Breaking Down Thinking: A Brief Intro to Decomposition

You need to write an important report. You have a topic, but little else. If you had instructions, things would be a lot easier. But no. You’ve been left to your own devices to see this report through from ideation to completion.

You decide to break things down into smaller chunks. Like the proverb says, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

You break down the report into its component parts, creating an outline. You know that there’s typically an intro, some background, some main ideas and a conclusion. Even though this format can be reconfigured, this breakdown offers a glimpse at the “system” of report writing.

With these parts in mind, you break things down further. You know that introductions often include a thesis statement, so coming up with a thesis goes on your to-do list. Coming up with main ideas requires research, which in turn requires coming up with search terms and concept mapping.

At first, deconstructing your project seems unwieldy. One task has morphed into 20. But each iteration of scrutiny results in an easier to-do list item, until suddenly you have a list of the steps needed to finish your report.

You’ve just used decomposition.

What Is Decomposition?

Decomposition (sometimes called deconstruction) is the process of breaking down ideas or objects into smaller pieces. Whereas a system may be made of moving parts, decomposition looks at each of those parts individually. Sometimes decomposition can act as an iterative process, with something being broken down into parts, then subparts, then sub-subparts and so on.

Decomposition is used for more than just project planning. It’s handy in understanding complex concepts, ones that are too big or cumbersome to pin down. When a concept is decomposed, the study of its constituent parts can offer novel ways to approach the subject. You can optimize processes, streamline designs or even come up with totally new ideas.

Think of a cake. It’s a single food item comprised of multiple ingredients: eggs, flour, sugar, butter. The ingredient list is a sort of decomposition. Understanding the parts of a cake allows you to tweak the recipe once you understand the fundamentals of baking.

Decomposition is everywhere. Searching for literary themes, for example, involves decomposition. But be it through mapping out code (bringing in the computer science conception of “deconstruction”), engaging in media literacy work or even just acting as a stepping-stone to deeper analysis, decomposition is an early-stage process in many computational thinking tasks.

Decomposition as Computational Thinking

Decomposition often goes hand in hand with algorithmic thought and pattern matching because it’s the first step to revealing available “materials.” An algorithm, like a recipe, uses ingredients; a pattern is comprised of similar objects, visual or otherwise. To get started on building out an algorithm, it’s often necessary to get a sense of things at a micro, not macro, level.

Given how computational thinking gets students looking at problems from a programmatic approach, having students assess objects and systems and decompose them can lead to higher-level thinking that fosters innovative solutions. The decomposed parts can be fodder for discussion, for analysis or for building and rebuilding systems. Even metacognition can play a role as students consider the why of their sorting choices, if any.

Although decomposition often comes early in the computational thinking process, it’s a skill that gets easier with practice. Some disciplines use critical theory as a means of decomposition. Others still use categorization and mapping to keep track of all the parts. Regardless, it’s a handy everyday skill that’s especially useful in the classroom.

Breaking Down the Classroom

Decomposition is a process, not a genre or category. You can often apply the deconstructive process to whatever subject you teach. For example, decomposition in the English classroom may look like literary analysis, such as breaking down poetry into stanzas or looking at themes in a text. Decomposition in biology may look like a dissection, or a study of cyclical biological processes part by part.

Using decomposition with project-based learning (PBL) or inquiry-based learning (IBL) can also yield interesting results. For example, tasks can be grouped together using pattern matching (“these are the code-based tasks” versus “these are the design-based tasks”). Component tasks can be reordered and arranged to build out algorithms.

Ultimately, decomposition offers students a means of looking at things in new ways. Going back to the cake example, seeing the change in the cake’s component parts (the ingredients) can lead students to understand chemistry, flavor science, design and more. Having students decompose the familiar unlocks creativity.

Deconstructing Decomposition

Decomposition, with its connection to the computer science concept of deconstruction, can be hard to pin down online. Typically, you’ll want to look for information by including “computational thinking” in your search terms. This guide from the BBC, for example, includes such examples as a crime scene analysis. Perhaps students could do a mock crime scene analysis for a literature lesson?

If you further expand your search to “deconstruction,” you’ll find both resources from computer science as well as references to Derrida, who waxed wise on deconstruction by looking at binary terms. While you can certainly relate both concepts to your classes, if you’re looking at breaking things down from a purely computational thinking perspective, you’ll find more using the term “decomposition” in your searches!

About the blogger:

Jesika Brooks

Jesika Brooks is an editor and bookworm with a Master of Library and Information Science degree. She works in the field of higher education as an educational technology librarian, assisting with everything from setting up Learning Management Systems to teaching students how to use edtech tools. A lifelong learner herself, she has always been fascinated by the intersection of education and technology. She edits the Tech-Based Teaching blog (and always wants to hear from new voices!).