From Understanding to Critical Analysis

Some ideas for enquiry-based learning from ITC Publications

When encouraging students to move from the UNDERSTAND level of thinking to ANALYZE and EVALUATE, the following process may prove useful. In exploring this process, we have provided an example that faculty members would be able to use in analyzing their own school. However, the process can be applied to any subject or topic.

Step 1

Start off at the UNDERSTAND level by asking a question such as “What is x about?” ‘X’ could be a book, a film, an event - in fact, anything worth considering in the student’s life and school experience.

We could illustrate its use by imagining a scenario at a faculty meeting where the principal may invite some thinking concerning the school’s performance. The question to be considered by the faculty could be…”What is school basically about from the perspective of our students?” A large 2 x 2 table is drawn on the white board, and teachers’ comments are invited in four major areas, with their responses being inserted in the appropriate boxes (see below)

“What is school about for students?”

Learning	Socializing
Test Results	Sport and Activities

Offering 4-6 comments or even phrases or sentences, in these boxes, generally leads to some understanding in response to the question, just as 4-6 responses to “What was that film about?” would give us a general idea or understanding of that film. What has occurred is that we have addressed the UNDERSTANDING level in terms of Bloom’s Taxonomy (cognitive).

To lift the discourse from UNDERSTAND to ANALYZE we need to go to the next step.

Step 2

On the white board, insert two more vertical lines and four more horizontal lines to create a 4 x 6 organizer with the original responses evident.

Then explain that we are going to move from UNDERSTAND to ANALYZE by the use of the magic word for ANALYZE. The question now becomes

“What is school REALLY about for students?”

The word ‘really’ encourages us to look beyond the initial response and requires a broader response.

Learning		Socializing
Test Results		Sport and Activities

Step 3

Ask each group of 4-6 teachers to discuss this for a few minutes, the intended outcome being the production of at least four more responses per group. In due course, ask for their responses and then enter these into the table.

In the example below, a greater depth of responses have been generated to the question. “What is school about for students?”

Learning	Rules	Socializing	Bullying
Parental expectations	Consequences	Success	Inclusion
Teachers	Teamwork	Goal Setting	Test Results
Routine	Creativity	Activities	Teacher care
Adversity	Social Rules	Competition	Sport
Leadership	Cultural pursuits	Peer Pressure	Food

In a classroom situation, the teacher could offer more time to respond and then congratulate the students for providing deeper analysis of the issue and for moving away from the obvious. The organizer can be expanded to include more than 24 topics or sections if necessary.

However, this only shows potential Breadth of Analysis, but nothing substantial, no real depth. To achieve this we need to go to the next step.

Step 4 – Looking for depth

The facilitator in the faculty meeting could create a process whereby teachers are paired up and allocated one or two of the 24 topics in the table. Each pair investigates, examines or analyzes each topic by means of a PCQ as illustrated below.

Once the PCQ is completed, each pair can take this to the level of Critical Analysis by use of the Extent Barometer assessment tool.

Based on the data in each Pros, Cons and Questions, each pair can make the judgment as to what extent the school is providing good learning, fulfilling parental expectations, preventing bullying, providing leadership opportunities etc.

This means that an Extent Barometer can be inserted in each cell of the table by all participants and, from the evidence provided, an evaluation or assessment can be made as to how successful the school is in providing for its students.

If all or most of the Extent Barometers have been marked in the Very High range, it is possible to create an Overall Extent Barometer for the whole table stating that the extent to which the school is catering for the needs of their students is Very High. Of

course, in those areas where the school is scoring more Cons than Pros, these problem areas or weaknesses can also be addressed in order to improve the situation.

Step 5

The principal can now take all the PCQs and Extent Barometers and create a report on how the school is faring in relation to each of these areas.

In the classroom, students can work in teams to produce a sub-set of critical analysis reports on the topic being discussed. This is, in effect, an exercise in critical analysis. The report could be presented as a written report, a PowerPoint Presentation, in the form of a debate or interview, as a collection of comments on each subtopic in poster form or in any other suitable manner. Each topic in the organiser can act as a paragraph or a chapter, thereby offering a structure for the report.

Conclusion As a process for enquiry-based learning, these 5 steps are clearly learner-centered, providing both teacher and students with a range of powerful yet flexible tools with which to judge each part of the analysis.