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| Developing Minds: An Interview with Art Costa |
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| Author : ASCD
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Developing Minds: An Interview with Art Costa
Alexandria, VA (2/12/02)--ASCD recently released the 3rd edition of Developing Minds: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking, edited by Arthur L. Costa. Developing Minds explores how the teaching of thinking is evolving as we strive to better understand how the brain learns, effectively use technology in the classroom, and focus on assessment of student achievement.
Interviewer: What is the idea behind Developing Minds?
Author: The purpose of the first edition of Developing Minds, published in 1985, was to establish and broaden thinking as a legitimate goal of education. It came at a time when countries, organizations, and schools throughout the world began realizing that the level of a nation's development depends on the intellectual development of its people. It focused on acquainting educators with the vocabulary, attributes, and characteristics of sound curriculum and instructional strategies intended to enhance students� thinking processes. I think it made a contribution by permeating the value of thinking as an integral component of sound curriculum planning. Today we can see curriculum standards beginning to reflect the application of complex thought processes in each subject area and our assessment practices being refined to better assess students' more thoughtful performance.
In 1988, ASCD dedicated its resources to a five-year plan for infusing thinking skills into its programs, publications, and policies. The second edition of Developing Minds, published in 1991, attempted to sort out the avalanche of thinking skills curricula available to educators at that time. Published in two volumes, more than 31 popular programs that provided research-based claims to teaching thinking were described. Its purpose was to help educators make sense of these claims and to achieve a balanced program of sound educational practice during a time when cognitive education was flourishing.
This 3rd edition of Developing Minds is dedicated to rejuvenating our focus on thinking throughout the curriculum in all content areas. It comes at a time when educators are being pressured for immediate, measurable results on standardized performances mainly in reading, math, and science. This assumes that if teachers taught and students demonstrated mastery of the minute subskills on tests in each of those content areas, then students would somehow become the kind of people we want them to become. This book is dedicated to making learning and instruction more reflective, more complex and more relevant to society's and students' diverse needs as they face an uncertain future.
Interviewer: How much of the previous editions is retained in the most recent revision?
Author: This third and expanded edition of Developing Minds is a compilation of research, practical applications, theory, and international perspectives from a wide range of authors, including those from Australia, England, and Mexico. About 10 percent of the chapters are retained from previous editions because of their classic and timeless quality. The remainder provide fresh new insights, accumulated research, and illumination of contemporary issues.
Interviewer: Who is the intended audience of Developing Minds?
Author: This book is intended for educators who believe that education is one of the most powerful mechanisms for developing intellectual prowess; that meaningful interaction with adults, peers, and the environment is essential in mediating the learner's intellectual development; that learning is a continual transformation of inner perceptions, knowledge, and experiences; and that all human beings have the potential to continually develop their intellectual powers throughout their lives. It is intended to help educational leaders--teachers, administrators, curriculum workers, staff developers, and teacher educators--infuse curriculum, instruction, and school organization with practices that more fully develop the intellectual potentials of all the organizations' inhabitants.
Interviewer: Is Developing Minds related to the Habits of Mind series that you edited with Bena Kallick?
Author: Yes, Developing Minds is related to the Habits of Mind, in fact there is a chapter in Developing Minds that describes the Habits of Mind. However, the Habits of Mind alone do not constitute a complete balanced program of teaching thinking. Instruction needs to be provided in specific thinking skills and processes--as described by Barry Beyer, Jack Lochhead, and Don Treffinger and Scott Isaksen. Furthermore, students need to learn how to skillfully apply these thinking processes in problem-solving and decision-making situations such as those described by Robert Swartz, Robert Sternberg, David Perkins, and Michael Pressley and Karen Harris. Additionally, we wish to habituate these thoughtful practices and apply them in everyday life situations. This is where the dispositions and habits of mind are essential as suggested by Jonathan Baron, Shari Tishman, and me. Therefore, a balanced program includes all three--instruction in thinking skills, application in situations requiring skillful thinking, and the habituation of those dispositions throughout school, work, and life.
Interviewer: What is your involvement with ASCD?
Author: I have been an active member of ASCD for more than 40 years. I have participated in its governance, having served on the Board of Directors and the Executive Council. I was President of ASCD from 1988 to 1989 and also served as President of California ASCD. I have made presentations in numerous Professional Development Institutes and at international, national, and state conferences. Over the years I have contributed several articles to Educational Leadership as well as other publications.
Additional Information:
Art Costa will present a special feature at the ASCD Annual Conference in San Antonio, Tex., on March 9. Participants will meet the minds behind Developing Minds, including Art Costa, Bob Marzano, Robin Fogarty, Jay McTighe, and other contributors to the new 3rd edition. With the audience, they will reflect on how human learning and intellectual development has been woven into today�s curriculum, school, and world community and what is needed as they envision the future.
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ASCD is an international nonprofit organization committed to forging covenants in teaching and learning for the success of all learners. ASCD's membership spans the education community, including school superintendents, principals, and other administrative staff; teachers; specialists; school board members; professors; parents; and preservice educators who share the belief that all students can succeed in a challenging, well-planned education program.
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