are original or not ordinarily thought
- Disposed to apply knowledge - Ready to think and apply what they know to current related experiences; all ideas from all dimensions (knowledge, processes, attitudes, and perspectives of science).
- Enjoyment - Expresses pleasure in understanding and pursuing understanding.
- Flexibility - Willing to change with new evidence and/ or explanation.
- Grateful - Thankful and appreciative for others contributions.
- Knowledgeable - Knows many generalizations, concepts, and facts; understands inquiry practices; and understands the history, nature, social, personal, and technological perspectives of different subjects.
- Learning is an adventure and poweful.
- Objective - Makes decisions based on facts.
- Open-minded - Tolerates ideas and opinions of others and the importance of carefully considering ideas that may seem disquieting or at odds with what is generally believed and willing to change ideas in light of new evidence.
- Optimistic - Positive, believe people are caring, helpful, and willing to cooperate. Believe solutions are attainable and learning is never complete.
- Passion, zest - Desire to learn, be involved, take action, and believe learning is infinite.
- Persistent, grit - Continues despite obstacles, warnings or setbacks.
- Self-efficacy - belief in power to learn, achieve, and generally be successful.
- Sensitive - Considers all actions and inactions results on all living and nonliving things.
- Share - it is important and enjoyable to help other people.
- Skeptical - Doubts, questions, and reconsiders conclusions based on evidence and reasoning.
- Tentative - Hesitant to draw conclusions.
- Reflective - Curious and willingly open-minded to consider new ideas based on evidence and reasoning against previous ideas based on evidence reasoning.
- Responsible - take actions for personal understanding and learning.
- Respect for evidence - Insistent on evidence. Requires evidence to formulate explanations and make decisions and will seek additional evidence and reasons to verify ideas and make decisions.
- Self-efficacy - Believe in their abilities and skills in using different subject practices, processes and knowledge in a useful effective manner to learn and solve problems.
- Self-control - Choose mastery-oriented behaviors that achieve predictable and reliable outcomes.
- Sociable - Values other people and desires to be involved with others to benefit by helping, caring, contributing
- Values communication - Seeks ways to communicate that effectively enable others to accurately conceptualize the ideas wanting to be communicated.
Other sources with examples
- Science
- Mathematics
- Art - Lois Hetland, lists habits of mind assist in knowing (owning & connecting) and practicing, which increases talent. Talent to craft, express, imagine (invent), observe, persist, reflect & refine, explore, understand, and enjoy.