A Research-Based Innovation
Karen Amende developed the Picture Me Thinking Model in the classroom, and then researched and refined it in the doctoral program in education/psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.
Her field research (Amende Thesis, 2008) showed that diverse students in grades 6 -12 could easily learn to use the model a) to structure their collaborative inquiry, and b) to outline evidence-supported arguments for strong essays.
Average increases in essay scores over 6 weeks were 38%, using a rubric aligned with scoring for standardized tests.
Guiding Vision and Theoretical Influences
Karen's research proposed that students have differing abilities to infer the rules and strategies that experts (teachers) model as they reason (A. Bandura), conceptualize (S. Carey), theorize (A. Gopnick), problem-solve (R. Case), and voice their ideas (L. Delpit), during argumentation (Driver, Newton & Osborne; Toulmin) about how to apply academic concepts (F. Keil).
These differences have a significant impact on the academic performance of students residing in disadvantaged rural, suburban, and urban environments (J. Mahiri), where discourse instruction methods are less common and basic skills are the greater focus of instruction. In short, economically disadvantaged students have less opportunity to learn reasoning.
Students who are not given an explicit and systematic path for cultivating reasoning skills will face delays in cognitive and language development, which will harm their prospects in academics, in the workplace, and in interpersonal relationships.
Scaffolding that explicitly builds reasoning and language skills is necessary for educational equity to be realized. The Picture Me Thinking Model meets this need by providing structure and vocabulary for integrating inquiry and writing.
Meta-research* (Miller et al.) on field-based instruction shows that combining inquiry-based instruction with essay writing instruction, across subjects, is the best way to improve students' reasoning and academic writing skills.
The graphic/verbal Picture Me Thinking Model is easy for teachers and students to visualize, internalize, and apply across disciplines to scaffold the inquiry-to-writing process in grades 5-12. Success boosts motivation! (C. Dweck)
* Miller, Scott & McTigue (2018); Writing in the Secondary-Level Disciplines: A systematic review of Context, Cognition, and Content; Educational Psychology Review, v30 n1 p83-120 March 2018.
