TACTics

September 3, 1999

TOCFE Networking

A Suggestion and Request:

 

Jane (Landwehr) Hudak has a great idea!  She suggested that we send in the quotes and story lines that we use in our training sessions that work exceptionally well.  Do you agree that this is a great idea?  I'll start by sharing a quote that I first saw at a Michigan Department of Education Seminar. 

 

"Learning is not developed from the outside-in, but from the INSIDE-OUT." 

(From: Langer and Purcell-Gates, Reading, Thinking and Concept Development,

1985)

 

I ask the participants if they agree with the statement.  They generally do and this leads to a discussion of the implications for our instruction in the classroom and the cloud "Teach Process/Teach Concept". I guide our discussion right into an exploration of 'teaching the TOC Thinking Process Tools through content'.  Then I generally show some really good clouds based on academic content.  I often bring a textbook, open it up and show in two minutes how a cloud can take a useless assignment and turn it into a very powerful one.  It really works.

 

Please share your ideas with us as we continue on our...

 

POOGI Pool

 

Rami Quiz No. 3

 

What connection in the cloud is broken, if after implementing the injection,

A, B, C, and D in the cloud remain intact?  Which means the 'want' (D) is not changed, both needs are satisfied, and the common objective is not hurt.

 

 

WIZDOM

 

"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world."  (Wittgenstein)

 

In test marketing the newest version of session 1 this week (in NICEVILLE!), I belatedly realized how important it is to clarify language as you go-my erroneous assumption being that, because English is the native language for all of us in our class, we automatically know what we mean by words that we commonly use. Specifically I refer to the word: conflict.  I didn't take the time at the first use of the word to establish a clear, WORKING TOC definition for our session.  Instead, we talked about conflict in terms of characteristics--where it leads (udes) rather than where it starts.   Once you are into blame and other emotions, it is more difficult to find the trail back to the beginning.

 

While our discussion did create the need for a tool to deal with these effects (symptoms) and my participants could all think of a example, they did not have a conceptual understanding/framework on how to define conflict.  Therefore, there was a tendency for their first story lines to describe the conflict in the old paradigm--in a complicated, fuzzy way.    I realized THEN that their connotations of the word conflict were confusing them and complicating their examples.  I took them to the glossary page where conflict is defined within the TOC perspective and through that discussion their confusion was resolved.

 

In debriefing myself this week, I remembered James-- a teacher I observed in Bogota, Colombia-who, in 30 minutes, very SIMPLY led his class of 15 to excellent story lines and clouds.    I was so impressed, I went back to my room and wrote a TRT on all the relevant whys (and which I converted to narrative for a Tuesday Report last November) James started with: 

This must have been a very difficult question because not one of you sent in an answer.  Come on folks have the courage to try!  Maybe we'll have to ask Rami for some easier questions

 

Answer #3:

The answer is C-D'.

 

The injection is an alternative way.

An alternative way for what?

In order to check what connection was broken by an injection, we should find out what will be changed after implementing the injection. In other words, to find out what is substituted by the injection. If after implementing the injection D' does not exist (or changes) it means that the injection is an alternative way instead of D' to satisfy the need C. In other words, the connection C-D' was broken. If D will not exist after implementing the injection it means that the injection is breaking B-D. If D and D' will be changed after implemented the injection it means that the injection breaks the connection B-D and C-D'.

 

Thanks Rami!

And now for Rami Quiz # 4:

 

Can we expose assumptions underlying the connection from the cloud B-D, by completing the sentence: "If D' exists, then B does not exist, because..."?

 

One of my favorite professors, had a great line…  "I know you don't know. What do you think?"

Have the courage to give this question a try.  Send your answers and comments

to:

Baughca@aol.com 

AND

bucknek@resa.net

or

Cheryl A Baugh

27731 Lathrup Blvd.

Lathrup Village, MI 48076 USA

"Think of a conflict you might be having with a family member or a friend."  Then, he immediately focused them and framed the concept with a guided definition.  " What is a conflict? " he asked.

 

"A problem when two people want different things and you start to argue about it." was one of the suggestions.   James got consensus from the group on that definition and then went right to the board and drew two boxes which read: I want/you want with an arrow.  After that, all the stories were

simple and focused in describing conflict within the TOC perspective.

 

For him, despite teaching in English to a Spanish speaking (and bi-lingual) group of students, there were no language limitations-only TOC possibilities created because he prevented the problem by teaching first (and very simply) the concept of conflict. I bet I would have prevented the initial confusion had I done the same thing.    Since Danilio shared a new way to teach concepts during our conference, I am exploring his method (and have asked him to collaborate) to teach the TOC definition of conflict.  This is FUN!  In the words of Richard Bach and which have already been repeated in TACTics:  "My race to learn has just begun!" (again!)

 

By the way, despite my slightly flawed beginning, the new session is SO good, it was immensely successful-the participants absolutely loved it!

(Thanks Rami!).  We will release the new manual to the tutor network as soon as we check it another time or two.  Suerken@nwfl.net

 

QUOTES...

 

"I know you don't know.  What do you think?"

Dorsey Hammond

Oakland University

Rochester, Michigan