Thinking at every desk. The Film.

Not just a movie. A movie that starts a movement.

What happens when two award-winning educational researcher-innovators (Derek Cabrera and Laura Colosi), an award-winning film maker (Deborah C. Hoard at PhotoSynthesis Productions), and a few thousand Kickstarter Backers (You) get together to change the world? They change the world.

Watch the short video above to hear about our film and our vision for changing the world. Take a look on the right side column to see how you'll be a part of things as a backer and the rewards for each level of contribution. We've also provided lots of details below or feel free to contact us if you have questions. 

Kickstarter is a popular web platform for crowd-based funding. Remember that the rules of Kickstarter mean that if we don't raise our goal amount within the allotted time, we don't get any of the funds (they are returned to you). We don't have much time so please become a backer, and then tell your friends right away on Facebook, twitter, linkedin, and google+ about our efforts!

We will produce a great film that's going to change education and the world for the better. You'll be a change agent and an integral part of something visionary.

If you want the full background on our vision, our story, and our film, visit our http://thefilm.thinkingateverydesk.org

Our Story

We're two faculty members who shared a common frustration that our students at an Ivy League university–arrived unable to think.They could pass any test we gave them, but when we asked them to solve an unstructured problem, they struggled mightily. We saw this notable lack of thinking skills all around us. In society at large, in our own university students, and in research and practice. We started our effort to change our educational system almost a decade ago with a Vision to get "thinking at every desk". Research, common sense, and experience tells us that getting our students to think is the #1 thing we can do to create better students, better schools, better employees and bosses, better politicians and systems, better citizens, and a better society.  

After years of traveling across our nation and crossing oceans we have helped tens of thousands of teachers in all grades bring thinking skills into their existing classroom curricula. The result?  Increases in test scores, deep understanding, higher transfer, and metacognition among their students.  How did this happen? teachers simply shifted their focus to not only WHAT they are teaching our students but also HOW students are learning (aka thinking) about the subject matter. We all know that our students are better prepared for their future if they graduate knowing both “what to know” (content knowledge) and “how to know” (thinking skills). We know that the over-emphasis on test scores and standards is creating children who are information-full but not knowledge-able. As Americans, we know that our government “derives its just powers from the consent of the governed” but if the governed are not thinking — their consent is meaningless. Thinking is not merely a developmental imperative for each student, it lies at the core of our American competitiveness, and is essential for our children to thrive. 

The root of the educational problem is that our current thinking about education relies on paradigms that are old, linear, and industrial where they need to be principled, systemic, and ecological.  We don't need to blame any one. We don't need to overhaul our whole system. We don't need to legislate or mandate a political solution. We just need to focus on those 60 million teachable moments that happen everyday--where teacher, student and idea come together--and make sure thinking is part of the equation.  Students need to master the content, and develop a deep understanding of how they came to understand it. In school districts from coast to coast we have seen students, regardless of age, race, socio-economics, learning abilities, etc., bring meaning to information by using the same universal thinking skills. These thinking skills can easily be developed in every student — our two decades of academic research tell us so — and what we have witnessed first hand confirms all of our original hypotheses. 

Now that we know what we know, we want to share it. We want to shout it from the rooftops in hopes that everyone will benefit. This documentary film is the next step of this journey. We need you to come with us, be heard, and help us get it done. 

The Power of Film

Film is a powerful medium for broadcasting what we know, for demonstrating all that we have learned, and no one knows the power of film better than Deborah C. Hoard, President of PhotoSynthesis Productions, and producer/director of the award-winning documentary, "They Call It Myanmar" (among many others). When Deborah heard our story she instantly jumped on board, it was a fait accompli. We would make this film!

That's the story of this film. We need to make this film. And this film needs to be made.

Help us out!

We need your help with funds but you can also be of great help simply by telling your friends about this effort. Use facebook, twitter, email, linked in, blog, the phone, whatever, to tell everyone you know about this film!

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