The Transformative Power of Education

Husband and wife James and Shaylyn Garrett share a common love and commitment to teaching students and teachers to think critically, co-founding Think Unlimited in 2011 to change the way education is perceived and achieved in Jordan.

What inspired you and your husband to create this initiative?

We heard a lot of powerful actors here calling for critical thinking education, but saw little being implemented in public school classrooms. We also saw students uninspired by their educational experiences. We became determined to develop a fun, interactive, and inspiring program for teaching basic critical thinking skills.

How are you instilling critical thinking in students?

Critical thinking skills such as strategy or decision making come to life for our students when they build them through games and team challenges.  Our curricula also scaffold students upward–starting with simple skills like acquiring and organizing information, and moving them to more difficult skills such as perspective taking and idea generation.

How are you working with the teachers to improve instructional methods?

Each team of teachers we train goes back to their school with a box full of games and activities to use to teach skills like opinion formation, strategy, perspective taking, etc.

Are you looking to expand your programs to other countries?

Yes! However, right now our focus is expanding from our work in public schools to developing a program for university campuses in Jordan.  We feel that this new program will be best suited for scale throughout the region.

As new parents, what words of wisdom would you share with others?

Start early to help your child understand the value of education and to become curious about the world. It’s never too early to spark creativity and critical thinking!

For more info – www.thinkunlimited.org