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"What" and "how" young children are thinking are typically expressed and shared at home and school through verbal and written modes of communication. As a visual language framework conceived and developed by David Hyerle, Thinking Maps® offers an additional way for learners to represent their ideas by visually mapping their fundamental patterns of thinking. The authors offer a wide range of materials, strategies, and evidence-based practices for implementing Thinking Maps (and the metacognitive framing strategy that each map promotes) in ways that are developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive, and more inclusive with the full range of pre-K to 2nd-grade children. Since 1990, Thinking Maps have been implemented by teachers in over 15,000 schools across the United States and around the world, including countrywide implementation in Malaysia. This guide provides a whole-child approach with practical ideas and best applications for working with emergent readers and writers across developmental domains, curricula, and executive function. This book: (1) Promotes systematic support of every students' cognitive development in whole schools (pre-K-2); (2) Demonstrates how to use visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic activities and materials to increase student engagement; (3) Recommends Universally Designed Learning strategies to ensure full access and inclusion with diverse learners and children with disabilities; (4) Includes graphically designed examples of Thinking Maps across content areas; and (5) Provides examples of student work, lesson planning ideas, and curriculum design based on cognitive education; and (6) Links language and thinking in everyday classroom learning for individual and cooperative learning. [Foreword written by Yvette Jackson.]

This book examines the practical application of visual tools such as brainstorming webs, task-specific organizers, and thinking-process maps. Graphic overviews map the big picture for each chapter and synthesize the key information about each type of tool. Stories, quotes, and insights from parents, students, teachers, administrators, brain researchers, and software developers illustrate how they use visual tools in their everyday work. A complete chapter on thinking maps (eight visual tools based on fundamental thinking skills) and software explicitly shows how these tools have brought about changes in students' reading comprehension and writing from kindergarten through college and into the workplace. The seven chapters are: (1) "The Mapping Metaphor"; (2) "The Networking Brain and Mind"; (3) "Webs of Creativity"; (4) "The Organizing Mind"; (5) "Thinking-Process Patterns"; (6) "Thinking Maps for Reading Minds"; and (7) "Change Patterns." (Contains 89 bibliographic references.) (SM)

The brain works by making patterns, and this process can be visualized through a medium called visual tools. The book discusses three types of visual tools: brainstorming webs, task-specific organizers, and thinking-process maps. Sample lessons, assessments, and descriptions of visual tools in action are included. Emphasis is placed on the interdisciplinary nature of making patterns, as well as the collaborative construction of knowledge, as teachers and students create their own tools and use computer software programs as guides to information management. Visual tools are discussed within the framework of the following themes: (1) constructivism as a paradigm for learning; (2) the types, uses, and successes of visual tools; and (3) a vision of integrating teaching, learning, and assessing through the use of visual tools. Numerous figures represent graphically the concepts discussed in the narrative. (Contains 98 references and a list of selected resources for visual tools.) (MAH)

"If our best thinking comes by making connections and building patterns, then what would these patterns look like, and what might they be based on?"--ask the authors. Most importantly, how could they be used? Developing Connective Leadership shows you how Thinking Maps[R] are an efficient and eloquent language that can be used to explore and reveal ideas, thought processes, and intentions. By creating visual representations of thought, leaders create shared understandings and foster connections among staff. Explore how schools have used the Thinking Maps[R] process to create strong collaborative bonds and facilitate shared leadership. As staff members collaborate to construct a shared frame of reference, they are empowered to execute and sustain the school's vision. Benefits include: (1) Offers real-life experiences from school leaders using Thinking Maps[R] for professional development; (2) Identifies eight Thinking Maps[R] used to build connective leadership practices; (3) Suggests how Thinking Maps[R] can be used to reformulate and reconstruct negative or damaging frames of reference; and (4) Discusses how Thinking Maps[R] can energize and inspire insight and solutions.