Our Process
Surveying expert knowledge
We start by speaking with experts and studying the relevant literature, because summaries and fact sheets too often filter out some of the essential context of explanation.
Mapping relevant folk models
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to new learning are existing folk models — what everyone thinks they already know about a topic. (This is why it can be hard to explain the theory that viruses cause colds, to a person who strongly believes that cold drafts cause colds.) We map the relevant folk models in order to learn how best to displace, bypass, or build on them.
Developing explanations
The final step of the process is producing explanations that work. This involves equal parts analysis, creativity, search for existing explanations, and empirical testing. |
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Rivers Conservation
Federal Aid to the States
Agricultural Toxins
Structural Racism
Early Childhood Development
Global Warming
Public Funding for the Arts
Immigration
Economic Leadership
Worker Safety
National Security and Human Rights
The Role of Government
Global Interdependence
Childhood Obesity
Health Equity
Sustainable Food Systems
Ocean Conservation
Nitrogen Cycle Disruption
Privatization of Public Assets
Reduction of Nuclear Weapons
Domestic Toxins
Child Abuse
Perceptions of Rural America
Health Care Coverage
Adolescence
Neighborhood Transformation
The “Ozone Hole” How have millions of Americans mastered the fact that chlorofluorocarbons are a bad idea? Because they associate it with an idea that fits most of the criteria of explanations that work. Intuitively, CFCs create a metaphorical “hole in the roof” that lets something bad in (UV rays). This concrete image captures an essential scientific truth.
Methods Cognitive Elicitations
In-depth one-on-one interviews designed to uncover the patterns of understanding that currently guide thought and action
Rapid Ethnographic Assessment
Observational analysis of people’s actions and interactions in real-world contexts— what they do rather than what they say.
TalkBack Testing
Focusing on how an explanation changes as it is passed from person to person, this method sets a particularly high bar.
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