Thoma Thacker has been an elementary educator since 1996, serving as a classroom teacher, literacy coach, adjunct professor, and instructional leader. She was first introduced to Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) in 2003, shortly after earning her master's degree in reading education. Having spent years strengthening her expertise in literacy, she felt it was time to deepen her understanding of mathematics instruction. However, her own negative experiences learning mathematics left her skeptical that young children could successfully tackle complex mathematical problems.

As a first-grade teacher in a high-poverty school, Ms. Thacker struggled to help her students develop a meaningful understanding of mathematics. Although she initially questioned whether CGI was the answer, one belief kept her moving forward: “I knew I couldn't give up on my students.” The turning point came when she stopped focusing on how she would solve a problem and began listening to how her six- and seven-year-old students made sense of the mathematics. She was amazed by the sophisticated strategies her students developed, sometimes requiring her to rethink her own mathematical understanding. As her students' confidence and enthusiasm grew, so did hers. What began as a professional challenge became a transformative journey that forever changed the way she viewed mathematics, teaching, and the remarkable capabilities of young learners.

Inspired by this experience, Ms. Thacker completed an eight-year CGI leadership development program under the direction of Dr. Linda Levi. Since 2013, she has facilitated CGI professional development for educators across the country, helping teachers recognize and nurture the mathematical brilliance within their own students. Some of her most rewarding moments come from hearing teachers share the same joyful discovery she experienced years ago: “My students LOVE math!”

Ms. Thacker believes that the true power of CGI lies in shifting the focus from how teachers teach to how children think. When educators learn to see mathematics through their students' eyes, they discover that even the youngest learners are capable of extraordinary mathematical reasoning. For her, CGI is more than an approach to teaching mathematics—it is a way of honoring children's thinking, building confidence, and inspiring a lifelong love of learning.