Thinking Foundation - Research - Case Studies - McKinley Elementary School

English Language Learners (ELL) represent the majority of our students at McKinley School. We wanted to prove that the instructional use of Thinking Maps^® as a “non-linguistic representation” (Marzano, Classroom Instruction That Works), improved the academic skills of our ELL students. Standardized test scores as well as District Assessments and other qualitative measures will support this objective.

Thinking Maps^® teacher survey; McKinley School; February 6^th, 2007

Before T.M. training and coaching, to what degree were you aware of the thinking processes during instruction time?
In looking out the data, prior to T.M. staff development, 68 % of teachers at McKinley School felt that they had a moderate understanding of the thinking processes during the instruction time.

After T.M. training and coaching, to what degree were you aware of the thinking processes during instruction time?
It is apparent from the data that 95 % of teachers from McKinley School are significantly more aware of the eight thinking processes during instructional time. Out of 21 teachers, 10 of them indicated that they are continuously aware of the thinking processes during instructional time.

Before T.M. to what degree were you aware of your students’ ability to consciously transfer the eight thinking processes to content learning?
From the data gathered 90% of the teachers indicated that they were not aware of the students’ ability to consciously transfer the eight thinking processes to content learning.

After T.M. to what degree were you aware of your students’ ability to consciously transfer the eight thinking processes to content learning?
After T.M. training 100% of the teachers from McKinley School have increased their awareness their students’ ability to transfer the eight thinking processes to content learning.

The data gathered over the past three years through the Teams Assisting School Success (TASS) process clearly indicates that teachers are using the Thinking Maps^® regularly during the instructional day.

Download TASS Walkthrough document (PDF File)

As seen in the walkthrough instrument, the term graphic organizers is an indicator of effective teaching practices. The McKinley team used this category explicitly to indicate the use of Thinking Maps^® in classrooms.

See the Menu on the left column at the top of this page for more sections in this case study on McKinley Elementary School in San Jose, California.

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Download the Complete Final Report on McKinley Elementary School as a PDF file.




		Research - Case Studies - McKinley Elementary School Thinking Maps Training Thinking Maps training and instruction have improved teacher effectiveness resulting in enhancing student academic results, especially English Language Learners. English Language Learners (ELL) represent the majority of our students at McKinley School. We wanted to prove that the instructional use of Thinking Maps^® as a “non-linguistic representation” (Marzano, Classroom Instruction That Works), improved the academic skills of our ELL students. Standardized test scores as well as District Assessments and other qualitative measures will support this objective. Thinking Maps^® teacher survey; McKinley School; February 6^th, 2007 Before T.M. training and coaching, to what degree were you aware of the thinking processes during instruction time? In looking out the data, prior to T.M. staff development, 68 % of teachers at McKinley School felt that they had a moderate understanding of the thinking processes during the instruction time. After T.M. training and coaching, to what degree were you aware of the thinking processes during instruction time? It is apparent from the data that 95 % of teachers from McKinley School are significantly more aware of the eight thinking processes during instructional time. Out of 21 teachers, 10 of them indicated that they are continuously aware of the thinking processes during instructional time. Before T.M. to what degree were you aware of your students’ ability to consciously transfer the eight thinking processes to content learning? From the data gathered 90% of the teachers indicated that they were not aware of the students’ ability to consciously transfer the eight thinking processes to content learning. After T.M. to what degree were you aware of your students’ ability to consciously transfer the eight thinking processes to content learning? After T.M. training 100% of the teachers from McKinley School have increased their awareness their students’ ability to transfer the eight thinking processes to content learning. The data gathered over the past three years through the Teams Assisting School Success (TASS) process clearly indicates that teachers are using the Thinking Maps^® regularly during the instructional day. Download TASS Walkthrough document (PDF File) As seen in the walkthrough instrument, the term graphic organizers is an indicator of effective teaching practices. The McKinley team used this category explicitly to indicate the use of Thinking Maps^® in classrooms. See the Menu on the left column at the top of this page for more sections in this case study on McKinley Elementary School in San Jose, California. return to the top Download the Complete Final Report on McKinley Elementary School as a PDF file.