19 - Thinking Skills Principle 2: Consider a Whole-Task Course Design

Brief Definition

Teaching thinking skills requires specific training that is related to the type of thinking that is the goal of the training (creative, critical, metacognitive). Clark and Mayer (2011) suggest that using Thinking Skills Principle 2, whole-task instruction, a type of guided discovery, is the superior choice “for more experienced learners who are not as easily overloaded and for learning of far transfer tasks that benefit from a more flexible mental model of the skills involved” (p. 355). Three elements characterize whole-task instruction: a) Problem-Centered, b) Guided-Learning, and c) Inductive-Learning.

An Artifact

The Stanford University’s d.school offers a Virtual Crash Course, a 90-minute introduction to Design Thinking, a topic that takes much longer and requires experience to fully grasp. However, this introductory is an excellent overview of the entire concept, but broken down into small minute-by-minute steps. The instructors introduce a problem, and then in very short segments, explain what to do and why before they let participants practice. A timer with music and a brief written reminder of the task guides learners through the process. Learners are encouraged to use the evidence they gain from their partner through direct interview and through their own insight to offer solutions to the uncovered problem. The d.school understands how to apply Thinking Skills Principle 2.

References

Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2011). E-learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.