The 3 Y's Thinking Routine
Global Competency
Present learners with an issue, image, or problem that has large scale implications.
Ask learners to consider the following questions:
- Why might this [topic, question] matter to me?
- Why might it matter to people around me [family, friends, city, nation]?
- Why might it matter to the world?
Types of thinking encouraged:
- Slow Looking
- Develop Questions
- Explore in Depth
- Construct Narratives
- Examine Differing Points of View
- Begin to develop sensitivity to big ideas
- Deepen emerging understandings about global questions/challenges
Global Thinking by Veronica Boix Mansilla:
*excerpted from AN ID-GLOBAL BUNDLE TO FOSTER GLOBAL THINKING DISPOSITIONS THROUGH GLOBAL THINKING ROUTINES by Veronica Boix Mansilla
What kind of thinking does this routine encourage? This routine encourages students to develop intrinsic motivation to investigate a topic by uncovering the significance of the topic in multiple contexts. The routine also helps students make local-global connections and situate themselves in local and global spheres
When and where can I use this routine? You may find this routine useful early in a unit after the initial introduction of a theme, when you want students to consider carefully why a topic might be worth investigating further. Teachers have also used the routine to expand on a given topic (e.g. local elections, goods consumption) to help students become aware of how such a topic, issue or question has far-ranging impact and consequences at the local and the global levels. In other cases, (e.g. studying poverty in Brazil) the routine is used to create a personal connection to a theme that seems initially remote.
What kinds of topics and provocations might lend themselves to this routine? The routine can be applied to a broad range of topics (from social inequality, to a mathematician’s biography, balance in ecosystems, writing a story, to attending school). You may use a rich image, text, quote, video or other inviting materials as provocations to ground students' thinking. One important consideration in using this routine is to ensure that the students have clarity about the focal point of the analysis. For example you might ask “Why might understanding social inequality matter to me, my people, the world?” as opposed to “Why might this image matter?”