EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The United States Census Bureau projects that ethnic minorities, including African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Asian-Americans, will represent over fifty percent of the US population by 2040.  As a result, diversity issues are receiving increased attention; businesses, educational institutions, and government agencies are elevating the priority for inclusion initiatives and diversity programs within their organizations in an effort to eliminate the negative effects of institutionalized discrimination, and to foster working environments that allow employees from diverse backgrounds to work effectively together.  Indeed, as we enter the twenty-first century, competition for skilled workers will increase dramatically; creating inclusive workplace environments that embrace and reflect the diverse ideas and voices of individuals is becoming a critical element of their business strategy for most organizations.

Organizations often adopt rules and guidelines designed to influence and change how people behave with respect to diversity issues in order to insure that all cultural groups are treated fairly and have access to opportunities. While such actions are appropriate, these initiatives can be made more effective by simultaneous efforts to provide cultural enrichment within an organization to encourage understanding of other cultures, and of different perspectives and experiences, with the goal of building mutual respect and encouraging communication.


What Is TRAC Diversity Insights?

 Developed to serve as a component of a company’s diversity strategy, TRAC Diversity Insights is a unique educational software program designed to reduce prejudice and promote understanding and respect among employees of different races and cultures.  This is accomplished through a series of interactive text-based presentations focusing on significant contributions to human progress that notable African-American and Hispanic-American men and women have made throughout the history of America. 

 Based on content by noted authors Dr. Arthur Whimbey, Dr. Myra Linden, and Dr. Eugene Williams, TRAC Diversity Insights presents carefully written, concise biographies of twenty-eight notable African-American men and women, and ten notable Hispanic-Americans, and the remarkable accomplishments of these individuals, made all the more remarkable by the racism and conditions of discrimination that they endured.  Participants interact with the software through simple, intuitive point-and-click operations; keyboarding skills are not required but can be used as an option.

 This carefully designed system is based on current effective educational strategies that maximize each participant’s engagement in, understanding, and retention of the information presented through managed interaction with the software -- interaction that is private, self-paced, and non-threatening, and that emphasizes positive reinforcement.


What Are the Specific Objectives of the Software?

The software is designed to insure careful and thoughtful reading of the information presented.  This is accomplished through the process of Text Reconstruction – correctly matching sentence segments through point-and-click exercises that the participant performs as he or she progresses through the material. 

The Text Reconstruction approach prevents casual skimming or skipping over any of the content; these intuitive and non-threatening exercises have proven remarkably effective in insuring that the participant reads the content carefully and thoughtfully, thereby insuring maximum understanding and retention of the information presented.

 The software keeps a record of progress and sections completed, which the participant can print out to document completion of each section.

 
Why Provide Software Instead of Printed Material or a Video Presentation?

 Printed reading material, particularly when assigned, is often not read carefully or thoroughly; the reader may read casually, browse, or skip over sections of the text, thereby compromising the benefits of the material presented.

Similarly, video presentations are viewed in a passive mode as opposed to an interactive mode.  Further, the content of an assigned video presentation may not be of particular interest to the viewer.  As a result, the viewer often does not assimilate or retain the information presented.

The Diversity Insights software is different.  The content cannot be browsed or skipped through.  Further, reading the material casually does not allow for easily completing the Text Reconstruction exercises without guessing – a process that is readily apparent in the scoring function. 

The participant quickly learns that to progress through the information presented, and to achieve a good score, the information presented must be read carefully and thoughtfully.


How Can Diversity Insights be Used in a Company or Organization?

The licensing provisions for Diversity Insights provide flexibility in use within a company or organization.  The software can be installed on individual desktop or laptop computers of employees, or it can be installed in a classroom or learning lab where employees attend and work through the exercises.  Different categories of employees can be addressed, depending on circumstances or needs within an organization.  With an Enterprise license, Diversity Insights can be offered to every employee if desired; the one-time license price does not require per seat accounting or place any restrictions on numbers of users.  Even the single computer licenses have no restriction on the number of employees who can use the software. 

 Some examples are as follows:

By assigning Diversity Insights to employees within an organization, company management is making a clear statement regarding racism and diversity issues, and taking positive, proactive steps to help create an inclusive workplace.

 
What is Text Reconstruction?

 Text Reconstruction is a unique approach to studying text-based information that is very effective for achieving content mastery of the material.  As implemented in Diversity Insights, the Text Reconstruction process adds several elements that allow the software to go considerably beyond the printed page in effectively engaging the participant in appropriate reading exercises, maximizing understanding and retention of the information presented.

The process is effective due to the nature of the interaction and progression through the material.  When individuals are called on to read printed material, they may skim over the material superficially, particularly if the reading is assigned and not something they normally have an interest in.  Others with somewhat limited reading skills may not read thoughtfully, and therefore fail to consider each sentence and to assimilate the content.  With the Diversity Insights system, such casual skimming or marginal reading is not possible; with each sentence read, a simple text reconstruction exercise tests comprehension of the ideas presented; the participant can proceed to the next paragraph only if he or she demonstrates understanding of the content presented through successful interaction to complete the text reconstruction exercised for each paragraph.  Casual readers, or those who would superficially browse the content, will find that their approach is not possible, and they will not progress through the material.

Similarly, while it is possible to guess at the correct combinations, the TRAC SL software system keeps track of incorrect responses; a participant who is guessing at the correct combinations can be quickly identified through the record keeping system, which keeps a record of the numbers of inappropriate responses, and the time involved.

 The interactive software is particularly effective in (1) eliciting continuous responses from participants to ensure that they are actively processing the material; (2) providing feedback to help participants accurately comprehend the material; and (3) monitoring participant’s responses if they write the (optional) responses.


How Effective Is the Text Reconstruction Approach?

A great deal of research and experience with Text Reconstruction documents the effectiveness of this approach to presenting information.  One example is Project S.O.A.R. at Xavier University in New Orleans.  This project, Stress on Analytical Reasoning, has been in use for over ten years at the University and is credited with the remarkable accomplishments at Xavier with medical and engineering students. 

One of the Diversity Insights authors, Dr. Myra Linden, in her Ph.D. dissertation, The Development of Text Reconstruction, traces the history of the components of text reconstruction; Dr. Linden notes that modern text reconstruction is a combination of the learning processes used by such noted individuals as William Shakespeare, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Louis Stevenson, Winston Churchill, Jack London, and Malcolm X.

Numerous textbooks and workbooks by Dr. Whimbey and Dr. Linden are used in schools and universities across the US. 

A search on the Internet using one of the common search engines for “whimbey” will pull up hundreds of articles and references to Dr. Whimbey and his work. 

The recent third edition of Developing Minds, published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development includes the latest article by Linden and Whimbey on Text Reconstruction. 


How is the Software Distributed within an Organization?

There are several options for distribution of Diversity Insights within an organization.  


What are the Computer System Requirements?   

Designed for Windows-based personal computer systems in both stand-alone and networked environments, Diversity Insights is based on the TRAC Structures for Learning system from New Intelligence Inc.

TRAC Diversity Insights requires a typical Windows-based computer system running Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, or XP.  Memory requirements are 64 MB or RAM minimum, with 128 MB recommended.  Hard drive space required is less than 15 MB.  A color monitor is recommended, and a mouse or similar pointing device is required.  A printer is required for printing the results of each lesson for the stand-alone or single computer license; for a network installation, the network printer can be used.

Installation is from a CD-ROM, or from an install file accessed over an intranet or a local area or wide area network.

The software is compatible with most Local and Wide Area Network systems.


What does New Intelligence Provide with respect to Training and Support?

New Intelligence provides several training and support options:  

 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS 

Dr. Arthur Whimbey is a major player in the critical thinking skills movement.  His research and writing on methods of improving cognitive and academic skills are well known.  His research has been successfully applied in schools and colleges in many parts of America, and has twice been reviewed in The New York Times.  His workbook Problem Solving and Comprehension has been used to improve reading and reasoning in the successful Project SOAR at Xavier University for over 20 years, and has been translated into Spanish and Hebrew.  His workbooks Mastering Reading through Reasoning and Analytical Reading and Reasoning are used in middle schools, high schools, and colleges throughout the U.S.  He is the author of the widely heralded Intelligence Can Be Taught, and his articles have appeared in many professional journals.  A popular keynote speaker and workshop leader, Dr. Whimbey’s speaking engagements have included the International Reading Association, the National Association of Secondary-School Principals, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the National Association of Developmental Education, and numerous others.  Dr. Whimbey received a Ph.D. in Psychology from Purdue University.  He has taught psychology and reading improvement at the University of Illinois, the University of California at Berkeley, and in the Dade County Public Schools.      

Dr. Myra J. Linden devoted 35 years to teaching English and speech in high schools and community colleges. During her years of teaching she also conducted research and tested instructional theories; in addition to over thirty journal articles, her published works include (with Whimbey) Why Johnny Can’t Write: How to Improve Writing Skills; (with Whimbey and Williams) Keys to Quick Writing Skills: Sentence Combining and Text Reconstruction; and (with Whimbey, Johnson, and Williams) Blueprint for Educational Change: Improving Reasoning, Literacies, and Science Achievement.  Her Ph.D. dissertation, The Development of Text Reconstruction, traces the components of text reconstruction back 2,000 years; Dr. Linden notes that modern text reconstruction is a combination of the learning-to-write process used by such noted authors as William Shakespeare, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Louis Stevenson, Winston Churchill, Jack London, and Malcolm X.  In addition to M.S. degrees in English from Illinois State University and in Library Science from Dominican University, Dr. Linden received a Ph.D. in English from the City University of Los Angeles.  Dr. Linden edits the TRAC Newsletter for the TRAC Research Institute. 

Dr. Eugene Williams, Sr., a noted African-American educator, is a well-known public school and college teacher, researcher, and administrator. Dr. Williams states that "Text Reconstruction is a powerful method for improving reasoning and comprehension. 

“In addition, I believe it would be useful for all persons to read these biographies and learn about the history of racial discrimination in America -- the discrimination that Satchel Paige and Marian Anderson encountered, that Thurgood Marshall, Dr. King, and Jesse Jackson fought -- in order to better understand the need for continued vigilance to ensure that prejudice in educational and economic opportunities can no longer exist.

 “It would also be useful for all persons to read these biographies to learn about the work of black Americans such as Charles Drew and Garrett Morgan, and of the accomplishments of Hispanic-Americans such as Cesar Chavez and Jaime Escalante, so that they can see the contributions to human progress that all Americans can make if given a fair chance."

Dr. Williams is currently an independent educational consultant with school systems and with companies such as The Washington Times.  Dr. Williams is Director of the Potential National Merit Scholars Program, and cofounder of The Washington Math Science Technology Public Charter High School.  He speaks frequently at national educational conventions.

 

Background: THE INSTITUTE FOR TRAC RESEARCH 

Dr. Whimbey and Dr. Linden conduct their research, write articles for professional journals*, and author textbooks and content for software based on their instructional methods as the Institute for TRAC Research (Text Reconstruction Across the Curriculum) in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  A newsletter, On TRAC, edited by Dr. Myra J. Linden, encourages the use of text reconstruction in a range of curricular areas, and each issue contains a variety of ideas and examples that support these goals.  Dr. Whimbey points out that text reconstruction methods aren’t all that new, and in fact date back to the time of the Founding Fathers of the American republic.  Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s first noteworthy authors, describes in his autobiography the method he used to improve his thinking and learning skills as a youth, when he worked in his brother’s print shop.  When Franklin admired an article or an essay, he studied the construction of the piece by writing several words from each sentence.  These he called “short hints of the sentiments of each sentence.” Next, he mixed these hints in random order and set them aside for several weeks.  Then Franklin would try to arrange the hints into their original order to recreate the logical sequence and organization of the essay.  Next he would try to write each sentence from just the hints, checking against the original and noting any deviations, as he attempted to master the vocabulary, sentence structure, and style of the author.  Franklin described his goal as learning “...method in the arrangement of thoughts.”

Jack London, author of The Sea Wolf and according to the New York Times Book Review the most widely read American author in the world, used a similar procedure of analyzing and reconstructing selections of written works that he admired.  As London describes it, when he decided to become a professional writer in his mid-twenties, he “analyzed the stories he liked, copied them out by hand to learn how they were put together, and wrote his own pieces with their example in mind.”

Whimbey has devoted several years to researching and further developing these concepts.  In his workbook Analytical Writing and Thinking, he offers carefully developed exercises that are highly effective in helping participants successfully develop the thinking and reasoning skills to complete analytical writing assignments, leading to improved reasoning and comprehension, and higher academic achievement.  The New Intelligence software has been carefully designed to effectively implement an appropriate selection of these processes for use with participants.   

* The latest article by Dr. Whimbey, Dr. Linden, and associates Dr. Jack Lochhead and Dr. Carol   Welsh, has just been published in Developing Minds: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking, by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Arlington, Virginia, December 2001.  See www.ascd.com.

  

New Intelligence Inc. is continuing to develop instructional content for TRAC Diversity Insights. 

For more information on the TRAC Diversity Insights software described in this summary, contact the company by telephone at (972) 641-7747 or toll free at (888) 745-4151. 

The mailing address for New Intelligence Inc. Is:               New Intelligence Inc.
                                                                                       P O Box 540907
                                                                                       Grand Prairie, Texas  75054-0907

E-mail New Intelligence at newintel@newintel.com.