When I think of some of the most versatile tools in my toolkit, thinking routines are towards the top of the list. Thinking routines are protocols that support deeper analysis and reflection by providing structured ways to process information and make thinking visible. They help slow down our thinking, surface assumptions, and create space for multiple perspectives.
One of my favorite sources for thinking routines is Harvard's Project Zero. Their resources, along with books like Making Thinking Visible and The Power of Making Thinking Visible are excellent sources for using thinking routines with students.
But thinking routines are also really useful in adult learning applications. They are open-ended enough that they're useful with a group, but they're...well...routine enough that they can be used repeatedly with ease in different contexts. While there are many I could share, let's take a look at three thinking routines that can be used to draw out and share ideas when working with teachers.
See-Think-Wonder
A three-step routine that separates observation from interpretation
SEE: What do you notice? (Just the facts)
THINK: What do you make of this? (Interpretations and Connections)
WONDER: What questions come up? (Curiosity)
Link to Resources: Project Zero | Catlin Tucker
Applications With Teachers
To respond to artifacts of student work
To analyze teaching artifacts, like lesson plans, exemplars, task cards, etc
When co-observing a class or video of instruction
In response to an article
Why It Works
This thinking routine allows us to bring awareness to what we notice, separating low-inference information as objectively as possible from thoughts and interpretations. Wondering also provides a non-judgmental opening for discussing questions and eliciting curiosity, as opposed to what can sometimes occur after presenting low-inference data, which is to offer opinions or hot takes that may or may not be productive to the goal.
Note:
I sometimes modify this to be See/Hear-Think-Wonder, to account for what we hear teachers or students say if using this routine to discuss a classroom observation.
Connect-Extend-Challenge
A routine that helps integrate and discuss new learning
CONNECT: How does this connect to what you already know?
EXTEND: What new ideas or impressions do you have?
CHALLENGE: What challenges or puzzles have come up?
Link to Resources: Project Zero | Catlin Tucker
Applications With Teachers
During or after professional learning sessions
When considering strategies
During curriculum internalization
While exploring research or articles
Why It Works
This routine honors prior knowledge while creating space for new learning. It also normalizes having questions or concerns, positioning challenges as natural parts of learning rather than resistance. The structure helps teachers articulate their thinking process and identify specific areas where they need support.
I Used to Think... Now I Think
A reflection routine that surfaces shifts in thinking
I USED TO THINK: Prior understanding or belief
NOW I THINK: Current understanding or belief
Link to Resources: Project Zero | Catlin Tucker
Applications With Teachers
After implementing new strategies
When analyzing student data
Following professional learning
During coaching cycles
In response to observing other teachers
Why It Works
This routine makes learning visible by explicitly naming changes in thinking. It supports metacognition and helps teachers recognize their own growth or changes in perspective. By articulating both past and present thinking, it can help identify what experiences or evidence led to shifts in practice or belief. It can also help promote an ongoing learner disposition by normalizing the updating and revising of ideas, mindsets, and dispositions.
Notes:
There is an assumption in offering this thinking routine that people do, in fact, shift their thinking. I'd love to say that every conversation or PD I'm involved in leads to a shift in everyone's thinking. It can. It might. But for some...it won't...or at least not yet. So when I've used this routine in a group, I usually offer it as the primary thinking routine, for example to close out a session, but offer an alternate question or prompt for anyone who hasn't experienced a shift in thinking. This allows people to be honest in that experience, without positioning them as having no thoughts to offer to the group, or centering the absence of a shift.
I have also experienced facilitators who have used a variation, "I used to think... now I know". I opt not to use this form of the routine because I feel that the word "know" denotes a level of certainty that goes counter to the kinds of adult cultures that I try to promote: ones where we update and revise our thinking as we learn continuously.
And here's one extra one for you, after reading this!
As you read and think about using thinking routines as a coach...
See - Think - Me - We
SEE - What do you see or notice?
THINK - What thoughts do you have?
ME - What connections can you make between yourself and this work?
WE - How might the work be connected to bigger stories about the world and our place in it?
You can find all of these thinking routines and more in the Project Zero Thinking Routines Toolbox, plus free slides shared by Dr. Catlin Tucker in this public Google Folder.
