Flow maps

In an earnest attempt to teach more conceptually, teachers must give students tools with which they can make their conceptual thinking visible. For instance, students can use a circle map (a type of Thinking Map®) to investigate the concept of form while when working with the concept of connection, they can use a double bubble concept map (another type of Thinking Map®).

Making students’ conceptual thinking visible is beneficial for a number of reasons. Students benefit from having “a greater awareness of the significant role that thinking plays in cultivating their own understanding,” (Ritchhart, Church, and Morrison in Making Thinking Visible, p. 15). When students are more acutely aware of their own thinking skills and how they use those skills to construct understanding, they gain greater independence in the learning process. Furthermore, making students’ thinking visible is beneficial for the teacher because it “provides us with the information we as teachers need to plan opportunities that will take students’ learning to the next level and enable continued engagement with the ideas being explored,” (the Making Thinking Visible folks again, this time, p. 27).

The flow map (a type of Thinking Map®) is a tool that students can use to make their thinking visible when they’re working with the concept of causation. (Note: although Thinking Maps aren’t from the Making Thinking Visible text, they fit the definition of a thinking routine, as define by one of its authors here.) When teaching a lesson to fifth graders recently about the short- and long-term impacts of decisions, I decided to put that thinking routine to work with them.

I was teaching a lesson I had written for an economics class I took at the University of Minnesota. Our summative project is to write a lesson using children’s literature to teach an MN Economic Benchmark (2011). I selected this fifth grade benchmark to teach: Economic Reasoning Skills (5.2.1.1.1): Apply a decision-making process to identify an alternative choice that could have been made for a historical event; explain the probable impact of that choice. For example: Decision-making processes - a decision tree, PACED decision-making process (Problem, Alternative, Criteria, Evaluation, Decision). Instead of using a decision tree or the PACED decision-making process as the benchmark suggests, I elected to use a flow map, so that students could see the way that decisions caused subsequent impacts.

As I invited students into the inquiry, I asked them what they knew about Nelson Mandela and Apartheid in South Africa. Then, I showed a short video that gave students a (very) brief overview of what Apartheid was. Once students understood (very) generally the situation in South Africa during Nelson Mandela’s life, I read them the picture book Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson as a way to investigate the connection between decisions and their impacts. As I read, we worked together to create a flow map, showing how the decisions of his parents, and then later on his own decisions, impacted future decisions Mandela would make, which would ultimately impact South Africa, its history, and its people in dramatic ways.

This is the original flow map we created as a class. Please note that students used the abbreviation "N" for Nelson Mandela. Because we were running short on time, I skipped the part about how Mandela went into hiding and fled to Egypt. That is why that decision did not make the flow map that is shown above. Also, I realized after teaching the lesson that we should have added the ultimate impact to the flow map: that Apartheid ended, although that was a major part of our discussion.

Then, in accordance with the economic benchmark and to further investigate the connection between decisions and subsequent impacts, I instructed students to creatively and critically think of an alternative choice that Mandela could have picked at any point during his life, instead of one of the decisions he did make. Students then needed to use the flow map structure to show the probable impacts of that alternative choice (with a clean sheet of paper laying OVER the original flow map). Below are examples of the students’ thinking.

This student decided to change the third decision made in Mandela's life (according to the text). Notice that with this alternative choice, Mandela never became involved in the anti-Apartheid movement, nor did he marry Winnie as was detailed in the book. This student clearly understands how different Mandela's life would have been had he made a different decision early on in his life. 

This student decided to change the fifth decision made in Mandela's life (according to the text). Notice this student understood the impact his decision to give up protesting Apartheid would have had on that set of laws, the history of South Africa, and its people ("Apartheid continued to go on"). 

This student also decided to change the fifth decision made in Mandela's life (according to the text). It is interesting how this student recognized Mandela as a leader because when he decided to give up the anti-Apartheid protests as an "alternative choice" this student recognizes that others would have given up as well. 

Finally, as a way to give students the chance to demonstrate their conceptual understanding of the connection between decisions and their short- and long-term impacts, I asked the students if they could decide to take a break from reading over their 9-day spring break. Students were given the option of showing their thinking in paragraph form or in a flow map. I was checking to see if they understood that the decisions they make today have impacts that will last long into the future.

This student, who decided to demonstrate her conceptual understanding in paragraph form, was able to identify both a short-term impact ("if you don't read you might not be as fast as you could before") and a long-term impact ("I decide to read because it is good for you and later on in my life I will be a good reader") of a decision. 

This student used a flow map to show her conceptual understanding of decisions and their impacts. She too writes about short-term impacts of her decision to keep reading ("I won't get behind in reading") and long-term impacts of the same decision ("I decide to go to college after high school"). 

After reading about how fifth graders used a "flow map" as a thinking routine to construct conceptual understanding, how could you use or have you used "flow maps" in your instructional practice?

I Used to Think ... , Now I Think ...

Making students' thinking visible is important for both teaching and learning. When teachers are able to see what students are thinking about the concepts with which they are working, teachers are better able to understand how they might support their students growth in understanding. Furthermore, making students' thinking visible is advantageous for the students. When they are able to see how their own thinking is growing, shifting, and changing, they're able to better understand their thinking processes, which benefits them in future learning.

In their book, Making Thinking Visible (2011), Ritchhart, Church, and Morrison have included seven Visual Thinking Routines for synthesizing and organizing ideas. "I Used to Think ... , Now I think ..." is a routine that teachers can use to provide students an opportunity to reflect and think about their own thinking (metacognition). It is used "to help learners reflect on how their thinking has shifted and changed over time," (p. 51). Furthermore, it allows teachers to see how students are understanding particular concepts before and after a period of learning, which is important formative assessment data that teachers can utilize as they develop future learning engagements for their students.

Recently, I found myself in a kindergarten classroom with 34 learners. Their classroom teachers were leading the children through an inquiry into how weather influences living things all over the world. During the unit of inquiry, the students inquire into how weather can be observed, recorded, and predicted; how severe weather affects humans' lives; and how seasons can influence living things. As the students learn about these concepts, teachers plan learning opportunities during which their students can engage with the big ideas of change, responsibility, cycles, and pattern.

Understanding this was the direction the teachers were going during this unit of inquiry, I planned a lesson with the students around the concept of "cycles". By working with the seasons at the factual level, I wanted the students to understand that cycles are patterns in the shape of a circle that repeat over and over. Because kindergartners wouldn't be able to articulate that understanding verbally, I was looking to see if they could show me their understanding of cycles by drawing a flow map in the shape of a circle.

Because I not only wanted to check the students' understanding at the end of the lesson, but I wanted to know what they understood about seasons before the lesson began, I decided that the Visible Thinking Routine, "I Used to Think ..., Now I Think" would be a perfect way for the kindergarteners to demonstrate their understanding before and after the lesson.

I began with introducing how a flow map is a tool that allows us to show the order or sequence of something.  I gave students time to show their understanding of seasons using a flow map under the heading, "I used to think". Then, after learning that the seasons go in a cycle (using pictures of a biCYCLE, a motorCYCLE, and the reCYCLE symbol, along with singing the song, "ROUND and ROUND the Seasons Go) students had to show me their new understanding of how the seasons go in a cycle under the heading "Now". Below are some student work examples of how their thinking changed and shifted within the hour lesson.

Student A: This student shows how she understands the seasons run. Notice the linear flow-map, along with the incorrect order of the seasons (spring-fall-winter-summer).

Student A: After the lesson, not only does the student demonstrate her knowledge of the order of the seasons, but she understands the concept that the seasons run in a cycle, not linearly.

Student B: This kindergartner is obviously advanced in his literacy skills. However, he still demonstrates an incorrect understanding of how seasons work.

Student B: After the lesson, the student demonstrates the correct understanding of the cyclical nature of the seasons, along with adjective descriptors of each of the seasons.

Student C: This student demonstrates a correct understanding of the cycle concept before the lesson. Notice how he also labels his graphic organizer "flow map".

Student C: Because the student already demonstrated a correct understanding of how the seasons run in a cycle, he didn't feel the need to draw the cycle again. Instead, he challenged himself (completely independent from teacher direction) and demonstrated his understanding with words - "the sezins (seasons) go in a caieikl (cycle)".

Student D: This kindergartener demonstrates a lack of understanding of print. He was able to copy from the board words and phrases like "flow map", I used to think", "wntr" and "sprg" however they're not in any sort of order and it is hard to understand what his thinking is with regards to the concept of cycles.

Student D: Although this student wasn't able to adequately demonstrate understanding before the lesson, this "Now I Think" demonstration clearly shows he gained not only an understanding of the abstract concept of cycles, but he also is beginning to accurately use print to communicate meaning: W (winter); CC (spring); (su) summer; [backwards] F (fall). Complete with a jack-o-lantern!

Student E: It is unclear what the student understands about seasons or cycles in this "I used to think".

Student E: This student continues to demonstrate a lack of understanding of seasons, cycles, or this particular Visible Thinking Routine.

Although Student E was not able to demonstrate an understanding of the concepts taught, the majority of his classmates were. After this lesson on the concept of cycles, 29 of the 34 five- and six-year-olds (85%) were able demonstrate an understanding of the concept of "cycles". As the classroom teachers continue their study of cycles, seasons, and the bigger idea of "how weather all over the world influences living things", they will have to keep a close watch on those five students who were unable to demonstrate an understanding of cycles and carefully scaffold the learning engagements so that these students too, will be able to access the challenging, significant, engaging, and relevant curriculum going on in the kindergarten classrooms.

After reading about how kindergartners used the Visible Thinking Routine "I Used to Think ..., Now I Think ..." to demonstrate their understanding of concepts, how could you use "I Used to Think ..., Now I Think ..." in your instructional practice?