Triad Assessment in Statement Development

Dr. Sharon L. Bender

January, 2005

Cycling through Concepts

Triad Assessment enables the user to select and apply any three concepts and sequentially cycle through them for a new perspective. This single model enables us to develop the research question, the mission statement, and the takeaway. I learned about the value of the research question in producing my doctoral dissertation. I learned about the significance of the mission statement in my TQM/TQL training. I discovered the purpose of the takeaway in my Strategic Planning days.

Select any three concepts offered at this site or others you have used and apply them sequentially or cycle through them for a new perspective. Triad Assessment is an approach that brings it all together.

Developing Statements

Developing statements is the only way you can understand outcomes or objectives and be able to convey them to others. There are even concepts to help you develop statements. The possibilities are practically endless. In the final stage of this application examine your statements to develop the research question, the mission statement, or one major takeaway. I have utilized this approach in my role as team leader in the early 1990s. I have also used this quite extensively in my strategic planning work when producing slide presentations. Each presentation, and in some cases every slide, contained a takeaway statement.

Try using various concepts or any concepts in different orders for perhaps a different interpretation each time. Such process utilizes the hermeneutic cycle approach. Each statement might constitute a final takeaway. If your combined takeaway is similar in each configuration, then you may have garnered a generalized, naturalized, and/or homogenized outcome as defined in Q3 Inquiries.  

You now have a result that is a solid finding. The idea is to cycle through several approaches to yield the most effective result. You might group like concepts or you might combine a mix of concepts. Explore the possibilities and see what you develop. Produce a statement for each result or produce statements based on a particular combination that you put together for a specific purpose. 

The research question guides the research undertaking. It is the question that a study will seek to address. The mission statement is often used in strategic planning to outline goals and objectives. The takeaway is often used in strategic planning in determining the final outcome after exploring several issues.

Each of these statements provides guidance in problem solving, decision making, and in research and writing. The simplification process is simple, and the outcome may yield big results. The important matter is to actually use the device and simplification of extraneous models makes the resulting model easier to digest and more likely to become used and beneficial.

The Journey

Figure 2. Simplification		As depicted in Figure 2, cycle time begins with process simplification. This TQL training that I took in 1995 as offered through AlliedSignal has contributed to my firm belief in this ascertain.   Many of my devices are process simplification. Cycling through the decision making process can be greatly enhanced when extraneous processes are reduced to simplest terms.
		As depicted in Figure 3, one can reduce the current process down to just three steps as I have done in my Triad Assessment model as depicted in Figure 1 in which a takeaway can be developed once these three steps are reduced to one statement each. The key element is being able to surmise the relationship among the steps in order to be able to practice process reduction. From this point a research question, mission statement, or other takeaway can be formulated.
Figure 3. Current to Proposed Process
		In 1996, in my BA degree program I produced a paper for my Group Dynamics course in which I discussed the meaning of a triad as depicted in Figure 4. The course covered principles of group function including types of group structure, communication leadership, membership, methods of studying groups, and techniques of working with groups. The course is designed for those who wish to study group processes as related to work in education, recreation, and the fields.   In my paper I provide that a triad is affected by unifying, mediating, and dividing approaches. Consider using these three concepts in the assessment model in Figure 1.
Figure 4. Course Paper

Application

In the simplification process consider the Gestalt theory, having to do with how things are put together. For instance we tend to group like concepts and images. Laws of organization also pertain to grouping, which according to Kearsley comprise:

This example is one in which four concepts can be honed to just three steps. The process is up to the individual and the needs presented. Once you have your three concepts or even three models containing three concepts, it is easy to begin formulating statements using Triad Assessment as depicted in Figure 1.

Sources

Kearsley, G. (1998). Explorations in learning & instruction: The theory into practice database: Gestalt Theory. George Washington University.