Picture Me Thinking

Scaffolding for the Inquiry-to-Writing Process

An Online Course for Middle School and High School Educators

Picture Me Thinking is a research-based, online course on "How to Integrate Inquiry-Based Instruction and Argumentative Essay Writing Instruction." Inquiry and argumentative essay writing skills are high-priority goals in the standards for English Language Arts and across academic disciplines in STEM and social studies. Meta-research on argumentative essay writing shows that blending inquiry and writing instruction is the best way to improve students' academic writing. (D. Miller et al. 2018)

The Picture Me Thinking (PMT) Model provides teachers and their students with a dependable map for collaborative inquiry, argumentation, and problem-solving. Students quickly learn to use the model independently to frame their collaborative work in small groups. When students understand the process, teachers have more time to focus on teaching them how to apply disciplinary core concepts. When the process is consistent across subjects, students are more motivated to learn. PMT supports inclusion of all students in 21st-century learning by scaffolding the core cognitive strategies and reasoning language used for inquiry and writing.

In Professional Learning Communities, the PMT course provides a consistent framework for teacher collaboration on interdisciplinary lesson planning. The six-level, short-video format fits well into staff meetings or teacher preperation periods. Each level contains four videos, averaging five minutes each, plus resources. Topics include learning theory, teaching tools and methods, instruction demonstrations, lesson planning tools, assessments, and peer coaching.

Each of the six levels is $15 for Individual Educators or $90 for the course.

Whole School presentations cost $80 per level or $480 for the full course.

WATCH THE 1.5 MINUTE INTRO VIDEO

Thinking is a Pre-Skill for

Inquiry and Writing!

Our Mission

To help students structure their thinking by providing teachers with research-based tools and methods for including ALL students in inquiry-based instruction. Further, to foster students' cognitive and self-regulation skills for collaborative problem-solving, argumentation, and essay-writing, in line with Career and College Readiness goals and 21st-century skills.

The Challenge

When middle school students enter high school, they should be skilled at writing essays about academic ideas across subjects. Those who struggle to organize their thinking and build evidence-supported arguments are at high risk of failing in grade nine and dropping out by grade ten.

The Solution

The Picture Me Thinking Model provides a framework for bringing inquiry into a social space where teachers and peers can model the process. This makes it easy for teachers to use exciting phenomenon-based content for instruction.

The Outcomes

Meta-research* on field-based instruction shows that combining inquiry-based instruction with essay writing instruction across subjects is the best way to teach students reasoning and writing skills.

* Miller, Scott & Mc Tigue (2018); Writing in the Secondary-Level Disciplines: A systematic review of Context, Cognition, and Content; Educational Psychology Review, v30 n1 p83-120 March 2018.

SHOW ME THE RESEARCH!

Additional Benefits

Accelerate Cognitive Development

When teachers and students use the PMT Model to guide the inquiry-to-writing process, it reduces the cognitive load and frees up working memory for learning new academic concepts.

Develop Social-Emotional Skills

During inquiry, students develop problem-solving and self-advocacy skills. As their ideas are discussed and refined through respectful argumentation students strengthen their writing voice.

In addition, students learn how to use the PMT Model to investigate story structure and personal narrative. This builds resilience and self-determination.

Build Communicative Competence

Dialogue-based instruction scaffolded by the PMT Thinking Scripts and Connecting Vocabulary helps students build oral and written language skills.

Integrate Multi-Media and AI Content

Multi-media resources make core academic concepts more accessible, especially for struggling readers. The PMT Model gives students a dependable process for organizing and analyzing web-based content.

TAKE ME TO THE PMT STORE!

Watch the Intro Video Below

Then go to the PMT Store to add LEVEL ONE to your Video Library!