Upward Thinking Theory (UTT) for Practitioners

By Dr. James Eustache Philemy

About the Book
Discover Upward Thinking Theory (UTT), a cognitive level of explicit learning for grade school students which utilizes the 4-Es: Exposure, Experience, Execution, and Extension. Targeting each and every student, UTT fosters student apprenticeship by promoting independence and sustained community improvement.
Not only does UTT reinforce students’ performance, it also enhances teachers’ pedagogy, supporting teachers in their craft and ensuring their professional growth.

About the Author
Dr. James Eustache Philemy joined the New York City Department of Education in 1989 as a licensed teacher of common branches, grades 1 to 6, after earning a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Applied Math and Statistics from Stony Brook University in 1986. Subsequently, he received his Master’s in Technological Systems Management and Industrial Engineering in 1987. A licensed bilingual common branch teacher, in the year 1994, he received a Master of Science in Bilingual Education from Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus. Dr. Philemy advanced with his post-graduate studies at Bank Street College of Education in 1995, where he earned an M.Ed in Leadership and Administration.
He is currently retired after serving more than 17 years as principal of P.S./I.S. 208 in Queens, and for over 31 years with NYC Department of Education. During the school year 2018/2019, Dr. Philemy served as master principal for the Office of Leadership, NYC DOE, to mentor/coach five newly assigned principals. He has been a lecturer in the Educational Leadership Program for Stony Brook University and Queens College, preparing aspiring school administrators in school budget and operations, leadership theories, and school building administration.
Dr. Philemy studied at Hofstra University for the degree of Doctor of Education in Specialized Programs in Education. He successfully defended his dissertation entitled: “Parents’ Perception: Understanding Parental Involvement Through the Lens of Community-Based Organizations” in May 2017 and obtained his doctorate in Education and Policy Leadership in August 2017.
Additionally, Dr. Philemy is a humanitarian and philanthropist. As such, he co-founded NEGES (Nest for Educational Growth and Environmental Safety) in 1996 and recently, IMODEL (Institut Moderne de Leogane). With a clear focus on energy conservation and environmental protection, NEGES has been providing technical support and educational assistance to the community of Leogane, Haiti, in environmental protection and energy conservation. After the horrific and devastating earthquake of January 2010, NEGES has played an instrumental role in building community awareness by engaging the underserved neighborhoods in grass roots projects that enhance their knowledge of self, family, and community.
Dr. Philemy is fluent in English, Haitian Creole, French, and Spanish, and passionate for the arts. He excels in free hand art, sketching, calligraphy, painting, and more. As an educator, he strongly believes that children should become proficient in the science of the arts and the arts of the sciences. He is very eclectic in his tastes for art and music. He has developed a strong appreciation for world’s art and design. His hobbies include reading non-fiction, music, sports, free hand drawing, and poetry writing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Company
• Release date: Apr 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887298856

Book preview

Philemy_Title_Page.eps

The contents of this work, including, but not limited to, the accuracy of events, people, and places depicted; opinions expressed; permission to use previously published materials included; and any advice given or actions advocated are solely the responsibility of the author, who assumes all liability for said work and indemnifies the publisher against any claims stemming from publication of the work.

All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2023 by Dr. James Eustache Philemy

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted, downloaded, distributed, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without permission in writing from the publisher.

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Preface

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Upward Thinking Theory (UTT) is more than a simple theory. It is a learning and teaching tool that reinforces students’ performance, enhances teachers’ pedagogy, and fosters a sense of curiosity and discovery for all. UTT is very comprehensive. It designs and lays out the foundation for explicit learning to become a practical approach to students and practitioners and proposes a roadmap to lead to individual achievement. Its application would be remarkable if contextualized within a school setting with established structures, progressive systems, and innovative processes.

This theory, at its inception, is conceived in terms of frames, behaviors, tasks, processes, and practices. It emphasizes student agency as a means to empower children to take ownership of their learning and allow practitioners to test, measure, calibrate, and validate their pedagogy. The frames stress the 4-Es of effective school practices: exposure, experience, execution, and expansion/extension. Each frame regulates a particular behavior supported by specific tasks to develop instructional practices relevant to student learning and create an academic environment where children feel free to take risks. All their actions resolve to explorations and discoveries. The concept of making a mistake no longer becomes part of their learning consciousness. This thought process encourages them to enlist in all types of experiments pertinent to their intellectual development within a safe school environment.

The behaviors associated with the four frames are: understand, model, discuss and solve, and check for accuracy. They are purposefully aligned with these respective frames to help practitioners check for understanding by continually taking the pulse of their class and monitoring student learning. Initially, UTT’s main objective was to remedy the lack of performance in mathematics as a critical problem that pervades the education system nowadays. This theory finds its raison d’être (validity) through various applications. However, in its application, all practitioners may find it helpful in crafting their lessons regardless of the domain.

The importance of this theory relies on the fact that it serves as an instructional tool that transcends all subject areas and all domains of learning. In fact, it constitutes the core notion of how teaching and learning should be effectuated in classrooms to develop children’s critical understanding and build a practitioners’ sense of purpose and professional growth. This theory speaks to a deep consciousness on how to impart knowledge to children no matter where they are positioned along the continuum of learning. Through and with the support of its processes, UTT equips the children with the wherewithal to be engaged in their own intellectual development.

This theory fosters collaboration, team building, and trust. Children rely on the expertise and experience of their peers to make sense of their learning, especially when they are confronted with new instructional objectives that are sometimes abstractly grounded in explorations and discoveries.

Although structurally, it has a linear appearance, UTT can be implemented and executed with fluidity in any sequential order that the practitioners estimate necessary to improve student achievement. Since the behaviors as outlined in the UTT are interdependent, interrelated, and interchangeable, the practitioners are not required to follow the steps in the process in the same order presented. The actions are intertwined, and the frames support one another, whether the practitioners are attempting to backload or frontload the curricula in