Learning Theory

What do the theorists say?
Albert Upton (1961), in his thesis which inspired the company that eventually became Thinking-Maps, points out that "metaphors aid us in two ways with the process of abstract thinking.  They make complex abstract ideas easier to 'see' and easier to remember" (p.78). The enduring relevance of Upton's theory was fore-shadowed in his statement "the modern mind must contrive to do its business with an efficient minimum of linguistic machinery in an environment of ever increasing complexity" (ibid, p.82). Brown (as cited in Jarvela, 2006) supports this idea that the production of models is a key element in the development of knowledge and higher order thinking skills.

Dr. David Hyerle advanced Upton's theory by creating a set of visual teaching tools that foster and encourage lifelong learning. Pohl (2012) suggests that one of the primary objectives of schooling should involve the teaching of thinking tools for life-long learning. As a result, Pohl exhorts educators to place a high priority on empowering students with higher order thinking skills such as, the ability to critically evaluate information, make informed judgements, and think both creatively and in a caring manner. Hyerle’s starting point was to identify the key thinking skills that people employ throughout their life. His work is, therefore based on representing and aiding thinking processes such as:

• Comparing and Contrasting

• Sequencing

• Cause and Effect

• Classifying

For each of these thinking processes he developed a visual template to help make clear the process going on in the brain. These 8 templates form what he calls the “Thinking Maps.”

Pohl (2012) suggests for the effective inclusion of thinking tools, teachers need a framework for a ‘whole school approach’ for their explicit teaching of thinking skills. Thinking maps are tools that can be utilized individually or in various combinations to form a Common Visual Language for students and teachers at all grade levels, in all subjects. Hyerle insists the thinking maps are designed to be a common instructional thread that binds together all teachers, from pre-kindergarten through postgraduate, by teaching them the same thought processes to create mental images of abstract thoughts. Hyerle (www.response-education.org) states that when used with a class over time, they become a short hand for a particular type of thinking that you want them to perform. For example, as soon as you say “let’s do a double bubble on;” students know immediately that they are being asked to carry out an exercise in which they are expected to identify characteristics of two items and then sort them into things that are different between them and things they have in common. In other words it tells them that you want them to do some compare and contrast thinking. Murdoch & Wilson (2004) further suggest when planning, teachers should consider ways to build thinking tools into all aspects of their programme.

Furthermore, in the New Zealand Curriculum the Ministry of Education (2007) include metacognition and reflective thinking as essential key competencies for learners. Hyerle (1993) quotes Costa (as cited in Clarke, 1991) who refers to graphic organisers as "displayed meta-cognition" (p.209). By this, Costa means that each graphic represents a pattern of thinking, which can then be reviewed as a function of self-assessment.