Year 2: Clarkston Visits Reuther

Reuther hosted a visit by three staff members from Clarkston High School: Amy Holhlbein, Susan Mohr, and Amy Quayle. Reuther is teamed with Clarkston High School for periodic Visible Thinking Leadership Dialogues throughout the year to exchange ideas.   During the debriefing session, the following observations and suggestions were made.

Observations:

• Labeled routines in the classroom were very helpful for students and staff
  
• Evidence of the 8 Cultural Forces was apparent throughout the school 
  
• Students knew the language of the visible thinking routines
  
• Many of the classroom groupings made it very conducive to utilize the visible thinking routines
  
• Questioning, student to student, was very good
  
• There was a high degree of comfort with the routines among the students
  
• Leaving routines posted in the classroom adds value to what the students are doing
  

Next Suggested Steps:

• Continue the conversation about the Eight Thinking Goals (ie: Understanding Map)
  
• Post the Eight Thinking Goals in the classrooms for reference by students and staff
  
• Tie the Eight Thinking Goals to all lessons and when choosing the visible thinking routine that will be used
  
• They believe that higher order thinking is more evident when the Thinking Goals are emphasized