Thinking Foundation - Research - Case Studies - Roosevelt Elementary School

Not only can teachers use Thinking Maps to determine the depth of learning of their students, but this language also creates an easy opportunity for an administrator to determine teachers' depth of learning and implementation of Thinking Maps. This is because these tools are visual and become a running record of application, and because the ultimate end user is the student, not the teacher. Often teachers go to staff development workshops and come back excited about what they have learned. However, it is difficult to determine the quality and consistency of the applications over the short and long term.

A quick walk through a classroom looking for evidence of the Thinking Maps and talking with students gave me a good feel for how well they were being used, in what content the maps were being used, and the level of thinking at which they were used. However, the evidence became much more clear as we looked at student work, especially in writing.

As a school, we analyze student writing once a month. Teachers from the same grade level get together, score student work against a districtcreated rubric, and then analyze the work as to what the students do well and what still needs to be taught. Teachers who taught Thinking Maps to students as aids in writing found that the quality of student writing improved (see Chapter 7, Empowering Students). These results were similar for students in kindergarten and in Grade 3. Teachers used these data to make professional decisions as to how to adjust their teaching to better meet the needs of their students. This was done without any intervention or pressure on my part. Teachers made these types of professional decisions based on the results from the student work-the holistic thinking translated into linear writing-from their class.

More information about Roosevelt Elementary School is part of the book Student Successes With Thinking Maps — read excerpts from this chapter and other chapters about the student successes.




		Research - Case Studies Roosevelt Elementary School: Teacher Evaluation and Accountability Long Beach, California Not only can teachers use Thinking Maps to determine the depth of learning of their students, but this language also creates an easy opportunity for an administrator to determine teachers' depth of learning and implementation of Thinking Maps. This is because these tools are visual and become a running record of application, and because the ultimate end user is the student, not the teacher. Often teachers go to staff development workshops and come back excited about what they have learned. However, it is difficult to determine the quality and consistency of the applications over the short and long term. A quick walk through a classroom looking for evidence of the Thinking Maps and talking with students gave me a good feel for how well they were being used, in what content the maps were being used, and the level of thinking at which they were used. However, the evidence became much more clear as we looked at student work, especially in writing. As a school, we analyze student writing once a month. Teachers from the same grade level get together, score student work against a districtcreated rubric, and then analyze the work as to what the students do well and what still needs to be taught. Teachers who taught Thinking Maps to students as aids in writing found that the quality of student writing improved (see Chapter 7, Empowering Students). These results were similar for students in kindergarten and in Grade 3. Teachers used these data to make professional decisions as to how to adjust their teaching to better meet the needs of their students. This was done without any intervention or pressure on my part. Teachers made these types of professional decisions based on the results from the student work-the holistic thinking translated into linear writing-from their class. More information about Roosevelt Elementary School is part of the book Student Successes With Thinking Maps — read excerpts from this chapter and other chapters about the student successes.