Founders of the Institute for Habits of Mind
Dr. Art Costa and Dr. Bena Kallick are world-recognized and respected for their ground-breaking publications, practical teachings, and inspirational leadership.
Arthur L. Costa is professor emeritus of education at California State University, Sacramento, and co-founder of the Institute for Intelligent Behavior in El Dorado Hills, California. He has served as a classroom teacher, a curriculum consultant, an assistant superintendent for instruction, and the director of educational programs for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He has devoted his career to improving education through more "thought-full" instruction and assessment.
Bena Kallick is a private consultant providing services to school districts, state departments of education, professional organizations, and public agencies throughout the United States and internationally. Her areas of focus include group dynamics, creative and critical thinking, and alternative assessment strategies in the classroom. Kallick has taught at Yale University School of Organization and Management, University of Massachusetts Center for Creative and Critical Thinking, and Union Graduate School. She served on the board of Jobs for the Future.
Wonder Media
Wonder Media is a mission-driven animation studio that worked with the Institute for the Habits of Mind to produce the Habits of Mind Kids animations. Wonder Media, headed by Terry Thoren, is known for producing animation that has the power to change children’s lives. Terry Thoren is the former CEO of the company that produced Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys. He has over 40 years of animation industry experience, and he has spent the last decade creating animations with a purpose.
Wonder Media’s flagship product is WonderGrove Social Skills, a social skills animated series with over 200 animated lessons and 2000 extension lessons for grades K-2. Most recently they have launched WonderGrove S.O.A.R. (Social Skills, Organization, Adapted Behaviors, Resources) for exceptional students in kindergarten through 2nd grade and WonderGrove PreSchool.
They have produced educational animations addressing emergency preparedness with the Hero in You Foundation, physical and sexual abuse with the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, teen suicide with the Cook Center for Human Connection, and living with an addicted caregiver for the Hazelden Betty Ford Center.
The Institute for Habits of Mind
The Institute for Habits of Mind, founded by Dr. Arthur Costa and Dr. Bena Kallick, is an international organization which helps educators, parents, and all who care for children to learn, practice, and infuse the Habits of Mind into their work and their lives.
The vision of the institute is to create a more thoughtful, cooperative, compassionate generation of people who skillfully work to resolve social, environmental, economic and political problems.
The Institute for Habits of Mind offers membership, services, resources, and products, all related to the Habits of Mind.
To learn more about the Institute, visit their website.