The Thinking Maps
In this article the authors first surface the
need for reframing formative and summative assessment in this, the cognitive
age of the 21st century. The Thinking Maps model is introduced as a theoretical
and practical common visual language for teaching, learning and assessment that
reflects what we know about how the brain works, learning, and cognition.
Thinking Maps--as a language--allows teachers to see student content learning
and thinking processes through the same bifocal lens—viewing the content at the
surface and cognitive processing more in depth.
 |
| Sample of thinking ma |
After this overview and then a
discussion of the validity of the model, the investigation turns to look at
student work with Thinking Maps as they develop fluency with the tools and the
capacity to transfer the tools within and across disciplines. Formative
assessment of fluency and transfer are described and then the authors discuss
how the maps may also be used within the area of summative assessments, using
the MAPPER holistic scale. The authors investigate how our assessment tools
need to keep pace with our new understanding about how the brain learns and
processes information, offering tools for educators and learners to determine
not only “what” is learned but also “how” it is learned.