This course will change the way that you think and interact with your students. It will give you the tools to change the way that your students think. 

Thinking is at the heart of learning but is not often explicitly taught, valued, and nurtured in our students. It is difficult to know how to encourage and engage students in high-level thinking without explicit strategies and techniques. Throughout this course you will evaluate your current teaching practice and increase student engagement, interest and learning with simple, effective thinking strategies you can implement right away in all content areas.

For K-12 Teachers

This class is offered for 2, 3 or 4 Quarter Credits.

For 2 Credits you will complete 5 assignments.

For 3 Credits you will complete 7 assignments.

For 4 Credits you will complete 9 assignments.

Required Textbooks:

For all students: Creating Cultures of Thinking (Ritchhart)

For 3 or 4 credit students. Optional for 2 credit: Making Thinking Visible (Ritchhart)

Register Anytime!  You can start your course TODAY!

1. Click "Registration" below.  Our site will redirect you to an SPU registration page where you will pay both the TINT and SPU fee with a credit card. 

2. You will receive an email from SPU with your receipt and a link to the coursework. 

3. You have a year to complete the work at your own pace.  Your grade will be posted on your transcript within a few weeks (and often sooner) of you finishing!

Fees:

Option 1:  Non-Credit/Audit TINT Tuition Fee (20 PDUs): $415

 Option 2:  2 Quarter Credit (40 PDUs) = TINT Tuition Fee: $415

+ $110 SPU Credit Fee (Click here for SPU Info) = $525

Option 3:   3 Quarter Credit (60 PDUs) = TINT Tuition Fee: $525

+ $165 SPU Credit Fee (Click here for SPU Info) = $690

Option 4:  4 Quarter Credit (80 PDUs) = TINT Tuition Fee: $625

+ $220 SPU Credit Fee (Click here for SPU Info) = $845

Click Here For Coursework Preview

Student Testimonials:

I loved this course because it felt so inline with my goals and values. It was also great at getting me to try new things in my class and felt like applicable and compelling work, rather than pd just for pd’s sake and moving up the salary schedule which was great.  I really appreciated getting feedback from you on my reflections, a good reminder that responding to student work matters!

—TINT Student

This class not only met, but exceeded my expectations. I was worried at first, when I began to read the books, that this would be too much, too difficult to implement in the classes I teach, which meet for one hour once a week, but that concern went away quickly. The thoughtful and well-planned assignments helped me to better understand not only the value of what I was learning, of creating a culture of thinking, but that it was doable in various settings including the one I was in. I quickly went from concern to excitement. I was eager to try what I was learning and was encouraged by how it turned out as well as by the thoughtful feedback I received after turning in each assignment. I value thinking more than I did before this course and feel encouraged and better equipped to help create a culture of thinking in the classroom and help students develop and employ this valuable skill for life and learning.

—TINT Student

I really thought that both books were beneficial. They complimented each other very well and I appreciate how they have tools/resources to be able to take away and implement in the classroom. I also found the videos and excerpts of real teachers using these strategies to be very helpful; to see them in action. This class did meet my expectations! I was hoping to gain insight and practical tools into new thinking strategies that deepen the thinking and challenge my students to think broader, and this class definitely delivered. Thank you so much! I’m excited for the new school year to start so that I can begin to implement some of the thinking routines and strategies I have learned.

—TINT Student

Something that was very beneficial was the way things were spaced out to try in the classroom.  It felt like a very specific and manageable assignment to choose one routine and put it into practice in the classroom for each assignment. In some classes I have taken I have designed a whole unit and used it, but this was different - it helped me focus not on what I was teaching, but how I was teaching … and I think I improved my practice in focusing this way.  The class was very helpful and I truly could see my students responding to the routines and speaking out more.  Their comments also seemed deeper and more responsive to each other’s ideas as well.

—TINT Student

The combination of assignments, questions and personal reflection, and the books which are amazing resources, were the perfect fit for someone like me who really hadn’t heard much about thinking routines and visible learning. By the end of this course I have plans and a way to begin implementing thinking routines in my classroom this fall, which is in less than a month! My goal was to find ways to be a better teacher, more effective, a teacher whose students are doing the talking and thinking, I become a facilitator. This course helped me do just that.

—TINT Student

I would say the most beneficial part of the class was that the prompts were written for a teacher! They made me reflect and think on my actual practice-- through the assignments I could take time to put the information from the readings into actionable practice by designing systems of thinking to use and try out. Much appreciated!

—TINT Student

What I found to be the most beneficial aspect of this class is that it gave me new ideas to try in my classroom. Last year I really disliked how much my students were not connecting to one another. This was something that I really wanted to change moving forward. This class definitely helped create ideas as to how to combat this issue. This class definitely exceeded my expectations especially as there were many examples that were directly applicable to the subject that I teach. 

—TINT Student

I love that this class pairs so nicely with the work I have been doing as an AVID leader. Hearing the strategies in a day or so of Professional Development is so much different than spending meaningful time studying, exploring, risking, and implementing. Ongoing study with reflective assignments and analysis holds you accountable and it gives the strategy purpose.

—TINT Student

This class has been excellent! I feel like it was a really worthwhile use of time and energy and all of it has paid off by forcing me to switch up what I teach in an intentional way. Yes, this takes time, but it can also end up being a motivating force when the results of my efforts were so evident. Furthermore, they didn’t require too much in the way of time because the format (thinking routines) were already offered up. This made it really easy to amend my lessons to include more of a thinking focus.

—TINT Student

I enjoyed the class very much. It gave me a great deal to think about. It helped me to refocus myself on the big picture.

—TINT Student

I really appreciated this class. As I said it exceeded my expectations. I really loved that the books are both inspirational (I want to be better!) and practical (here’s how I can start!). I thank you for your feedback and for offering the course.

—TINT Student