Teach a person a fact and they will pass tests.Teach a person to think and they will pass the tests of life.

Thinkers Wanted

In 1900, 8 out of 10 jobs involved building things with your hands. In 2010, 8 out of 10 jobs will involve working with ideas. In large part, the bricks and mortar of the industrial age have been replaced. Concepts and connections now lay the foundation for the 21st Century. A recent survey of over 400 employers in the US shows thinking skills are among the most important skills found in new hires. Whether the goal is professional success, personal self-fulfillment, national competitiveness in science and technology, or solving complex global problems, new skills are needed to thrive.

21st Century Thinkers Will Thrive

The demands of the 21st Century point to the need for a kind of “amphibious” thinker. Someone who is: as cognitive as they are emotionally capable, as analytical as they are creative, and as specialized as they are interdisciplinary. 21st Century Thinking™ Skills include six abilities that all people will need in the "knowledge age":

• Critical Thinking: to analyze, deconstruct, and evaluate ideas,
• Creative Thinking: to construct new ideas and lines of thought,
• Systems Thinking: to understand complex patterns in context,
• Scientific Thinking: to observe, hypothesize, predict,and validate with evidence,
• Interdisciplinary Thinking: to unify, transfer, synthesize, and integrate, and
• Prosocial/Emotional Thinking: to build relationships through compassion, concern, and shared experience.

21st Century Thinkers engage in these six types of thinking, each of which is different from but complimentary of the others. Underlying these six thinking abilities are four essential thinking patterns that are timeless and universal.

ThinkBlocks: The Tool that Teaches 21st Century Thinking™ Skills

We don't "get" knowledge from other people like one computer transfers a file from another. Instead, we actively "build" knowledge. Even when we are being taught by an expert, we are constructing new knowledge independently. This is the difference between the old paradigm of thinking and learning, called instruction, and the new paradigm, called construction. The design of ThinkBlocks is based on scientific research in cognitive science, psychology, and education that reveals four universal patterns that underlie the construction of all ideas.  ThinkBlocks are a revolutionary, tactile, educational tool that makes it easy and accessible to teach beginner to advanced thinking skills. The unique design of ThinkBlocks makes them ideally suited to understand and build basic or complex conceptual models. Anything you can think of you can build because ThinkBlocks are designed based on the universal Patterns of Thinking™ Method that includes four essential skills that underlie all six 21st Century Thinking™ abilities:

• Test Distinctions: Compare and contrast between similarities and opposites and test boundaries and meanings,
• Construct Systems: Sort, nest, and categorize using part-whole thinking,
• Recognize Relationships: Make connections, interactions, associations, and cause & effect explicit, and
• Take Perspectives: See new possibilities from different points-of-view.

ThinkBlocks reinvents the classic industrial-age construction kits like Lego, erector sets, or the wooden block with a new twist – they are multifaceted, hollow blocks with dry-erasable and reflective surfaces that can be stacked, nested, clustered, and towered. The same four simple patterns of knowledge construction that underlie an infinite and evolving world of ideas are also incorporated into the design of ThinkBlocks...Want to know how to get started with ThinkBlocks? Click here.

ThinkBlocks are for Everyone

Everyone needs to think in order to thrive in life. ThinkBlocks teach fundamental thinking skills that are as relevant:

• to the auto mechanic as the quantum mechanic;
• to the preschooler as the PhD;
• in homeroom, the college classroom, or the executive boardroom.

Wherever ideas are being made, ThinkBlocks are there for thinking about any topic you can imagine. ThinkBlocks are used in elementary schools, high schools, and college and university classrooms, as well as in the professional fields such as conflict resolution, counseling, human development, and by organizational leaders and teams. ThinkBlocks are a fun, educational tool for young children ages 4+, but they can also scale up to adults and help to teach thinking skills that are just as relevant to the pre-schooler as they are to a PhD or a corporate executive. ThinkBlocks have no gender, age, cultural, language, skill-level, or subject barrier. They can be used by anyone, anywhere to tackle virtually any topic or discipline. This new tactile educational tool is backed by years of empirical research conducted at Cornell University by scientists who are also parents and teachers.

What's in the box?

The standard ThinkBlock kit retails for $79.99. Contents include:

• Owner Support: Free email support for owners as well as online access to Tutorials, Research, and Resources through our expanding knowledge base, "Thinkipedia"
• 16 Small ThinkBlocks
• 8 Medium ThinkBlocks
• 2 Large ThinkBlocks
• 1 Get Started Guide
• 1 ThinkTiles Starter set (6 tiles)
• 1 Dry erase marker

The ThinkBlocks Classroom/Training kit retails for $299.99. This is a more blocks, no frills kit for teachers and trainers. Contents include:

• Free email support for owners
• Online access to Tutorials, Research, and Resources, and our knowledge base, "Thinkipedia"
• 64 Small ThinkBlocks
• 32 Medium ThinkBlocks
• 8 Large ThinkBlocks
• 16 Dry erase markers

About Owner Support

The amazing thing about ThinkBlocks is that you can do so many things with them. We want to hear from you about what you want to do with them. As an Owner, there are a lot of things you can do to learn more. Have visited Ergo's Lab and tooled around with the online video tutorials, expert talks, testimonials, guided tours, blogs, and other activities? Or, have you tried our expanding knowledge base, Thinkipedia?

Are you looking for a custom solution for your kitchen table, classroom, or boardroom? As a ThinkBlocks owner you have access to free email support.  We work one-on-one with many of our customers, parents, teachers, and executives to combine their topical expertise with our expertise of the DSRP Method--the science that underlies ThinkBlocks. Whether you are looking for the right activity for your child, a lesson plan for your class, or an offsite activity for your organization, please contact us with your question at ergo@thinkandthrive.com.

ThinkBlocks are safety tested by an independent testing company. We have taken every measure to ensure that the blocks are safe. ThinkBlocks are free of harmful materials.

• There is no paint in ThinkBlocks
• ThinkBlocks' magnets are ultrasonically welded inside the wall of the block & cannot come loose under normal use.
• ThinkBlocks are NOT for children under 4 years old

Nothing Here.

At the heart of ThinkBlocks are years of empirical research conducted at Cornell University by scientists who are also parents & teachers. This research reveals four essential thinking skills that are as important to children as they are to adults. The unique design of ThinkBlocks is purposeful; it is both fun & functional. See more at Ergo's Lab