Need To Be Careful Of Stereotyping, Etc

"...Selecting material in a haphazard way; offering integrations that do not stand up to scrutiny, neither by self or by knowledgeable others; inappropriate organizing frameworks; lack of organizing stance; summaries that feature overly grandiose "lumping" or "nitpicking" or "splitting"..."

Howard Gardner, 2006a

Lumping refers to seeing connections so able to join theories, stories, examples, etc together; to accentuate their commonalities; to pinpoint their order in yet a greater order. By contrast, splitting refers to making distinctions, enjoying contrasts, always asking Why do these not connect? What is a difference, what is a crucial distinction?

Furthermore, we need to be careful of the trend towards specialization in disciplines. Alternatives include multidisciplinary or multi-perspective within-one discipline approaches, plus encouraging "big picture" understanding, ie

"...to look beyond their own backyard and specialization; to understand the various components in the organisation or constituency; to think systematically about what is working, what is not working, and how goals can be more effectively achieved. Programs that enhance their synthesizing capacities - and evoke synthesizing and strategizing - would be valuable..."

Howard Gardner, 2006a