Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Discover our collection of resources on the Habit of Mind of Listening with Understanding and Empathy--the practice of devoting genuine mental energy to another person's thoughts and ideas while making a sincere effort to perceive their point of view and emotions. This vital habit helps students move beyond simply hearing words to truly understanding others by asking clarifying questions, considering perspectives different from their own, and giving their full attention during conversations. In a world of constant communication, we've gathered a variety of tools to help you teach students to listen beyond the words and to make an effort to perceive another person's perspective. In this collection, you'll find things like video examples demonstrating active listening skills and empathetic responses, role-playing activities and conversation scenarios that practice perspective-taking, printable question stems and sentence starters to guide meaningful dialogue, lesson plans featuring partner interviews and collaborative discussion protocols, and reflection journals where students can explore different viewpoints, as well as digital platforms for structured discussions and collaborative storytelling. As you weave these resources into your daily routines, you'll create a classroom where students practice understanding one another, which helps foster a culture of respect and genuine connection.

tag(s): empathy (39), listening (97)

Investigate our collection of resources on the Habit of Mind of Questioning and Posing Problems--the curious practice of asking yourself "How can I find out?", developing powerful questioning strategies, and actively seeking problems to solve with a commitment to excellence and a relentless pursuit of precision. This inquiry-driven habit empowers students to ask meaningful "why" and "what if" questions, identify gaps in their understanding, and formulate questions that deepen learning and spark new discoveries. In this collection, you'll find video examples of scientists, innovators, and students modeling effective questioning techniques, interactive inquiry activities and problem-finding challenges that stimulate curiosity, interactive checklists and digital rubrics that help students verify their work against clear criteria, question stems and wondering journals to capture emerging thoughts, lesson plans featuring Socratic seminars and question formulation techniques, and mystery scenarios that require students to generate their own investigative questions. With these resources, your students will gain practical strategies and examples to help them double-check their work, verify information, and strive for the highest level of quality in all their endeavors.

tag(s): questioning (34), thinking skills (33)

Learn about Thinking Flexibly, a Habit of Mind--the ability to change perspectives, generate alternatives, and look at situations from multiple angles to discover new possibilities. In an ever-changing world, we've gathered a variety of tools to help you foster creativity, adaptability, and the ability to generate alternatives in your classroom. This creative habit empowers students to find various approaches to solve problems, adapt their strategies when circumstances change, and consider different viewpoints during discussions and debates. In this collection, you'll find interactive simulations and virtual labs that require students to adapt their strategies to succeed, as well as digital platforms for brainstorming and mind mapping that encourage diverse solutions. You will also discover brain teaser puzzles (and digital escapes) that require multiple solution pathways, interactive activities that challenge students to explore alternative perspectives, printable and virtual graphic organizers for comparing different approaches and options, lesson plans featuring open-ended problems with no single "right" answer, and debate protocols that encourage respectful consideration of opposing views. By deliberately incorporating these resources into your daily routines and creating a classroom culture that celebrates diverse thinking, you'll help students develop the mental agility and adaptability essential for navigating our ever-changing world.

tag(s): flexibility (5), thinking skills (33)

Project Zero Thinking Routines are research-based instructional tools designed to cultivate students' thinking dispositions and make their cognitive processes visible in powerful, accessible ways. Developed by researchers at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, these simple, repeatable mini-strategies are the building blocks of an authentic thinking culture in your classroom. These routines have been refined over decades of classroom implementation and represent some of the most effective strategies for developing critical and creative thinking skills. What makes Project Zero routines so impactful is their elegant simplicity--structured prompts like "Think, Pair, Share," "See, Think, Wonder," and "Circle of Viewpoints" can be learned quickly but used deeply, helping students develop habits of mind such as reasoning with evidence, considering different perspectives, and making careful observations. These aren't just classroom activities; they're cognitive frameworks that students internalize and carry with them, becoming tools they naturally reach for when encountering new ideas or complex problems. Discover resources in this collection, including templates, anchor charts, videos, lesson plan examples utilizing Thinking Routines, collaborative whiteboards, debate tools, collaborative sharing platforms, virtual bulletin boards, video and audio tools, and more. The resources help you understand the research behind these routines, learn how to implement them effectively across grade levels and content areas, and discover how they can transform your classroom into a culture where thinking is valued, shared, and continuously developed.

tag(s): thinking skills (33)

Register to view this on-demand OK2Ask professional learning workshop from October 2025. Educators seeking recertification credit must watch the recording, complete the feedback survey, and pass the assessment. For details, read the Registration & Credit Options section on the registration page.

Amplify student engagement through video storytelling! This workshop will explore Animoto, a user-friendly video creation platform that makes professional-quality videos accessible to teachers and students alike. Whether you teach elementary math or high school history, you'll discover how student-created videos can serve as powerful formative assessments that deepen content understanding. You'll learn to navigate Animoto's free features, explore instructional applications, and develop practical implementation strategies that boost student engagement. We'll also weave in essential media literacy skills to help students become critical consumers and creators of digital content. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Create instructional videos using Animoto's free features. 2. Design video-based formative assessments for student learning. 3. Integrate media literacy into video creation activities. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): OK2Askarchive (71), professional development (271)

Register to view this on-demand OK2Ask professional learning workshop from October 2025. Educators seeking recertification credit must watch the recording, complete the feedback survey, and pass the assessment. For details, read the Registration & Credit Options section on the registration page.

Explore AI prompt templates that make artificial intelligence accessible and practical for every K-12 classroom. In this interactive workshop, you'll discover how structured prompting frameworks can transform complex AI interactions into straightforward, reliable tools for creating engaging learning experiences. We'll focus on free AI platforms that can help you turn these prompt templates into differentiated materials, assessment ideas, and creative learning activities--all while maintaining pedagogical best practices. Whether you're completely new to AI or looking to streamline your prompting process, this session will equip you with simple, effective templates you can use immediately to enhance your instruction. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Apply AI prompt templates to create instructional materials for their specific classroom needs. 2. Use structured AI prompts to generate differentiated learning activities that serve diverse student populations. 3. Refine AI-generated content to ensure pedagogical effectiveness and alignment with learning objectives. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (215), OK2Askarchive (71), professional development (271)

Register to view this on-demand OK2Ask professional learning workshop from September 2025. Educators seeking recertification credit must watch the recording, complete the feedback survey, and pass the assessment. For details, read the Registration & Credit Options section on the registration page.

Transform your approach to teaching digital citizenship with Global Thinking Routines from Harvard's Project Zero! This workshop will equip you with research-backed strategies that make digital citizenship concepts stick with your students--no matter what grade level or subject area you teach. This session combines proven pedagogy with free, accessible technology tools. You'll discover how thinking routines naturally scaffold student understanding while building essential digital citizenship skills like critical evaluation of online content, ethical decision-making, and responsible digital communication. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Apply Global Thinking Routines to teach digital citizenship. 2. Create activities that promote digital citizenship and critical thinking. 3. Design a lesson integrating thinking routines with digital citizenship instruction. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): digital citizenship (85), OK2Askarchive (71), professional development (271), teaching strategies (52)

Register to view this on-demand OK2Ask professional learning workshop from September 2025. Educators seeking recertification credit must watch the recording, complete the feedback survey, and pass the assessment. For details, read the Registration & Credit Options section on the registration page.

Turn your classroom routines into powerful learning experiences with EduProtocols! Similar to the routines you create for classroom management, EduProtocols are instructional routines you apply to lesson content, creating a predictable framework that allows both you and your students to focus on deep learning rather than figuring out "what to do." In this workshop, you'll discover how three versatile EduProtocols--Iron Chef, Sketch & Tell, and Thin Slides--can reshape engagement and provide meaningful student choice in your classroom. These free, flexible strategies work across all grade levels and subject areas, making them perfect for educators in any setting. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Understand and apply the strategic purpose of EduProtocols as instructional routines that enhance learning. 2. Plan to implement three specific EduProtocols with appropriate technology tools in their content area. 3. Design differentiated applications of EduProtocols that provide student choice and accommodate diverse learning needs. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): OK2Askarchive (71), professional development (271), teaching strategies (52)