How is TeachThink Different?

TeachThink is different than traditional outside-of-school instruction in that it focuses on higher-level thinking skills and crucial “old-school” concepts simultaneously by immersing students in modern information structures and media–not worksheets and other non-engaging learning materials.

The most common type of supplementing instruction students receive outside of normal school hours is “tutoring.” This usually involves a battery of tests (that may or may not be relevant to the student, but always give the appearance of credibility), identification of weaknesses, and yet another round of one-size-fits-all instruction similar to what was received in the classroom the first time. Since tutor-to-student ratios are much smaller than typical class sizes, and the visibility of student effort and progress is much higher in this setting to both the tutor and the parents, “progress” is often made. However, progress towards what?

If tutoring can be thought of as rough patchwork of potholes on an old road, TeachThink allows students to create a new pathway entirely. The core of TeachThink is highly-relevant and rigorous unit design, where students are taught these both basic and higher-level thinking skills through “21st century skills” lens, given strategies and practice so that they might learn to evaluate, restructure, analyze, and re-purpose information in innovative ways that are immediately recognizable and relevant to the learner. Music, technology, web 2.0 (wordpress, youtube, iTunes, timerime, Voicethread, etc.,) art, texting, and other “out-of-the-box” media are consistently put to use by students in new and creative ways that force students to evaluate, problem solve, and collaborate using materials that are relevant in modern social structures.

What are the characteristics of the TeachThink learning program?

Characteristics of a TeachThink learning program:

• designed to promote resourcefulness and cognitive independence
• focus on rigorous work with modern and relevant learning materials
• learner-centered and differentiated
• standards-based instruction
• mix of traditional, individual assignments with more project-based learning
• provides easy to appreciate–and understand–evidence of student growth
• focuses cooperatively on both skills and concepts

How does TeachThink differentiate?

TeachThink will guide the learner in units of instruction individualized by:

• learner interest
• approximate reading level
• learning style
• entering and progessing mastery of ACT or SAT national college-readiness standards, or current state and other local standards

See also:

http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/

www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/crs.pdf