The TeachThought Thinking Habits Framework.
Repeatable, teachable practices for inquiry, reasoning, and self-regulation.
Why these practices belong in the classroom
The framework is a practical synthesis, not a claim that one study produced these twelve habits. These studies support explicit language for thinking, direct critical-thinking instruction, guided inquiry, and teachable self-regulation.
Zohar and Ben David studied the explicit teaching of meta-strategic knowledge, which they defined as explicit knowledge about thinking strategies. Students improved in strategic and meta-strategic thinking, and the gains remained visible on delayed transfer tests. This directly supports naming thinking practices and teaching students when and why to use them.
Zohar, A., & Ben David, A. (2008). Explicit teaching of meta-strategic knowledge in authentic classroom situations. Metacognition and Learning, 3(1), 59-82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-007-9019-4
Abrami and colleagues synthesized 341 effect sizes from experimental and quasi-experimental studies. They found a positive effect of instruction on critical thinking across educational levels and disciplines. Dialogue, authentic problems and examples, and mentoring were associated with stronger results.
Abrami, P. C., Bernard, R. M., Borokhovski, E., Waddington, D. I., Wade, C. A., & Persson, T. (2015). Strategies for teaching students to think critically: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 85(2), 275-314. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654314551063
Furtak and colleagues analyzed 37 experimental and quasi-experimental studies of inquiry-based science teaching. The overall mean effect size was 0.50. Teacher-led inquiry conditions produced larger average effects than student-led conditions, which supports explicit modeling, prompting, and guidance rather than unguided activity.
Furtak, E. M., Seidel, T., Iverson, H., & Briggs, D. C. (2012). Experimental and quasi-experimental studies of inquiry-based science teaching: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 82(3), 300-329. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654312457206
Dignath, Büttner, and Langfeldt synthesized 48 comparisons from 30 studies of self-regulated learning programs in primary school. The review examined effects on achievement, strategy use, and motivation, and identified features of effective strategy instruction. This supports teaching self-regulation as a set of practices students can learn and apply.
Dignath, C., Büttner, G., & Langfeldt, H.-P. (2008). How can primary school students learn self-regulated learning strategies most effectively? A meta-analysis on self-regulation training programmes. Educational Research Review, 3(2), 101-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2008.02.003