ThinkWorks News
Virginia School District Embraces Thinking Skills
July 25th, 2008
Fairfax, VA - As students in Fairfax County, Virginia head back to school this fall,
they will be greeted by a new program of studies in early childhood. In collaboration with ThinkWorks, the county's early childhood programs have revised their Program of
Studies to include thinking skills. Teachers,
curriculum designers, and school administrators worked with ThinkWorks
to infuse timeless thinking skills into their existing educational standards. Debby Fulcher, Coordinator in the Department of Instructional Services for Fairfax County Public Schools said that, "with ongoing feedback and support, ThinkWorks has
enabled our department to create a coherent, vibrant curriculum that
infuses thinking skills into our Program of Studies."
The collaboration between FCPS educators and ThinkWorks resulted in a new approach to learning. Instead of choosing between content knowledge and thinking skills, the revised curriculum couples the two goals. "We know that our students need to pass tests in school," Fulcher said. "But they also need to be able to think."
Virginia's state standards, the Standards of Learning, have been hailed as the nation's most comprehensive, clear and specific. The American Federation of Teachers recently rated the standards used in state schools. They only awarded one perfect score, and it went to Virginia.
Educators in Farifax County, however, were not content with this distinction and pushed for a greater emphasis on thinking skills. "Teachers in our county have long been hyper-focused on the Standards of Learning in their quest to ensure that the children pass the grade-level assessments," Fulcher observed. "As a result, instruction often becomes a regurgitation of isolated facts which are devoid of generating any understanding of the big idea or essential understanding."
Fulcher explained that there is "great excitement in our county among administrators, teachers and central staff!"
Fulcher found immediate practical application for the thinking skills. "What amazed me was that we actually used the thinking skills while creating this curriculum model. Instead of brainstorming and throwing more ideas out there, we were using the same Patterns of Thinking that our students will start learning this Fall. It was incredible."