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Inquiry learning.
The verbs and the
thinking tools
(task and topic)
Eric Frangenheim
Biography
BA (Hons), UED, BEd, all from The University
of Natal, South Africa
Eric Frangenheim started teaching in 1970
and has been a history teacher, head of
department and deputy principal. He has
been an educational consultant since 1989
and author committed to providing teachers
with the skills and strategies to create
thinking classrooms and engaging learning
environments.
Eric presents workshops to educators,
government departments and private
companies throughout Australia, New
Zealand, India, South Africa, Singapore,
Indonesia, PNG, Abu Dhabi, USA and the
Republic of Nauru to assist with thinking
strategies for the classroom, staff meetings,
staff planning days, team teaching, board
meetings and more. Eric offers classroom
teaching demonstrations for teachers. He is a
presenter at state, national and international
conferences, focusing on the promotion of
effective thinking and learning strategies.
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Eric has published such books as Reflections
on Classroom Thinking Strategies, now in its
10th edition and 13th print, and is co-author
of the innovative teachers’ companion, a
diary for early years, primary and secondary
teachers that incorporates a vast range of
educational ideas and literature on classroom
practice (now in its 1st year). He was a coauthor of History Alive, a history textbook for
Year 9 Students in South Africa (1981–90) and
is also the author of The Reconciliation of
Goldilocks and the Three Bears, a teaching
unit demonstrating the infusion of cognitive
and collaborative thinking tools into the daily
curriculum. Until December 2010, he was a
member of the National Speakers Association
of Australia and has the CSP designation.
Eric is co-director of ITC Publications, which
promotes thinking in learning throughout
Australia, New Zealand and several other
countries.
www.itcpublications.com.au
[email protected]
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This article is based on Eric’s presentation at the ASLA XXIII Conference in Hobart
on 29 September 2013.
For many students, understanding the purpose behind an assignment or a piece of
assessment is a mystery. If given the assignment, ‘Antarctica — could polar bears live
there?’ many students see the words ‘polar bear’ and ‘Antarctica’ and think, ‘I’ll Google it!’
to gain as much information as possible. As a result, they may simply respond to the topic,
which isn’t the recipe for successful inquiry learning.
A more positive scenario would see students decode or understand the purpose of their
assignment by realising there are two parts to the question. The most important part is
not the topic but the task. This is determined by the verb or implied verb. Often students
underachieve, not because they are incapable but mainly because they do not understand
the question, the purpose or the task within an assignment or inquiry learning. Teachers
can improve student outcomes by explaining and focusing on the verb or the implied verb
within any assignment.
The question cannot be addressed by
giving information (Remember, acting
like an internet database with verbs of
listing, telling), showing understanding
such as cause and effect and reasons
for something occurring (Understand
— acting like an expert or AHA bubble
with verbs of classifying, explaining,
summarising) nor solely at the Apply
level (acting like a formula showing ‘How
To’ and solution making with verbs of
calculating, demonstrating). Granted that
If we take the foundation levels of Bloom’s
taxonomy of the cognitive domain, it is
clear that the task does not reside here.
Foundationthinkingskills
For example, in the assignment above, ‘Antarctica — could polar bears live there?’ the topic
is clear but not the task. There is no explicit verb that guides students to understand the task.
Bloom’s Thinking Skills Framework gives students the tools they need to achieve higher
order thinking. By using the Framework, teachers are saying, ‘Which picture or Bloom’s
The itc Thinking Skills Framework
icon am I asking my students to act like?’
This is determined by the verb or implied
verb and is explained in the Bloom’s Level
Bloom’s Level
Verbs
Calculate
column.
Acting to apply
new skills, rules
and concepts to
related and new
situations
Compile
Complete
Demonstrate
Dramatise
Edit
Operate
Practise
Solve
Acting like an
expert, showing
understanding of
words, concepts,
cause and effect
and ‘reasons for’
Classify
Comprehend
Discuss
Explain
Interpret
Outline
Recognise
Summarise (basic)
Translate
Acting like
an internet
database to recall
information, facts
and data
Define
Find
Label
List
Match
Memorise
Quote
Recall
Repeat
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The itc Thinking Skills Framework
Higher-order
thinking
skills
Bloom’s Level
Verbs
Acting like
an inventor,
experiencing ‘light
bulb’ moments
to generate new
products, ideas
or ways of doing
things
Create
Extrapolate
Improve
Invent
Modify
Predict
Program
Propose
Synthesise
Acting like the
scales of justice
to ‘weigh up’
the evidence to
make and justify
a decision
Argue (for/against)
Assess
Conclude
Critique
Decide
Judge
Justify
Prioritise
Recommend
Acting like a
magnifying
glass to identify
the component
parts of an issue,
situation or object
Argue (about)
Debate
Deconstruct
Differentiate
Discuss
Distinguish
Identify
Investigate
Summarise (complex)
a large part of the assignment will depend
Starters
on the
information collected onTools
polar bears
MAS (p.248)
and the Arctic where they
live and also of
1:4:P:C:R (p.134)
the Antarctic but to really
make (p.290)
students
Word Association
Y-Chart/Split Y-Chart (p.296)
succeed, a skilled teacher
realises that
PCQ Extension (p.260)
students have to understand the task verb.
So where does this assignment ask the
Extent Barometer (p.212)
student to focus their fiDecision-Making
nal efforts?
it at
MatrixIs
(p.194)
Judge Jury (p.146)
the Analyse level (acting
like a magnifying
PCQ Extension (p.260)
Elimination
Draw (p.206) parts
glass looking at all the
component
Human Continuum (p.224)
of the topic or proposition with verbs such
as discussing, exploring, investigating)?
Not quite though this isPCQ
a major
part of the
Extension (p.260)
Attribute
Listing
Organiser (p.170)
process.
Double Bubble Maps (p.200)
Decision-Making Matrix (p.194)
T-Charts (p.284)
Fishbone Diagram (p.218)
Y-Chart/Split Y-Chart (p.296)
Icon Prompt (p.230)
SWOT Analysis (p.278)
In this case, the assignment task requires
that students work at the fifth Bloom’s
Level: Evaluate. At the Evaluate level,
teachers are asking students to act like the
Scales of Justice (as depicted in the graphic icon for Evaluate) where the students assess
the analysed information in order to make a decision using verbs such as argue, assess,
decide, justify, determine, etc.
Note that the assignment does not ask them to work at the Design level (acting like an
inventor, modifying or improving or creating something).
Foundationthinking
skills
The assignment as it is presented above may be clear to some or many students but it is
not clear to all students and our duty is to create clarity and explicitness in our classrooms.
As a result, we need to ask ourselves if our language is clear for all students, and if it is
not, then we have to reveal the implied verb or verbs and explain this is the task or major
purpose of the assignment/assessment.
Therefore, to ensure all students understand the assignment, a better question would be:
‘Antarctica — argue that polar bears could live there’; or ‘Antarctica — justify how polar
bears could live there’ or ‘Antarctica — decide if polar bears could live there’. Immediately,
students are clear they are being given the task to judge, assess or determine whether or
not the polar bear could adapt to Antarctic conditions. Once students realise they have to act
like the Scales of Justice and make a decision as well as support that decision with material
they have gathered and analysed relating to the topic (the transferability of polar bears to
the Antarctic), there is a greater chance that all students will experience greater success.
To ensure even greater clarity of research and expression and persuasion, students can
also be encouraged to employ appropriate thinking tools or graphic organisers to assist
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Thinking Skills Framework
them. Taken from Bloom’s Thinking Skills Framework, teachers can clearly see which tools
they can use for different cognitive levels. Let’s look at the levels of Analyse and Evaluate,
since this is where most of the activity will take place. Teachers can use thinking tools from
the tools column to assist students in organising their thinking and processing of the task
or issue or problem. The major tools to be used will be the Double Bubble Map to compare
the two continents, a SWOT analysis to look at the polar bear’s situation and then the Extent
Barometer to decide to what extent the polar bear has a chance of adapting and living in
Antarctica.
We now will look at a possible sequence of thinking tools to assist the students in addressing
this assignment.
Using multiple thinking tools
The following is taken from our latest resource, innovative students’ companion, ‘Assessment:
where to start and how to succeed!’ and is written for students.
Background
Sometimes an assignment task may not be as simple as using one thinking tool to complete
the task. For example, the assessment task may be to, ‘Discuss the relationships between
parents and children in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet’. You could use the PCQ Extension
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(thinking tool to match the ‘Discuss’ verb) for this but prior to this, you also may want to
‘Compare’ the relationships with a Double Bubble Map. In most of your major assignments
you will need to use a number of thinking tools.
Case study
Science: Discuss the chances of a polar bear surviving in Antarctica. Justify your response.
Step 1: ‘Compare’ the Arctic and Antarctica
Polar bears live in the Arctic (the North Pole) not Antarctica (the South Pole). So, to begin
this assignment, you will need a deep understanding of the two regions by comparing the
two.
Step 1
Step 2: ‘List’ the characteristics of the polar bear
Now we need to look at all the characteristics or the attributes of the polar bear: How fast
can it run and swim? What does it eat? How does it defend itself? We need also to look at
the attributes of some of the other animals in Antarctica, as many will be a food source or
a potential predator to the polar bear.
Step 3: ‘Analyse’ the polar bear
It is now time to carefully examine the polar bear. What are the polar bear’s strengths and
weaknesses? What possible opportunities and threats are there in Antarctica for the polar
bear?
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Step 2
Step 3
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Step 4: The decision and justification
Finally, it is time to reflect on all of the research contained in your different thinking tools
and decide on the chances of a polar bear living in Antarctica.
• Double Bubble Map — What are the major characteristics of the two regions and are they
so similar that it would not make any difference whether the polar bear lives in the Arctic
or Antarctica?
• Attribute Listing Organiser — What are some influential characteristics of the polar bear
in comparison to those of its major ‘competitors’? Is the polar bear fast enough to hunt
food in Antarctica? Can it defend itself from potential predators?
• SWOT analysis — Delving more deeply into the polar bear itself, does the polar bear have
what it takes to survive in Antarctica?
• Extent Barometer — Transfer the material from the three thinking tools to the Extent
Barometer. This justifies your decision.
Step 4
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This information can now form the basis for your assignment and you can make a decision
and justify or support that decision. Taking into account the genre in which you have
been asked to present your work, you are now well armed with the tools to complete the
assignment.
Final tip
The thinking tools are designed to organise both your thoughts and research. It is worthwhile
taking the time at the start of your assignment to carefully choose which thinking tools
are the best ones to tackle the task. If you are unsure which ones to use, seek assistance
from your teacher. In particular, you need to ask your teacher which are the major verbs.
Spending a few moments getting this part of the process right will keep you on track and
save you time in the long run. This, in turn, will give you more time to concentrate on ‘digging
deeper’ and aiming for those extra marks.
Let’s try another assignment question to investigate how Bloom’s Framework can
successfully guide learning. The question, ‘Discuss the idea that all students should learn
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Email: [email protected]
March 2014 ACCESS
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to cook’ is to be found at the Analyse level since the verb ‘discuss’ is asking one to act like a
magnifying glass, looking at as many component parts to this topic as possible. Meanwhile,
the question, ‘Should all students be taught to cook?’ is at the Evaluate level since the
implied verb here is ‘to decide’ if this is a good idea and for students to act like the ‘Scales of
Justice’, making a decision based on the information analysed in the previous question. For
more clarity and explicit teaching, the question could be framed as, ‘Decide if all students
should be taught to cook’.
Conclusion
In conclusion, having a clear focus on the verb in any question, assignment or assessment
is the key to successful learning. Using Bloom’s Thinking Skills Framework, it is useful
for teachers to ask this question: ‘Which picture or Bloom’s icon am I asking my students
to act like?’ Make sure that the verb or task is clear, that the students then focus on the
topic with the task as the end in mind and offer or suggest a few thinking tools or graphic
organisers from the tools column to make your students even more successful in tackling
their assignments.
Erratum — Book Week
In the report about various Book Week
activities in Tasmanian schools (Volume
27, Issue 4, November 2013), some of the
photographs were incorrectly attributed. The
photos of the Tardis and rocket were in fact
taken at Mount Carmel College, not Calvin
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Christian School. The editor apologises
for this error and for any disappointment
the school experienced when they saw
the photographs in the last issue. These
photographs have been reproduced in this
issue with the correct schools’ names.