The following suggestions are written for art teachers, but teachers in other areas will think of similar applications in their own disciplines. Many art teachers will think of additional ideas.

Make use of past lessons in unexpected ways 

What if our projects, lessons, and assignments make a point of referencing prior learning? Most teachers do some of this. The more we do it, the more students will learn to have the basic expectation to make new applications of what has been learned earlier in order to make their current work better?  What if we make a point of mentioning some prior learning that is not obviously relevant? Would this cultivate thinking habits that search a broader base of prior learning? 

Awareness building 

Could we use more questions during media work time that reference prior learning?  What if we include some zingers (absurd, unrealistic, and fantastic connections)? Creative thinking habits can be nurtured. 

Expectation building 

What if each new skill is practiced and each new concept is learned with more emphasis (before, during, and after the experience) on how this experience will help us in the future? The teacher asks,"What are we learning today that will make every artwork we create in the future better?"  We list responses on the board. Hype it more. 

Recognition 

What if we try harder to point out the surprising and possibly rare examples when a student does improve the work by noticeably using something learned in a previous lesson? We ask, "What do we see in this work that grows out of what we learned last week (last month, or last year)?" 

Reflection 

What if open questions are formulated and written down before, during, and after the media work? Both students and teachers could do this. What if some of these are used in a discussion so others begin to see and understand the type of thinking that is needed? 

Identify Processes 

We display work, but what if we also ask students to tell us how they came up with unique ideas? This allows us to affirm good methods and help the whole class. Others in the class may begin to imitate innovative thinking if they recognize successful methods of finding ideas in unexpected places in the mind. Can we ferret out and spread the secrets of artistic thinking? 

Push Categories & Cross Boundaries 

What if teachers in a school ask each other about the topics they are teaching so that they can encourage their students to look for ideas from other parts of their school day? What if students are asked to generate content and subject matter for their artwork that comes from a part of their lives that is generally not included in their artwork? What if they start by listing things about themselves they have never used before as subject matter? Post these categories of ideas for all to see. 

Assessment 

What if our rubrics acknowledge transfer of learning? Item: "Uses skills and knowledge gained in earlier assignments and other school subjects to noticeably improve the work of this assignment." 

Written Assessment 

What if tests are scored to give more credit to the most unique, or least frequently mentioned correct answer? What if tests include items that ask for new applications of materials and concepts studied? What if tests ask for opposites of the the correct answer - the most wrong answer? What if tests are given more credit when reasons for the answer are well stated. 

Students who cannot write good responses may be unaware of the what a good response looks like. What if the most creative responses are posted (with permission from the writers) for the rest of the class to read? 

Nurturing and changing thinking habits is perhaps the most significant thing a teacher can do. Unfortunately, thinking habits that facilitate good transfer of learning may be slow to change and difficult to influence. Too often we fall into practices that give quick results, but nurture thinking that is narrowly specialized, depends on imitation, on rote, or on following specific instruction. Is this education or some sort of training?

"Teaching for Stronger Thinking Habits" © 2005. Originally published: Art & Learning to Think & Feel, http://www.bartelart.com/arted/transfer.html