Developing Thinking Dispositions

The main goal of the Visible Thinking project was to develop students as thinkers and learners by cultivating their dispositions toward thinking. A disposition captures one's personal patterns of interaction with the world. Our dispositions are a part of our character. Our thinking dispositions reflect who we are as thinkers and learners. Of course, a disposition goes beyond merely having the skill or ability - it implies that an individual also is inclined to use those abilities, is aware of and sensitive to occasions for the use of those abilities, and is motivated at the moment to deploy the skills (Ritchhart 2002). Thus ability, inclination, awareness, and motivation must all be present for us to say one has a particular disposition.

Source: The Power of Making Thinking Visible - Practices to Engage and Empower All Learners by Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church