Choose an object or system and ask:

• What are its parts? 
  • What are its various pieces or components? 
• What perspectives can you look at it from? 
  • Different users, makers; different physical perspectives. 
• How are you involved? 
  • What connections do you have? What assumptions, interests, or personal circumstances shape the way you see it?

PURPOSE

What kind of thinking does this routine encourage? 

This routine helps students explore complexity by encouraging them to look closely at details, to consider various viewpoints, users, and stakeholders, and to reflect on their own connections.

APPLICATION

When and where can I use it? 

This routine can be used to explore virtually any object or system. It works particularly well with objects that have many parts–and can be taken apart—as well as systems that have various roles and users connected to them (e.g., systems involved in managing or providing resources, social systems, organizational systems, transportation systems, or governance systems).

LAUNCH

What are some tips for starting and using this routine?

The three elements of this routine can be introduced all at once, but each of the steps encourages a different kind of thinking, so it is helpful to distinguish the steps from one another and to give each step time to unfold. For the parts step, give students plenty of time to look at or otherwise experience the topic in detail. If the object is physically present, students can sketch it or make a diagram. If appropriate, they can take it apart (taking things apart—from doorknobs to old household appliances to toys—is a particularly powerful way to look closely at the parts of something). For the perspectives step, encourage students to imagine different physical viewpoints if appropriate. Encourage them to think broadly about how different people interact with or are connected to the object or system including considering who is involved in making it, who is affected by it, and who cares about it. When possible, encourage students to gather information about other perspectives, for example by interviewing people or doing research. For the your involvement step, encourage students to consider the different ways the object or system influences their lives or the lives of other people. Encourage them to consider any feelings, assumptions, connections, beliefs, attitudes, or associations they have with it. As with the other routines that begin with the naming of parts, students can make their thinking visible by creating lists, sketches, and diagrams.