The Thatch Method

A Scientifically-based Approach to Teaching and Learning

Background

In September 1993, I began teaching in the New York public school system as a full-time teacher of Mathematics and Science. I witnessed firsthand how many students struggled to learn mathematics and science in the middle school grades. The spoken and written languages of mathematics and science were to taught on grade level to students who were reading on maybe a 3rd or 4th grade level. Throughout my 10 year tenure in the educational system the following question, How do people learn?, was a part of my thoughts. There has to be approaches to teaching and learning that would be effective and appropriate for any child regardless of socioeconomic status.

My investigations into instructional designs were influenced by my own academic struggles in school from high school to graduate school in mechanical engineering. I had to figure how I learned and continued to ask myself, “How come none of my teachers ever asked how can I present this material to you in a way that makes sense?” Also, in most cases, I was afraid to raise my hand to ask questions or just say, “I do not understand?” I distinctly remember when I gained my voice as a student during my third year in college. I asked the professor to explain it again. After class, a male student came up to me and said “Why are you causing trouble in class?” I asked him, “How am I causing trouble?” He said, “You asked the professor to explain it again.”

Introduction

La Vergne L. Thatch = STREaM = Science.Technology.Reading.Engineering.and.Mathematics is a business. In 2005, I had this vision to meld my academic and professional experiences to provide educational services for students and parents pre-K-14. The Thatch Method is the congruency of the STREaM Tutor Professional Development and STREaM Framework for Tutoring Programs. These two programs were designed as the forms of teaching and interactions (between tutors and students) that occur are located within a Vygotskian praxis of understanding and supporting teaching and learning as they authenticate the effective and appropriate uses of scaffolding (Bruner, 1976).

The diagram below, was developed for the oral defense of my doctoral dissertation. I had conducted a historical trace into the American education system and decided that I would present my study beginning with the Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas 1954 supreme court ruling.