Intellectual Character: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Get It

List of Tables, Figures, and Exhibits xiii

Foreword: Six Intellectual Characters in Search of an Author xv
David Perkins

Preface xxi

Acknowledgments xxvii

The Author xxix

Part One: The Case for Intellectual Character

1 Failing at Smart: Or What’s an Education For? 3

2 Rethinking Smart: The Idea of Intellectual Character 12

3 Acting Smart: How Thinking Dispositions Close the Ability-Action Gap 33

Part Two: Fostering Intellectual Character in Our Schools

4 First Days, First Steps: Initiating a Culture of Thinking 55

5 Thinking Routines: Creating the Spaces and Structures for Thinking 85

6 Language and Thinking: Prompting, Priming, and Patterning 115

7 Thought-Full Environments: Sustaining a Culture of Thinking 145

Part Three: Moving Toward the Ideal of Intellectual Character

8 Beyond Technique: Where Teaching for Intellectual Character Begins 179

9 Three Lessons: What to Keep in Mind About Teaching for Intellectual Character 209

10 Some Practical Advice: How to Get Started Teaching for Intellectual Character 229

Appendix 249

Notes 267

References 283

Index 293