Returning to Learning Prep - Beyond Words
I remember returning to Learning Prep School (K-12) to find out more about how the Thinking Maps had been working in this West Newton, Massachusetts school. I was taken aback. It is a unique school that serves over 150 communities across the state—for those children with special needs who for whatever reason could not be fully supported by other schools. I also was eagerly anticipating talking with a parent who had been telling everyone that the maps had profoundly affected her daughter—not just in school—but also as tools for supporting her during a medical emergence. This story told by her mother in the video interview on our home page reinforced a view that I have seen played out around this country: the maps, used together, are a language that directly supports communication between human beings in learning communities and at home … even in a crisis at a Boston hospital. Words alone do not always do the trick, especially when a child has a hard time articulating what is going on in his or her head… or when a child is learning content concepts while also learning a second language. Learners have rich patterns of thinking in mind that cannot always be expressed clearly – vocally or in writing or in hand signals—but they are able to map out their ideas in the moment. I have been to Learning Prep three times over the past five years; this last visit was for two full days with Bob Price to video what is happening there. Amazing interviews with kids, teachers, administrators--even in the day care and after school program!
Dig deeper into all the video and documents about this breakthrough in special education: Check out the full Learning Prep Case Study, download Cynthia Manning’s Master’s Thesis, or view her analysis of the extraordinary results in the last chapter of “Visual Tools for Transforming Information into Knowledge” (Chapter 8). Learning Prep is a school that has been transformed… along with so many of their high school students who passed the MCAS and continue improving their abilities to think and problem solve in the complex world of 21st century life!