Think Alouds: A Teaching Strategy

Clarity refers to mental, emotional, intellectual and intuitive processes of the mind. The term can apply to both the teaching and the practice of T’ai Chi Chih. TCC teachers want students to learn to use their minds well: to connect to the flow of Chi and experience their minds in harmony with their bodies. Clarity of mind is the ultimate goal.

The complex processes of thinking were not clearly understood for many years. It was hopedthat students would become good learners just by watching their teachers, but many did not. Then scientific research began to investigate how good learners think. The result was the establishment of best practices, teaching strategies that help students become aware of how they think. These strategies apply to all fields of learning, including movement-based skills such as TCC.

Meta-Cognition

Meta-cognition means thinking about thinking. It’s reflective thinking: questioning, predicting, self-correcting, summarizing, and being aware of intuitions, thoughts and feelings. Meta-cognition is not new; early writings on the topic can be traced back to the Greek philosopher HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle”Aristotle.

“Think Alouds” – A Teaching Strategy

Think alouds are saying aloud what one is looking at, doing, thinking and feeling as one completes a task or movement sequence. (See example below.)

During think alouds, teachers guide students to become strategic thinkers. This reveals ways of thinking that are explicit, precise and even fun to do. Students are led to new depths of awareness, highlighting small details of thinking which may be crucial to successful task completion. Think alouds are for everyone: teachers helping students, parents helping children, and students mentoring students.

Teachers Model Think Alouds

TCC teachers can introduce the think aloud process to students by modeling it in class. A teacher can reveal what he or she is thinking, feeling and sensing while demonstrating a movement, in accord with the four principles of movement: flowing from center, correct stance/ foot position, complete weight shift, and alignment of the spine.

Once students are familiar with the process, they can practice this skill with a partner. Each think aloud is unique to that moment in time as students voice what they’re doing mentally while performing a TCC movement. This ever-deepening process of awareness is helpful to all students.

Example of a Think Aloud

“I’m going to tell you what I’m thinking and feeling as I perform the movement Rocking Motion. I’ll do my best to tell you as much as I can. You can use this method to monitor your own form. Do not use this when you’re doing regular TCC meditation.

“I want to pause in the resting position now to center myself before I start.” (I wait and let extraneous thoughts settle down.) “I notice my breathing is calmer.

“I step apart and slowly let my arms and hands move backwards. I soften my knees … the weight starts to move to the front of my feet … my arms start to move forward … I’m aware of a little tension in my right hip … I notice that the rocking motion was a little restricted the first time. I purposely let go of tension … I visualize it draining down my leg into the ground … now I’m able to rock more freely. It feels more effortless … I notice that the lift I feel as my hands rise is happening in the legs, not in my arms.

“My eyes are focused within. This helps me concentrate on the soles of my feet … I feel the weight shift and let the motion carry me … I feel like I’m resting in a rocking chair … that the flow is moving me.

“Right now, I realize that my awareness flows from what I’m describing into a meditative state and then back to the mental list again … a definite shift from one to the other.

“I’m going to close now … slowly coming into the resting position … I hear the word ‘stillness’ in my mind … I connect with that feeling of stillness within. I breathe and pause … waiting for the Chi to come into balance … Now it feels complete, a feeling throughout my whole body that something is whole, more energized, more relaxed.”

Like a cloudless blue sky on a sunny day,

Thinking excellence

Brings forth clarity of mind.

Clarity comes to students who are aware of their own thinking processes. Think alouds help students improve their thinking and awareness of TCC movements.

Reference: Mosaic of Thought, 2nd Edition: The Power of Comprehension Strategy Instruction by HYPERLINK “http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Ellin%20Oliver%20Keene”Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmermann.

*Linda Braga, M.A. worked as a special education teacher for 40 years, specializing in teaching learning disabled students and working with children in regular education, helping teachers use good teaching methods. She participated in a two-year training program in best practices, using think alouds and other strategies.