Student Successes With Thinking Maps® Corwin Press, Second Edition, January 2011 David Hyerle and Larry Alper co-editors
The Chapters, Extensions, and More
Chapter 1: Thinking Maps® as a Transformational Language for Learning David Hyerle, Ed.D. Much like a momentary respite before jumping back into an exciting journey, this book represents a resting place for present research, results, and models of practice from over 15 years of bringing thinking maps into schools... read more excerpts from chapter 1
Section 1: Linking Thinking, Language, and Learning Chapter 2: Why and How Thinking Maps Work: A Language for the Brain and Mind Kimberley M. Williams, Ph.D. Thinking Maps are grounded in eight cognitive universals—thinking processes that our brains use every day: sequencing, hierarchical classification, part-to-whole, causation, comparing and contrasting, describing, analogies, and defining in context. While these processes work in unison, so too does our brain work in interrelated ways by patterning information.
Chapter 3: Leveling The Playing Field for All Students Bonnie Singer, Ph.D.
“Those of us who are fortunate enough to work with children often find ourselves forever changed by relationships with one or two of them...” read more excerpts from chapter 3
Chapter 4: Tools for Integrating Theories and Differentiating Practice Alan Cooper, B.Ed. Given the short description above of the intersection of emotional and interpersonal intelligences, global and analytic learning styles, and habits of mind, we may begin to see how thinking maps provide a unique, unifying language across these four approaches, each of which is theoretically rich. read more excerpts from chapter 4
Chapter 5: Closing the Gap By Connecting Culture, Language, and Cognition Yvette Jackson, Ed.D. We believe that literacy for urban learners is best developed when the teacher mediates the learning process by providing lessons that foster social interaction for language development and guide the application of cognitive skills that assist students in constructing and communicating meaning. The Thinking Maps are a core component... read more excerpts from chapter 5
Chapter 8: The Challenge of High Stakes Testing in Middle School Mathematics Janie B. MacIntyre, M.Ed. ‘Thinking Maps allow you to see where you have made your mistake, and how to show your math in words that make sense’
Student The statistics indicate considerable growth in mathematical achievement, so how and why does applying thinking maps in math instruction improve math ability as measured on these tests? read more excerpts from chapter 8
Chapter 9: Thinking Like a Scientist Lou-Anne Conroy, M.A., and David Hyerle, Ed.D. Have you noticed over the past 10 years how often scientists in fields such as biology and the neurosciences—as well as the social sciences—use the term mapping for describing how they understand and solve problems within complex areas such as weather systems, ecosystems, the human genome system, and, of course, the human brain? Mapping has become the overarching metaphor for research, discovery, invention, creative and analytical thinking, and, in practical terms, a new way to visually represent knowledge in teh 21st century.
Section 3: Uniting Whole Learning Communities Chapter 11: A First Language for Thinking in a Multilingual School Stefanie R. Holzman, Ed.D. “The Thinking Maps took the English language learner to the highest level of thinking . . . in a very simple way.”
Teacher Many of the teachers in this urban, inner city, K5 school of 1200 minority students (85% of those entering with Spanish as their primary language) thought they were already getting the best out their students. read more excerpts from chapter 11
Chapter 12: Feeder Patterns and Feeding the Flame at Blalack Middle School Edward V. Chevalleir, Ed.D. Thinking maps help students actively process information. The use of the maps creates immediate and specific questions. In a middle school classroom, the constant challenge is maximum engagement. Used in even their most limited form, thinking maps ensure eight “ready” questionsquestions associated with each of the eight thinking skills. read more excerpts from chapter 12
Chapter 13: Becoming a Thinking School Gill Hubble, M.A. Through research, practice, personal discoveries, and many rich conversations, we made a multiyear commitment to integrating the thinking maps language into our community. read more excerpts from chapter 13
Chapter 14: Stories From Mississippi: Results From College to Kindergarten Marjann Kalehoff Ball, Ed.D. After I used the maps for several years in my college classes, it was deemed feasible to determine whether or not the maps, interwoven with an existing college reading course, would have a significant effect on reading scores or be affected by the status (traditional/nontraditional) of the student...It may be concluded that mapping made a significant difference on reading test scores...The ripple effect from the utilization of thinking maps is amazing. read more excerpts from chapter 14
Chapter 15: The Singapore Experience: Student Centered Fluency Ho Po Chun, M.Ed. “In Composition, using the Multi-Flow Map helps me look at the bigger picture.”
“Thinking Maps help me expand my vocabulary.”
“Thinking Maps help me keep to the pointno ‘straying.’”
Section 4: Transforming Professional Development Chapter 16: Inviting Explicit Thinking Sarah Curtis, M.Ed. “I was teaching a lesson in social studies and I must have asked a question every conceivable way I could think of. Nobody participated. So I drew a Multi-flow Map on the board and got where I wanted to go! Thinking Maps not only seized the teachable moment, they created the teachable moment.” Teacher
Ultimately, I came to see that these deeper levels of reflection and performance changes developed because the thinking maps invite explicit thinking and thus reflection, bringing a clarity that inspires confidence and competence. read more excerpts from chapter 16 and view the corresponding video clips
Chapter 17: Coaching and Supervising Reflective Practice Kathy Ernst, M.S. “So many people have come into my classroom with vague advice and comments that have just made things worse. This is the first time anyone’s given me concrete suggestions about what I can do. This has been really helpfulthank you.” Teacher (after Kathy and colleague used the Flow and Multi-Flow Maps in post-conference supervision conversation) read more excerpts from chapter 17
Chapter 18: Thinking Maps: A Language for Leading and Learning Larry Alper, M.S. The ability of people to make meaning together, visualize the unknown, and formulate effective action is vital to the success of any organization. In today’s school environment, where change is not an event but an ever present reality, it is imperative that people develop the individual and collective capacity to process information, transform it into new understandings, and shape their futures. read more excerpts from chapter 17
Chapter 20: Bifocal Assessment in the Cognitive Age: Thinking Maps for Assessing Content Learning and Cognitive Processes David Hyerle, Ed.D., and Kimberley M. Williams, Ph.D. In this chapter the authors first surface the need for reframing formative and summative assessment in this, the cognitive age of the 21st century. The Thinking Maps model is introduced as a theoretical and practical common visual language for teaching, learning and assessment that reflects what we know about how the brain works, learning, and cognition. Thinking Maps--as a language--allows teachers to see student content learning and thinking processes through the same bifocal lens—viewing the content at the surface and cognitive processing more in depth. After this overview and then a discussion of the validity of the model, the investigation turns to look at student work with Thinking Maps as they develop fluency with the tools and the capacity to transfer the tools within and across disciplines. Formative assessment of fluency and transfer are described and then the authors discuss how the maps may also be used within the area of summative assessments, using the MAPPER holistic scale. The authors investigate how our assessment tools need to keep pace with our new understanding about how the brain learns and processes information, offering tools for educators and learners to determine not only "what" is learned but also "how" it is learned.
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