ABSTRACT
It is a bright cold November day in a suburban community. The teacher, Miss Lumen, is in her third year at the school (and her first period today has 23 seventh graders. Her room is crowded, jammed with all kinds of things: in the middle are six large tables, each with four chairs so students can work in pairs and/or fours facing each other. Lumen's desk is in the far corner (peering into the entrance door and hallway) and it is covered with papers and a big box labeled “INBOX”: it is empty now as the day is just starting. Science posters adorn the walls, equipment sits on top of shelving, and a poster labeled “school expectations” holds a prominent position above the teacher's desk. A white board is empty on one wall and a set of 16 8.5 × 11 visuals present the Habits of Mind (Costa & Kallick, 2000) which are used every day in this class. The soft classical music is turned off at the moment that the bell rings to start the day.
