I went to my daughter’s middle-school open house the other night and learned about something I probably should have already known. (Or, more likely, I had been taught this at some point and promptly forgot it.)

It’s a paper called “Describing 16 Habits of Mind” by Arthur L. Costa, Ed.D., and Bena Kallick, Ph.D., and it’s a highly recommended read. The paper describes how we can best use our brainpower to solve problems, questions, tasks, etc.

The 16 habits of mind are:

• Persisting

• Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision

• Managing impulsivity

• Gathering data through all senses

• Listening with understanding and empathy

• Creating, imagining, innovating

• Thinking flexibly

• Responding with wonderment and awe

• Thinking about thinking (metacognition)

• Taking responsible risks

• Striving for accuracy

• Finding humor

• Questioning and posing problems

• Thinking interdependently

• Applying past knowledge to new situations

• Remaining open to continuous learning

 Google and ye shall find the complete paper. It’s worth your time.