Visible Thinking Routine
I Used to Think… Now I Think….
Surface how thinking has shifted on a topic.
Bridge pattern
connect
conclude
What is it
What is I Used to Think… Now I Think…?
Reflective closing routine. Names the change, not just the new state.
Setup: What topic should the participants reflect on?.
How it works
The prompts
Initial
-
01
I used to think…
Response: Longtext
Now
-
01
Now I think…
Response: Longtext
When to use
Good moments for I Used to Think… Now I Think…
- Classroom warm-up. Surface what students bring before introducing new content.
- After a reading or video. Consolidate big ideas without testing recall.
- Discussion starter. Responses become the seed material for the room conversation.
- End-of-session reflection. Capture how thinking changed.
Keep exploring
Other thinking routines
Browse all 21 routines in the gallery, filtered by the kind of thinking you want to surface — observation, perspective-taking, reasoning with evidence, or capturing the heart of an idea.