During the 2010-2011 School Year, Bethel staff will be retraining in the use of Thinking Maps. Orignally, all faculty were trained in the 2000-2001 school year; but with retiring teachers and newly hired teachers, Thinking Maps are not being used in all classrooms in 2009-2010. Additionally, the model has been updated to stress more content area integration and metacognitive skills so there is new information for every teacher.

Thinking Maps® were developed as a language for learning in 1988 by Dr. David Hyerle. There are eight maps in this language that are used by teachers and students (K - 12 and adult education and business) for reading comprehension, writing process problem solving, and thinking skills improvement. Thinking Maps Software is now available for whole learning communities.
www.thinkingmaps.com


Each of the eight Thinking Maps is based on a fundamental cognitive skill such as comparing and contrasting, sequencing, classifying, and cause-effect reasoning. Much like carpenters using a set of tools, multiple Thinking Maps are used as a eight maps icon toolkit by students for constructing knowledge: for improving the basics of reading, writing, and mathematics as well as for problem-solving and the development of higher-order thinking abilities. A wealth of research and published articles supports the use of different types of Visual Tools generally, and Thinking Maps specifically. New brain research provides even greater insights into why most students perform better when using Thinking Maps.


Here are some links you might want to check out:


http://www.mapthemind.com/thinkingmaps/thinkingmaps.html
http://www.thinkingmaps.com/htthinkmap.php3