ThinkWorks News
Award-winning Weekly Tells Story of ThinkWorks
September 3rd, 2008
Ithaca, NY - In a feature story titled "Learning to Think," the Ithaca Times profiled ThinkWorks. Managing Editor Danielle Winterton interviewed the company's executives and wrote extensively about their work with educators, the company's history, and its vision for education.
The story begins at the family dinner table of Dr. Derek Cabrera, Founder and CEO of ThinkWorks. It was there, he says, that his father taught him "a love of ideas, how they function and how we make them." These lessons fostered a life-long study, leading Cabrera to research the universal structure of ideas. Winteron connects Cabrera's Patterns of Thinking™ Method with the educational theories of Jean Piaget and Howard Gardner.
Winteron also spoke with local educators about how ThinkWorks impacted their pedagogy. Lee Ginenthal, literacy staff developer for grades 6-12 with the Ithaca City School District, described how ThinkWorks created a model of literacy for the district. "Literacy is more than reading and writing in the 21st Century," Ginenthal noted. "Thinking skills are an important part of 21st Century literacy, as are technology skills and media literacy."
ThinkWorks COO Dr. Laura Colosi described the educational climate that ThinkWorks strives to change. "There's tremendous pressure to teach toward the test," she said, referring to state- and federally-mandated exams. Advocates say these tests measure students' learning. "That's a reality that educators have to face. Students need to be able to pass those tests. But our students also need to be able to succeed outside of that environment. Universal, timeless thinking skills are the solution."
Cabrera noted that this requires a paradigm shift. "We can't afford to take an 'either/or' approach to subject areas and thinking skills," he said. "We can have both curriculum and thinking."
The ThinkWorks executives praised Winterton's work. "I'm impressed with the job Danielle did," Cabrera said. "She managed to capture our ideas about how to improve education in a few pages."
"A few educators have stopped me on the street here in Ithaca. They want to talk about what we're doing," Colosi added. "They recognize the need for thinking skills, and we feed off of that kind of enthusiasm."
For over 32 years, the Ithaca Times has served as the region's community newspaper. Their extensive coverage of arts, politics, and ideas in the Finger Lakes area has earned many awards. "Learning to Think" is available to download in PDF format.