Mentor Think-Aloud Conversations

So much creativity occurs in the thought process, the actual thinking and mental formation of an artistic work, before the artist even touches the medium. 

Quite often, students struggle with this "down" time - they aren't doing anything visible, and so it doesn't seem as though they are working.  How can we get students to: 
                         a) be okay with allowing themselves time to think, and 
                         b) share their thought process with others?

This is the question Mark Templeton, a Film & Media studies teacher, brought to me.  I couldn't help but think of Kelly Gallagher's mentor think-aloud strategy, and purposeful conversations.  

Mentor Think-Alouds
When students see their teachers wrestle with ideas, and listen to them talk through their thinking process as they interpret what they see or experience, it gives them an insight as to how they could work through their own thinking.  Kelly Gallagher, in Write Like This, states that, "no strategy improves my students' writing more than having my students watch and listen to me as I think aloud" (p.15).  The same applies to the creative thinking process; your students will learn from hearing about your struggles to create your own work, or interpret the work of others.  The same applies for hearing the thinking of their peers, which is why we decided to have students work with a mentor in small groups.

Mentor Think-Aloud Process
The following steps offer a suggested format for the use of mentor think-alouds.  Personalize it to fit your own students' needs.

1. While students are in the work-time stages of their projects, call small groups (3-4) to meet you in a quiet area.
2. Determine if you are going to view/listen to/experience something together, or focus solely on their current projects.
3. If you are going to experience something together, choose a text that reflects their current project, or an area of needed skill development (or choose something that has no tie that you can see, and see what the connections the students come up with!)
4. Mark and I created the flow chart below to guide questioning in the small group - the key piece is that, as the mentor, you think-aloud for students, making sure to articulate the struggles you are having as you are creating your own piece, or interpreting the shared text. 

5. Encourage students to use appropriate vocabulary and terminology for your course, to enhance their academic talk.

For additional ideas in this area, check out Kelly Gallagher's Book, Write Like This.  If you use mentor think-alouds in your classroom, please let any of the instructional coaches know!  

By Pam Chromiak:

pam.chromiak@blackgold.ca