Structured Thinking
Structured thinking is said to be a methodical and logical approach to problem-solving. It helps data professionals to break down complex problems into smaller, manageable parts, identify areas that need further investigation, and understand the relationships between different elements.
‘Frameworks’ and Independent* Structured Thinking
‘Frameworks’ is about structured thinking, about managing chaos and reducing information scale and complexity to manageable proportions.
‘Frameworks’ is about structured thinking and analysing; the organising and communication of key information and thinking, sharing with others, like working in small teams.
*working in small teams involves notions of communication, “being on the same page”, and consensus; individuals should engage in their own independent thinking and when working in teams – share their thinking; ‘Frameworks’ “Thinking Models'” provide a way of representing, communicating and sharing thinking
‘Frameworks’ promotes structured thinking coupled with the visualisation of thinking.
‘Frameworks’ as a simple way of modelling structured thinking,
My view on this is structured thinking: looking for ways to reduce scale and complexity to manageable, comprehensible, proportions. To engage in a process of simple analysis of large and complex entities (systems, domains, sets of ideas), careful naming of the components, and to capture the essence in a process of modelling – categorisation and representation in the form of schemata. To represent thinking and analysis, to construct graphical models made up of simple graphical elements as symbols. To prototype
simple models which can be parsed for meaning and which, in computer-based terms, can be browsed and components selected in an interrogation for discovery – graphical components which are linked to definition, detail and reference.
‘Frameworks’ is a people-centred domain. The participants are agents engaging in independent structured thinking and the construction of individual (or shared, consensus) thinking models – and they are designated Thinker-Modellers.
The central message is that: There is a priority for children to be educated with an Awareness and a Subset of Skills – Literacies in information, structured thinking, the effective communication of key information and in informatics – ready for the 21st Century Digital World of Big Information.
The methodology provides a way of structured thinking about things – especially large and complex entities composed of many different things: for example, systems (for example, the nervous system, rainforests, human populations, the climate), and domains (for example, the continents, the seas, chemistry, the law) and sets of ideas (for example, representation, information modelling, communication and sharing).
The ‘Frameworks’ methodology starts with thinking and then provides for structured thinking and the step-by-step construction of models of thinking and understanding which is framed around a simple hierarchical core spinal model and constrained according to a set of rules.
Models of Structured Thinking around the Core Spinal Model (“Thinking Models”).
This image depicts a subset of ideas around Structured Thinking in the world of “Informatics”: thinking through graphics and models of thinking to the organisation of meaning to creativity; and ‘Frameworks’ as a methodology and mechanism for the construction of simple graphical models of thinking and understanding.
The ‘Frameworks’ Methodology
Structured Thinking: Start with the Focus, realise the Context, and categorise the subtypes and varieties of the Focus.
This image is a “Thinking Model”: A Summary of Key Words & Key Ideas – created with ‘JavaNED’ – which are placed on the ‘JavaNED’ Workspace/“Thinking and Modelling Space” – in some sort of order top-down: from Structured Thinking to The Model is the Interface.
The beauty is in the breakdown. The Model of Thinking, the Model of Understanding. Graphical Models as organisers and filters. Interfaces to Thinking, Interfaces to Understanding.
The Model is the Interface to Thinking.