Which Organiser Should I Use?

Graphic organisers are designed for specific tasks. Generally there will be more than one type of organiser that is suitable for that task.

To assist in identifying the appropriate organiser, the following tables show which graphic organisers can be used to cover the key concepts or skills of each Thinking Processes dimension. There is a downloadable template available for each graphic organiser and examples are provided for the listed domain/s.

Reasoning, Processing and inquiry

Key concept or skill	Graphic Organiser examples	Example domain	Notes
Questioning/ methodology of inquiry	Question Matrix Primary Secondary	Civics and Citizenship	Questioning is central to the thinking process. For further reading see The Critical Thinking Community. For information on developing effective questions see Changing Minds.
Managing information	C.E.C Primary	The Humanities - Geography
Managing information	Lotus Diagram Secondary	The Humanities - History	The Lotus Diagram is an analytical and organisational tool.
Problem Solving	Fishbone Diagram Primary	Interpersonal Development	The Fishbone Diagram was developed by Dr Kaoru Ishikawa and is an example of a cause and effect diagram.
Decision making	S.W.O.T. Analysis Primary	Health and Physical Education	S.W.O.T. has its origins as a strategic planning or auditing tool for organisations and their environments. The strengths and weaknesses are the internal factors/issues and the opportunities and threats are external factors/issues.
Decision making	P.O.O.C.H. Secondary	The Humanities - Economics	P.O.O.C.H was developed by Michael Pohl. For more information see: Thinking Education (www.thinkingeducation.com.au/ default.htm)

Creativity

Key concept or skill	Graphic Organiser examples	Example domain	Notes
Generating ideas	B.A.R. Key Primary	Design, Creativity and Technology	B.A.R. Key is part of the Thinker’s Keys developed by Tony Ryan. For further information see the Tony Ryan website (www.tonyryan.com.au/cms/ pages/!/display.html) and Teaching and Learning Support.
Generating ideas	S.C.A.M.P.E.R. Primary Secondary	Design, Creativity and Technology	For further information on how to use this tool see the SCAMPER technique (www.brainstorming.co.uk/tutorials/ scampertutorial.html)
Generating Solutions	What If? Key and Ripple Effect Diagram Primary Secondary	Science The Humanities - Economics	What if? Key is part of the Thinker’s Keys developed by Tony Ryan. For further information see the Tony Ryan website (www.tonyryan.com.au/cms/ pages/!/display.html) and Teaching and Learning Support.
Testing and exploring ideas	4 C’ing Primary Secondary	Health and Physical Education Interpersonal Development

Reflection, evaluation and metacognition

Key concept or skill	Graphic Organiser examples	Example domain
Using the language of thinking	Thinking About Thinking Primary Secondary	The Humanities – Economics Mathematics
Evaluating effectiveness	Ranking Ladder Primary Secondary	English Civics and Citizenship
Examining change	Changes Primary Secondary	Civics and Citizenship The Humanities - History

Key concept or skill

Graphic Organiser examples

Example domain

Notes

Using the language of thinking

Thinking About Thinking

Primary
Secondary

The Humanities – Economics

Mathematics

Evaluating effectiveness

Ranking Ladder

Primary
Secondary

English

Civics and Citizenship

Examining change

Changes

Primary
Secondary

Civics and Citizenship

The Humanities - History