1. Integrated Design Method
— An Integrated Framework for Thinking
A central goal of education
is helping students learn how to think more effectively.
In our efforts to achieve this goal, one valuable teaching tool is the system
of problem-solving methods used in design and science, as represented in
my
models of Integrated Design
Method (IDM)* and Integrated
Scientific Method (ISM), which
are two aspects of an integrated framework for thinking
skills.
There are two objectives for IDM-and-ISM: to allow
an accurate description of methods (of
what designers and scientists think and do when they are solving problems)
and to be
useful for education.
Integrated Design Method (IDM)
is a model for problem solving. It is a logically organized framework
for thinking skills:
IDM is an integrated
system that shows how different aspects of thinking are related and how
they
can be effectively coordinated. Another level
of integration occurs when IDM provides a "common context"
by showing that similar thinking skills and methods are used in a wide variety
of activities. If IDM is used in a wide variety of areas, then (especially
when teachers call attention to the transitive logic that "if science
uses IDM and history uses IDM and music uses IDM, then the methods of
thinking
used in science and history and music are related") students will recognize
that much of what they are learning in one area of school can be transferred
to other areas and can be used in practical real-life situations.
* UPDATE — When this page was written in 2001, it described a model for Integrated Design Method (IDM) that, since then, has been revised-and-improved into a model for Design Process. But almost all of the comparisons in this page are still valid, to show important relationships between the four frameworks being compared, whether the other three models — 2, 3, 4, as described below — are being compared with my earlier model-from-2001 (as I do in this page) or (as I could do but won't) with my current model.
WEB-RESOURCE PAGES are available for CRITICAL THINKING & CREATIVE THINKING & PROBLEM SOLVING.
2. Dimensions
of Thinking: A Framework for Curriculum & Instruction
Comparing
Two Frameworks
To
illustrate the unifying potential of Integrated Design Method, this page
begins
by
examining Dimensions
of Thinking: A Framework for Curriculum and Instruction (1988,
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development), an excellent book
written by seven educators: Robert Marzano, plus Brandt, Hughes, Jones,
Presseisen, Rankin, and Suhor. In the purple-colored
text, a summary of Chapters 1-4 and
(in a little more depth) Chapter 5 will show how
actions in Dimensions
of Thinking are related to actions in Integrated Design Method,
and how these two "frameworks
for thinking" are
compatible and mutually supportive, and how
IDM
could serve as a unifying structure for our teaching of thinking skills
and
methods:
In Dimensions of Thinking, Chapter
1 — Thinking
as the Foundation of Schooling — emphasizes the centrality and importance
of thinking in education.
In Chapter 2, the authors define metacognition as "being
aware of our thinking as we perform specific tasks and then using this awareness
to control what we are doing." { All quotations in this
section are from Dimensions of Thinking. }
Chapter 3 explains how creative
thinking and critical thinking
operate as a cooperative team: "They complement
each other, share many attributes,... and both are necessary to achieve
any
worthy goal." Creativity is "the
ability to form new combinations of ideas to fulfill a need," to
produce ideas that will be useful. Critical thinking, defined broadly,
is "reasonable,
reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do."
{ It is important to recognize that critical thinking is just evaluative
thinking that is not necessarily negative and does not always lead to criticism. Critical
thinking can also lead to an enthusiastically positive conclusion about the
idea
being evaluated.
}
Chapters 2 and 3
of Dimensions describe two broad functions of IDM: to promote
metacognitive "thinking about thinking" and to provide a structure
that shows how creativity and criticality can be fluently combined in problem
solving.
Chapters
4 and 5 distinguish between a skill and a process: "What we call thinking
skills are simpler cognitive operations such as observing, comparing,
or inferring." A thinking process
"involves using a sequence of skills intended
to achieve a particular outcome." A process "orchestrates
numerous skills" and is directed toward achieving an objective. Compared
with a skill, a process "is broader in scope, and takes a longer
time to complete."
Chapter 4 describes three types
of Thinking Process: Knowledge Acquisition by
Concept Formation, Principle Formation, and Comprehension; and Knowledge
Production or Knowledge Application
by Problem Solving, Decision Making, Research (Scientific Inquiry), Composition
("the process of conceiving and developing a product"),
or Oral Discourse (dialog).
The essence of IDM,
its main function and purpose, is to serve as a framework for understanding
and mastering the applications of knowledge that occur in problem solving, decision making,
research, and composition. But IDM can also be useful in promoting the
production
and acquisition
of knowledge, as explained in the discussion of Chapter 5 that follows.
Chapter 5 examines 21 thinking
skills in 8 categories. After
a brief description of the skills in each category (slightly
rearranged by me) I'll explain how the skills in Dimensions are
related to actions in IDM.
Focusing Skills
are used to stimulate and guide action "after
an individual senses a problem, an issue, or a lack of meaning." Focusing
can take the form of Defining Problems
(to clarify what, why, who, when,...), Setting Goals
(to "establish direction and purpose")
or Formulating Questions (to "clarify
issues and meaning through inquiry; good questions focus attention on important
information and are designed to generate new information").
Information-Gathering
Skills are "used to bring to consciousness
the content to be used for cognitive processing." The information "may already be stored, or may be newly collected."
Recalling is retrieving old information
from long-term memory. Elaborating
"involves adding details, explanations, examples,
or other relevant information from prior knowledge in order to improve understanding."
Observing is obtaining new information
"from the environment... through one or more senses."
As explained in an
outline of IDM , the process of design
begins by recognizing a problem (which, broadly defined, is an opportunity
to make things better or to prevent things from getting worse) and defining
an overall objective. Following this, you can define goals
for the desired characteristics of the product, strategy, or theory that
is the objective. As defined in Dimensions of Thinking, the Focusing
Skills deal primarily with defining the objective(s) that will motivate and
guide all actions during the process of design.
The first
action — which begins before objectives are defined because observational
information provides the basis for recognizing that a problem/opportunity
exists — is to gather information. Dimensions emphasizes that
information can be old or new. In IDM these two ways to gather occur
in the SEARCH mode (to remember old observations) and TEST mode (to produce
new observations).
In the diagram
below, two skills from Dimensions (focus and gather information) are correlated with the corresponding actions in IDM (define
overall objective and the four-step process of producing observations).
Generating
Skills that "add information beyond
what is given" are "essentially constructive,
as connections among new ideas and prior knowledge are made by building a
coherent organization of ideas (i.e., schema) that holds the new and old information
together." Predicting is
usually done "by assessing the likelihood of an
outcome based on prior knowledge of how things usually turn out"
to produce "a statement anticipating the outcomes
of a situation." Inferring involves "going beyond available
information to identify what reasonably may be true. ... Deductive reasoning
is the ability to extend an existing principle or idea in a logical manner;
inductive reasoning refers to making generalizations and logical statements
based on observation or analysis of various cases."
The skill
of "generate, by using logic and
creativity" (from Dimensions) appears
on the left side of the IDM diagram above, because predicting (in Dimensions)
is the four-step process of producing predictions (in IDM), and
inferring (in Dimensions) occurs in the retroductive logic
(in IDM) that creatively generates a theory (by aiming for predictions that
match known observations) or a product-idea (by aiming for predictions that
match your goals for a product). { Retroduction is discussed
in the context of "Goal-Oriented Invention of Products" in A Detailed Overview of Design Method. }
Evaluating
Skills are used to "assess the reasonableness
and quality of ideas." Establishing
Criteria is "setting standards for judging
the value or logic of ideas. These criteria are rational principles
derived from culture, experience, and instruction." Verifying
(or falsifying) can be the result of evaluating "the
truth of an idea, using specific standards or criteria of evaluation."
Identifying Errors "involves
detecting mistakes in logic, calculations, procedures, and knowledge, and
where possible, identifying their causes and making corrections or changes
in thinking."
The action of establishing criteria (in Dimensions)
is setting goals (in IDM), and verifying (in Dimensions)
corresponds (in IDM) to evaluate theory and (if we stretch the scope
of Dimensions to include more than just theories) evaluate product.
The action of identifying errors is implicit in IDM; if evaluation leads you and another
person to reach different conclusions, then either one of you has made an
error, or each of you has reached a valid "alternative conclusion."
The skills in the next three categories
— organizing, analyzing, and integrating — are useful for gaining a deeper
understanding of concepts:
Organizing Skills
are used to "arrange information so it can
be understood or presented more effectively." Comparing
is "identifying similarities and differences
between or among entities." Classifying
is "grouping items into categories on the
basis of their attributes." Ordering
is "sequencing entities according to a given
criterion." Representing
occurs when "a learner makes information more
meaningful and cohesive" by "changing its form to show how critical
elements are related." Encoding
is the process of organizing information in memory so it can be recalled.
Analyzing Skills
"are used to clarify existing information
by examining parts and relationships." A thinker can identify
Attributes and Components ("the
parts that together constitute a whole"), Relationships
and Patterns (that can be "causal, hierarchical,
temporal, spatial, correlational, or metaphorical" or...), and
Main Ideas (plus key details). When
applied to a theory, analysis helps us understand. When applied to an
argument, analysis helps us think about the credibility of assumptions, observations,
reasonings, and claims.
As partners of analyzing skills, Integrating Skills involve "putting
together the relevant parts or aspects of a solution, understanding, principle,
or composition... by building meaningful connections between incoming information
and prior knowledge, incorporating this integrated information into a new
understanding." Summarizing
"is combining information efficiently into
a cohesive statement." Restructuring "is changing
existing knowledge structures to incorporate new information. Because
of new insights, the learner actively modifies, extends, reorganizes, or even
discards past understandings. ... This recasting of ideas is a major
part of conceptual growth, and ultimately of cognitive development."
In IDM the focal
point for all of these skills is theory, which is defined broadly so
it includes organized systems of concepts in science (physical, biological,
social, economic,...) and in math, business, and other areas, and also interpretations
of events in real life (in current or historical situations) and in fiction.
IDM can help students understand how theories are constructed (by inference),
why they are accepted or rejected (due to evaluation), and how they can be
useful (for predicting) during the process of solving problems in many types
of design. Because IDM is closely related to ISM (Integrated
Scientific Method) and because scientific method
is the process of designing theories the potential educational
value of IDM-and-ISM in promoting the learning of theories (i.e., concepts,
principles, comprehensions,...) is further enhanced. IDM and/or ISM
can also help students understand the relationships between conceptual
knowledge (gaining a deeper, more accurate understanding of concepts and
situations) and procedural knowledge (in a wide variety of activities
that include, but are not limited to, the production and utilization of conceptual
knowledge).
As discussed
above, there is a close connection between the thinking skills and methods
in IDM and in Dimensions of Thinking: A Framework for Curriculum and Instruction.
Thus, it seems likely that IDM could be smoothly integrated with the type
of "education for thinking" recommended by the authors of Dimensions
and by many other educators. Because it provides a common context that
is shared by many areas, the transitive nature of IDM (which connects with
many areas, thus connecting them with each other) might help students understand
the similarities between thinking methods in different areas of the curriculum,
and might promote a transfer of skills from one area to another.
3.
A
Strategy for Instruction (Robert Swartz)
A central goal of many educators
is to help students learn how to think more effectively. Robert Swartz
(director of the National Center for Teaching Thinking) and Sandra Parks,
in their book on Infusing the Teaching of Critical and Creative Thinking
into Elementary Instruction, emphasize the importance of thinking skills,
and then explain their approach to instruction:
"Improving the
quality of student thinking is an explicit priority of current educational
reform efforts. ... Good thinking is essential in a technologically
oriented, multicultural world. ... Our students must be prepared to
exercise critical judgment and creative thinking to gather, evaluate, and
use information for effective problem solving and decision making in their
jobs, in their professions, and in their lives."
"Infusing critical
and creative thinking into content instruction blends features of two contrasting
instructional approaches that educators have taken to teaching thinking:
(1)
direct instruction of thinking in noncurricular contexts and (2) the use
of methods which promote thinking in content lessons." As
in Approach #1 (but not #2) infusion lessons "employ
direct instruction in the thinking skills and processes that they are designed
to improve" but (unlike
#1) "are not taught in separate courses or programs
outside the regular curriculum." (Swartz & Parks, 1994)
The authors also explain the difference
between "methods that promote thinking... [but]
remain content oriented" and methods that, in addition to promoting
content learning, also use direct instruction that is designed to improve
thinking skills. In an infusion approach there is a dual emphasis on
content and process, on conceptual knowledge and procedural knowledge, on
deeper
understanding
and improved thinking.
The framework for thinking skills employed
by Swartz and Parks is similar to that in Dimensions of Thinking, but
is distinctive in important ways. Because it is designed to make a
direct connection with teachers — "this
handbook presents a teacher-oriented approach to improving student thinking
that blends sound
theory and effective classroom practice" — the overall
framework in Infusion of Thinking is simpler, with three categories of skills
(Clarification and Understanding, Creative
Thinking, and Critical Thinking)
plus two types of objectives (Decision Making
and Problem Solving). As in Dimensions,
each skill category is expanded into a number of skills: in Infusion the
3 categories encompass 7 sub-categories and 16 skills.
Overall, the coverage in Infusion is
similar to that in Dimensions and IDM, but there is a difference
in emphasis. In Dimensions, for example, Creative Thinking
is discussed (along with Critical Thinking) in Chapter 3, but is not explicitly
included
in the Thinking Methods (Chapter 4) or Thinking Skills (Chapter 5). But
in Dimensions, Creative Thinking is one of the 3 major categories
that is then elaborated into skills: Creative
Thinking involves using Multiplicity of Ideas (Fluency), Varied
Ideas (Flexibility), New Ideas (Originality), and Detailed Ideas (Elaboration)
to Generate Alternative Possibilities, and using Analogy/Metaphor to Combine
Ideas. This explicit analysis into specific skills
makes it more likely that, in the classroom, teachers will direct students'
attention
to
the individual
aspects of creative thinking.
These "creative thinking skills" are
included in the discussions of creativity in Dimensions and IDM,
but do not appear in either framework. However, the general category
of Creative Thinking is in the Dimensions framework. And in
the IDM framework, creativity occurs whenever there is a need to generate:
in
Generate (select or invent) Ideas for Product, Generate (acquire or construct)
Product, Design (generate and evaluate) Model of Product, and Design (generate
and evaluate) Experimental System. And creativity also appears in other
actions, such as Defining an Objective (in IDM) or Elaborating (in Dimensions).
Despite their superficial differences,
however, all three frameworks agree about the characteristics and importance
of creative thinking (and critical thinking and conceptual learning) and
all
agree that we can teach these skills more effectively, and we should.
More information about the National
Center for Teaching Thinking, an organization devoted to helping teachers
improve
the way they teach thinking skills, is available at their
website, which includes What is Infusion?
(it's an introduction to their teaching approach) and several infusion
lessons. {as with other italicized links, these pages will
open in a separate new window}
4. Four Frames
of Knowledge (David Perkins)
The remainder of this
section, which describes another interesting approach to education in conceptual
knowledge and procedural knowledge, is quoted from an early version of
a
proposal (Rusbult, 1996) for my Ph.D. dissertation:
In an effort to encourage the development
of instructional techniques that will help students develop a deep understanding
of content and thinking skills, Perkins & Simmons (1988) propose an
integrative model with four mutually interactive frames of knowledge:
content,
problem solving, epistemic, and inquiry. After describing each frame
in detail, along with examples that illustrate the detrimental effects
of
ignoring some frames during instruction, or of treating the frames in isolation
from each other, the authors — based on their theory that "people
learn much of what they have a direct opportunity and some motivation
to
learn, and little else" — recommend that "instruction
should include all four frames... and should involve explicit articulation
by
teachers
and/or students of the substance of the frames and their interrelationships."
Some relationships between content and
process are explicitly characterized in the Perkins-Simmons model with its
four interactive frames of knowledge. In science these frames can
be described in terms of thinking skills: the content frame
is learning scientific theories, problem solving
involves using these theories, the epistemic frame
is evaluating theories, and the focus of inquiry
is inventing theories. With this formulation, one way to
explicitly articulate "the substance of the frames and their interrelationships" —
and to pursue the educational benefits that may ensue — is to show how
the frames operate in the context of science. This is what my model
of Integrated Scientific Method (ISM) will do. [note: Since my dissertation
was about ISM and its use in the analysis of instruction, the focus here
is on ISM, but most of what is said also applies to IDM.]
As a way to articulate the four frames,
ISM will offer two distinct benefits:
First, the visual organization
of ISM could make it easier for students to understand essential relational
patterns
between the four thinking frames, to literally see how details fit into
the "big picture" of science; an explicit, logically organized
visual model can help students construct their own mental models
of science and thinking strategies (Mayer, 1993). ... The visual
representation of knowledge — especially when it is closely coordinated
with verbal representation, as in the proposed model for ISM — can
be a powerful tool for facilitating a deeper, more sophisticated understanding
of conceptual organization.
Second, although it is closely related
to the four-frame model, scientific method is more familiar to scientists,
study-of-science scholars, educators, teachers, and students, so it may
be easier to communicate ideas effectively if they are expressed in terms
of scientific method, used by itself or in conjunction with the four frames
of knowledge. This familiarity will also make it easier to connect
with and to effectively utilize the large amount of thinking that has been
done about the methods of science and their application to education.
.....
ISM provides a way to explicitly articulate
"the substance of the frames and their interrelationships," as
recommended by Perkins & Simmons (1988). "ISM
could, by its use in curriculum planning, expand the range of opportunities
for student
learning
experience to include all four frames of knowledge; and by its direct use
in the classroom, ISM could also help students learn more from their
experience
by explicitly directing attention to important aspects of what can be learned,
thus facilitating forward-reaching transfer (Salomon & Perkins, 1989)
and intentional learning (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1989). One
valuable form of learning involves metaknowledge; ISM could help
students learn more about the integrated structure of knowledge and
the consequent potential
for gaining new knowledge. For example, an improved knowledge of
science-as-process can be used to gain an increase in knowledge of science-as-content." (Rusbult,
1996)
Four Frameworks — Strategies and
Methods for Teaching Thinking Skills
This page has examined three frameworks for thinking skills and methods — Dimensions of Thinking, Infusion of Thinking Skills, and Four Frames of Knowledge — to show that these frameworks are compatible with IDM-and-ISM and with each other. All four frameworks are mutually supportive, and these approaches (along with others) could be creatively blended to form an effective cooperative team, operating synergistically to improve education by curriculum development and in the classroom.
Educational
Standards
I.O.U.
— Sometime in the future, this page will be expanded to include the treatment
of thinking
in the "standards frameworks" for various areas, such as the National
Science Education Standards.