Understanding that there are at least two phases to implementing the Habits of Mind has important consequences, especially for schools that plan to introduce the Habits in a staged way, one learning level at a time. (see last blog re these phases)

A common approach for schools (especially large or secondary schools) to take when implementing the Habits of Mind is to begin with the lower year levels and then plan for the Habits to flow up through the school. However there is a fundamental problem with this approach.

If I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me how to implement the Habits of Mind at their school.....

I have worked with many many schools now - large and small; primary and secondary; state, catholic and independent; schools that are "dabbling" with the Habits and schools that are fully committed for the long term - and the one thing I can say about their "implementation" strategies is that they are all different! Sorry folks, but if you were looking for a 10 point plan you're not going to find it here.

The short answer to this question is YES... and NO.

I often play a game with teachers or parents where I ask them to rank the Habits of Mind from most important to least important. It’s a lot of fun and generates great discussion and debate about each of the Habits. It also leads to a lot of disagreement!

When doing this activity teachers tend to adopt one of two strategies to complete the task.