Davis Thomas Elementary Middle School Principal Alicia Lambert explains about the eight thinking maps used by students in every content area taught in the school. Tucker County BOE members held their regular meeting Monday at DTEMS and had the opportunity to ask questions about the graphic organizer techniques intended to correspond with eight different fundamental thinking processes the students are using as visual tools for learning.
By Beth Christian Broschart
The Parsons Advocate
THOMAS – Davis Thomas Elementary Middle School has been piloting a program called Thinking Maps and Tucker County BOE members learned about the design and how it is helping DTEMS students organize and become better thinkers. Principal Alicia Lambert said the use of Thinking Maps of academic content made by students is meaningful because they link their own emotional frames of reference and ownership of their thinking processes and learning.
Lambert said there are eight learning maps and said they are used in every content area across every grade level.
“They are circle maps used to described the definition of something, bubble maps are used for describing, double bubble maps are used for comparing and contrasting, tree maps are used for classifying, brace maps are used to show the part to whole and is good for using in math, flow maps are used for sequencing, multi flow maps are used to show cause and effect and bridge maps that are used for analogies.”
Lambert said the end game for all the maps is writing. “Being able to brainstorm all of these ideas into these maps and use what is in the maps to write,” Lambert said. “That’s where we are going with this next year.”
She said the maps help kids organize their thinking. “Once they have been trained in each map and what to use those maps for, it really becomes second nature to them.”
Lambert said one of the DTEMS teachers will be trained by RESA to be an in-house trainer for the Thinking Maps program so there is someone in the school who can facilitate questions within the school.
“We really like what we are seeing with Thinking Maps so far,” Lambert said. “To be successful, we need to have that person here in the school who can address any issues we have with it. The kids like it and you can see them playing with it during recess. We have had parents call and ask what the map thing is you are doing in school.”
Lambert said parents have called and said they are making a grocery list and the kids are adding a thinking map. “I tell them it is just their way of thinking and organizing.”
BOE President said she thought TVEMS would be using the Thinking Maps program for next school year.
“I think they are,” Lambert said.
DTEMS PTO vice president and LSIC member Tina Bonner told BOE members PTO was going well.
“This year we focused on raising funds to restore the gym – getting a new gym floor and bleachers,” Bonner said. “The cost is $34,000 for the floor and $34,000 for the bleachers, so we are looking to raise $75,000. Right now, we have about $15,000. That’s not bad – we are chugging away.”
Bonner said DTEMS main fundraisers are the Fall Carnival and the cow drop.
“We also do Run for It and have created our team for this year,” Bonner said. “We had a Lulu Row fundraiser this year and made about $300. We are always looking for ideas for fundraisers.”
Also during Monday’s meeting BOE members were asked to approve the superintendent’s recommendation to hire J. Isaac Kahler as CTE math teacher at Tucker County High School for the 2016 to 2017 school year. BOE members approved the recommendation with Janet Preston, Judy Fairbanks and Bud Parsons voting for the motion, while Tim Turner and Kevin White voted not to accept the recommendation. BOE members voted unanimously to accept a leave of absence request for Heather Lantz, who is the music and theater teacher at TVEMS.
The next meeting of the Tucker County BOE is slated for 4:30 p.m. May 16 at Tucker County High School. Tucker County High School Baccalaureate is scheduled for 6 p.m. May 25 and TCHS graduation 6 p.m. May 26. The tentative last day of school for Tucker County students