Have you been trekking along with us as we have spent the year focusing on how to think? It has been an amazing journey full of insightful podcasts and blog posts, all focusing on the last word of our motto: Think! As the year comes to a close, I felt it would serve me well to reflect on all I have learned from IEW. Interestingly, I noted that reflecting entails more than spending time pondering over new information or experiences. According to Graham Gibbs, who developed his famous Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle in 1988, it involves six stages. I sought to apply his cycle to thoughts I gathered over each month and found that it did, indeed, allow me to truly reflect.
Gibbs began his cycle with the stage of description. Do I fully understand that upon which I am choosing to reflect? Indeed, I recognized that IEW looked at the current educational landscape and determined that they would focus their efforts in 2025 on challenging customers like you and me to think. They understood emerging trends and dangerous side paths and desired to help us read and interpret the signs. Carefully crafted episodes in the Arts of Language podcast series, along with regular blog posts landed in our email inboxes and on their website, alerting us that the discussion is ongoing and there is more to consider.
In the second stage, I needed to identify my feelings concerning the knowledge I have gained. Anticipation best expressed my feelings as I waited each month for the new podcast or blog post to debut. I wondered what new angle to the theme would be brought forth. Excitement would follow as a topic I had been curious about, such as AI, was addressed or a special guest, like Sarah Mackenzie from Read-Aloud Revival, was interviewed. I appreciated all of the many variables discussed and realized how nuanced the subject of thinking is.
After achieving those baselines, the third stage is evaluation. What was good and bad about my travels throughout this theme? The greatest positives were the treasures of thought I gained throughout the year. In February Podcast Episode 464, “Thinking with the Canons of Rhetoric,” explained the “value of division” in Unit 7: Inventive Writing, which helps to make any topic or prompt for writing doable! On page nine of that episode transcript, it developed a solid argument for old fashioned reading versus watching a video on the same subject. Podcast Episode 471 in April included the cutest stanza from a parody some ascribe to Lord Kelvin. Not only do those first four lines remind us of a familiar nursery rhyme, but they also are chock full of amazing vocabulary, a necessary element of thinking! I can think of no grounds for complaint with all I gathered.
Next came analysis, the fourth stage, which asks us to make sense of what we are learning. Indeed, several of the monthly offerings allowed me to truly understand what thinking involves. January’s podcast and blog post defined the word for us, and February’s blog post “How IEW Teaches Thinking” took us through each unit of IEW’s Structure and Style®, showing how each nurtures this theme of thinking. In March, Podcast Episode 467 allowed Pamela White to explain how grammar (and even punctuation) are foundational for thinking. September’s Podcast Episode 494 cemented the critical role that vocabulary plays in thinking, providing several resources for gaining a broader word bank, and the month’s blog post drove it home with game ideas. Jennifer Mauser was interviewed for Podcast Episode 499 in October, and she succinctly described what critical thinking encapsulates and how IEW models it. Each monthly contribution gave the theme additional time to crystalize in my mind.
The fifth stage, conclusion, initially made me a tad sad. In this stage, Gibbs prompts us to put an endcap on what we have learned and reflect upon how we could have done things differently. As a homeschool mom of two boys, I immediately thought of the steps I could have, should have taken. One of my sons has graduated, and the other is a senior. Did I engage in enough read-alouds? Were our daily comings and goings peppered with enough word-rich conversation as May’s Podcast Episode 477 with Sarah Mackenzie describes? Why did I not push them to read more complex literature and make them discuss it with me? I quickly reminded myself that just because their K–12 years are almost finished, there is still plenty of time for me to continue modeling and cultivating their curiosity as August’s blog post encourages. The job of a parent and, dare I say, grandparent, has no expiration date!
Finally I came to the sixth stage, which called for me to draft an action plan. Julie Walker summed it up well with her four takeaways in October’s podcast with Jennifer. She challenged us to limit technology, read more, memorize some, and work through IEW’s writing materials. November’s focus on assumptions prompted me to add to that list a desire to make sure I am able to support my beliefs as critical thinking flourishes with inquiry. June’s Podcast Episode 483 gives a clarion call for us to not forfeit our thinking to AI as it atrophies the critical skill it seeks to replace. For me personally, I will continue into 2026, determined to begin memorizing, shoring up my beliefs, and cultivating curiosity with my family and friends.
December’s shorter days, twinkle lights, and hot cocoa before a crackling fire provide the perfect backdrop for reflection. If you have not walked beside us as we delved deeper into the theme of How to Think this year, no worries! This blog post alone contains links to nine out of the eleven months we have finished so far. Pick a few of interest to you and listen to the podcast or read its transcript. Follow that with the accompanying monthly blog post. All of us take time to circle back occasionally; reflection often demands it. I am not saying this time set aside must lead to New Year’s resolutions, but if you go through all six stages, these impressions will be stamped on your heart and mind and, I am hopeful, will lead to real action—the goal of all good thinking!
by Katie Eades
Work Cited
“Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle: Reflection Toolkit.” Reflection Toolkit, University of Edinburgh, 15 Oct. 2024,
reflection.ed.ac.uk/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/gibbs-reflective-cycle. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
