Intel® Teach Program Designing Effective Projects
Copyright © 2012 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.
Page 1 of 2
Higher-Order Thinking Skills: Analysis
Digging Deeper for Understanding
Robert Marzano in his New Taxonomy of Educational Objectives proposes a new model for thinking about the processes involved in learning. He identifies three systems: the Self- System, the Metacognitive System, and the Cognitive System, all of which work in
coordination with the Knowledge System. He breaks the Cognitive System down into four components: knowledge retrieval, comprehension, analysis, and knowledge utilization.
While comprehension entails what Piaget called assimilation, the integrating of new knowledge into the learner’s existing knowledge, analysis parallels his concept of
accommodation through which a person restructures their understanding based on what has been learned.
Marzano identifies five cognitive processes in analysis: matching, classifying, error analysis, generalizing, and specifying. By engaging in these processes, learners can use what they are learning to create new insights and invent ways of using what they have learned in new situations.
Matching involves identifying similarities and differences between concepts. Marzano describes four steps involved in matching:
1. Choosing what will be analyzed
2. Identifying the attributes or characteristics to be analyzed
3. Establishing how the attitudes and characteristics are alike and different 4. Communicating the similarities and differences precisely
Classification involves organizing concepts or ideas into meaningful categories. The components of classification are:
1. Selecting the concept to be classified
2. Identifying the important attributes of the concept
3. Naming a superordinate category to which the concept belongs and communicating why it belongs in that category
4. Identifying any subordinate categories for the concept and explaining their relationships
Error Analysis is an important aspect of what is often called critical thinking. By using this process, students evaluate the reasonableness of knowledge. From one perspective, error analysis can be compared to logical thinking, the judging of arguments, and identification of fallacies in reasoning.
Generalizing can be conducted both deductively and inductively, but it involves making inferences to form principles or rules which can be tested against specific events or concepts. Making good generalizations involves four steps:
1. Directing attention to specific observations or information 2. Finding patterns and connections in the information
3. Creating a statement that accounts for the connections and patterns
4. Collecting more examples and test them to see if the generalization works in all situations and change it if it does not
Intel® Teach Program Designing Effective Projects
Copyright © 2012 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, the Intel Education Initiative, and the Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries.
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Page 2 of 2 Specifying is the counterpart to generalizing. It is the process of “generating new
applications of a known generalization or principle”. The steps for specifying are:
1. Identifying the concept that is being analyzed
2. Choosing the generalizations that apply to the concept
3. Ensuring that the concept matches the conditions of the generalization 4. Drawing conclusions and making predictions based on the application of the
generalization
The skills used in the analysis of print or online resources are necessary if students are to think critically about the information they find and to use that information effectively.
References
Marzano, R. J. (2000). Designing a new taxonomy of educational objectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
