Making Thinking Visible at Westside School

At Westside, learning is about more than getting the right answer. We care deeply about how students think, how they make meaning, and how they learn from one another along the way. That belief is at the heart of Making Thinking Visible, an approach developed through Harvard’s Project Zero by Ron Ritchhart and Mark Church.

Making Thinking Visible is grounded in the Cultures of Thinking framework, which recognizes that learning does not happen in isolation. It is shaped by classroom culture, relationships, language, and shared expectations. When thinking is valued and made visible, students are more engaged, reflective, and confident in expressing their ideas.

What is Making Thinking Visible?

Making Thinking Visible focuses on helping students show their thinking so it can be discussed, reflected on, and deepened. Teachers use simple, repeatable strategies called Thinking Routines to guide students to observe closely, reason thoughtfully, and reflect on their ideas and the ideas of others. These routines support students in putting words to their thinking through conversation, writing, drawing, and questioning.

Over time, Thinking Routines help students develop habits of curiosity and reflection. They learn to connect ideas, explain their reasoning, listen to others, and revise their thinking. Just as importantly, teachers gain insight into how students are understanding content, which helps them better support and challenge each learner.

This approach is not a program or a checklist. It is a way of shaping classroom culture so that thinking is expected, encouraged, and shared every day. 

 

Bringing Making Thinking Visible to Westside

Westside is partnering with Mark Church, a longtime collaborator with Harvard’s Project Zero, to bring Making Thinking Visible into classrooms across our community. Working alongside Holly Megan Thompson, Head of Lower School, Mark has helped design three rounds of professional learning called Seed Groups (study groups) to support educators as they build this practice over time.

The first group of teachers began this work in May 2025, and a second cohort will begin in February 2026. Through Seed Groups (study groups), along with ongoing learning led by Division Heads and the Director of Teaching and Learning, all Westside educators will have opportunities to practice, reflect on, and integrate Thinking Routines into their teaching by 2028. The goal is a shared culture across the school where student thinking is visible, valued, and supported.

 

Students Using Thinking Routines to Deepen Learning

In classrooms, Thinking Routines help students slow down and look more closely at what they are learning. In one example, students in third grade used the See, Think, Wonder routine while studying images of the Duwamish River from the past and present.

Students began by describing what they saw, noticing details they might have missed if they were moving too quickly. They then shared what they thought those details might mean, connecting their observations to what they had learned about ecology, communities, and environmental impact. Finally, students named what they wondered, the questions that sparked curiosity, and pointed to what they wanted to explore next.

This routine led to thoughtful conversations about how places change over time, the role of humans in shaping the environment, and the responsibility communities have to care for the land. It also gave students practice explaining their thinking and learning from one another.

 

Educators Using Thinking Routines to Strengthen Practice

Thinking Routines are also a powerful tool for adult learning. Lower School educators recently used the 3 2 1 Bridge routine during a professional learning experience focused on independent reading and learning directly from students.

In September, teachers reflected on their current practice of reading one-on-one with students. They shared three words that described their thinking, two questions they had, and one simile, analogy, or metaphor connected to their work. Over the following weeks, teachers read alongside their students, taking notes and asking questions to better understand how each child approaches reading.

At the end of October, teachers revisited the same routine and completed the Bridge portion, connecting their initial reflections with new insights gained through observation and practice. This process helped teachers see how their thinking had shifted and deepened over time. The purpose of this work was to introduce a routine teachers could easily use with students, create space for collaboration and shared inquiry, and support ongoing reflection and growth as educators refined their practice.

 

A Shared Culture of Thinking

Making Thinking Visible is ultimately about creating classrooms where ideas matter, and thinking is something we do together. Through shared routines, thoughtful reflection, and intentional teaching, students and teachers build habits that support deeper understanding and meaningful learning.

As this work continues to grow at Westside, our classrooms become places where curiosity is encouraged, questions are welcomed, and thinking is visible every day.

 

Written by Holly Megan Thompson and Shoshannah Hoffman