If you think you can or can’t, you’re always right. –Henry Ford I.
Sean jumps off the high diving board without even thinking twice; he doesn’t know how to swim and could drown. Cathy gets five A’s on her report card, but still doesn’t think her marks are good enough. And then there’s Brant, an average student, who wants to become a doctor. All three of these children are in some way influenced by what they think (or don’t think, in Sean’s case). What children think determines what they do. Cognitive techniques try to change how or what children think as a first step in changing what they do.
There are a number of think strategies. Not all however are suited for children, and still again not all are amenable to classroom or at-home use. I present you with the most promising five techniques.