In Fostering Algebraic Thinking: A Guide for Teachers Grades 6-10, Driscoll (1999) views
habits of mind as ways of thinking, that when used habitually, can lead to successful learning of
algebra. He stresses the development of three algebraic habits of mind: (a) doing/undoing which
involves reversing mathematical processes; (b) building rules to represent functions which
involves pattern-recognition and generalization; and (c) abstracting from computation which
involves thinking about computations structurally without being tied to specific numbers, such as
recognizing the equivalence of 5% of 7000 and 7% of 5000. He and his colleagues later
developed a four-module toolkit for educators to work with teachers to learn how to foster these
algebraic habits of mind in their classrooms (see Driscoll et al., 2001). Subsequently in Fostering
Geometric Thinking: A guide for teachers grades 5-10, Driscoll, DiMatteo, Nikula, and Egan
(2007) promote four geometric habits of mind: (a) reasoning with relationships, (b) generalizing
geometric ideas, (c) investigating invariants, and (d) sustaining reasoned exploration by trying
different approaches and stepping back to reflect while solving a problem. The Fostering
Geometric Thinking Toolkit was published a year later (see Driscoll et al., 2008).
Cuoco (2008, January) has advocated making mathematical habits of mind a key component
of the syllabus because “without explicit attention to mathematical ways of thinking, the goals of