Keeping the Habits of Mind, in mind

In preparation for the MCA tests this year the Herons added something a bit different. Each student chose a habit of mind goal: a habit of mind that they wanted to make sure to keep in mind during the MCAs. They wrote down a sentence explaining why they chose that particular habit of mind, and I was impressed by the thoughtful choices. Students chose:

Striving for Accuracy because "sometimes for reading I skip reading and go straight to answering"; "to write carefully, spell correctly, and know what I know"; "by working slowly instead of fast""by checking my answer at least 4 times to get it right"

Creating, Imagining, Innovating because "I don't always get it when all I think about is the numbers but when I think about it differently I get the answer faster"

Responding with Wonderment and Awe because "sometimes I don't find things interesting and then I start drawing because I'm bored" and "I read some cool stuff in the reading segment"

Persisting because "I get stuck in hard problems a lot" and "I am not going to give up"

Going Above and Beyond because "I want to do more writing"

Thinking and Communicating Clearly because "In the writing part I want to quickly get my point to the MCA people" and "because I don't want to be too stressed and overdo anything"

Finding Humor "so I don't get mad and sad"

We're working on the tests right now in the Herons, and I have seen all of those habits of mind used already. I have also seen some great flexible thinking: refusing to freeze at a confusing question, letting go of troubles from the last segment, and being positive when I explain that I can't give them the meaning of a word. Despite the lack of test-taking at Prairie Creek, our students are just as thoughtful and conscientious in test-taking as they are in everything else. That is wonderful to see. -ET

If you want some more info on how we prepared for the MCAs (discussing why these tests exist, what they are used for, and how to be a good test-taker) check out Michelle's Elms blog post from last year "Use Only and #2 Pencil" http://prairiecreek.typepad.com/elms/2009/04/use-only-a-2-pencil.html