This quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of the Thinking Maps® program, a series of graphic organizers, on the achievement of fourth-grade students as measured by a standardized test. The researcher used a nonequivalent pretest-post test control group design to compare student achievement between fourth-grade students in two elementary schools within a school division. A total of 78 students participated in the study; 41 in two classes in the treatment group and 37 in the two classes in the control group. The treatment group received instruction in the Thinking Maps® program for seven months.The instrument used to measure the dependent variables (reading, mathematics, and language) was the Stanford Achievement Test (Ninth Edition). Three four-way ANOVAs, with treatment and control, race, gender, and previous achievement level as independent variables were used to compare the students' scaled scores on the post test. Interviews were conducted with the four teachers to collect data on the treatment and control conditions.The statistical analyses performed on the post test-scaled scores of the fourth-grade students in the study indicated that there was no significant difference between the treatment and control on any of the variables included in this study. While the quantitative analyses could not validate the owner's of Thinking Maps® program claims of improving student achievement as measured by standardized tests, the researcher provides some insight into teachers' and students' reactions to using these graphic organizers as tools for improving classroom instruction. / Ed. D.

In response to the many demands and pressures faced by both students and teachers in public schools, the art teacher in this action research study searched for ways to change her teaching practices to facilitate active inquiry. She utilized Thinking Maps®, a specialized form of graphic organizers, and Inspiration®, a hypertext linking program to promote interdisciplinary teaching and learning. The goals of the study were to increase student engagement, improve learning, and promote higher order thinking in elementary school art classes. The target group was comprised of the third grade students at Saunders Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia. Each third grade students researched the natural world through the lens of a chosen creature. The students then created personalized Inspiration® documents that described their creatures. Faced with limited time and a wide range of student abilities, the teacher used an interactive approach during the following class sessions to facilitate continued inquiry. As a result of this transition, the teaching methodology described underwent a transition from teacher-as-disseminator to teacher-as facilitator. The resulting classroom atmosphere became a student-centered community of learning. The students and the teacher collaborated to ask questions, find answers to those questions, and create relevant links within Inspiration® documents (webs). The teacher found that she could not control the design of the connections within the documents to the degree that she had previously hoped, but new revelations regarding hypertext design were assimilated. The documents produced during this study were forms of authentic assessment that held the potential for use in future teaching.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a significant percent of fourth grade students write well below the basic level. In one elementary school, teachers implemented a new writing program for all students at the school. The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to determine the effects of this writing program A Language for Learning and Write from the Beginning-?¦and Beyond. Bruner's theory of constructivism formed the theoretical foundation of this study. The study included 172 students in third, fourth, and fifth grades. The research questions examined pre- and post-paragraph writing scores, extended writing scores, grammar and usage scores, and scores in mechanics. A single-factor ANOVA indicated a significant difference among the three grade levels in paragraph writing, extended writing, and grammar and usage. A significant difference was also found and among two grade levels and mechanics. Writing achievement improved after implementation of the program. The results of this study could prompt change in writing programs used at the urban public school.

The purpose of this study was to determine what, if any, association exists between Thinking Maps® instruction and student achievement in fifth grade students in Reading/Language and Mathematics as reported by the State NCE scores of the criterion referenced portion of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement Test in 3 Title I elementary schools in northeast Tennessee. The association was examined after 2 years of Thinking Maps® implementation and instruction. Using a quantitative design, the quasiexperimental study included fifth grade students' State NCE scores from 2005 and the same students' State NCE scores from 2003. Scores obtained by fifth grade students who received Thinking Maps® instruction were examined for differences in Reading/Language and Mathematics and were also compared with scores obtained by fifth grade students who did not receive Thinking Maps® instruction for the same 2-year period. Paired t-tests and a 3-factor repeated measures design, repeated on 1 factor, were used to investigate differences in achievement as categorized by Thinking Maps® instruction or no Thinking Maps®instruction for 2 years. The results of the study indicated that there was a significant difference for the Reading/Language means for students after 2 years of Thinking Maps implementation but not a significant difference for Mathematics. There was not a significant difference between the two treatment schools in either Reading/Language or Mathematics. The 2 treatment schools had different percentages economically disadvantaged students. The results of the study also indicated that there was a significant 2-way interaction for Year by School in Reading/Language between 1 treatment school and the control school, the 2 schools with similar percentages of economically disadvantaged students. The findings of the tests of simple effect for the differences between the 2003 and 2005 Reading/Language means for the treatment school showed the 2005 Reading/Language mean was over 7 points higher than the 2003 Reading/Language mean. The findings of the tests of simple effect for the differences between the 2003 and 2005 Reading/Language means for the control school were also significant with the 2005 Reading/Language mean being 6 points lower than the 2003 Reading/Language mean.

The purpose of this study was to determine what difference, if any, exists between the implementation and use of Thinking Maps® and students' academic achievement in Reading and Mathematics as measured over time by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test® (FCAT). Thinking Maps® is a registered trademark of Thinking Maps, Inc. The data were examined after three years of Thinking Maps® implementation and instruction. The design of this study was quantitative, with a nonrandomized control group, pretest-posttest design (Ary, Jacobs, & Razavieh, 2002) that examined the effects on student Reading and Mathematics FCAT scores in one middle school that implemented Thinking Maps® throughout all grade levels and core subjects for three years as compared to student Reading and Mathematics FCAT scores in a second middle school that did not implement the Thinking Maps® program throughout all grade levels and core subjects for three years. MANOVA and Chi-square tests were used to examine student FCAT scores. This study focused on one major question: Do students who have been instructed in the use of Thinking Maps® have higher academic achievement as measured by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test® (FCAT) than those that have not been instructed in the use of Thinking Maps®? Results of this study indicated that students who have been instructed in the use of Thinking Maps® do not have higher academic achievement as measured by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test® (FCAT) than those who have not been instructed in the use of Thinking Maps®. The researcher concluded that other methods of evaluating the implementation of Thinking Maps® and student achievement should be explored.