The Visual Tools Program

The program introduces and demonstrates:

• a full array of visual tools.

• For educators at all grade levels
and disciplines

• For students to create, organize, and
conceptualize their thinking

• Even parents may wish to acquire this
program for their children

For early childhood, elementary, secondary, university, life...

The program includes four components:
Facilitator's Guide
This 50 page booklet is a self-guided and facilitator's reference to three resources below and shows how to access these 7 modules titles across all the resources:

Why Visual Tools?
Visual Tools in Practice
Creative Thinking
Analytical Thinking
Conceptual Thinking
Thinking Maps®
Whole School Change and Thinking Schools

1. THE BOOK
"Visual Tools for Transforming Information into Knowledge"
Integrates brain research, practical applications, Habits of Mind across types of visual tools with over 80 visual displays. 200 pages, 6 page prologue by Art Costa and a forward by Robert Marzano (Corwin Press, 2009).

2. ONLINE COURSE
"Visual Tools for Literacy"
This online course has endless resources including 5 hours of presentation time exclusively by David Hyerle chunked into meaningful 2 to 5 minute segments. The course includes PDF slides, key concept reminders, a complete transcript, and 7 assessments and certificates of completion for those wanting college credits.

3. VISUAL TOOLS WORKSHOP
"Visual Tools and Technologies"
Participants from K-12 schools in San Mateo, California engaged in a highly interactive workshop on visual tools led by David Hyerle. The workshop video was edited and David offers mini-lessons on several visual tools and software programs.

4. VISUAL TOOLS VIDEO PROGRAM
"Visual Tools: From Graphic Organizers to Thinking Maps®"
The School Improvement Network (PD360) went around the United States to film classroom activities, interviews with students, teachers and administrators, and graphic summaries using Thinking Maps®. They also interviewed David Hyerle and intersperse key elements of his development of the maps into the video series. This high quality resource (elementary and secondary editions) includes a guide for viewing and offers an awareness level understanding of Thinking Maps as a language for learning.

WHY SHOULD WE USE VISUAL TOOLS?
"School is a home for the mind. School life consists of not only the continuity and use of visual tools across departments and grade levels, but also the use of a shared, common language throughout the organization."
ART COSTA, Ed.D. | International leader in Thinking Process Instruction, developer of Habits of Mind

"the (international) PISA assessments require more advanced analysis and knowledge use…"
LINDA DARLING HAMMOND, Ph.D. Stanford University leader in the field of professional development for teachers

"…visual tools…enable teachers to build on the capacity of the students to think critically through instruction..."
YVETTE JACKSON, Ed.D. | CEO National Urban Alliance

WHAT IS THE RESEARCH?
"Knowledge is stored in two forms: linguistic and nonlinguistically. Research proves that the more we use both systems of representation the better we are able to think and recall knowledge…David Hyerle takes the concept of visual tools to new heights…and expanded the frontiers…"
ROBERT MARZANO, Ph.D. | Researcher and Author,
Classroom Instruction that Works

HOW DO VISUAL TOOLS CONNECT WITH THE BRAIN?
"Neuroscientists tell us that the brain organizes information
in networks and maps."
PAT WOLFE, Ed.D. | Leader in transferring brain research to
classroom practice

HOW DO STUDENTS BENEFIT FROM VISUAL TOOLS?
"I'm able to think easier…[Maps] make things clearer...
I get more between the lines..."
STUDENT, Great Britain

"The maps are like a brain."

"…Maps are the paper of my mind."

David Hyerle, Ed.D. is the creator of Thinking Maps®, co-founder of Thinking Maps, Inc, and author of books on visual tools including "Visual Tools for Transforming Information into Knowledge" and "Student Successes with Thinking Maps®". This work evolved from his doctoral studies at both U.C. Berkeley and Harvard Schools of Education. David is the Founding Director of Thinking Foundation, a non-profit group supporting deep research on thinking process instruction. Presently, David is president of Designs for Thinking and co-director of the consulting group Thinking Schools International.

The Visual Tools Program is available at $85 USD per person and $75 USD per person for 10+ programs on the same order. Consultant training and facilitation is available, along with training of facilitators (trainer of trainers). Please contact Designs for Thinking for more information and to order or go to the resources page for more information and an order form.

The whole program will be available the 1 August 2011.