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The Theory of Totally Integrated
Education: Implications for Assessing
Educational Quality
Theodore W. Frick, March 2, 2012
Current Political Climate

State departments of education and the U.S. federal
government are pushing for value-added models (VAM’s) as a
means for determining teacher quality.
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VAM’s are problematic.
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This is a narrow view, focusing on teachers and specific areas
of cognitive learning achievement.
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We should be trying to improve the quality of education, not
just teachers.
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TIE Theory can help broaden this narrow perspective!
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
TIE: Totally Integrated Education
Connecting cognition, intention and emotion with
9 kinds of worthwhile learning outcomes—27 connections
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
TIE theory provides a vision for creating
worthwhile education. TIE theory further
provides a rationale for these aims.
Fundamental to TIE is the notion of
aligning student cognition, intention and
emotion with authentic learning tasks.
When this is done well, student learning is
predicted to be more flexible and whole,
and less vulnerable to forgetting.
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Typical Learning Outcomes
In Current Education System
Learning Outcomes
Envisioned by
TIE Theory
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Overview
TIE theory
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Emotion creates the architecture of mental structures
Integration of knowing that, knowing how, and knowing that
one
Implications of TIE theory for assessing educational
quality
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Content design
Context
Process
Outcomes
TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Overview of TIE Theory:
Connecting Cognition, Intention and Emotion
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Importance of connecting cognition,
intention and emotion
Greenspan & Benderly (1997): emotion is the architect of
mental structures
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“In fact, emotions, not cognitive stimulation, serve as the mind’s
primary architect” (p. 1).
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They identify the importance of emotion during human
experience: “… each sensation … also gives rise to an affect
or emotion…. It is this dual coding of experience that is the
key to understanding how emotions organize intellectual
capacities …” (p. 18).
TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Importance of connecting cognition,
intention and emotion (cont’d)
Goleman (2011): emotional intelligence
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“When we have a thought it’s immediately valenced by these
brain centers, positive or negative.”
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Goleman is referring to “… emotional centers in the midbrain,
interacting with a specific area in the prefrontal cortex”
[Kindle location 116].
TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
TIE theory predicts:
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To focus only on student cognitive development at the
expense of intention and emotion will result in weaker or
disconnected mental schema.
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Such schema will lack wholeness and hence would be poorly
integrated into existing mental structures, much like an
uninvited guest at a party who stands in the corner of the
room and does not interact with other invited guests.
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If students do make cognitive gains, but they are indifferent or
have negative feelings about the learning experience, then such
schema would be more vulnerable to forgetting due to lack of
integration.
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
On the other hand, complete connectedness
occurs during learning tasks when:
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Cognition: S comes to know X.
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Intention: S intends to learn X.
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Emotion: S feels good about learning X.
Where S represents the student, and
X represents the 9 kinds of connected learning outcomes:
instantial, relational, criterial, imitative, adaptive, creative,
recognitive, acquaintive, and appreciative.
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Connecting cognition, intention and emotion
is represented by this diagram:
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
There are three basic kinds of cognitive
learning outcomes (Maccia, 1987; Frick,
1997):
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Completely-connected learning outcomes
where cognition, intention and emotion are
aligned with knowing that, knowing how
and knowing that one
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Nine specific types of learning outcomes:
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
TIE theory predicts that when cognition, intention
and emotion are completely connected with 9 types of
learning outcomes (27 connections total), then
vulnerability to forgetting is minimized.
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Partially connected learning outcomes: Note
the empty areas which indicate missing
connections
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Typical learning outcomes in school: Note that
know that one is missing and not connected to know
that or how; know how and that are disconnected;
intention and emotion are missing everywhere.
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
TIE Theorem
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What is learned (X) will be less vulnerable to forgetting
(because mental structures are stronger and more
flexible) when
Cognition, intention and emotion are aligned (S comes to
know X; S intends to learn X; S feels good about learning X)
AND
 Nine kinds of learning tasks are integrated (knowing that,
knowing how, and knowing that-one)
AND
 Learning tasks mastered by students are authentic and whole.
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
For each educational objective or standard,
fully integrated learning outcomes are
depicted below.
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
How Can We Assess Dimensions of
Educational Quality?
Implications from TIE Theory
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Education: intended, guided learning
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Steiner (1988): Education occurs when someone (teacher)
intentionally guides the learning of another (student) who
intends to learn something (content—X) somewhere
(context)
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In other words, development of intelligence occurs through
education—intended, guided learning.
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Education is taken broadly: teachers are not limited to those in
K-12 and college instruction; students are not limited to young
people; content not limited to traditional subjects; contexts not
limited to schools and universities.
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
A Metaphor of Dining in a Restaurant for
Assessing Quality
Imagine we are dining in a restaurant. There are four
dimensions of quality we might consider:
1. Design of various courses of food to be served (i.e.,
content)
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2.
Environment of the restaurant (context)
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3.
Meal preparation by chefs, timeliness of courses, customer eating and
drinking, service by wait staff
Outcomes
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Comfort of seating, cleanliness of facilities, food storage and disposal
Process of the dining experience
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4.
Menu, nutritional value of menu items (courses), quality of ingredients
Customer satisfaction, customer payment for meals, tip for wait staff,
no customer food poisoning or nausea, restaurant sustainability
TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Dimensions of Assessing Educational
Quality
Now imagine we are in a school or university. There are
four dimensions of quality we might consider:
1. Design of various courses (content)
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2.
Environment for teaching and learning (context)
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3.
TALQ scales: teacher use of First Principles of Instruction, successful
student engagement (ALT)
Outcomes
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Authenticity of setting (knowing that one, best of culture—TIE)
Process of the teaching-learning experience
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4.
Worthwhileness of goals (TIE), authenticity & sequencing (4C/ID),
integration of content (TIE), supportive and JIT information (4C/ID)
Completely-connected learning outcomes, teacher satisfaction,
sustainability of organization
TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Dimensions of Assessing Educational
Quality
Now imagine we are considering the IST program. There
are four dimensions of quality we might consider:
1. Design of various courses (content)
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2.
Environment for teaching and learning (context)
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3.
TALQ scales: teacher use of First Principles of Instruction, successful
student engagement (ALT)
Outcomes
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Authenticity of setting (knowing that one, best of culture—TIE)
Process of the teaching-learning experience
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4.
Worthwhileness of goals (TIE), authenticity & sequencing (4C/ID),
integration of content (TIE), supportive and JIT information (4C/ID)
Completely-connected learning outcomes, teacher satisfaction,
sustainability of organization
TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Dimensions of Assessing Educational
Quality
Now imagine we looking at a specific course. There are
four dimensions of quality we might consider:
1. Design of the course (content)
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2.
Environment for teaching and learning (context)
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3.
TALQ scales: teacher use of First Principles of Instruction, successful
student engagement (ALT)
Outcomes
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Authenticity of setting (knowing that one, best of culture—TIE)
Process of the teaching-learning experience
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4.
Worthwhileness of goals (TIE), authenticity & sequencing (4C/ID),
integration of content (TIE), supportive and JIT information (4C/ID)
Completely-connected learning outcomes, teacher satisfaction,
sustainability of organization
TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Why does this matter?
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Current political climate in U.S. is focused largely on
teacher quality (getting rid of poor teachers)
Quality of content and context are being largely ignored
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Why are we not looking at quality of textbooks (content)?
Why are we not examining the quality of goals of learning (e.g.,
truth, goodness and beauty of content)?
Why are we not looking at quality of facilities (context)?
Outcomes are being viewed narrowly in terms of student
academic achievement (cognitive)
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Learner emotions and intentions are being ignored (i.e., lack of
integration).
What good is it if students learn the wrong things, hate it, and
do not want to learn more?
TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
A Work in Progress
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IDCL research group is working on these issues:
Instructional Design for Complex Learning
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See DEQ paper at:
http://educology.indiana.edu/Frick/Dimensions of
Educational Quality.pdf
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See TIE Theory paper at:
http://educology.indiana.edu/Frick/TIEtheory.pdf
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality
Acknowledgment
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Thanks to Colin Gray for creating the graphics in this
presentation, and to Elizabeth Boling for drawings that
illustrate basic kinds of knowing.
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TIE Theory: Assessing Educational Quality