our story
Think3d began with a 4th grade teacher’s invitation to a parent to share architecture with his students. The question, “How do you teach architecture to elementary-aged students?” inspired the interdisciplinary collaboration between Allyson Hutton, an architect and Holly Taylor, a professor of cognitive psychology.
Allyson and Holly decided to focus on spatial thinking. An essential, playful and fundamental skill in architecture, spatial reasoning is the ability to visualize three dimensional objects, shapes and spaces and mentally manipulate them, i.e., to rotate, flip, etc. Thinking of the innovative solutions often inspired by the limits of an architecture project and inspired by the award winning PBS documentary film, “Between the Folds,” they designed the lessons using only paper and in the spirit of architectural problem solving Think3d began.
As a Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Director of the Spatial Cognition Lab at Tufts University, Holly recognized spatial reasoning as critical to students’ success in STEM disciplines and also knew of the gap in spatial reasoning training, particularly in elementary education. Holly and Allyson piloted the first lessons in their children’s school, and with the assistance of Jennifer Jacobs, a passionate advocate of STEM education, they implemented the first iteration of Think3d in six multi-grade classrooms at two New York City public schools in Brooklyn. Children and teachers alike applauded the innovative program.
The results were exciting. First, the kids were incredibly engaged in the activities and practiced the engineering design and spatial reasoning in their own time. When Holly assessed the children’s skills with pre and post classic spatial reasoning questions, the scores of the students who participated in the program showed marked improvement in spatial thinking, rising from 59% to 82% accuracy. The control classroom improved slightly, from 61% to 70%, the anticipated result of practicing the assessment tasks.
Recognizing that the program could have a meaningful impact on children’s ability to succeed in STEM disciplines, Allyson and Holly applied for a US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES) grant through Tufts University. They continued to bring the program to students. They collaborated with the Dartmouth College NSF funded Graduate K-12 Project, training STEM graduate students to bring Think3d to local New Hampshire and Vermont public elementary school students.
Tufts University was awarded the Institute of Education Sciences grant, and over the course of the four year federal grant, Think3d grew into an engineering design program spanning multiple years of primary education.
Partnerships between Think3d and schools, teachers, organizations and researchers in the US and abroad continue to take shape. Founded as a Public Benefit Corporation (BCorp), we also created a 501(c)(3) to facilitate bringing Think3d to public schools through partnerships with companies and organizations. Our goal is to inspire and empower students, including those under-represented in STEM disciplines, by positively engaging them in engineering design at a young age and by building a foundation for their success and perseverance in science, technology, engineering and math.
the team
Allyson Hutton
Design and Development
Allyson Hutton, M.A., Architecture, Think3d Co-Founder and Director of Curriculum Design, holds degrees from Dartmouth College and from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture. Her architecture projects include a key role in two projects at Cesar Pelli & Associates; the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT and the Duke Athletic Center/Basketball Hall of Fame in Durham, NC. Allyson taught architecture and urban design at the University of Wisconsin School of Architecture, Milwaukee and at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her work includes the design and development of studio curriculum and of a series of architecture tours of Manhattan. She has lectured on the design process, been a mentor and critic for students as assistant director of the Dartmouth College design studio and collaborated on the implementation of the first annual exhibit of student digital art at Dartmouth College.
Holly A. Taylor, Ph.D.
Research and Assessment
Holly A. Taylor, Ph.D., think3d Director of Research and Assessment, is a professor at Tufts University in the Department of Psychology and is a member of the National Science Foundation-funded Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center (SILC). SILC’s mission is to understand spatial learning and how it can be incorporated into educational programs and technologies. She is excited to be involved with think3d! and its efforts to close the spatial reasoning curriculum gap. Holly received her B.A. in mathematics, with a minor in Psychology from Dartmouth College and earned a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Stanford University.
Jennifer Jacobs
School Outreach, NYC
Jennifer Jacobs, think3d Director of School Outreach, NYC, loves math and holds degrees in Computer Science and Art History from Principia College. Before her children were born, she spent ten years as a Financial Engineer with a major Wall Street firm. She left the paid work force to be home with her newborn daughter, but soon found plenty of volunteer opportunities when her children entered public school in Brooklyn, NY. She tutored math students as a Learning Leader, served on the School Leadership Team for five years and was President of the Parent Association for three years. Passionate about education, Jennifer hopes to continue helping schools improve their instruction by bringing Think3d! into as many classrooms as possible.
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