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One of the most basic and powerful forms of analysis in any discipline
is comparison. Ask students to complete the visual concept map below
in a science, social science, history or an English class to compare, for
example, the hero/villain, vertebrate/invertebrate, democracy/dictatorship,
etc. Generally speaking, this type of exercise could be used with
students gathering information, or those at the foundational level of Wolcott
& Lynch's developmental problem solving process.
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Have students
work in groups to brainstorm other similarities and differences between
the two objects, events or persons. Then encourage the group members to
use alternate sources (library databases, other texts, MERLOT sites, etc.)
to search for other similarities and differences.
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Once they have
located information, students often overlook inconsistencies or conflicts
within and among their sources. Their searches typically produce a loosely-connected
cluster of articles of varying relevance and contrasting opinions (Brem
& Boyes, 2000).
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Strengthen their
inquiries by asking group members to detect conflicts between articles
and explicitly compare the positions of their various sources by completing
graphic organizers (concept maps) (Brem & Boyes, 2000).
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Ask group members
to evaluate the arguments presented in their concept maps. If their
maps show a dense web of supporting evidence, they have a strong argument
for accepting a claim, whereas a dense web of attacks would give them ample
reason to reject it (Brem & Boyes, 2000).
Brem, Sarah, K. & Andrea
J. Boyes (2000). Using critical thinking to conduct effective searches
of online resources. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7(7).
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