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Analytical architecture·Medium cognitive demand·20–40 minutes

Consequence Map

Organise effects across groups, timescales and domains so students can reason about relative significance.

Knowledge
Causal · Chronological · Comparative · Systems · Evaluative
Sequence
Guided Construction · Deliberate Practice · Disciplinary Application
Interaction
Medium

A consequence map makes distribution and duration visible. It prevents a list of effects from masquerading as analysis by requiring links, affected groups, timescales and criteria for relative weight.

01How the architecture unfolds

  1. Define the focal event and boundary.
  2. Sort consequences by affected group and domain.
  3. Place effects on immediate and long-term timescales.
  4. Draw and justify causal links.
  5. Rank consequences using explicit significance criteria.

02The work on each side

Teacher moves

  • Ask who experiences each effect
  • Challenge unsupported arrows
  • Model how criteria change ranking

Student moves

  • Sort
  • Link
  • Compare
  • Rank
  • Justify

03What would count as learning?

  • Students justify causal links rather than merely place effects
  • Students compare significance across groups and timescales

04Across the curriculum

History

Historical significance

Map immediate and long-term consequences for distinct groups before making a judgment.

Economics

Interest-rate change

Trace effects across borrowers, savers, firms and government over different time horizons.