Concepts: Hexagons
Concept-based learning is not only about applying concepts to discuss a theory or evaluate a study. The goal of concept-based thinking is to see how these concepts interact. For example, our perspective influences the way that we measure behavior. Change over time may alter psychological perspectives on the effectiveness of a treatment. The question is how we encourage students to see these relationships without telling them what they “need to know.”
The following activity attempts to do just that.
Discussing biological etiologies of disorders
Students come into the class having read the biological arguments for a clinical disorder. It may be the case that you are teaching only one disorder. If so, then randomly break students into groups of four to five. In my course, I have students investigate one of the five disorders. In that case, divide them into groups based on the disorder they are studying.
Ideally, I have four groups.
I then assign each group one of the following concepts: Bias, causality, measurement, and responsibility. I have laminated copies of my concept posters, and I give each group one of the posters. I then give them about five minutes (or until they go silent) to discuss how they would link the biological explanations they have read to the concept. After the time is up, I then rotate the concepts. Each group will discuss each of the four concepts. Each group should have a note-taker that keeps track of their “best ideas.”
When all groups finished the final concept, I then asked each group to share their ideas for the last concept they discussed. After they have finished sharing, other groups may add to our list. You can see the image of what my class produced below. Apologies for my handwriting!
After creating this list, it is time to talk about hexagons.
Using hexagons to encourage critical thinking
Thinking about interaction
As the video says, there is no right answer. Below, you will see a blank hexagon sheet and one with ideas that emerged from this activity. The hard part is cutting out the hexagons! I recommend printing them out on larger paper (e.g., A3).
I have added the text for these, but students usually add the words themselves, writing them on the hexagons. This saves me time. I usually ask them to choose the words they want to work with, but I give them a number. For this activity, I may ask them to choose “15” terms.
The goal is for them to think about how these concepts are related and see if they can use a term to connect two concepts—e.g., animal research may link to both responsibility and perspective.
The goal is to have good conversations. Students may not be very insightful the first time they try it, but the more often they work together to design their hexagon thinking, the more sophisticated they become. They start to see connections that surprise me, having never considered them myself.
Blank hexagon sheet (doc)