The Analysis Profile involves taking an idea or a whole object apart in order to see how each part relates to the whole.
Creative thinking and problem solving begin with analytical thinking; that is, to examine how things make sense or not; and whether they can be re-configured to function in better ways.
Small children, for example, start off naturally with a propensity for Analysis. Give an object or a toy to a child: as soon as the initial sparks of excitement pale off, the child may be seen dismantling the object. Adults may call that inquisitive behaviour destructive, but - in trying to make sense of its own life - the child is curious to discover its environment. As children grow up in schools, however, they are, unwittingly, taught out of those analytical habits. Teachers tend to replace the child’s natural curiosities with rote learning; and, as a result, many children grow up entangled in passive modes.
For adults, Analyses helps to discern how some nations with scanty natural resources (Singapore, South Korea, etc.) enjoy superior standards of living than poorer people with abundant land and rich natural resources (Nigeria, Ghana, etc.). Analyses helps us to re-think - in creative and innovative ways - and explore new ideas for a better quality life, and longevity.
In the quest for new ideas, however, the iconic economist, John Maynard Keynes (1883 – 1946) cautioned that “The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from the old ones.” We are creatures of habit, but Analysis helps to find the best ways out of a rut for a brighter future. If schools do not teach such qualitative thinking skills, students may remain mis-educated and victimised for life.
Some student exercises and activities like Comparing and Contrasting, Classifying, Critiquing, and Categorizing – are all higher order thinking skills, and they call for Analysis. Other key actionable verbs that teachers can use to prompt superior thinking include: Examine, Differentiate, Deduce, Distinguish, Experiment, Question, Investigate, Infer, etc.
Note that critical thinking activities can neither be lectured, memorized nor recalled; they have to be thought through and acted on to sustain quality purposeful teaching and learning. For example: Examine the possibilities of using cotton in Northern Ghana to produce sanitary towels for school girls in Ghana.
Synthesis
Synthesis or invention involve the creation of something which is new to its creator. One difference between Application and Synthesis is that usually Application requires a convergent response; that is, the right answers are defined and expected. Synthesis, on the other hand, requires divergent thinking, resulting in something new, unorthodox, and different. In poorer countries, the idea of Synthesis is remarkably dormant, or even absent. In parochial thought processes, any decrepit status quo keeps marching on.
Creativity does not spring from a vacuum; it emerges from rigor and structure. The greatest artists in performance or the innovative thinkers, movers and shakers have spent countless hours developing Comprehension and Application in their disciplines before the Synthesis or creation of masterpieces and novel ideas emerged. For rigor in the use of the Synthesis profile, teachers may set instructional objectives with the following action verbs: Design, Create, Invent, Produce, Transform, Refine, etc.
Example: Design a science curriculum that will enable each district in Ghana to produce and use its own local content or natural resources for gainful employment.
Everyone has the potential for creative thinking. In many students, however, that prospect has been unwittingly expunged by the stale need to recall “the right answers” only. Giving students the right foundation and practice in higher level thinking - plus recognising and rewarding critical thinking - will encourage enormous achievements across the education landscape.
Evaluation
Evaluation - the making of judgments when there is no one answer which is right for everyone or every situation - is one of the most intricate levels of thinking. Evaluation is based on the other cognitive levels. The key verbs for laudable instructional objectives include: Decide, Verify, Predict, Assess, Justify, Select, Choose, Forecast, etc. Intelligent and satisfying decisions depend on the learner’s own values: that is to say, the intellectual, aesthetic, social, and moral values all need to be developed and polished as well. Example: Select an economic model – from either China, the United States, or Singapore – as the most ideal for Ghana.
To make it possible for students’ minds to soar, teachers need to develop instructional strategies and activities that support the habits of mind for higher levels of thinking. Some tend to believe that students who agree with them are good thinkers, and those who disagree are not. In Evaluation, however, any judgment that can be supported properly is valid. Performance at the Evaluation level tightens students’ thinking and opens their minds to respect different points of view, an ability - which in itself - is a significant goal of education.
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