Thinking in Action

Notice, Wonder, and Grow
Project Connect Plus 1
Thinking in Action is a free professional development that supports kindergarten teachers as intellect activators by connecting academic standards, playful curiosity-centered instructional routines, and meaningful observational assessment.
It creates a vibrant learning community where teachers and children notice, wonder, and grow.

“I’ve been teaching a long time and it’s not often that you’re part of something that you feel like is actually revolutionizing your teaching.”

—Amy Runkle

“As an administrator, I’m always searching for easy to improve student learning outcomes without over burdening teachers. I’ve see firsthand how these routines have had a positive impact on students and teachers alike, and I’m thrilled with the results.”

—Principal Laurel Mateyka

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“This has been a phenomenal opportunity for our teachers. Being treated as professionals, being part of these PLCs, being kindergarten specific, this has reinvigorated them. It’s just made a huge difference.”

—Director of Curriculum and Instruction Nicole Robinson

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“My class really got into the routines. They would ask me at the beginning of the day, ‘Are we doing Photo Chat today?’ ‘Are we doing Counting Collections today?’ I enjoyed seeing that enthusiasm in them.”

Thinking in Action brings guided play or “intentionally teacher-directed” play to kindergarten classrooms through instructional routines: brief, repeatable learning experiences led by teachers and aligned with learning goals and standards.

By observing, documenting, and interpreting children’s thinking in action during these playful experiences, teachers can make responsive teaching decisions that foster joyful, rigorous learning in language, literacy, and mathematics.

The Illinois General  Assembly passed House Bill 4577, Kindergarten–Play-Based Learning. Governor JB Pritzker signed the bill into law on July 10, 2026, making it Public Act 104-0555, effective January 1, 2027. The law recognizes play-based learning as an essential component of kindergarten education and defines two complementary approaches to play: guided play and child-initiated play.

Thinking in Action Instructional Routines

Thinking in Action centers on learning, implementing, and reflecting on instructional routines designed specifically for kindergarten teachers
supporting children’s transition from early childhood into formal schooling.

Thinking in Action instructional routines are:

  • Structured —  Built around clear learning goals, predictable steps, and minimal preparation, making them practical and easy to implement consistently.
  • Accessible —  Designed as low-floor, high-ceiling learning experiences that naturally differentiate instruction, enabling every child to participate meaningfully based on their language, experiences, and strengths.
  • Flexible —  Work alongside any curriculum or program model, while supporting growth in oracy, literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional learning.
  • Transformative —  Fostering children’s agency, self-regulation, confidence, content knowledge, and positive learning identities through choice, collaboration, and active engagement.

“These routines opened up a window into my students' minds, showing me what they can do, what they know, where their curiosity takes them, how they learn from one another. It guided my daily instruction. far better than traditional paper-and-pencil tests ever could.“

Thinking in Action Offers Teachers

  • Enhanced child development knowledge in mathematics, language and literacy, including dual language development, self-regulation and collaborative learning.
  • Playful, research-based instructional routines to make children’s thinking visible while strengthening formative assessment and responsive teaching.
  • Strategies to incorporate these instructional routines into everyday teaching to support academic learning, social-emotional development, and thriving classroom communities.
  • Techniques to document children’s learning through observations, work samples, and other evidence that supports assessment and reporting.
  • The Power of Instructional Routines: Connecting Assessment and Joyful Teaching in Kindergarten, a book that includes videos and classroom resources to be a  practical guide for integrating playful learning with rigorous instruction.
  • Opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and build a statewide professional network by connecting with kindergarten teachers to exchange ideas and share effective practices.
  • Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Professional Development Hours through a high-quality, kindergarten-focused professional learning experience.

How Thinking in Action Evolved

  • Thinking in Action grew out of  Project Connect, a teacher professional learning program at Erikson Institute from 2021-2024.
  • In 2024, the project’s Founder Jie-Qi Chen, Director Rebeca Itzkowich,Research Manager Anita Evans,and  Martha Pott, worked with a group of project participating teacher and published The Power of Instructional Routines: Connecting Assessment and Joyful Teaching in Kindergarten with Teachers College Press.  The book grew out of the work and learning of Project Connect
  • In 2025, co-directors Jie-Qi Chen and Rebeca Itzkowich launched Project Connect Plus, in partnership with Project Zero and Teach Plus Illinois to expand the work,  connecting rigorous academic content with playful learning in professional development for kindergarten teachers.
  • Thinking in Action, renamed in 2026, continues the work of Project Connect Plus with its focus on curiosity-centered teaching and learning that support teachers and children as they notice, wonder, and grow.

“Because the routines align so beautifully with how children naturally learn and make sense of the world, they tapped into an entirely different level of growth. I was honestly in awe of the insights I gained, insights I would have completely missed otherwise. Ultimately, this allowed me to understand my students' capabilities much faster and more deeply than my usual formative and summative assessments.”

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