Habits of mind

There are 16 attributes to what they call "habits of mind". These are ways people act intelligently in certain situations. For example, I chose "Gathering data through all senses". This is when you learn about something through your five senses. For example, if you see a police car zooming down the street and you hear the siren, you pick up on that sound. So the next time you hear that specific sound you can easily assume it is a police siren. You can compare this to trail and error.
You learn from experience. When you use one of your senses in a situation the things you experience are stored in your brain so when you experience it again you can recongize it. This is a easy way to learn. This can ony be established through a first hand basis.

http://www.habitsofmind.org/what_are_the_habits_of_mind.htm