CHALLENGING THE FUTURE WITH 21ST CENTURY SKILLS

Universiti Putra Malaysia in collaboration with The Institute For Habits of Mind and The Art Costa Institute of Thinking, Singapore is proud to host and co-organise the first Habits of Mind Conference in Malaysia.

The International Conference on Habits of Mind 2013 aims to bring together experts in the field of thinking to share their knowledge on not only good thinking habits but also how to develop good thinkers. This conference is a follow up to the 14th International Conference on Thinking (14th ICOT 2009) held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from June 22-26 in 2009, hosted and organised by Universiti Putra Malaysia. More than 200 papers were presented at the 14th ICOT which was attended by 1500 participants from 44 countries.

This conference is an excellent platform for the meeting of great thinkers and innovative minds from across the globe. It will bring together leaders, thinkers and practitioners who are interested in working together to nurture citizens of tomorrow with effective thinking skills.

The conference is a good opportunity for participants to:
• receive latest knowledge by well-known experts in the field of thinking
• bring together experts and novices in the field of thinking to network and share experiences and knowledge on habits of the mind
• show case innovative approaches to thinking and creativity across disciplines

“Learning and innovation skills are what separate students who are prepared for increasingly complex life and work environments in the 21st century from those who do not. To be effective, citizens and workers must be able to communicate, to team, to continuously learn and to function in a visual, data-rich society. This conference brings together educators as well as businessmen to achieve this aim.”
~ Prof Costa and Dr Kallick

Habits of Mind is the disposition to behave intelligently in situations where the solutions to problems is not immediate. This means that most of the current world problems requires good habits of mind. Beginning with education, Habits of Mind, has been used successfully to help students improve their thinking and behaviour to thrive in the 21st century. Businesses are beginning to apply this simple concept to solving difficult problems and creating better products and services. Parents are using Habits of Mind in their parenting to raise more intelligent children and improve marital relationships. Thus this conference brings together experts in the Habits of Mind to discuss the practise of these thinking dispositions in three key areas of education, business and family.

The founding Directors of the Institute of Habits of Mind, Prof Arthur L. Costa and Dr Bena Kallick believe that the Habits of Mind are the necessary backbone of educational processes that are and will be foundational for an ever-changing future. They further add that “we need continuous learners for a future that we cannot see”.
The Habits of the Mind is aptly described by Wendall Barry as:

 “When we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work and when we no longer know which way to go we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings”.

THIS IS A CONFERENCE FOR THOSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE THINKING A HABIT OF MIND AND TO BECOME EFFECTIVE THINKERS

http://www.ichom2013.upm.edu.my