DSRP, patterns of thinking

The 21st Century Thinker requires six types of thinking skills to thrive in the knowledge age:

• Critical Thinking: to analyze, deconstruct, and evaluate ideas, 
• Creative Thinking: to construct new ideas and lines of thought, 
• Systems Thinking: to understand complex patterns in context, 
• Scientific Thinking: to observe, hypothesize, predict, and validate with evidence, 
• Interdisciplinary Thinking: to unify, transfer, synthesize, and integrate, and 
• Prosocial/Emotional Thinking: to build relationships through compassion, concern, and shared experience. 

Underlying the six 21st Century Thinking Skills are four simple thinking patterns. The informal name for the Patterns of Thinking Method, DSRP is an acronym that stands for the first  letter of four universal thinking skills. DSRP is a theory and method of thinking, developed by Derek Cabrera. 

Distinctions

Draw Distinctions:  Compare and contrast between similarities and opposites Distinctions (making distinctions) – which consist of an identity and an other. Contrasting between similarities and opposites or "distinction making"

The guiding questions are: What is __________? What is not __________?

Systems

Organize Systems:  Sort, nest and categorize using part-whole thinking Systems - (organizing systems) – which consist of part and whole. Understanding part-whole structures or "systems thinking".

The guiding questions are:  Does _________ have parts? Can you think of _________ as a part?

Relationships

Form Relationships: Make connections, interactions, associations, and cause & effect explicit. Relationships (recognizing relationships) – which consist of inter and action. Recognizing interactions, associations, and cause and effect or "relational thinking".

The guiding questions are: Is ________ related to __________? Can you think of ________ as a relationship?

Perspectives

Take Perspectives:  See different points-of-view and see new possibilities. Perspectives (taking perspectives) – which consist of point and view. Learning to see things from different points-of-view or "perspective taking".

The guiding questions are: From the perspective of __________, [insert question]? Can you think about ____________ from a different perspective?

People can improve their thinking skills by learning to use the four elements explicitly.

The method is the set of tools and techniques people use in real life settings (such as education).

There are several rules governing DSRP:

• Each structure (D,S,R, or P) implies the existence of the other three structures
• Each structure implies the existence of its two elements and vice versa
• Each element implies its opposite (e.g. identity implies other)