Goal-Action-Outcome frame: explanations of many historical events have a generic structure of goal, action, and outcome¶

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Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The analysis of Why-Action explanation questions rests on a generic structure attributed to Armbruster and Anderson (1982): "explanations of many historical events have a generic structure consisting of three causally related categories of information" — Goal, Action, and Outcome. The Goal is the desired state sought by an individual or group, the Action is the overt behavior undertaken to accomplish the Goal, and the Outcome is the consequence of the Action. In questions of this type, the Action and/or Outcome is the effect given in the question and the Goal is the cause required in the answer.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Answering Why-Action questions requires connecting a stated action to the goal that motivated it, which may require a causal inference because the goal is not always stated explicitly in the text

Constraints¶

• The frame applies to explanations whose causes are goals, motives, purposes, or intentions of human actors; other explanation subcategories handle conditions and processes

Target Learners¶

• middle school students answering history textbook questions

Target Learning Objectives¶

• constructing cause-oriented answers to history explanation questions

Claims¶

Related Theories¶

• A taxonomy of history questions classifies questions by the type and structure of the required response, not by surface interrogative form
• Goal frame for historical explanations: Goal, Plan, Action, Outcome slots
• Problem/Solution frame as a variation of the Goal frame for history text

Examples¶

• Explanation questions divide into cause-seeking, effect-seeking, and causal-elaboration types with distinct answer structures
• Make frame slot content and relationships explicit in historical explanations, especially for younger readers

Key Sources¶

• Armbruster, Bonnie B.; Anderson, Thomas H.; Bruning, Roger R.; Meyer, Linda A. (1984). What Did You Mean by That Question? A Taxonomy of American History Questions. Technical Report No. 308. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED240511