Learning to Think and Thinking to Learn

Abstract

Encouraging children to think—independently and publicly—is possibly one of any teachers' most challenging and rewarding responsibilities. Young children's less-developed language and listening skills further complicate teachers' work at the early elementary level. Yet, I've been fortunate to work with many teachers who have embraced this challenge and use young children's unique attributes, such as their unmitigated curiosity, to center mathematics teaching on thinking and reasoning.