E46-Tribute to Art Costa w/Bill Sommers

NewTech High Podcast

July 22, 2026

Good morning! Yesterday, I hosted a podcast in dedication of the work of Art Costa (Habits of Mind) along with Dr. Bill Sommers, from Learning Omnivores, and Dr. Steven Rippe, from EdVisions. 

CostaCast with Drs. Sommers & Rippe

Of course, any of us that have been reading about how we improve our schools through our students are familiar with the work of Art Costa. His work is portrayed virtually all over the place in schools around the world. Habits of Mind is one of his collaborations that had major traction. I have to add that his Cognitive Coaching collaboration with Robert Garmston is a second major contribution to the world. The best I can tell is that they have been working on this concept for over 40 years. Garmston and Costa were colleagues at Cal-Sacramento and both with heavy influences on education. 

Bill was a close friend and colleague of Art Costa. He had some very unique experiences over the years with him, so wanted to hear more about this relationship first-hand. Bill has published a couple of articles that you can read more about their relationship at Learning Omnivores, He talks about his relationship with Costa as one that was like "walking with giants", and I can understand that. If we had a Hall of Fame for educators, Costa (and Garmston) would surely be in it. 

This podcast is interesting as Sommers and Rippe weave through examples of how they have used work that spreads Costa-like ideas into areas of leadership, reflection, hope and student agency. You can see a live representation of the vast work being done in schools (using Costa and Wellman's frameworks) across the world at The Thinking Collaborative. 

More resources that I found about Art Costa's work. 

Interview 2020 with Art Costa and Bena Kallick

How to Integrate Habits of Mind in Your School (Costa and Kallick)

Habits of Mind 16 characteristics

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