Athens Journal of Education - Volume 6 - Issue 1 - Visual Thinking Routines: Classroom Snapshots

Oct 15, 2026

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Visual Thinking Routines: Classroom Snapshots explores visual thinking routines as reusable, classroom-based practices grounded in multiple theories and strategies. The article explains how these routines promote thinking skills, collaboration, and visible learning, and why they can be integrated effectively into curricula. It reviews several commonly used routines, describing the thinking moves reinforced, their practical classroom application, and concrete graduate course examples, alongside documented classroom snapshots and challenges.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Visual Thinking Routines

Thinking: Identified and Explained

Thinking moves and classroom application

Classroom examples and snapshots

Challenges and effective integration

Athens Journal of Education-Volume 6, Issue 1 – Pages 53-76 Visual Thinking Routines: Classroom Snapshots By Alain Gholam 􀀍 Visual thinking routines are principles based on several theories, approaches, and strategies. Such routines, which are usually used again and again in the classroom, promote thinking skills, call for collaboration and sharing of ideas, and above all, make thinking and learning visible. Visual thinking routines are carried out in different Graduate Education courses at the American University in Dubai. The following article explores what visual thinking routines are, their merits, and how they are effectively implemented in the classroom. The visual thinking routines administered in the courses (I see, I think, I wonder routine; Connect, Extent, Challenge routine; 4C’s routine; Headlines routine; Color, Symbol, Image routine; Sentence, Phrase, Word routine; and I used to think…Now I think…routine) are described in the article in reference to the following three components: 1) Thinking moves: What thinking moves does the described thinking routine reinforce? 2) Application: When and how can the described routine be used? and 3) Classroom Example: How is the described routine used in the Graduate Education courses at the American University in Dubai? The article also documents snapshots and actual examples from classroom practices at the Graduate School of Education at the American University in Dubai. As with all original, new, and unique resources, visual thinking routines are not free of challenges. To make the most of this useful and valued resource, educators need to comprehend, model, and spread awareness of the effective ways of implementing such routines in the classroom. It is crucial that such routines are meaningfully and effectively integrated into the curriculum to reinforce thinking skills, collaboration, creativity, and make learning visible. Keywords: Visual Thinking Routines, Thinking Skills, 21st Century Education. Thinking: Identified and Explained Thinking is a major component in schools, as students are encouraged to think at all times and everywhere. Let us stop for a while and think about the various definitions of thinking. What is meant by the term, ‘thinking’? What makes thinking so special and important? What are thinking skills? How can a teacher tell a child is thinking? Sousa (2011) believes that thinking is easier to describe than to define: "its characteristics include the daily routine of reasoning where one is at the moment, where one’s destination is, and how to get there "(p. 250). Orlich, Harder, Callahan, Trevisan, and Brown (2012) mention that thinking is a multifaceted act that includes attitudes, knowledge, and skills, which allow an individual to effectively shape his or her environment. On the other hand, Arends (2014) explains that thinking is a mental process involving a variety of operations such as induction, deduction, classification, and reasoning. In conclusion: 􀀍Assistant Professor, American University in Dubai, UAE. [https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.6-1-4](https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.6-1-4) doi=10.30958/aje.6-1-4 Vol. 6, No. 1 Gholam: Visual Thinking Routines: Classroom Snapshots "Thinking skills are the mental processes we use to do things like solve problems, make decisions, ask questions, make plans, pass judgments, organize information, and create new ideas. Often we’re not aware ofour thinking – it just happens automatically. " (Moore, 2015, p.376) The various definitions suggest that thinking is purposeful and involves a certain cognitive process. It is important to also consider some other essential and vital questions related to thinking: What types of thinking do teachers value in their classroom? Do teachers want their students to understand? analyze? interpret? reason? What types of thinking do specific disciplines, assignments, and activities call for? Ritchhart, Church, and Morrison (2011) clarify the types of thinking that

FAQs

What are visual thinking routines and what do they aim to accomplish in classrooms?

They are reusable principles and strategies that promote thinking skills, encourage collaboration and idea sharing, and make thinking and learning visible.

Which component framework does the article use to describe each visual thinking routine?

It describes (1) thinking moves reinforced, (2) application—when and how the routine can be used, and (3) classroom examples showing how it works in graduate education courses.

How does the article address challenges associated with using visual thinking routines?

It notes that these routines face challenges and emphasizes that educators need to comprehend, model, and spread awareness of effective implementation so routines are meaningfully integrated into the curriculum.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Mimi