This study examines the use of Studio Thinking's Studio Habits of Mind (Hetland, Winner, Veenema & Sheridan, 2007) as a framework for curriculum design. In order to compare the ideas with other current art education theories, I conduct a literature review that identifies types of thinking accessed in the visual arts classroom. Through the comparison of Hetland et. al.'s Habits of Mind with those cited by current researchers, I discuss the relevance of the Studio Habits of Mind and propose an additional Habit of Mind: Investigate. In order to explore the use of these Habits as a framework for curriculum design, I design several lessons for a local after-school program using an objectives-based lesson template. The difficulty of applying this framework to an existing template indicates the need for a new unit/lesson plan template formatted specifically to a mind-centered approach. I present my design for a new unit template, lesson template and examples. The findings of this research point to a move in art education towards a mind-centered approach in the visual arts classroom and the use of a mind-centered template for unit and lesson planning.

Thesis advisor: Ellen Winner / Public polling and anecdotal evidence suggests that the general public greatly values music education. I argue that this is not because of content, discipline-specific skills like reading music notation or playing the trumpet, but because of the generalizable habits of mind, or broad thinking dispositions, that teachers teach in ensembles. Through analysis of systematic observation and interview data from multiple rehearsals of six band, choir and orchestra ensembles, eight Ensemble Habits of Mind emerged: Evaluate, Express, Imagine, Listen, Notice, Participate in Community, Persist, and Set Goals & Be Prepared. Using methodology similar to that of parallel work identifying Studio Habits of Mind in visual arts education (Hetland et al., 2013), this study shows many similarities between habits of mind in the two disciplines. However, two habits of mind that were specifically sought out in observations because they are frequently reported in advocacy arguments, Use Creativity and Recognize More than One Correct Answer, were not observed even under broad inclusion criteria. Suggestions are given for the practical application of these findings and discussion of how this framework can simultaneously support the good thinking happening in traditional large ensembles while bolstering rationale that informal music learning and other means of student-centered music making should be included in music programs in order to advance students’ creative thinking and tolerance for ambiguity. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Psychology.

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