The New England Thinking Maps Network

It started it Lyme, New Hampshire!
Download and print out this page in Acrobat PDF

Thinking Foundation and Designs for Thinking
Since 1989 there have been dedicated educators using and researching the effectiveness of the Thinking Maps in New England.  Now, Thinking Foundation and Designs for Thinking are launching the New England Thinking Maps Network.  We are systematically supporting a growing network of educators in New England who are implementing Thinking Maps and, with support from Plymouth State University College of Graduate Studies, improving teaching, learning and leadership across New Hampshire.
More information? 
Contact David Hyerle at dhyerle@sover.net or call 603.795.27
Download the article Lyme's David Hyerle invented Thinking Maps (Acrobat PDF file).

Thinking Foundation Blog
Thinking Maps Training of Trainers:
The Thinking Foundation Blog begins with collaborative ideas from New Hampshire Thinking Maps users. Some questions to get the conversation going:

  • What were your impressions of Thinking Maps?
  • What have you tried out?  What has been successful?
  • Any stories to share about your first uses of the Maps?
  • Where do you see this going in your classroom and/or school? 

Go to the Thinking Foundation Blog.

Upcoming
Thinking Maps Training of Trainers:
Four New Hampshire SAU’s will be represented at a six day Training of Trainers Certification seminar, beginning Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

Thinking Maps Conference Presentation
Hudson, New Hampshire Physical education teacher, Karyn Misenheimer, Hudson School District SAU 81, will be a presenter at the fourth annual International Thinking Maps Conference, July 14-15, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

(FYI: 50 whole school faculties in Las Vegas have received training and follow-up in the use of Thinking Maps, and Write from the Beginning-Thinking Maps writing program.)

A Short History
David Hyerle, Ed.D., developer of the Thinking Maps® model, moved to Lyme, New Hampshire in the late 1980’s and established Designs for Thinking as a consulting group conducting training for elementary and secondary teachers. In the early 1990’s, Thinking Maps, Inc. was co-founded by David in the Research Triangle of North Carolina in order to focus on teacher and administrator professional development for whole school change, nationally and internationally. 

Larry Alper, former principal in Brattleboro, Vermont became Co-Director of Designs for Thinking in 2002. Larry will be supporting the NE Thinking Maps Network through direct training, follow-up and ongoing documentation of the work in classrooms.  Larry is one of handful of nationally certified Thinking Maps trainers for conducting “Training of Trainers” and leadership seminars for facilitating professional learning communities.  He is lead author of “Thinking Maps: A Language for Learning” and co-editor of “Student Successes with Thinking Maps®” (2004, Corwin Press), and is one of the founding members of Thinking Foundation.

Presently, over 5,000 whole school faculties have been trained from Lebanon, NH to London, England, from Syracuse, NY to Singapore. David has never left his home in Lyme and in 2007 he founded Thinking Foundation as a grant funding nonprofit organization supporting educators in conducting research on Thinking Maps and other approaches for developing “Thinking Schools.” 

David Hyerle is presently an Affiliate Professor and Visiting Scholar in the College of Graduate Studies at Plymouth State University, collaborating with Dr. Dennise Maslakowski and Dr. Kim Williams.  His new comprehensive book, Visual Tools: Transforming Information into Knowledge will be available in July, 2008 (Corwin Press).  The text includes a preface written by noted researcher Dr. Robert Marzano and a introduction by Dr. Art Costa, a leader in the areas of thinking processes instruction, Habits of Mind and Cognitive Coaching.

References and Resources
As a starting point for the New England Thinking Maps Network, we have pulled together some of the work from the field.  Below are journal articles, chapters from books, action research, newspaper articles, an NHPR audio interview, and graduate level research written by educators from New England about the implementation of Thinking Maps across elementary and secondary schools.

The Metacognitive School:
Creating a Community Where Children and Adults Reflect on Their Work
Jeffrey M. Spiegel, Ed.D.
Principal, Hanover Street School, Lebanon, New Hampshire
The New Hampshire Journal of Education, Volume II, 2003
“What happens when an entire school makes a fundamental shift in its thinking? This article describes the developmental expereinces characterizing the school's evolution as a metacognitive school.”
Download the article The Metacognitive School: Creating a Community Where Children and Adults Reflect on Their Work (Acrobat PDF file).

Plymouth High School, New Hampshire: Visualizing Thought Process
Helps Students Transition to High School
In the special education department of Plymouth Regional High School in Plymouth, New Hampshire, Julie Fogarty and Maura Dougherty have been reflecting on the necessary components for students to successfully transition from high school to post high school. Our special education students work with the same case manager for four years. This unique situation allows us to work closely together in creating post secondary goals and in identifying and taking the steps necessary to reach those goals. We have worked with our colleagues to develop a transition portfolio to meet our students’ transition needs. We have come to see the value in including a reflection component within the transition portfolio.
 Go to the Plymouth High School, New Hampshire case study.

Inviting Explicit Thinking: Thinking Maps Professional Development
Masters Degree Thesis by Sarah Curtis
Antioch New England Graduate School, New Hampshire, 2001
Summary: Using interviews, teacher and student documents, and surveys, this study shows how Thinking Maps training and follow-up directly support teacher thinking and reflection.

Presently, Sarah Curtis is Assistant Principal at the Ray Elementary School in Hanover, NH.  She was using Thinking Maps over her seven years of teaching at Hanover Street School before becoming a leading national trainer for Thinking Maps, Inc. and continues to author new works and conduct workshops for Thinking Maps, Inc.  Her most recent writing on Thinking Maps, “Mapping the Standards” will appear in “Visual Tools: Transforming Information into Knowledge” (Hyerle, D. in press, Corwin Press: release date July, 2008)
Download the Master's Thesis Inviting Explicit Thinking: Thinking Maps Professional (Acrobat PDF file)

Student Successes with Thinking Maps
Chapter 15: 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 15 and view the corresponding video clips

Learning as a Visual Process
New Hampshire Public Radio
June 20, 2002
David Hyerle, Ed.D., is a guest on the New Hampshire Public Radio program The Front Porch hosted by John Walters. "David Hyerle is an educator with a radical notion- teaching students HOW to learn. In his method, students aquire a "tool box" of what he calls "thinking maps." Thinking maps are learning techniques that help students organize information visually. He says his method helps people nor only retain what they are taught, but use it creatively."
Listen to the NPR radio program The Front Porch interview with David Hyerle. (30:00)

Student Successes with Thinking Maps
David Hyerle, Editor with Sarah Curtis and Larry Alper coeditors
Corwin Press, 2004, Thousand Oaks, California
Chapter 9: Thinking Technology
Daniel Cherry, M.Ed.
Thinking maps and Thinking Maps Software comprise a set of tools to integrate technology with pedagogy focused on higher order thinking with the potential to create positive, systemic change in education.
read more excerpts from chapter 9 and view the corresponding video clip courtesy of Video Journal

Parents and Teachers Working Together in the 21st Century
David Hyerle, Ed.D.
The Upper Valley Parents' Paper, November 2000
The Upper Valley of New Hampshire has a great Parent Paper!  David was asked to write a monthly column for the Parent Paper on new educational approaches that parents could also use as they bring up their children. This is one column focused on Thinking Maps.

“Why not use mapping techniques for the learning process? For the past few decades mind mapping (also called semantic mapping), graphic organizers, and concept maps have been used by folks in the workplace and by many teachers. Now many teachers are using some form of these visual tools on a daily basis. Right now these graphics are showing up across the content areas, in published textbooks, and even within standardized tests. There is a strong history of research on the usefulness of these tools..”
Download the article Parents and Teachers Working Together (Acrobat PDF file).

Learning Prep
West Newton, MA
December 2007
Since September 2002, student performance at this school has improved as demonstrated by an increase in vocabulary acquisition, concept attainment, an ability to make connections, and an ability to establish relationships. The students' overall learning process has been facilitated by the use of these visual tools. Using Thinking Maps, students have able to develop cognition and comprehension strategies in order that they may bridge the gap between current and projected abilities. As evidenced by the 2002 MACS Retest scores, Thinking Maps have proven to be an integral tool for students to retain and retrieve content, attain concepts, and forge connections. Teachers' fluency with Thinking Maps is tracked as well, to ensure that students are receiving the maximum benefit possible.
Go to the Learning Prep School Case Study

Improving Reading Compehension Through Visual Tools
Masters Degree Thesis by Cynthia Manning
Eastern Nazarene Graduate School, 2003
Summary: Reading comprehension in learning disabled students can be increased with the classroom implementation of visual tools. Student performance was measured using MCAS reading scores before and after the introduction of Thinking Maps, i.e., a set of visual tools which are centered on the development of eight thinking processes. By integrating this common visual language throughout the school's curriculum, it was projected that more effective and efficient learning would be achieved. Assessment results indicated that reading comprehension was increased; it was also observed by classroom teachers that levels of performance rose overall in the following areas: concept attainment, reflective thinking, recall, retention, writing (quantity and quality), creativity, motivation, and cooperative learning skills. These findings are congruent with a multitude of research studies and support the position that student performance can be increased with the implementation of visual tools.
Download the Master's Thesis summary Improving Reading Compehension Through Visual Tools (Acrobat PDF file)
Download the Master's Thesis Improving Reading Compehension Through Visual Tools including student examples (Acrobat PDF file)

New Englanders take the Lead:
More excerpts from Student Successes with Thinking Maps
David Hyerle, Editor with Sarah Curtis and Larry Alper coeditors
Corwin Press, 2004, Thousand Oaks, California

Chapter 16: Mentoring Mathematics Teaching and Learning
Kathy Ernst, M.S.
Kathy lives in Brattleboro, Vermont and has worked extensively in the area of improving mathematics instruction.  She is an instructor and mentor at Bank Street College in New York City, conducts in depth training in mathematics, and is a certified Thinking Maps trainer.

“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 helpful—thank you.”
Teacher (after Kathy and colleague used the Flow and Multi-Flow Maps in post-conference supervision conversation)
read more excerpts from Student Successes with Thinking Maps chapter 16

Chapter 17: Thinking Maps: A Language for Leading and Learning
Larry Alper, M.S.
Larry Alper was an elementary principal in Brattleboro, Vermont for 18 years.  In his last three years as a school leader, he guided the implementation of Thinking Maps in his school, and then began working with David Hyerle as Co-Director of Designs for Thinking in Lyme, NH.  He was the lead author for the new applications of Thinking Maps for facilitating professional learning communities, Thinking Maps: A Language for Leadership and is one of just a half dozen national certified Thinking Maps Trainer of Trainers.  

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

Click here (pdf file) to download Research Highlights from
Student Successes With Thinking Maps

Thinking Maps for Multiple Modes of Understanding
Dissertation by David Herle, Ed.D.
U.C.Berkeley, 1993
This study is an introduction to the theoretical foundations for and practical classroom uses of thinking maps as student-centered tools for constructing personal, interpersonal, and social understandings... Thinking maps are also introduced in this investigation as interactive tools for use in key areas of educational change at the turn of this century: for the development of students' thinking and metacognitive abilities, perspective-taking and multicultural education. organization for research and writing, and for interdisciplinary learning. In addition, an assessment rubric based on holistic scoring of thinking maps is presented as a framework for viewing the development of students' thinking and content learning over time.
Download the abstract for the dissertation Thinking Maps for Multiple Modes of Understanding (Acrobat PDF file)
Download the complete dissertation Thinking Maps for Multiple Modes of Understanding (Acrobat PDF file)