Innovation

When we think about learning as a society, we think about those who have taken advantage of the learning ideas given to them and made movements that have impacted others. But what we neglect to see is that although education has played a great role in their achievements it is the way they interpret their ideas that makes them standout. Learning is ever-changing and us as a society want the next generation of students to lead the way to great advancement. It can be subjective and based on the individual, but once we understand that because everyone comprehends an idea differently than that differentiation can lead to great collaboration. Which is why CEO and founder, Eileen Murphy created ThinkCERCA, a growth-mindset company intended to change the way students learn. She worked with over 100,00 students in Chicago Public Schools, helping start one of the number high schools in the city, Walter Payton High School, and felt a need to do more to prepare students for the world past the classroom. Students understand education in different ways, and everyone has their own experiences and perceptions of what they hope to gain out of their education. ThinkCERCA is personalized learning for each student to help them increase their critical thinking skills by collaborating with others, understanding new learning concepts, and gaining creativity in the way they understand their ideas. All of these learning initiatives are done virtually and controlled by the teacher and how she wishes to lead her lesson.

ThinkCERCA focuses on close reading and writing to increase critical thinking skills targeting four core subjects; ELA, Social Studies, Science, and Math. It is used by both the student to learn new ideas and concepts online, but also used by the teacher to differentiate and design a lesson based on their already planned curriculum. In my interview with Connor Chelsky, Chief of Staff at ThinkCERCA, he explains, “education is a building block for a lot of other issues in society”. It is not what we learn, but how we choose to understand that learning which makes an impact. Connor goes on to say, “It not only improves your reading and writing ability, but it also improves your ability to concisely and clearly convey your opinion to different stakeholders which is a really unique skill.” Making sure students have the capabilities and resources to explain their ideas is what ThinkCERCA is trying to achieve.

Inspiration

Learning cannot be used in ways that only benefits one idea, because then it is not interchangeable to multiple people. Connor Chelsky describes Eileen’s eye-opening moment about ThinkCERCA was when she was teaching. She had three students, and each of them had different learning capabilities, with ThinkCERCA they were all able to ask questions and ponder on the ideas brought up. Chelsky states, “you always look for that engagement, that spark, that participation, that critical thinking, and the ability to converse with one another which is so important in the classroom and building skills for the 21st century.”

ThinkCERCA creates that differentiation needed within the classroom to give each student the opportunity to understand a subject, even if it may be interpreting the concept in their own way. Like mentioned, Eileen wanted to prepare student’s for work outside of the classroom and being able to explain their thoughts in a manner that makes them stand out from others. If you have a good foundation of education then the rest should be come easier, Chelsky adds, “education at its core solves so many issues down the road”. Showcasing how education starts your path to success and how you choose to explain those ideas creates an impact.

Overall impact

The innovation has gained world-wide recognition from 26 Ed-Tech Product and the Atlantic Research Partner Study. Which reveals the tremendous success ThinkCERCA has had compared to other critical-thinking based companies. There has been studies showing two years of reading growth, 6.29 test scores gained above the control group on the NWEA MAP test, 4x growth above the next-best product in the study (ThinkCERCA.com). With the success they see in numbers, they also see success in the way they’ve impacted the individuals and society. Connor states, “My Director of Success was a former teacher and she found ThinkCERCA and started crying because it was exactly what she was looking for.” Students are not the only ones being affected by this product, it is obvious to say that teachers are impacted as well. Because, again, learning is differentiated on the individual. It is nearly impossible to expect teachers to understand the thought process of every one of their students and teach in a way that caters to all. Which is why teachers are so grateful to ThinkCERCA for creating a product that is flexible to their learning rubric but also presents ideas to students specifically catered to their learning style.

ThinkCERCA also creates wide diversity in the students that it reaches, Connor states, “This is a tool that can be used by students rich, poor, black, or white and I think this makes our tool unique”. The ability to not only read the impacts that it has made, but see the impacts based on the wide diversity of students that use the product and are successful within the product proves its success.

Business benefit

ThinkCERCA is a small company that is ever-growing and ever-changing. Making those working for the company constantly challenged with what is new to come with the business. Connor reflects back to the time he did not work for ThinkCERCA, and rather worked for a Social Impact Venture Fund, which was one of the early investors of the company. Because ThinkCERCA is a small company, there are great expectations for them to grow and reach even more students nationally. Even though it has already gained awards based on its hard to ignore results, ThinkCERCA wants to be able to reach each student and have them use the innovation to increase their critical thinking.

It has created great collaboration with all types of individuals and all types of expertise in their company. They have academic advisors, professors, and business experts to make sure they are targeting all aspects of the business and everyone is able to bring in their own ideas.

Social and environmental benefit

Education is the key to any type of success. Whether it’s learning in the classroom or in real-world experience everyone is constantly getting educated. ThinkCERCA’s innovation has made education easily understandable for all types of individuals no matter what situation or learning experience they have. If students are able to think critically because of ThinkCERCA then our next generation of students will be able to make great advancements because of how they take advantage of their education.

When ThinkCERCA first opened it was merely just paper lessons for students to think critically. Now that it has gained more recognition, investments, and awards it has transformed into virtual learning. Increase in technology in the classroom will become prevalent the more ThinkCERCA is used, and advancements to the education system will become obvious. This takes the business into a tremendous step towards the 21st century classrooms.

It brings all types of students together and gives them the ability to learn on an equal playing field. Giving no student the idea that they can not learn a subject one way because there are multiple ways. Creating this accessibility to learn multiple subjects by targeting their critical thinking skills gives students the preparedness for life outside of the classroom.

Interview

Connor Chelsky, Chief of Staff