“Habits of Mind” as an Organizer for the Curriculum

Abstract

The call for “mathematics for all” requires serving students who will never use even the rudiments of what we today call high school mathematics, as well as those who must be prepared for advanced study: To craft a sensible “mathematics for all,” one must therefore make decisions based on something other than which particular concepts, skills, or facts to include—for virtually none fit the test of utility “for all”—without sacrificing the needs of students who will pursue advanced study or sacrificing the time, effort, and self-esteem of those who won't.

One approach, suitable for other disciplines as well as mathematics, involves taking particular ways of thinking seriously and giving them top priority among the various principles one needs for organizing the curriculum. By doing so in any one discipline, one can directly help students acquire the selected thinking skills and, at the same time, aid the acquisition of domain-specific concepts, skills, and facts in the content area. Further, by doing this across disciplines, one may increase the likelihood that students will see interconnections in the thinking—even as the facts and contexts differ—and become more flexible in applying the reasoning they learn across domains. This article explains the idea and the method as they apply to mathematics teaching, from elementary school up through early college and teacher education.