ePrimer - Thinking Groups— Teaching Students to “Think Around the Box™”

Thinking Groups — Teaching Students to “Think Around the Box™”

™ Preparing the next next generatio generationn for a lifetim lifetimee of learning ™

Thinking Groups — Teaching Students to “Think Around the Box™”

Question: How in this time of the narrowing of the curriculum, the stifling of innovation,

the homogenization of talent, and the tyranny of low expectations can we reverse the trend in education practices and create team-oriented learning, critical and innovative thinking, problem solving, and the leveraging of diversity? Answer: The multiplier effect of best p practices! ractices!

Copyright 2006 Alex Terego Terego www.AlexTere www.Al exTerego.com go.com

Chief Editor: Leslie Rowe of www.Great www.GreatWords Words.net .net

Table of Contents 1: Introduction: Thinking is Learning .............................................. ............1 2: Building a Cognitive Child .......................................................................5 3: Cooperative Learning Learning .......................................................... ....................8 4: Thinking Groups................................................. ....................................11 5: The Essay Principles .............................................................................15 6: The Process of Essay Writing ...................................................... ..........17 7: More About Thinking Groups .............................................. ...................20 8: The Thinking Group Contract ...................................................... ..........23 9: The Thinking Group in Action...................................................... ..........26 10: Warm-Up Exercises..............................................................................31 11: Sample Exercises ..................................................... ...........................34 The List Method — Example Example 1 .........................................................34 The Spider Diagram Method — Example Example 2 ......................................39 The Spider Diagram Method — Example Example 3 ......................................43 The Contextual Thinking Method — Example Example 4 ..............................47 The List Method — Example Example 5 .........................................................51 The Graphic Method — Example Example 6 ..................................................54

ePrimer™ Thinking

Groups—Teaching Groups —Teaching Students to “Think Around the Box™” © 2006

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1: Introduction: Thinking is Learning Thinking matters. In today’s world t hinking hinking in groups matters more

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lease note well. When teaching a small group it is important to first consider whether whether you are A) teachi teaching ng a lesson lesson plan that that focuses focuses on the transmis transmission sion of objective facts or content, which your students must learn, or B) whether you are teaching a lesson plan that encourages your students to form an opinion about a given topic. These are two very different objectives and require two different teaching styles.

They have have been been called called the closed closed and open-en open-ended ded styles styles of teaching teaching.. ClosedClosed-end ended ed teaching mostly relies on a yes/no or true/false response to questions about facts. Open-ended teaching on the other hand asks children to address issues that have no true or false answers, and to respond in the form of opinions or points of view expressed in a thesis statement, essay, presentation, or even a poster. Teaching by telling or learning to make meaning

In the first case — the the teaching of objective facts or truths — your your teaching style is likely to be what teachers call “stand and deliver,” or what educational writers call a didactic or didactic or lecture style. I call it teaching by telling . In the second case — getting getting your students to come to a conclusion of their own, on their own, about any topic or prompt — your your students are learning to make meaning; this kind of teaching is called Socratic or maieutic teaching.. When teaching teaching by telling telling,, your students students are more passive passive and you are more active. active. When teachin teachingg them to make make meaning, meaning, the teacher teacher is more passive passive and the student studentss more active. For more on this please refer to ePrimer™, A Guide to Lesson Planning A — Framework for Learning. This ePrimer™ is devoted to the latter method — teaching teaching students to make — meaning where where two or more studen students ts under under the directi direction on and guidan guidance ce of a teacher teacher are addressing a subjective issue. Again, by subjective I mean an open-ended topic, prompt, or question to which there is no right or wrong answer. Their answers, expressed in the form of an opinion, are not demonstrably right or wrong. For example, if they are asked to address the issue that “The love of money is the root of all evil,” they probably cannot prove their opinion on the matter one way or another.

Groups—Teaching ePrimer™ Thinking Groups—Teaching

Students to “Think Around the Box™”

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Instead what we want from them is a well argued, well thought out opinion on the subject expressed in an authentic voice in an essay Thinking groups

This ePrimer™ introduces maieutic learning maieutic learning conducted within an small organized group I call thinking groups. The purpose of thinking groups is to get students to think in group setting about the big ideas, in a disciplined manner, by following a set of procedures that will show the group how to address any issue that is more abstract and subjective. And please, please, make note that the vast majority majority of the decision decisionss that your students students will make in life are of are of an abstract or subjective nature. Most of what we do, or are asked to do, or what we discuss in life is not provable and so is fraught with uncertainty. Consequently, it helps at the outset to remind your students to memorize this quote.

“Change the way you think by asking better questions.” William Sahlman, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies Harvard Business School

This quote, which which sums up the underlyi underlying ng syllabus syllabus philosophy philosophy at Harvard Harvard Busines Businesss School, and which should also underlie teaching small groups, provokes further questions in my mind: 

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Are today’s today’s students students encoura encouraged ged to ask ask bett better er quest question ionss in order order to to improv improvee or change the way they think?

Should they change the way they think? Are they encoura encouraged ged to think, think, or are are they they just being being told told what the right right answe answers rs are?

These These might might not be the most vital vital question questionss facing facing our nation; nation; however however,, they they are questions that need to be addressed if our children are to learn, and a civilized and competitive society is to be preserved. As I said, said, the the premis premisee for for this this ePrimer™ is Socratic or maieutic Inquiry, a process by which children learn to think (cognition) by teaching themselves, and others, using their natural capacities for thinking, collaborating and learning. Thinking is learning

Thinking Thinking (cognit (cognition) ion) matters, matters, and thinking thinking about about thinkin thinkingg (metac (metacogn ognitio ition) n) matters matters even more. Moreover, thinking is learning. Before explaining how to teach small groups, let me begin with this fact. Being awake and being conscious are two very different states of mind.



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If we as a modern, technologically and socially advanced society are satisfied if our students are merely awake, then we will not educate them and we will fail them. A — through — is major role of society through both family and school — is to make students consciously aware of themselves, their abilities, and their place in the world. Students can only be helped to reach this awareness if all of their many faculties, all seven of their intelligences (see the ePrimer™, Educating the Whole Child through their Multipl Multiplee Intelli Intelligen gences ces Sensory Literacy ), and full full potentia potentiall are deployed deployed.. And merely merely being being — Sensory awake is not enough to accomplish this task. To learn, they must be conscious — fully fully aware of themselves and their surroundings. I think all parents and educators will agree that any school, classroom, parent, or a teacher alone cannot make a student fully conscious. Only the student can will this will this to happen. And, in order to do this, they must want to. My questio question n is this: this: are we helping helping them to want to? If you as a parent parent or educator feel that you can do more to help your students to will themselves into a learning — cognitive cognitive and metacognitive — state, state, then read on. When students students are subject subjected ed to a constan constantt bombardm bombardment ent of facts facts and figures figures,, skills, skills, and statistics, they are not fulfilling their natural abilities to think and to explore the intellectual realm. Children are naturally curious and as Dorothy Parker observed, “The cure for boredom is curiosity; and so far there is no cure for curiosity.” Thank goodness curiosity cannot be cured; in fact, it must be nurtured at every possible turn. By teaching only factual content, we leave little room for natural curiosity. By teaching them how to form opinions, we give them an outlet for their curiosity. Summary 

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Decide: are you teaching the group to discover something for themselves or an accepted fact? Then change your style accordingly. Getting students to make meaning about subjective issues teaches them to think. Teachin Teachingg them them facts, facts, by teac teaching hing them them by telling telling,, teache teachess them them to to memori memorize. ze. A complet completee educatio education n demands demands both skills. skills. However However most most of the decision decisionss students make will not be made on concrete or factual information but on subjective, personal taste. Learning to become a cognitive person means learning to ask better questions. Children can memorize when they are awake: however, to be cognitive human beings they need to be fully conscious. To be fully conscious they need to be challenged.



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Challenging children means getting them to utilize all of their powers — not not just the ability to learn by reading, writing, and doing logical operations. They have many more ways to be cognitive. Help them exploit them At the end of the day, only your student student can will all will all this to happen. You can encourage, coach, teach, argue, challenge, and set examples; but if they do they do not will learning will learning to happen, then it will not happen.



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2: Building a Cognitive Child Can thinking be taught? No, but it can be coached.

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eaching in small groups takes special advantage of the fact that as humans, we are uniquely gifted with the ability to stand outside of ourselves and reflect on who we are: Socrates knew this. Most would argue that along with this gift comes a responsibility to use it. It is simply wrong for individuals not to think for themselves.

Can children’s natural abilities to think (cognition) and think about thinking (metacognition) be improved? I believe, as do many more eminently qualified people than me, that the answer is an unqualified yes . And teaching in groups helps enormously. How infants think and learn

A few few facts facts on child child deve developm lopment ent hist history ory help help us us unders understan tand d this this process process of cogn cogniti ition. on. (For more on this, see the ePrimer™, Understanding the Mind and the Brain Educat Education ional al — Psychology. ) ) The eminent eminent Swiss educati educational onal theorist theorist Jean Piaget Piaget observed observed in the 1920s 1920s and 1930s that in our earliest days, we learn to think in a rather elemental, sensory manner by observing, imitating, and then correcting our efforts by trial and error. No one tries to explain baby’s or toddler’s mistakes to them, since they lack the ability to reason by using words at this stage. Instead, family and friends just patiently demonstrate the skill repeatedly, until toddlers and babies miraculously intuit their way to mastering the intellectual and motor skills involved in walking, speaking, feeding, pattern recognition and dressing themselves. This is certai certainly nly insti instincti nctive ve learn learning, ing, but at at some some level, level, our our babies babies and and toddle toddlers rs must must be thinking their way through, in some rudimentary fashion, by looking at options and solving problems. It is not surprising therefore, that it is said that the key to humanity and survival is anticipation and preparation. Anyone Anyone who who has watched watched in awe awe as a baby baby goes goes from from lying lying down helples helpless, s, to crawling crawling,, to walking upright and communicating in the first year or so of its life cannot ascribe these feats of anticipation and preparation to anything other than an innate cognitive ability. In other words, infants think. They just do not think about thinking yet. If they did, they would not be narcissistic and believe themselves to be not only the center of the universe, but also master of it.



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Becoming self-reflective: metacognition

— of The gift gift of thinking thinking about about thinkin thinking g of becoming self-reflective — and and thinking logically, metaphorically, and in abstract terms comes much later; and it is at first a terrible letdown. The sad realization by a child entering the “muddle school years” that they are not, in fact, the center of things, but simply a part of a larger whole, arrives along with the dawning of metacognition. Consequently, our greatest gift — the the knowledge that we are not just sentient but self-reflective — is is accompanied by a huge disappointment

Historically and tragically, however, rather than telling our children that this gift of metacognition is to be nurtured, society has turned to regimentation, discipline, and the discouragement of individuality. Knowing how to think about thinking — metacognition metacognition — leads leads us to think about ourselves and our place in the world; what better gift? It will prompt your students to ask questions such as “Why did I do that?” “What that?” “What could I have done better?” and “What help or knowledge do I need?” The answer answerss to these these and other other self-r self-refle eflectiv ctivee question questionss set us on a new plane plane.. This is where where real learnin learningg begins. begins. By age 12, our childre children n — our our future — begin begin to think in — using what — become abstract and complex terms. Reasoning and hypothesizing using what ifs become second nature and anyone who is thinking in such advanced ways needs to be challenged as well as trained. A guarante guaranteed ed antidot antidotee for the middle school year’s disillusionment— and and a life skill to —is to bolster bolster childre children’s n’s self -image by asking them for — and — their boot —is and valuing their contributions to team efforts. As such, I highly recommend the thinking groups described in this ePrimer™. Summary 

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We can can stand stand outs outside ide ourse ourselve lvess and others, others, and and we we can reflect reflect on on what what we and others are thinking. Thinkin Thinkingg about what we are doing, doing, and thinking thinking about about what we are thinkin thinking, g, and thinking about what others think is something we are born to do, but with training, we can improve. — cognition These These skills skills — cognition and metacognition — are are life skills with immense value.

Middle school age children find these gifts disturbing and need help accommodating and applying them. Children are by nature self-reflective. They simply need to learn how to question and how to handle abstract thought.



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One of the very best ways to teach thinking skills is to have children learn in a participative environment, where social skills, leadership skills, and group learning skills will all be sharpened.



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3: Cooperative Learning Engaging students through organized groups gr oups

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s I have said, those major discoveries which children entering middle school make about themselves should not be met with only rote and regimented approaches to their education. A great deal of the required content for SATs and other required examinations demands a certain amount of teaching by telling and examination of the retention of facts. Solely relying on this approach, however, betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the needs of your students.

My long experience as student, teacher, businessman, observer, thinker, parent, grandparent, and educational writer has convinced me that a curriculum misalignment occurs in our children’s middle schools years and persists all the way to the college undergraduate level. Nurturing a cooperative spirit

A visitor from from Mars Mars might conclude conclude from the behavior behavior of a self-cen self-center tered ed pre-school pre-school child that he or she has never belonged to a group. The reality is that the child actually leads a group and as the leader, he or she gets whatever he or she wants. However, even the only child of indulgent, loving parents actually participates in the group effort called “raising baby.” If the parents kn ow best, they will reward cooperative behavior more than selfish behavior. This variable response is desirable because we are all part of a species that thrives on collaborative, cooperative behavior. Baby will do better if this cooperative spirit is nurtured. If baby is given whatever baby or toddler wants wheneve wheneverr she wants wants it, baby baby or or toddler toddler will will become become isolate isolated d from from the larg larger er group group and and — and in the end, the adolescent — and the group — will suffer suffer.. The methods of Socrates

“Two heads are better than one.” So goes the old adage. The modern term for this is the “group mind,” the idea being that a group of individuals learn better because the sum is greater than its parts. In The Paideia Proposal: An Educational Manifesto (1982), philosopher and educational theorist Mortimer Adler advocated group activities based on the methods of Socrates he coined the word maieutic from the Greek word for midwife.. This ePrimer™ is a step-by-step guide on how to conduct a Socratic seminar.

Businesses regularly use self-directed groups to brainstorm for new ideas or to solve problems. It is an idea that works and has worked for 2,300 years. At this point, point, let me be clear. I am not advocati advocating ng that that the content-ba content-based sed teach-byteach-bytelling lecture be abandoned. In fact, I think that such lectures still should comprise the majority of any curriculum; because your student must pass state and federal tests to



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advance and the tests are based on content standards. The problem is, that this the only — just mandate. The government tests do not require thought — just recollection. They do not mandate making meaning. There There is a place place for for the lect lecture ure and and teacherteacher-led led quest questionion-andand-answ answer er session sessions; s; but even even in these sessions, these techniques should not be passive experiences. The students must be engaged. A teacher’s answer to a question or a student’s answer to a teacher’s question should never indicate the end of the discourse. Answer Answerss should should generate generate further further questions. Thinking groups

As a society society,, we should should not aim only for giving our student studentss the “fluency “fluency of facts,” facts,” advocated by the Bush era secretary of education, but also for teaching our students to think for themselves. I am convinced by the personal, empirical evidence I have gathered from many classrooms — and and business meetings where middle school behavior is still observable — that that there is a need to incorporate what I call “ thinking thinking groups, groups,” into all classrooms. The ePrimer™ devotes considerable attention to thinking groups.

William William Glasser Glasser,, an interna internation tionally ally recog recognize nized d psychia psychiatri trist, st, said said that that “We l earn earn 10 percent of what we read; 20 percent of what we hear; 30 percent of what we see; 50 percent of what we both hear and see; 70 percent of what we discuss with others; 80 percent of what we experience personally and 90 percent of what we teach someone else.” His ratios may be a little extreme, but his thesis is correct, because in order to teach someone something, you first need to research the topic by reading, listening, and talking about the subject. In my opinion, you also need to take another major step that Glasser does not mention, and that is writing about it. If we remember 90 percent of what we teac teach h other others, s, then then we shoul should d be given given ever everyy opport opportunit unityy to teach teach other otherss as the best way to learn. When a self-directed group of students comes together to brainstorm an idea, each person learns by what he or she contributes about the idea. Also, the group experience allows each participant to learn through the contributions of others. Summary 

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Just as as children children disco discover ver that that they they are cogniti cognitive ve and and metacog metacogniti nitive ve being beings, s, able able to think in metaphors and abstractions, we force-feed them facts. Children are not born with the ability to work cooperatively in groups. But it is this skill that can help them think and learn more than just isolated, individual work. work. Groups work in all spheres of human endeavor such as the military or business.



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We learn learn best by teachin teachingg others others what we find find out. An organiz organized ed group group dynamic fosters this more than any other setting.



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4: Thinking Groups Self-directed learning through mutual inquiry

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roups of students operating as self-directed thinking groups are based on the two-thousand-year-old Socratic dialogue method.

The basic premise premise of these these groups groups or circles circles is that a collaborati collaborative ve effort, effort, gui guided ded by by a teacher but primarily self-directed, will lead to a greater understanding of the idea or prompt or topic under discussion. It does not matter whether the idea up for discussion is literature, art, science, history, geography, or any other subject matter, the concept works across the curriculum. It also does not matter all that much if conclusions are reached, because the topic under discussion is a means to an end, not an end in itself. The end is the teaching of thinking and the making of meaning as an explicit skill, and the means is to help students think their way to a point of view on any topic. Students teach themselves meaning by participating in a mutual inquiry — guided guided by the — to educator — to come to an understanding of the subject matter. After all, our modern word word “educa “educatio tion” n” comes comes from from the the Latin Latin verb verb educare , which means to “draw out” or to “lead out,” not to “put in.” As Socrates said: “Education is the kindling of a flame; not the filling filling of a vess vessel.” el.” A non-competitive quest

One of the key benefits of thinking groups is that the quest for understanding, undertaken by a group, is not competitive. It is not a debate with winners and losers. In fact, the effort of participating and collaborating will create skilled listeners, promote higher-order thinking skills, act as a team-building exercise, teach respect for others, and teach tolerance for divergent opinions. Probably the most important benefit of these groupthinks, however, is that they hone the participants’ skills in critical thinking as a way to solve problems and make meaning. It would appear that humans are the only species able to listen, and possibly adapt, to another’s point of view. We can be persuaded of something by an appeal to our reason, as opposed to a threat from tooth or claw, gun or torture. Interpersonal Interpersonal intelligence

Furthermore, before adopting the other’s point of view, we have the ability to imagine ourselves actually believing in that point of view. Thinking groups take advantage of this empathetic attribute. Professor Howard Gardner in his landmark work Frames of Mind: Mind: The Theory Theory of Multipl Multiplee Intell Intellige igences nces (1983) refers to this skill as our interpersonal



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intelligence. This skill is one of two personal intelligences we all possess; the other is our intrapersonal intelligence intrapersonal intelligence , which is another way of saying thinking about thinking. Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences postulates that there are at least seven ways to learn and teach. The ePrimer™, Educating the Whole Child through their Multiple Intelligences Sensory Literacy , explores this idea in depth. — Sensory

Here is a brief summary of the multiple intelligences that all of us have in some degree. It is just a question of the proportions. Visual/spatial intelligence

In addition to using our interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences, we acquire and process information and express ourselves in visual/spatial ways. Some of us have outstanding depth perception and can find our way around more easily than others. People who have this intelligence in abundance can see relationships in threedimensional space: they also have an active imagination. Verbal/linguistic intelligence

Some of us have an intelligence that is dominant in the verbal/linguistic areas. verbal/linguistic areas. This means that we can understand the meaning of words quite well; we can use words well to learn, explain, teach, or even sell. People who have this as their dominant intelligence have better than average recall and memory. In the interpersonal intelligence already discussed, people can discern intentions in others; they can sympathize and empathize, and find working in groups more congenial. Intrapersonal skills translate into higher-order logical and critical thinking skills. Logical/mathematical Logical/mathematical intelligence

Those Those gifted gifted with logical/mathematical intelligence are more comfortable with abstract ideas and patterns, scientific reasoning, and inductive and deductive reasoning. These people are better at discerning relationships and connections among objects and ideas. In his book, Gardner identifies two more intelligences. The first is musical/rhythmic intelligence, with an associated sensitivity to sound and tone. The second is body/kinesthetic intelligence, body/kinesthetic intelligence, with a heightened sensitivity to movement. Thinking Thinking group group particip participant antss are all likely likely to be strong strong in one or more of these these intelligences, and I describe them only for your information. The educator will no doubt be watching the thinking groups operate, and this kind of information about the different ways in which we all learn may help in guiding the thinking group. I like to think of the process explained in my book “Essay Writing for High School Students,” being a little like the famous “thought experiments” that Albert Einstein conducted, and which resulted in his breakthrough discoveries about the nature of our world. world.



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Building imaginary models

When member memberss of a thinkin thinkingg group discuss discuss a topic with the purpose purpose of coming coming to a conclusion or point of view on a prompt, topic, or question, they have to build imaginary models of possible outcomes in their minds. They cannot build physical experiments; they have to rely on their imagination and intelligence. Einstein could not build a microscope powerful enough to investigate the nature of sub-atomic particles. Neither could he build a spaceship fast enough to ride alongside a beam of light. Nonetheless, that was what he would have to accomplish to find his answers. Einstein knew that he would never solve the problems that obsessed him unless he looked inside an atom or rode a beam of light. So, he surmised them, imagined them, or modeled them — inside inside his head. Using no equipment other than his mind, Einstein set out to understand what direct observation of these phenomena would would tell tell him. him. He He asked asked questio questions ns of of himsel himselff about about what it would would be like like to live live inside inside an atom or ride a beam of light at 186,000 miles per second. He answered those questions and many more using only his imagination. The essay: testing the thoughts

One way for an educator to test the outcome of the thought experiments that are thinking groups is the essay. The answers to a question, such as the one about the love of money being the root of all evil, are subjective opinions. They are a question of personal taste, not demonstrable proofs. The best form form of expressi expression on for for an an opinio opinion n is an essa essay. y. In In an essay, essay, the the writer writer has has to lay lay out her thought process and defend it. The essay endures forever, making it more likely that the writer will not be as careless with the written words as they she might be with spoken words. Writing Writing an essay essay is a lot like Einstein’s Einstein’s thought thought experim experiments ents.. When writing writing an essay, essay, there is no complicated machinery to design and build inside our minds. We simply need to use that most complex of organisms — our our human brain — to to imagine, suppose, and deduce. One of the functions that the brain performs best is conjecture — thinking thinking what something something might might be like. like. That is just what is required required in order order to develop develop,, or discover, a point of view and to disclose it in the form of an essay. The purpose of the following pages is to show one way in which students can be encouraged to think their — just way to a thesis thesis — just as Einstein did. Essays are the best way to test the outcome of a thinking group. Summary 

By addressing an open-ended issue — e.g. e.g. “Is effort more important than ability? ” ” — participants in a thinking group must focus on discovery and innovation in order for opinion creation and meaning making to happen.



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Thinkin Thinkingg groups groups are not debates debates with winners and losers; losers; they they are a group group problem-solving endeavor. Participation in a thinking group will promote not just thinking skills but will also develop listening and team participation skills as well as tolerance and respect. All of our multiple multiple intelli intelligen gences ces must must be brought brought to bear on the the issue issue presente presented d to the thinking group. Participants in thinking groups are conducting thought experiments in which their imagination concocts probable — and and improbable — ideas. ideas. Participants consider ideas carefully before committing them to paper as essays for others to see.



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5: The Essay Principles A journey of self discovery

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here are six basic essay principles.

1) 19th century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli neatly encapsulated the first and paramount principle of writing an essay when he said, “If you wish to become acquainted with a subject, write . . . about it.” A poster bearing these words should hang in the classroom.

2) The second principle is an extension of the first and states that the true subject of an essay is the writer, not the topic being written about. This statement also is a candidate for a classroom poster. 3) Principles one and two inevitably lead to the third principle, which simply states that if the true subject matter of an essay is the author, then writing essays must be the best way to discove discoverr onesel oneself. f. 4) The fourth principle maintains that it is possible to learn to think one’s way to the discovery of a personal point of view using disciplined, logical, and structured methods.

5) The fifth principle is that it is possible to learn to disclose, or share, that point of view through through clear, clear, concise concise writing. writing. 6) The sixth principle is practice, practice, practice. SAT essay preparation

The thinking thinking group describe described d in this ePrimer™ is primarily a group activity. Clearly, students who are writing an essay during their SAT or ACT assessment examination will not not have the the advant advantage age of workin workingg with a group group of fellow fellow studen students. ts. Nor will will they they have dictionaries or other reference materials. Nevertheless, the thinking group and its techniques, if practiced often enough in a group setting, will “wear a path” through the nervous system of the student. This pathway of the discovery and disclosure process will become second nature, nature, and the student will be better better prepared prepared for the SAT or ACT assessm assessment ent essay. essay. If you have ever watched as a group of small children are introduced to, let’s say , the tennis serve, they begin by doing it over and over again in unison, following along as the coach demonstrates the correct technique before eventually doing it themselves.



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This kind kind of learnin learningg eventua eventually lly carries carries over over into into the tennis tennis match match — played played alone —and the pathways pathways that that endless endless practice practicess have have worn worn into into the child’s child’s without without the the coach coach —and central nervous system take over as muscle memory. A journey of self discovery

These These same princip principles les are the founda foundation tion of the thinkin thinkingg group group method. method. The difference is that practicing these skills will lead to a method for the discovery of a writer writer’s ’s true true voice, voice, and the the abili ability ty to to disclos disclose, e, or share share that that authe authentic ntic voice, voice, which which is is the essence of any essay. In other words, practicing the methods learned in thinking groups will lead to a journey of self-discovery. Practicing the methods and techniques explained in this ePrimer™ volume volume and in in my book book Essay Essay Writin Writingg for for High High Schoo Schooll Student Students s will will give reading, thinking, and writing a purpose: self-discovery. Essay writing is not only the best way to disclose one’s point of view; it is a way to discover, cultivate, and refine beliefs about all sorts of issues, large and small. This training and refining of the mind and personality through writing is just as important — and as — and can be readily compared to — physical physical exercise for the body.

Writing Writing is is the best best way way to refin refinee all receiv received ed knowl knowledg edgee into into a perso personal nal philo philosoph sophyy that that makes sense; first to the writer and then to others. Properly executed, writing essays can be compared to looking into a mirror:: what is seen — or or should be seen — in both the mirror and the writing is an honest reflection of who the writer really is. Summary 

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Writing Writing about about anythi anything ng is is a good way to disco discover ver yourself yourself.. An instinct instinctive ive respon response se to a questio question n may be right, right, but but a discipli disciplined ned approa approach ch to a question has a better chance of being the right one — especially especially if it is written written down and present presented ed for examina examination tion.. Clear writing is easier when you have an authentic topic to write about. Practice may not make perfect; but it certainly helps improve any student’s work. work. Writing Writing is like like looking looking in a mirror mirror and and disco discoveri vering ng who you really really are.



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6: The Process of Essay Writing Thinking, writing, and understanding

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s I have said, essay writing is best understood as a way of further understanding oneself, by studying the subject matter of a prompt or question, and analyzing one’s relationship to that subject matter.

The first first challeng challengee faced faced by students students when confront confronted ed with the subject subject matter matter suggested by an essay prompt or question is to resist the temptation to begin writing — and before fully understanding if and how or why — they they agree or disagree with the prompt. For example, when confronted by the prompt “The love of money is the root of all evil,” — that — how students need to first to figure out — that is, discover — how they feel about this issue before disclosing their point of view. How can they do that? The answer, of course, is that they must think. In this case, they must think about the proposition to do with money and, by inference, evil and society. Students only learn when they think their way through the process. Of course, thinking requires effort and a plan. The purpose purpose of this ePrimer™ is to provide parent educators with a vehicle for helping their students learn and practice this method as a group activity in the classroom. This ePrimer™ and Ess and Essay ay Writin Writingg for High High School School Studen Students ts help students think by showing them a step-by-step method for attacking any problem. Let’s start by stating the obvious. Nothing worthwhile is achieved without effort. It seems to me that one learns very little even from scientific programs on TV, because nothing is required of the viewer except passivity. By contrast, students must engage and wrestle with the problem posed in a prompt or essay topic.

Teachers Teachers will need to constant constantly ly remind their their students students that the rewards rewards of this effort effort —nothing ng less less than a formati formation on of one’s one’s beliefs beliefs through through though thoughtt and are immense —nothi comprehension. Asking questions to encourage thinking

So to begin: it is self-evident that all of us — students students included — have have some prior knowledge that is relevant to the issue, prompt, or question under consideration. The questions the teacher should encourage their students to ask are:



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1. How can I form a whole view shaped and synthesized from old information and new? 2. How can I acquire new information? 3. How can I reflect on this newly acquired knowledge? In Chapters 2 and 4 of Ess of Essay ay Writing Writing for High Schoo Schooll Studen Students, ts, I describe a method of thinking in disciplined and structured ways on topics such as money, evil, and the impact of evil on society. This method, which I call Thinking Around the Box ™ , first helps students recover information they had — and and perhaps did not realize — then then helps them add to that knowledge, and finally, helps them blend the two to synthesize a cogent, whole, authentic viewpoint. Writing to gain understanding

“You cannot write about something you do not understand.” (Project CRISS, www.proj www.project ectcris criss.co s.com) m) Lack Lack of underst understandi anding, ng, I believe believe,, is at the heart of problems problems faced by all of us, not just students. Thinking about a subject and then writing about it, as I will continually emphasize, is a way of understanding oneself. For most of us, this understanding is a work in progress. — tend Many people — I include myself tend to begin by reading once we realize that new knowledge is required, and this is understandable. However, thinking about writing first helps a person understand what it is that they need to know (discover) in order to develop a point of view on a given topic. If reading is to help one analyze and discuss a topic or prompt, one needs to know why one is reading.

Writing Writing is often often cited cited as the the best way way to underst understand and someth something. ing. If a write writerr can explain explain something to his or her own satisfaction, then presumably that writer will be able to explain it well to someone else. However, simply telling students that “The best way to understand something is to write about it,” is a little bit like saying “Be creative,” “Be more imaginative,” or “Be more original.” The expression on their faces is likely to tell the story: “I don’t know how. Tell me how and then I will try.” How many times have we all heard that from students? Thinking: the path to imagination and creativity

It is important to remember that the path to creativity, originality, and imagination begins with organization, and organization begins with thinking. Of course, thinking is most frequently done alone, since most of us cannot stop thinking even if we try. Thinking, however, can also be done socially in group settings. Businesses do this very successfully. Their goal is to generate ideas or solutions that will benefit their organization as a whole. In the case of students, the purpose of thinking in groups, in structured ways, is to practice generating and harnessing ideas with the goal of attaining an authentic point of view.



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Group thinking is not it must be emphasized — natural natural human behavior and must, — it therefore, be learned and governed. Natural competition and egos can get in the way of group thinking, particularly among adolescents. As any parent, coach, or teacher knows, when groups of young people get together, they normally are not engaged in cooperatively thinking through a problem or an issue. It is more likely that they are either competing, arguing or agreeing. Consequently, rules need to be adopted for these thinking groups, as I call them. Summary 

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To form an opinion opinion a student student needs to blend blend knowled knowledge ge they they already already have have with new knowle knowledge dge.. They need to know know how to acquire acquire new knowled knowledge. ge. They need to be able able to reflect reflect on and analyz analyzee this this blend of old and new to come up with a defensible and explainable opinion. Pausing to reflect on a prompt or topic will let a student know what they do not yet know, and where and how this knowledge can be accessed. Organized group-thinks are a good place to begin.



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7: More About T Thinking hinking Groups The network network effect of multiple multiple connections connections

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hinking groups are a wonderful way to practice getting student’s ideas out on the table, the blackboard, the whiteboard, or the computer for that matter. These “group-thinks” are great practice for students who will ultimately have to think through issues by talking only to themselves and getting their ideas out on paper.

Talking Talking to oneself oneself is usually usually frowned frowned upon upon as socially socially inept inept conduct conduct or a sign sign of something even worse. However, think about this for a moment. We alone in this world world have the the gift gift of visual visualizin izing, g, or modelin modeling, g, all sides sides of of a problem, problem, issue issue,, or idea by by using one side of our brain to ask the other “What if?” and debating the answers to such questions inside our head. So what if this conversation is verbalized? The right brain and the left brain effectively operate as two separate entities in these conversations. This is a huge advantage and should be pointed out by parents and educators to their students. The benefits of debate within structure

The benefit benefitss of debate debate and thinking thinking increase increase dramati dramaticall callyy when when student studentss look at all sides of an issue in a structured environment of, let’s say, six students — all all of whom can hold a debate inside their own heads as well as with fellow members of the thinking group. Think of it this way: each of the six students has the ability to discuss things not only with himself or herself, but also with the five other members of their thinking group. In other words, each participant has seven two-entity communication possibilities, interactions, or connections. That means that in a thinking group of six members, there are 42 unique connections. Jane talks to herself (both right brain to left brain and left brain to right brain) and to five other thinking group members, who also are talking inside their own heads and to others, and so on. “Talking to and with others enhances individual comprehension . . . by pooling our collective knowledge, we emerge from discussion more enlightened about a subject. ” (Project CRISS, www.proj www.project ectcris criss.co s.com). m). But why does it work? It’s the network effect of all those two-entity interactions. If there were only three students in the thinking group, the network effect would be composed of a mere 12 possible two-entity interactions. If there are ten students in a thinking group, then the network effect would be 110, but at this point issues of control come into play.



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I have conducted dozens of these thinking groups and in my experience, six or seven students make a good-size grouping, provided there are rules clearly spelled out to which which all partic participan ipants ts agree agree by signin signingg a contrac contractt (more (more on that late later). r). The teac teacher her can can then step out of the role of instructor and leave the thinking group to govern, teach, and inform itself. The magnitude of multiple connections

To illust illustrate rate the the magnit magnitude ude of the networ networkk effect effect gener generate ated d by thinking thinking group groups, s, I have have provided a chart and a graph on the next pages. As you can see from the data presented in these two formats, as more participants join the thinking group, a geometric progression takes place. With the addition of each new member, the actual number of new connections added increases. The more possible connections there are, the more the contributions to the thinking group increase and the more the potential for idea generation increases. This is why companies and the military use this method for idea generation and problem solving. Here are two ways — a listing and a graph — of of showing the dramatic effect membership size has on a thinking group: Number of participants

1

2

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5

6

7

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9

10

Number of connections

2

6

12

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Diagram A – A – Network Network Effect Graph



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8: The Thinking Thinking Group Contract A safe, targeted process

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arlier, I mentioned the advisability of having the students sign a contract that governs the conduct of the thinking group. The contract does not bear any — either — in weight weight — either civilly or criminally in case the students are worried. However, it is a long-held belief in all countries governed by laws and not man, that once people affix their signatures to an agreement, they feel bound by its rules and conditions. That is one reason to have this contract. An added added benefit benefit to havin havingg a contract contract is that that it can can be part of a civics civics discu discussio ssion n on the issue of contracts and the law. When your students grow up, contracts will sadly be a large part of their lives. All the better to start the dialog when they are still young. This thinkin thinkingg group group contrac contractt has has three three purposes purposes,, listed listed in order order of importan importance: ce: 1. To make sure that each partici participant pant in the thinkin thinkingg group group is both safe from from ridicule and taken seriously; since an important rule of the group is that there — no are only ideas only ideas no bad ideas. If they feel safe from ridicule the participants will feel free to put forward any ideas, which can then be accepted or discarded by the group not on the basis of its source, but after a thorough discussion of its merits conducted under a set of rules they all understand and sign off on. 2. To ensure ensure everyo everyone ne in the the thinkin thinkingg group group stays stays on target, target, or on mission, as they say in the commercial, diplomatic, and military worlds. 3. To expedit expeditee the process process and facilit facilitate ate optimal optimal learnin learningg within within the thinkin thinking g group. The contract contract is displ displaye ayed d on on the the follo following wing page. page.



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The Contract In consideration for my desire to participate in a thinking thinking group organized and sponsored by parent educator ____________________ ____________________ (hereinafter (hereinafter referred to as the “thinking group”) and, in reliance on the execution of a like contract by each other participant in the thinking group, the undersigned enters into this contract. In doing so, I understand that parent educator ___________________ has committed to each participant in the thinking group to do the following: 1. To teach us us a method of thinking about about an issue or topic in a way that encourages encourages the development of a point of view on any given issue; 2. To help us us in this task task by organizing organizing a thinking thinking group in in which participants participants collectively collectively come come to a resolution on a given topic; and, 3. To help us us learn to write write a thoughtful thoughtful and well-argued well-argued essay on on the topic. I. PARTICIPANT’S WARRANTIES

Based on the foregoing, I agree to abide by the following thinking thinking group rules of conduct: 1. All ideas generated generated by me during during a meeting meeting of the thinking thinking group group will be private and known known only to to me until I declare them part of the group’s work product. At this time, said ideas will become open for discussion. 2. I promise to do my best to keep the focus of the group of which I am a member, on the work at hand and not to participate in any side discussions that are irrelevant to the purposes of the thinking group. 3. I agree to listen to all members of the group respectfully and carefully and I further promise to only — not judge or criticize their ideas not their character, personality, mode of dress, or any idiosyncrasies. This way, I and all other other members of the the thinking group will feel feel safe from scorn, embarrassment, embarrassment, and ridicule and the work of the group will be greatly enhanced. 4. I promise to let each person who is speaking finish his or her thoughts. I further promise unconditionally unconditionally to allow them to withdraw their idea if, on completion, they feel it did not add any value to the discussion. 5. I promise to let one member of the thinking group repeat each speaker’s thoughts (once completed) without interruption, interruption, thereby solidifying solidifying their idea in all all members’ minds. 6. I promise that only after the idea has been proposed and repeated will I challenge it. I will only challenge the idea, not the person suggesting it. I will do this because I agree that, during a thinking group’s deliberations, there are no bad ideas— just just ideas. 7. I agree that, if I am in possession of facts or examples that support an idea that the group is discussing, I will volunteer this supporting evidence. 8. I agree that, if I am in possession of facts or evidence to disprove an idea, I will volunteer them, knowing that they may become valuable evidence in an essay, since stating something as a fact and then disproving it is an excellent way to prove a point. 9. I promise to help make sure that all participants in the thinking group participate by encouraging the least confident members to speak up. ePrimer™ Thinking

Groups—Teaching Groups —Teaching Students to “Think Around the Box™”

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10. I promise to do my best to make sure that all meetings of the group begin and end on time. 11. I promise that I will make every effort to reach a consensus during the discussions of the thinking group. If a consensus is not reached, I agree that the majority rules. This way, all members support the final product. 12. I promise to keep an open mind and to make an effort ef fort to see the other person’s point of view. 13. I promise to politely confront other members of the thinking group who do not abide by either the spirit or the letter of these rules. 14. I promise that I will be willing to constructively criticize the group’s performance. 15. Since all members will take turns being the group leader, I promise that I will support any member of the group in their role as group leader with a positive, cooperative attitude toward solving solving the problem assigned. 16. I agree that the main goal of my participation in a thinking group is to learn the process of selfdiscovery through writing, so I may then embark on a lifetime of learning.

_________________________ ____________________________ ___ Participant’s Signature _________

Date _______________ _______________

_________________________ _________________________ Parent educator’s Signature _________

Date _______________ _______________

(Based partly on Carr and Harris, 1993, and Project Criss 1985, drafted by Dave Bustard of Williams, Parker, Harrison, Dietz and Getsen, Sarasota, Florida.)

ePrimer™ Thinking


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9: The Thinking Thinking Group in Action “What is written without effort is in general read r ead without pleasure.” Doctor Samuel Johnson Flow And Process

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hen all the participants have carefully read, discussed, and signed their thinking group contracts, it is time to get organized and begin the process.

Depending on the number of students involved, several thinking groups can be formed. The ideal number of students in a group is a matter for debate. The maturity of the group, their level of cooperativeness, and the educator’s intuition should be the guideposts. Two is the minimum, of course, and ten are too many. The network effect of two participants is limited to six connections, whereas ten participants with 110 connections may defeat the purpose of a thinking group, unless these students are unusually disciplined. A group of six participants yields a network effect of 42 and offers an excellent nexus of creativity and control. Again, two students operating under the above guidelines and observing the following procedural rules can benefit enormously. Once the groups are decided upon, the group selects a leader. Explain to students that the leadership will rotate, with every member taking a turn. Make sure each group has at least one dictionary and a thesaurus or an internet connection. Next, introduce the topic to be analyzed and written about. Some examples follow in this ePrimer™, and 100 others can be found in Chapter 12 of my book Ess book Essay ay Writing Writing for High High School School Studen Students. ts. You You will want to consider consider the level of difficult difficultyy of a topic, topic, of course, but please know that I have found that students as young as nine do not shy away from philosophical or contentious issues. Discussion topics

I have led discussions with middle and high school students on the following topics with excell excellent ent results. results. You as the parent parent educator educator know know your students students best. best. You may want to have have them examine examine and explore explore simpler simpler topics, topics, or you might might want them them to delve into more complex issues. 

The purpose purpose of of the law is is not to punish punish transg transgress ressors, ors, but to to give us all all hope. hope. Discuss.



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President Woodrow Wilson said in 1920 that democratic nations are less likely to go to war than autocracies. Has history borne him out? Is knowledge power?

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— is The interne internett — is it a force for good?

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What makes makes soci society ety work? work?

The group’s work begins: begins: step-by-step

Now the independent work of the thinking group based on the methods described in Essay Essay Writing Writing for for High High Schoo Schooll Stude Students nts , begins. Here is a step-by-step process: 1. After After the the teach teacher er write writess the the topic topic to to be discusse discussed d on a whitebo whiteboard, ard, the group group leade leaderr reads the topic, or prompt, aloud to the group. Each of the other members of the group, in turn, reads the topic aloud. Reading a topic aloud several times seems redundant but it has a purpose. It trains students to carefully read and focus on a topic automatically. Such focused attention is the best defense against the age-old problem of misunderstanding the topic by scanning it too rapidly and then responding to the wrong topic. 2. Now, the thinking group members begin to silently free write their ideas and continue to do so until the group free writing of ideas — in in silence — is is complete. Members should record these ideas privately at first. Sharing the first thoughts that come into one’s head w ithout ithout some deliberation or consideration is inadvisable in a group — even even one that is under contract not to snicker. Make sure that the participants understand that instinct is a powerful gift, and should be recorded not just at this time but also throughout the exercise. 3. Now the group decides if the topic under consideration best lends itself to the contextual thinking method thinking method of analysis, a spider diagram , or a simple list . A contextual thinking diagram is one where the student writes the word to be analyzed in the middle of a page and then works up the hierarchy by asking and answering the question, “What is this word itself a part of?” Then Then the the student student brea breaks ks the word word down down into it constituent parts. See the example, “Does the study of geogra geography phy matter? matter?” ” in Diagram G. The spider diagram is similar. The student writes the word in the middle of a page and then simply draws spider legs out from it as they ask and answer questions about the word. Lists are simply words written down in categories. The final example of a thinking group in action shows how lists can be used to analyze a prompt. You will see more on these methods later in the sample exercise section. Also, See Chapter 11 in Ess in Essay ay Writin Writingg for for High High Scho School ol Studen Students. ts. 4. Next, members of the group consult the available web sites, dictionaries and a thesaurus for definitions and synonyms of important words in the topic. The



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group leader or a volunteer writes down the definitions and equivalent or related words words on the whiteboa whiteboard rd or or any any availa available ble writing writing surface. surface. — if 5. The group group leader leader now asks a member member to turn turn the topic topic into into questio questions ns — if the topic lends itself to this questioning method. For example, when considering President Wilson’s Wilson’s obser observat vation ion about about demo democracy and war, a member simply asks the group, “Are democratic nations less likely to go to war than others?” This should prompt someone to ask, “Does history since President Wilson’s time enforce his argument, or not?” If the topic under consideration is the one about the law and whether its purpose is to punish —under the parent parent teache teacher’s r’s or to give hope, then someone will probably ask —under guidance — “Does “Does the law give us all hope, or not?” If the topic is already a question, the leader asks a member to ask it in a different way. For example, “Does power, in fact, equal knowledge?”

6. Next, the group leader reminds the group to ask and answer the most important questions: the who, what, why, where, and when questions when questions about the main words or ideas in the topic or prompt. For example, “Who does the internet affect?” What is the internet ?” ?” “Why is the internet important?” “Where does the internet have its greatest effect?” “When did the internet come into being and why, and where is it going and why, and how and what will its impact be in the future?” “Overall is it a good or a bad invention?” Human nature being what it is, this questioning will spontaneously provoke many thoughts. These thoughts, whether they are random ideas, examples, anecdotes, facts, intuitions, imaginings, musings, feelings, stirrings, or conjectures MUST be — by recorded — in in free writing by the participants. These spontaneous thoughts are crucial to the discovery process. 7. The leader leader reminds reminds the circle circle to personali personalize ze the issue issue by always always thinking thinking how the the issue under consideration affects them, their family, or their nation. The leader also asks the thinking group to provide concrete examples that support their ideas wheneve wheneverr approp appropriat riate. e. 8. Now is the time to share. The group leader asks the other members to begin sharing their ideas in an orderly manner, reminding the group to observe the rule — just that at this stage there are no bad ideas — just ideas. 9. The lead leader er or a volun voluntee teerr writes writes each each idea idea on a separa separate te note note or file file card, card, reads reads the the idea aloud, and affixes the note to a surface. (A tabletop, a whiteboard, or a blackboard will do.) 10. The group group leader leader now now leads leads the the discus discussion sion and the the sort sorting ing of of notes notes into into cate categori gories. es. Equally important, the group evaluates whether or not there are any gaps in their collective knowledge about the topic. If gaps are identified, the leader takes steps to fill the gaps or reminds the members to avoid the gaps in their essays.



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11. When the group group leade leaderr decides decides that there there has been been enou enough gh discuss discussion ion and and enough enough ideas collected, the thinking group prepares the thesis statement, which is a written point of view. All the participants must agree upon the thesis statement, whether unanimously or by majority rule. 12. Again, Again, by by consen consensus sus or majori majority ty rule, rule, the thinkin thinkingg group group decides decides what type type of essay essay they will write: persuasive, informative, or narrative. (See Chapter 5, Essay Essay Writing Writing for for High High Schoo Schooll Stude Students nts. ) .) The The group group leader leader records records this informa information tion.. 13. All the members members of the thinkin thinkingg group now go their their separate separate ways to write their their version version of the essay. (See Chapters Chapters 3 and 6, Ess 6, Essay ay Writing Writing for High School School Studen Students. ts. ) ) Individual members decide which techniques to use, establish a tone for their essay, and choose a way to introduce the topic. (See Chapter 5, Essay Essay Writing Writing for for High School Students .) .) group reconven reconvenes es to read and discuss discuss members’ members’ effort efforts, s, operating operating under under the 14. The group rules of conduct laid down in the contract.

15. The member memberss of the the group group separat separatee again again to edit edit and and polish polish their their essays essays (Chapte (Chapters rs 6 and 7, Ess 7, Essay ay Writing Writing for for High Schoo Schooll Students Students ) in response response to the group group discussion discussion,, and then reconvene and review the final efforts. 16. The thinking thinking group group review reviewss its performa performance, nce, and members members offer any suggesti suggestions ons for improving participation or procedures. 17. Leadership of the group passes to the next individual and the teacher assigns the next topic. (Return to Step 1.) Summary 

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All members members take take turns turns carefull carefullyy readin readingg the the promp promptt alou aloud. d. Free write as ideas occur. Do not pay attention to spelling etc. Just get the idea on paper. Instinct has been called reason in a hurry. It is a valid human ability and should be used. Begin thinking whether the spider diagram, context diagram, or list is best for this topic. Define the major words in the prompt and look up synonyms. Turn the topic topic into into a questi question. on.



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Group leader asks and gets answer to as many who, many who, what, why, where and when questions as possible. Personalize the issue: frame it in a family and national context. How does it affect me? Share ideas. There are no bad ideas at this stage — just just ideas. Sort the ideas and thoughts into categories. Look for gaps in the group’s knowledge.

Prepare a thesis statement that everyone buys into. For example “Knowledge is power power because because we believ believee that that a )……….b) )……….b)……. ……...an ..andd c) are true.” true.”

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Decide on what kind of essay to write to defend the thesis statement.

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Reconvene and discuss each other’s essays.



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10: Warm-Up Exercises Exercises Jump-starting the brain

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ne idea I have used with good results is to get a thinking group started with a series of warm-up exercises. A swimmer or runner does not spring from the starting blocks without first warming up their muscles. Warm-up exercises for the thinking group get students’ brains ready for the task that they will face when a topic is submitted to them for analysis. Here is how I have conducted these warm ups. To begin the routine, one member opens a dictionary at a random page, closes his or her eyes, and jabs at the page. Three or four words will be in range of their finger. The member calls out these words and another member writes them on a whiteboard or a notepad. The group votes quickly on which word to examine and the exercise is underway. It is important to stress to the participants that the object of this warm up exercise is not to develop an essay, but to get the thinking group, well, thinking . Note that the same rules of the contract apply: mutual respect; active listening; criticizing the idea not the person; letting people finish their ideas; keeping an open mind; and, above all, helping the shy and reticent. Never be scornful of another member. (This would work well as a poster.) This is an actual example example of a session session I conduct conducted ed with a group group pf eight 11th grade grade boys and girls. I asked a student to open a dictionary and, with eyes closed, point to a place on the page. The closest word was phil was philhar harmon monic. ic. This is what followed. followed. We looked looked at the definition definition and the root of the word in an American American Heritag Heritagee Dictio Dictionary nary.. We discove discovered red that that the word has two meaning meanings: s: “pertaining to a symphony orchestra” and “music loving.” The root of the word is a combination of two Greek words: one for “loving” (philos) and one for “harmony.” We We then looked for synonyms and began writing ideas suggested by the word and its meaning. Within ten minutes we had the following spider diagram built after quickly asking some who, what, why, where and where and when questions. when questions.



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Next, another student set the dictionary on its spine and allowed it to fall open. This time I closed my eyes and stabbed at the page. The nearest word was redoubt . I have read a great deal of military history and was vaguely aware of this word; it means “a temporary, earthwork rampart behind which soldiers take refuge.” It comes from a Latin word which which means means to “withdraw to a concealed place.” This word struck struck me as one that that would would respond respond to context contextual ual thinkin thinking. g. It did not disappoint. Very rapidly, we had built a diagram, aided by a dictionary and a thesaurus. See the following, Diagram C. Diagram C —Spide —Spiderr Diag Diagram ram:: Brai Brainst nstorm orm “Redou “Redoubt bt” ”

Military Strategies

Defense

Attack Fortifications

Barbed wire

Armor

Redoubt (Latin— withdraw to a concealed place Earthwork Rampart

Castle

Moat

Synonyms/Near Synonyms Breastwork

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Palisade

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Barrier

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Barricade

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Battlement

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Bastion

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•

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Under At Attack

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•

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Entrenchment Bunker Foxhole

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Soldiers

Electronic

Trench

Stronghold Fortress

Another Another idea I have have tried tried is is as as follow follows. s. First First,, the the parent parent educator educator or a student student randomly randomly selects a word and gives it to two or more thinking groups. (We once taped a newspaper to a wall and threw a suction-cup dart at it, to be totally random in our selection.) Each of the competing teams must come up with a diagram. The parent educator then adjudicates a process that can be made somewhat objective by awarding marks for the process as well as the final product. The game can be fun, particularly when a time time limit limit of about about 10 10 to to 15 15 minut minutes es is is set. set.



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11: Sample Exercises The follow following ing sample sample exerc exercises ises show show group group discussi discussion on results results using using the list method, the spider diagram method, the contextual thinking method, and a diagrammatic example called the graphic graphic method method..

The List Method — Example Example 1 Prompt to be addressed:

“We all need heroes.”

1. The group leader leader reads reads the prompt aloud. Each of the other members, members, in turn, turn, reads the prompt aloud. 2. All particip participants ants begin begin free free writing writing ideas, ideas, hunches hunches,, thought thoughts, s, conjectu conjectures res,, and examples privately as soon as they see the prompt and continue to do so as the discussion progresses. Project CRISS advises using a form to record ideas. The form is divided into two columns. On the CRISS form, one column is headed ;” ideas and support for ideas . A “Opinion ; ” the other “Proof.” I prefer recording them as ideas and sample completed form and a blank form follow this exercise. Feel free to make copies for your own use. 3. The group group decides decides whether whether to use contextu contextual al thinking, thinking, a spider spider diagram, diagram, or a list. list. The key issue issue in decidin decidingg which which to use is the complexi complexity ty of the issue issue under under discussion. The parent educator, in the early stages of the adoption of this program, will probably have to facilitate a discussion of which method to use. Practice will give students their own way to choose. The list method seems to be the easiest way to attack this straightforward issue. 4. Group members look for definitions and related words and synonyms. This is a blend of several dictionary offerings: a hero is “in mythology, a man of divine ancestry who is brave, strong, ingenious, and favored by the Gods; a man who risks and sacrifices his life for noble purposes,” and “a man or woman who is celebrated for special achievements in a particular field field of endeavo endeavor.” r.” One thesaurus used word equivalents like “stalwart,” “gallant,” “brave,” “mettle,” “demigod,” and “paladin.” The group leader writes the definitions and related words or synonyms where all members can see them during the discussion. 5. The group group leader leader asks asks a member member to to turn turn the the prompt prompt into into a quest question: ion: “Do we all need heroes?” 6. The group group leader leader reminds reminds the group group to ask the who, what, why, where, and when questions. For example:



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Who were, or are, the brave, strong, self-sacrificing, noble women and men who qualify as heroes? There are two types: ancient or mythical heroes and more modern historic figures. What were they? What was, or is, their purpose or role? T he he mythical figures served as lessons for us all. They were parables that sought to teach us lessons of good and evil. They were instruments of change, and perhaps control, for ancient people. By winning the hand of the princess, embarking on a quest, or completing impossible tasks such as slaying dragons, they became metaphors (parables, fables, legends) that illustrated lessons or drew conclusions for society about behavior. Why are they important? They point the way. In ancient times, before people could read or write, their cultural awareness came from stories, and the stories usually transmitted moral lessons. Why did cultures that had no knowledge of one another or contact develop startlingly similar stories and messages? Heroes messages? Heroes in our modern civilized times, similarly, are agents of change for the better. Where did they live? They They lived lived every everywher where. e. All cultur cultures es had Gods, Gods, demons, demons, and and stories of courage and nobility. Throughout the world — in in Africa, Asia, the — there America Americas, s, and Europe Europe — there are remarkably similar stories and characters who teach teach nearly nearly ident identical ical lessons lessons or theme themess throug through h their their expl exploits oits.. The heroes heroes just have different names. When did they live? They They have have always always been been with with us.

— do 7. The leader leader reminds reminds the group group to persona personalize lize the the issue — do I have heroes and why? — and provide examples if they can. Here are some examples one group that I worked worked with came up with with in a matter matter of minutes minutes:: King Arthur, Arthur, Hercules Hercules,, Columbus, Einstein, Marie Curie, Susan B. Anthony, Churchill, Gandhi, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and the common man or woman, soldier, ploughman, or mother. Here are some other thoughts that surfaced as the students talked: do we need anti-heroes such as Stalin, Mao, Saddam Hussein, and Hitler in modern times, or Attila the Hun and Ivan the Terrible in ancient times to teach us by their bad examples? A hero can can be a celeb celebrity rity,, but can can a celebrit celebrityy qualify qualify as as a hero? hero? They They often often do, but but should they?

8. After After the leader reminds reminds the circle to follow follow the rules of the contract, contract, members members begin to share their ideas in an orderly manner. 9. A volunt volunteer eer records records the ideas, ideas, writi writing ng each on a separa separate te note note or file file card, card, reads reads the idea to the circle, and affixes the note to a surface for all members to see. 10. The group group leader leader leads leads the the discu discussi ssion on and and sorti sorting ng of of notes notes into categor categories. ies.



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11. The thinking thinking group prepares prepares a thesis thesis statement, statement, for example example,, this is the one my group decided upon: I believe in heroes. I believe they still exist and always will. The will. The thesis thesis must be accepted by consensus or majority rule. 12. Again, Again, by by consen consensus sus or majori majority ty rule, rule, the thinkin thinkingg group group decides decides what type type of essay essay they will write — informative informative or persuasive. This one is likely to be persuasive. 13. All the members members of the thinkin thinkingg group now go their their separate separate ways to write their their version version of the the essay. essay. Indivi Individual dual membe members rs decide decide which which techniq techniques ues to to use, use, establi establish sh a tone for their essay, and choose a way to introduce the topic. For more on this see “ Essay .” Essay Writing Writing for High High Scho School ol Student Students s .” 14. The group group reconvenes to read and discuss members’ efforts, operating under the rules of conduct laid down in the contract. 15. The members members of the group group separate separate again again to edit and polish polish their their essays essays in response to the group discussion and then reconvene and review the final efforts. 16. The thinking thinking group group review reviewss its performa performance, nce, and members members offer any suggesti suggestions ons for improving participation or procedures. 17. Leadership passes to the next person; the parent educator teacher assigns a new topic. Here is an example of a list created during this thinking group.



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Completed Idea/Support Form Topic:

We all need heroes.

Idea

Support for Idea

Definitions

Mythological, divine, special

Word equivalents

Stalwart, gallant, brave

Who?

Ancient and modern, idealistic, brave, selfsacrificing men and women, legendary and real

What?

Instrument of change, example to us, all of virtue, parables and metaphors

Why?

Role models, they point the way, teach moral lessons

Where?

All cultures, same messages

When?

Always King Arthur, Hercules, Columbus, Einstein, Marie Curie, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Examples

What do heroes mean to me,

Our choices of heroes help us and define us.

my family, my country? Other ideas

Do we need anti-heroes such as Hitler, Stalin, and Saddam?

All of this effort effort on behalf behalf of the thinking thinking group particip participant antss is part of the discove discovery ry phase of the thinking group’s mission. Through this process, they have discovered an authentic point of view on an issue. A thesis statement should be the outcome e.g. “Heroes have played an important part in all cultures because they set an example of righteous behavior and so keep the tradition alive.” The essay essay writin writingg exerci exercise se follo follows ws makin makingg the the list list:: this this is the the discl disclosur osuree phase. phase. The style, style, type, and tone of the essay will vary, but what will be apparent to a reader is that thought went into the establishment of an authentic voice, expressed as an well-argued, well-de well-defend fended ed opinion. opinion.



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Idea/Support Form

Topic:

Idea:


Support for Idea:


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The Spider Diagram Method — Example Example 2 Prompt to be addressed: “ Why Why do we all play games? ” ”

1. The group leader leader reads the prompt aloud. aloud. Each of the other other group group members, members, in turn, reads the prompt aloud. 2. All particip participants ants begin begin free free writing writing ideas, ideas, hunches hunches,, thought thoughts, s, conjectu conjectures res,, and examples privately as soon as they see the prompt and continue to do so as the discussion progresses. 3. The group group decides decides whether whether to use contextual contextual think thinking, ing, a spider spider diagram, diagram, or a list. list. The key issue issue in decidin decidingg which which to use is the complexi complexity ty of the issue issue under under discussion. This topic, for example, lends itself to the spider diagram method. There There are many cases cases such as this one when the meaning meaning of a prompt prompt turns on more than one key word in the prompt. In this case, two diagrams are needed: one for the word pla word play y and and one for the word gam word games es . 4. Making sure that they all have Idea/Support Forms ready, the group members look for definitions, related words, and synonyms. As I have sometimes said, more than one word is important (or dominant) in an essay prompt and both need to be analyzed. This is one of those occasions. This time, the participants look at the two words words that are important important in this question. question. They note note that one word — games games is a — is — to noun and the other — to play play , when looked up in the — a verb. The word play dictionary, suggests other words: gamblin gambling, g, acting, acting, musica musicall instrum instrument ents, s, electro electronic nic devices, devices, and competition . The word “ games games ” also evokes many other words and ideas when referenced. For example, there are many types of games including board games, electronic games, puzzles, games that are mostly mental, and games that are mostly physical. A look at a thesaurus suggests rivalry , competition , and encounters as alternatives to games games . The encyclopedia discusses games as unproductive diversions, amusement, pastime, and, of course, exercise . The group leader writes the definitions and related words or synonyms where all members can see them during the discussion. 5. The group group leader leader asks asks a member member to to turn the the prompt prompt into into a questio question, n, for examp example, le, “Do we all have a need to play games?” Members write down their ideas in response. 6. The group group leader leader reminds reminds the group group to ask and answer answer the the who, what, why, where, and when questions. when questions. For example: 

Who plays games? Children, most adults, most mammals, and young birds play games. Reptiles appear not to.



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







What games are played? They include board games, print-media games such as crossword puzzles, electronic games, sporting contests. Why do we play games? We games? We play games out of boredom boredom,, as a peacef peaceful ul way to release our competitive urges, and sometimes just for intellectual curiosity and fun. Where do we play games? We games? We play games everywhere — no no exceptions. This tells us something about our primal need to engage in such activity. When do we play games? We We play play games games durin duringg all all our our waki waking ng hours hours..

7. The group group leade leaderr reminds reminds the the thinkin thinkingg group group as always always to to personal personalize ize the the issue issue by asking, “How important are games to me, my family, my nation, and the world?” The The group group leader also reminds members to provide examples if they can. Here are some other thoughts that surfaced in one session I conducted on this prompt. For example, one well-informed participant brought up the issue of anthropomorphism (attributing human feelings to something not in fact human). This prompted another member to wonder if kittens, puppies, and foals really play. When we see seals, dolphins, or whales obviously enjoying their mastery of the sea, we ask why ask why the exuberance; why are they playing? The The only only reasonab reasonable le answe answerr seems seems to to be because because they they can enjoy themselves. Another pointed out that at the other end of the scale, 2,000 years ago, the Romans called their gladiatorial fights to the death and the setting of lions on defenseless Christians “games.” 8. Members begin to share their ideas in an orderly manner, after the leader reminds them to follow the rules of the contract. 9. A volunt volunteer eer records records the ideas, ideas, writi writing ng each on a separa separate te note note or file file card, card, reads reads the idea to the circle, and affixes the note to a surface for all members to see. 10. The group group leader leader leads leads the discussi discussion on and sorting sorting of notes notes into catego categories ries.. Examples of possible spider diagrams follow the outline of the steps taken for this exercise. 11. The thinkin thinkingg group group prepa prepares res a thesis thesis statemen statement, t, for for exam example ple this one that that a group group I monitored wrote, “A cursory look at how people occupy their time leads inevitably to the ob servation servation that games have been with us a long time and so must fulfill some basic human need.” 12. Members of the thinking group now decide what type of essay they will write — informative or persuasive. This one is likely to be informative. 13. All the members members of the thinkin thinkingg group now go their their separate separate ways to write their their version version of the the essay. essay. Indivi Individual dual membe members rs decide decide which which techniq techniques ues to to use, use, establi establish sh a tone for their essay, and choose a way to introduce the topic.



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14. The thinking thinking group group reconve reconvenes nes to read and discuss members’ efforts, operating under the rules of conduct laid down in the contract. 15. The members members of the the circl circlee separa separate te again again to edit edit and polis polish h their their essay essayss in respons responsee to the group’s discussion and then reconvene and review the final efforts. 16. The thinkin thinkingg group review reviewss its performa performance, nce, and member memberss offer offer any construct constructive ive suggestions for improving participation or procedures. 17. Leadership passes to the next person; the teacher assigns a new topic. — the — is Again, Again, the the output output — the end result — is expected to be a thesis statement expressing the group’s conclusion. “Based on observable facts, there seems to be some need in most species for an outlet for a sense of fun and competition.”

Diagrams D and E display two different spider diagrams created during this thinking group: one for the word word pla play y and and one for the word gam word games. es. Diagram D —Spide —Spiderr Diag Diagram ram:: “Play “Play” ”

Gamble/ Risk Instruments

Electronic Music

Play

Act Compete (contests) Against others



Against oneself

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Diagram E —Spide —Spiderr Diag Diagram ram:: “Gam “Games” es”

TV

Video

Internet

Individual

Mostly mental

Team

Mostly physical

Board

Contact

Games

Puzzles

Satisfy curiosity

Purposes

Occupy time Pursue Rivalry


Non-contact

Amuse oneself Entertain oneself

Fulfill oneself


Reward oneself

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The Spider Diagram Method — Example Example 3 Prompt to be addressed: “ W Why hy are symbols so important to us? ” ”

1. The group leader leader reads the prompt aloud. aloud. Each of the other other group group members, members, in turn, reads the prompt aloud. 2. All particip participants ants begin begin free free writing writing ideas, ideas, hunches hunches,, thought thoughts, s, conjectu conjectures res,, and examples privately as soon as they see the prompt and continue to do so as the discussion progresses; preferably using Idea/Support Forms. 3. The group group decides decides whether whether to use contextual contextual think thinking, ing, a spider spider diagram, diagram, or a list. list. This topic topic probab probably ly lends lends itself itself to a single single spide spiderr diagr diagram. am. — the — 4. Since there is really only one dominant word in this prompt — the word symbol group members look for definitions and related words for the word symbol. One simple definition is “Something that represents something else.” For example, a material object may represent something immaterial. The ideas of zero or infinity are abstract and need symbolic, written equivalents, which act as shorthand that everyone understands. The same applies to objects that are invisible. Written symbols represent an operation or action, a quantity, or a notation (as in music). Symbols in math include those for plus, minus, multiply, equal to, nearly equal to, right angle, and square root. There are stop signs and other traffic signs on a road as well as danger signs that we all recognize — fire, fire, deer crossing, skull and crossbones, slippery surface, and so on. A thesaurus provides other words that mean the same or almost the same as symbol: sign, representation, impression, emblem, badge, indication, and totem . The group leader writes the definitions and related words or synonyms where all members can see them during the discussion.

5. Since the prompt is already in the form of a question, the group leader asks a member to turn the prompt into another question, for example, “Are symbols important to everyone?” 6. The group group leader leader reminds reminds the group group to ask the who, what, why, where, and when questions. For example: 



Who might be a symbol? It symbol? It is usual to refer to the head of certain institutions as a — the living symbol — the Dalai Lama, the Queen of England, or the Pope. There are also people who study the science of symbols; they are called semioticians or semioticists (not semioticists (not Symbolists as they are described in the DaVinci Code). What is a symbol? Having symbol? Having looked at the definitions and equivalent words, there appear to be five different types of symbols: musical notation, letters, numbers, emblems, and examples. An emblem tells us about rank and authority — a



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sergeant’s stripes or a judge’s robes— so so a person becomes an emblem. If we say Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, or Nelson Mandela, we are probably using this name as a symbol of dignity as much as we are referring to — and the person. These people have become icons — legendary legendary symbols — and the mention of their names evokes feelings. 







Why do we need symbols? Shorthand seems to be a big part of the answer. The symbol for percentage (%) speaks volumes. Without it, we would have to explain its meaning each and every time we wanted to use it by saying or writing writing “A fraction or ratio with 100 fixed and understood as the denominator, formed by multiplying a decimal equivalent b y 100.” It 100.” It is much easier to say “percent” or to write write its symbol symbolic ic equivale equivalent, nt, “%.” “%.” A symbol symbol seems seems necessa necessary ry in this this case and and in most cases where we wish to communicate in the least cumbersome manner. The best examples of this kind of shorthand are speech and writing. Writing Writing is symbolic symbolic speech speech.. Speech Speech is the symbolic symbolic equival equivalent ent of ideas ideas and thoughts. Why use symbols? We We use use them them to help help us under understan stand d one one anoth another er and and the the world world we live live in. Where are symbols used? They used? They are used everywh everywhere, ere, because because life life would would be intolerable without them. From road signs to computer icons to wedding bands, they help us communicate and understand. In fact, more and more are cropping up as science progresses. On the crime shows, the initials DNA no longer have to be explained — they they have entered our lexicon, which itself is a collection of symbols that facilitate interaction. When do we use symbols? We symbols? We use them whenever we wish to shorten the distance between receiving and comprehending the meaning of another person’s message or a message from our world.

7. The group group leader leader remind remindss the other other partici participant pantss to persona personalize lize the the issue issue by asking asking questions and provide examples if they can. “Are symbols important to me? Do they affect my life and the lives of my family members, friends, and countrymen and if so, how?” For example, a person who folds her arms and scowls when we approach is wordlessly, or symbolically, telling us something. A skull and crossbones at the entrance to a ski run — or or a toxic waste site — could could not send a clearer message about what a person who enters is risking. 8. Members begin to share their ideas in an orderly manner; the leader reminds the circle to follow the rules of the contract. 9. A volunt volunteer eer records records the ideas, ideas, writi writing ng each on a separa separate te note note or file file card, card, reads reads the the idea to the circle, and affixes the note to a surface for all members to see. 10. The group group leader leader leads leads the discussi discussion on and sorting sorting of notes notes into categories categories.. An example of a possible spider diagram follows the steps for this exercise.



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11. The thinkin thinkingg group group prepares prepares a thesis thesis statem statement, ent, for example example,, “Symbols are humanity’s shorthand; living without them would make life too complex and impeded our progress.” 12. Members of the thinking group decide what type of essay they will write — informative or persuasive. This one is likely to be informative. 13. All the members members of the the thinking thinking group group now go their separat separatee ways to write write their version version of the essay essay based based on the agreed agreed thesis thesis statemen statement. t. Individu Individual al members members decide which techniques to use, establish a tone for their essay, and choose a way to introduce the topic. group reconv reconvenes enes to read read and discuss discuss member members’ s’ effort efforts, s, operatin operatingg under the the 14. The group rules of conduct laid down in the contract.

15. The members members of the group group separat separatee again again to edit and polish polish their their essays essays in response to the circle discussion and then reconvene and review the final efforts. 16. The thinkin thinkingg group reviews reviews its performa performance nce,, and members members offer offer any suggesti suggestions ons for improving participation or procedures. 17. Leadership passes to the next person; the teacher assigns a new topic. The followin followingg page page displays displays a spide spiderr diagr diagram am crea created ted during during this this thinking thinking group. group. Once again, the group must generate a thesis statement on the subject of symbols. “Without the shorthand that symbolic representations afford us, we would b e so bogged down with definitions that progress would be impossible.”



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Diagram F —Spide —Spiderr Diag Diagram ram:: “Symb “Symbol” ol”

Body language

Emblems

Symbol (shorthand)

Inclusive (understood by many)

Badges

Words Exclusive (understood by a few)

Music

Codes

Dress

Cipher


Numbers

Gestures


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The Contextual Contextual Thinking Method — Example Example 4 Prompt to be addressed: “Does the study of geography matter? ”

1. The group leader leader reads the prompt aloud. aloud. Each of the other other group group members, members, in turn, reads the prompt aloud. 2. All particip participants ants begin begin free free writing writing ideas, ideas, hunches hunches,, thought thoughts, s, conjectu conjectures res,, and examples privately as soon as they see the prompt, and continue to do so as the discussion progresses. 3. The circle circle decides whether whether to use context contextual ual thinking thinking,, a spider spider diagram, diagram, or a list. This subject subject matter matter indic indicate ated d by the word geogra geography phy is very very compr comprehen ehensiv sive, e, and and as as such lends itself to contextual thinking. 4. Group members now look for definitions and related words for geogra geography phy . They discover that the word geo word geogra graphy phy comes comes from two Greek words that together mean “knowledge of Earth.” Further use of an encyclopedia tells the group that eography includes not only a study of Earth’s feature s, structures, and its place in g eography space, but also the study of the distribution of all life forms: human, animal, and vegeta vegetable ble.. The study study of cultura culturall geograph geography, y, includi including ng the effe effects cts of human human acti activit vity y on Earth and the effects of Earth on humans, is also a part of geography. The structures and processes studied include all topographic features topographic features such as mountains, valleys valleys,, and landmasses landmasses,, as well as hydrodynamics (the effects of water movement) and climate. In other words, geography is divided into three parts: phy parts: physica sicall geog geograph raphy, y, biological geography, and cultural geography. The group leader summarizes the definition and related information where all members can see them during the discussion. 5. The group leader leader asks a member member to turn the prompt prompt into another another question, question, for example, “Why “Why does the study of geography matter?” — and — the 6. The group group leader leader reminds reminds the the group group to ask ask and answer — the who, what, why, where, and when questions. when questions. For example: 





Who is affected by geography? All All of us us are are affec affected ted.. What is geography? It geography? It includes a study of Earth’s physical structures, life forms, and place in space. Why is geography important? Human history was shaped by our ancestors’ responses to their physical environment, and our future as a species will be shaped by our responses to our habitat.



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



— Where is geography important? It is important in every aspect of our lives — political, economic, and lifestyle.

When is geography important? There There is not a time time when itit is not a vita vitall part of life and there has never been a time when it has been irrelevant.

7. The leader leader remind remindss the members members to person personaliz alizee the issue issue and provi provide de exampl examples es if they can. “I s geography important to me, my family members, my country, and humanity, and if so how?” Here are some examples students wrote down in a thinking group I conducted. The places in which our ancestors lived were enormously important in their lives because, at that time, their ability to have an impact on their environment was negligible. So, the height of their settlement above sea level, its proximity to water, and its distance from the equator all had profound results. Skin color and physical attributes changed as a result of environment. Pale northerners with with a bulky bulky frame evolved evolved in reaction reaction to short short summers. summers. People People in the Kalahar Kalaharii Desert of Southwest Africa evolved a method of storing water in their tissue; the Inuit of the Arctic evolved a way of storing fat in theirs. If the animals that our forebears hunted were slow, then our need to develop speedy legs was limited. Today’s Today’s human human diversi diversity ty is a result result of geograp geography. hy. Today, Today, however however,, humans humans are beginning to modify our planet in a big way, rather than other way around. 8. Members begin to share their ideas in an orderly manner; the leader reminds the circle to follow the rules of the contract. 9. A volunt volunteer eer records records the ideas, ideas, writi writing ng each on a separa separate te note note or file file card, card, reads reads the idea to the circle, and affixes the note to a surface for all members to see. 10. The group group leader leader leads leads the discuss discussion ion and sorting sorting of notes notes into into categori categories. es. An example of a possible contextual thinking diagram follows the steps for this exercise. 11. The think thinking ing group group prepare preparess a thesis thesis statemen statement, t, for for exampl example, e, this this one one produce produced d by a group pf eighth graders I worked with: “ Geography is not just an academic subject; it is crucial to the reality of life.” 12. Members of the thinking group decide what type of essay they will write — informative or persuasive. This one is likely to be persuasive. 13. All the members members of the thinkin thinkingg group now go their their separate separate ways to write their their version version of the the essay. essay. Indivi Individual dual membe members rs decide decide which which techniq techniques ues to to use, use, establi establish sh a tone for their essay, and choose a way to introduce the topic. 14. The thinking thinking group group reconvenes to read and discuss members’ efforts, operating under the rules of conduct laid down in the contract.



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15. The members members of the group group separate separate again again to edit and polish polish their their essays essays in response to their discussion — and and the thesis statement they have all agreed upon — and then reconvene and review the final efforts. 16. The thinking thinking group group review reviewss its performa performance, nce, and members members offer any suggesti suggestions ons for improving participation or procedures. 17. Leadership passes to the next person; the teacher assigns a new topic. This is is the thesis thesis stat statemen ementt that that a thinkin thinkingg group group of 16 16 and 17 17 year year olds I led led came came up with. with. “Being ignorant of, and not understanding, the world we live in has been a major cause of the ecological catastrophe we are facing.” The followi following ng diagram diagram display displayss the context contextual ual thinkin thinkingg diagram diagram resultin resultingg from from the word geo word geogra graphy. phy.



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The List Method — Example Example 5 Prompt to be addressed; Shoes!

T

hat’s right, shoes . Younger children gathered in groups find it fun and fascinating to take a word such as hats or hats or shoes or birds or fea or feathe thers rs or or schools or fri or friend ends s or or TV or TV or garden gardens s and and really explore the word under the rubrics I have outlined. I have done this many times and heartily recommend it.

So here we go with the word shoes . All the steps are more or less the same as previously discussed, but instead of using a diagramming method such as contextual thinking or spider diagrams, use a simple list. The purpose purpose for this exercise exercise is to to get get the the childr children en think thinking, ing, and to have have them pursue pursue a disciplined, step-by-step approach or investigation so that they can express a well — any founded opinion on a subject — any subject. I have modified the steps to make it simpler for a group of younger students. This example is taken from a session I conducted with a group of boys and girls ages 9-12. 1. A group member announces announces the word to be examined; examined; in this case shoes . At this age, it is advisable for the parent educator to assume the role of group leader. You might feel differently depending on the maturity and experience of your group. I do recommend reading and discussing the thinking group contract as a preliminary, however. 2. Ask the the group group to look at definit definitions ions and and synonyms synonyms and and begin begin free free writing writing ideas ideas as as they do. The group discovers and writes on the white board, “Shoes are a durable covering for the human foot made from rubber, leather, textiles, plastic and even wood. Shoes have a semi-rigid sole and extend no higher than the ankle. If they extend higher, they are considered boots.” Synonyms include foo include footwea twear r and and gar garmen ments ts for for the feet. feet. 3. The leade leaderr asks asks a quest question ion about about shoes. shoes. In my group group,, I asked asked,, “Are shoes important to humans?” Scribble, scribble as they free wrote ideas. 4. I encouraged them to ask the who, what, why, where and where and when questions when questions about shoes and to answer them in private before sharing their answers. I also pointed out that they could ask more than one question beginning with who, what, why, where and when. 5. I asked them to personalize the issue of shoes and ask themselves how and why shoes are important. I saw them write questions with answers such as “Without shoes my dad could not work. He is a fireman.” “Without fireman.” “Without shoes I could not do ballet.” “Shoes make it



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easier to play baseball.” “My mom just loves shoes. I once asker her why and she said they make my feet look pretty.”

6. Now it was time to begin making a list. The main point of the list is to identify from all the scribbled notes what are the main categories and what are the subsets of these categories. We took took a break and and I wrote down down most most of the words words I had collect collected ed from from their their free writing writing on a white whiteboar board. d. 













Who wears shoes? Everybody except some people in Africa. Businesspersons. Soldiers. Sports people. Workers. What are shoes for? Protection. for? Protection. Walking. Running. Skiing. Tennis. I added style, improved mobility, and improved ability. What kinds of shoes do we wear? Boots, lace-up, sandals, clogs, dance shoes, sneakers, moccasins, climbing shoe, high heel pumps, snow shoes, golf shoes, cycling shoes, equestrian boots, hiking boots, cowboy boots, industrial boots, loafers, and basketball shoes. Scuba fins. Why do we wear shoes? Fashion. shoes? Fashion. As a uniform. Protection. One student wrote as medicine. I changed this to orthopedic and orthopedic and made a note to have a student look up the definition. Where do we wear shoes? One student wrote where do we not wear shoes? And answered by writing the words bed, pool, or around the house. When did we first begin wearing shoes? One shoes? One child answered moccasins made of grasses 14,000 years ago in Arizona in response to a Google search. I asked the group why shoes shoes were invente invented d and and a discuss discussion ion ensued ensued about about the the need need to walk walk over over hot, hard surfaces to find food and shelter. When do we wear shoes? Most shoes? Most of the children wrote a variation of always except in bed or the pool. I clarified this by writing when writing when we need help for our feet or when we want to look better than nature made us.

Middle school age children are comfortable with metaphors, so I looked up some common metaphors regarding shoes and wrote them down under the heading, “Shoes as a representation of the total person.” Here they are: “What do your shoes say about you?” “Put yourse yourselflf in some some one one else’s shoes.” “Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes before judging them.” “Filling someone else’s shoes.”



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After After revie reviewing wing and organiz organizing ing our notes, notes, here here is their their organiz organized ed list list:: Purposes:

Protection. Fashion. Improve ability. As a symbol. symbol. Uses:

Sports (running, hitting, throwing, catching, climbing, lifting; not water sports except scuba and skiing). Work. Work. Military. Dancing (ballet, tap, and ballroom.) History:

Invented at least 14,000 years ago Originally made from reeds and leather. Now a big business. Now came time to put all of this research, thinking, and discussion into a sentence, which which best describe described d the collecti collective ve opinion opinion of the thinkin thinkingg group. group. This is what they came to agreement on, after a very spirited discussion. I challenged them, made suggestions, and moderated arguments; the outcome was theirs, however. I am not saying it was a right or wrong thesis. The importance of it was that it was theirs; and they came by it amicably and with intellectual rigor despite their youth. “Shoe s have been as important to men and women as any other discovery, because if we had not been able to walk comfortably we might not have been able to explore other places.”

Who knew knew that that a discussi discussion on of the the origins origins and and uses of of shoes shoes could stir stir such such passions passions?? With this method, method, as Socrate Socratess knew, knew, howeve however, r, any word, word, phrase, phrase, or prompt prompt can, should, and will stir vigorous debate — and and hence cognitive behavior, which should be any parent educator’s goal. I later challenged this group to do the same with belt buckles as buckles as they had done with shoes , and they rose equally to that challenge. Independently they began to discuss which items of clothing came first and why. — is Another Another example example of this this kind of approach approach — this this time using the word hats is described in chapter 11 of my book Essay book Essay Wring for High School Students. I did this as a challenge with a large group of high school students who could not believe that one could explore a topic such as hats in such a way that an essay of 350 words would be simple to construct. They found out to their amazement that it could.



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The Graphic Method — Example Example 6 Prompt to be addressed: Biography.

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here is one other diagrammatic method I have developed that can serve an individual as well as a group, and can be used when time is of the essence and thoughts need to be organized quickly. Of course, its purpose is the same as the other methods: to examine a subject in a — can disciplined way so that a thesis — an an opinion or point of view can be developed in preparation for writing about the subject.

Like the other methods this one also relies on definitions, synonyms, the who, what, why, where, and when questions when questions and personalization. I call it the gra the graphi phicc metho method. d. 1. Take Take a large large piece piece of blank blank paper paper and and write write the the word word to to be diagr diagramme ammed d graphi graphicall cally y in the middle with a large oval around it. Let’s say the word to be diagrammed is biography . 2. Now, after defining the word biography and writing the definition under the word, — the inside the circle, begin to break down — deconstruct deconstruct — the word. Write its constituent parts beneath the word; again inside the circle. 3. Next, draw five lines from the perimeter of the central circle to the edges of the paper. These should be drawn in such a way as to divide the paper into six roughly equal parts. 4. Label these sections as follows: 

The What section What section — top top left.

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The Who section — top top middle.

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The Where section Where section — top top right.

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The When section When section — bottom bottom right.

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The Why section Why section — bottom bottom left.

5. Ask and answer answer as as many many who, who, what, where, why and why and when questions when questions as possible. 6. Now read your answers and prioritize them. 7. Write Write each each prior prioriti itized zed answer answer into into the appropr appropriat iatee secti section. on.



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The studen studentt will now now have creat created ed a graphica graphically lly organi organized zed map map of their their thought thoughtss on a subject and will be better able to decide on an opinion on the subject. As an example, example, here is how I asked asked and answered answered the questions questions for myself myself regardin regarding g the word biography. 

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Definition — An accou account nt of a life life written written by another. another. Constituent parts: Personal life. Public life. Achievements. Narrative. Psychological profile. Do I see a need to study biography? There There are are people people in histo history ry I would would like like to get get to know. Who writes them? Historians them? Historians (e.g. Suetonius, Boswell and Strachey.) Admirers. Detractors. Who reads them? History buffs. Admirers. Detractors. What sources do biographers use? Contemporary records, newspapers, diaries, public speeches. Interviews with those who knew subject. Letters from detractors and admirers. What is the purpose? Biographer may have an agenda. Set historical record straight. Why do people read and write biographies? Read biographies? Read for pleasure. Read as aid to study of history. Write for professional reasons. Write for pleasure. Where did biography start? start? The The Bible Bible and and other other Middle Middle Easte Eastern rn writ writings ings are partly partly biographical

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When did biography first appear? 3300 appear? 3300 BC on temple walls in Egypt.

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When did it become popular? 18th popular? 18th and 19th centuries.

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Why is biography valuable? Historical evidence is a predictor of the future.

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Why are we so fascinated by biographies of the famous and influential? It’s human nature to be interested in human nature. Why are biographies important? The The lives lives of importan importantt playe players rs show show us their their times. times.

Once again, the desired outcome of an examination of a word or a prompt is a thesis statement such as this one written by a group of seniors. “History is largely about people. They make history happen. To understand any period in time it therefore helps to understand the make- up of it major players, their influences, and their roles. It also helps to understand the biographer and his agenda.” See Diagram H on the following page.



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Diagram H – H – The The Graphic Method

WHO Section

WHAT Section Sourc e s— ne wspaper spaper s, diaries, speeches, letters

WHERE Section

Ancie nt t ime s Egypt Babylo abyl onia ni a Greece Holy Land

Hist or ians ( no agenda) age nda)

• • • •

To pr aise subje subje ct Admir e r s ( age age nda) nda) To cr it icize Tem Te mple s Clay lay t ablet ablet s

Det ractors ractors ( age age nda) nda) To set r e cor cor d st r aigh aight

Bi ogr aphy aphy An acco accoun untt of a lif e wr it t e n by an anot he r

Psycho Psychological pr of ile

Pe r sonal nal lif e

Public Public lif e

Hist ory pre dict s t he f ut ur e

Nar r at ive ive

33 30 BC – Egypt 130 0 BC BC - Me sopot pot amia

Humans love t o r e ad abo about ot he r pe ople

An acc ac c ount of a pe r son illuminat e s t heir t imes

18t h Ce nt ur y Eur Eur ope Boswe ll ’s Lif e of J ohnso hnson

20 t h & 21st Ce nt ury e xplo xp losi sio on of ce lebrit y bio bios

WHY Section

ePrimer™ Thinking

Achie ve me nt s

Groups—Teaching Groups —Teaching Students to “Think Around the Box™” © 2006

WHEN Section

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Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. Tell a friend. Alex Alex

ePrimer™ Thinking


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ePrimer - Thinking Groups— Teaching Students to “Think Around the Box™”

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