Thinking-Centered Standards
Purpose
These thinking-centered standards describe the kinds of thinking schools should intentionally cultivate across subject areas. They are not content standards and do not specify which facts, texts, or topics must be taught.
Instead, they focus on habits of mind, inquiry processes, and reasoning practices that allow students to evaluate claims, use evidence responsibly, and revise understanding over time.
How to Use These Standards
1. Begin with meaningful questions
Use essential questions as through-lines for units. These questions are intentionally complex and revisable, supporting sustained inquiry rather than quick answers.
2. Map required content
Align state or district content standards with these thinking expectations. Content standards specify what students learn; thinking standards describe how students should reason with that content.
3. Externalize thinking
Use routines, prompts, and artifacts that make reasoning visible—claims, evidence, counterclaims, causal models, or annotated sources.
4. Assess reasoning, not just recall
Evaluate clarity of claims, quality of evidence, recognition of alternatives, and how thinking changes with better information.
On Algorithms and Emotions
Contemporary information systems are designed to capture attention and amplify emotional response. This standard encourages learners to recognize how algorithms, media incentives, and emotional reactions shape judgment.
- Pause-and-verify routines before sharing information
- Explicit discussion of emotional cues and cognitive bias
- Comparison of engagement goals and truth-seeking goals
- Basic AI literacy, including source tracing and plausibility checks