CONNECTIONS
(1) APICS International Conference, Cheryl A. Edwards, USA
NETWORKING
(2) The
Malaysian Experience: No. 1, C. Ean Khaw, Malaysia
(3) Scientific
Thinking Study Using TOC Tools, Part 1, Dr. Rami Kallir / Maya
Kallir, Israel
EDITORS’ NOTES
(4) Kay
Buckner-Seal, Cheryl A. Edwards
(1) APICS International Conference
From Cheryl A. Edwards, USA
Kathy will
be presenting a paper at the APICS International Conference on October 24 in
Orlando, Florida. APICS is an
international, not-for-profit, educational society globally recognized for
serving manufacturing and service industries.
In addition to her formal presentation, Kathy will have the unique
opportunity to work with a group of children being sponsored by local APICS
Chapters. Which tool do you think
Kathy plans to share in the 2ND hour session?
(2) The
Malaysian Experience: No. 1
By C. Ean Khaw, Malaysia
Using Ambitious Targets
Tool in Resistance to Change
What
I shall be sharing is not a sleek sophisticated session as it sounds in the
title. It actually started as an
intuitive use of the tool. But first of
all, let me tell you a little about the background to this. I was personally involved in the whole
story, so I can tell you first-hand that I found it most motivating and this
story is simple enough to be anyone’s experience. But then, the great impact of this experience is unbelievable but
yet immensely achievable by anyone, not just on this one occasion.
Malaysia had not been
introduced to TOC till February 2000.
And then, it was a one-day demonstration talk by Kathy Suerken, CEO of
TOCFE, Inc. It was not even a planned
happening but a lucky (!) mix of events.
So we got to hear about TOCFE and 2 specific tools at the Curriculum
Development Centre (CDC), i.e. The Cloud and The Ambitious Targets tool. In the afternoon of that day, Kathy used the
Ambitious Targets tool hands-on with the group that attended her briefing.
The Special Projects Unit in the CDC is involved in numerous
projects. It was for one of these that
we had the opportunity to try to use the Ambitious Targets tool even though we
were just fledgling learners at that time.
This is the scenario in which it happened.
Story Line 1: The Hand-Over
The Futures Studies
Pilot Project had been completed in 5 states.
The results of the Pilot Project were good. It was decided that the Project will be handed over to all 14 states
in Malaysia. It was going to be a
teaching and learning strategy for teachers to use in all subjects from
preschool to upper secondary school.
A series of hand-over
courses were carried out in which the representatives from various divisions in
the Ministry, state education departments and Resource Teachers were given the
program. Their jobs were to introduce
Futures Studies as a new teaching and learning strategy in their own divisions
or states.
When we planned the
hand-over courses, the Ambitious Targets tool was applied to look at what were
the obstacles that we would face in the hand-over. Naturally, it was expected that the course participants would be
resistant to the idea of having to carry out something new. By looking into the obstacles that were
raised in trying to achieve a successful hand-over of the project, we were able
to anticipate and address many of them before we even met the participants of
the courses. In doing so, we found
ourselves providing our course participants with a less stressful and more meaningful
course.
For example, one of the
obstacles we foresaw was that the participants would have to be fed a lot of
new information, concepts and theories.
This bulk of knowledge would be burdensome and we did not want them
bored or falling asleep during the lectures.
The intermediate
objective was to see that the new information for participants would be learned in an interesting
manner. From these we were able to
structure the course components into interactive shorter chunks of learning
experiences.
Our facilitators came up
with the idea of having 5 booths manned by each of them and different factual
information was fed to participants by dividing the big group of 40 into 5
smaller groups of 8 and letting them circulate in a systematic simultaneous
rotation around the booths where information was given in an interactive
manner. It was such a difference from
the usual lecture method of providing information that it went down so well
that when I was assigned the job of “bell-ringer” in between each 20-minute
rotation, I was glowered at for being a “spoilsport” of their fun. They all
actually wanted to learn more!
By dealing with the
obstacles we came up with in applying the Ambitious Targets tools ourselves, we
had been able to address the needs of our course participants. There was one though, that led me to do a
Cloud on an internal dilemma as the course coordinator:
My Cloud : My Internal Dilemma In The Hand-over of the
Project
In order to have a
successful implementation of the project, I had to ensure effective hand-over
of the project, so I had to address the issue of resistance in the hand-over
(B-D)
The assumption at B-D
was that resistance is one of the critical areas for effective and successful
handover.
In order to have a
successful implementation of the project, I had to avoid any negative
situations, so I had to ignore the issue of resistance to the hand-over (C-D’)
The assumption at C-D’)
was that ignoring the issue of resistance will avoid a negative situation and
avoiding a negative situation will ensure a successful implementation.
My win-win solution was
to use the Ambitious Target tool collaboratively and so address the resistance
issue but directing the negative situation (obstacles) into a positive outcome.
So the Ambitious Targets
tool was introduced and used collaboratively with the course participants in a
session we called Strategic Planning.
The idea was to let all the participants involved in the hand-over to
come up with the challenges they would face in trying to achieve the goal of
getting a successful implementation of the project. Without telling them anything about the tool at first, we took
them through the process and very soon all the possible obstacles to achieving
the goal were surfaced. We had a gala time
getting the participants to come up with the intermediate objectives and some
form of action plan.
In the end, we could
tell them that, having looked into all the possible obstacles to a successful
implementation AND having changed all that to milestones, they had no reason
now NOT to achieve the goal. It was a
great moment in that we could see that we left them with no cause for
complaints or resistance and the best part was that they themselves had come up
with the solutions that they agreed collectively could be carried out. They
actually wagged fingers at us and told us we had been “sneaky” in getting them
but that they liked our approach. Then
we proceeded to explain to them what the Ambitious Target tool was about and
left them with plenty to ponder on.
Epilogue:
The pleasant surprise we
learnt was that our course participants used the Ambitious Targets tool at
their own state-level courses to garner the cooperation of their teachers.
(3) Scientific Thinking Study
Using the Theory of Contstraints (TOC) Tools, By
Dr. Rami Kallir and Maya Kallir
Part
1
Development
of an Understandable Logic Language
Natural Science
personnel, like other professionals, developed the language of symbols and
formulas. The languages were formed from the need to use a shortened language,
one that crosses boarders and languages as well as from the wish to safeguard
the trade secrets from laymen.
Describing an
experience, observation or a natural phenomenon requires sometimes a lot of
verbiage. It was crucial to mathematicians,
chemists, physicists and scientists in many other areas to find a uniform
language that would enable understanding without using so many words. Today when the know how and the methods of
using it are well known by many, a situation has been created where the
professional languages, rich in symbols and formulas, constitute a deterrent
factor to science students. Who is
going to learn a profession, as interesting as it may be, where the main
obstacle facing him is the language?
Another thing creating
antagonism towards certain professions are the control processes—the many
examinations. Studying became
virtual—the student is not experiencing personally! The examinations become more and more virtual and do not
necessarily prove knowledge and qualifications other than the ability of
memorizing and learning by heart.
As initiators in the
field of scientific studies, who emphasize the direct personal experiences of
the students, we face a number of problems.
The main one of them being the need to find an effective way to explain
to children in a simple language understood by anyone the complex phenomena,
which happen right in front of their eyes.
We are used to saying, “A picture worth a thousand words, an
experience worth a thousand pictures.” Simple multiplication will show us that in order to transcript an
experience we need millions of words.
The various TOC tools
enable us to word a lot of knowledge in a condensed form and simultaneously
make it possible for the children to describe in a very clear way the
experience they have just conducted.
The conflict cloud presents and focuses the need for the scientific
phenomenon we are describing. The logic
contexts used in building branches enable to describe activities and complex
experiences.
During the last two
years we have developed a program integrating practical scientific activity and
scientific thinking with the TOC thinking tools.
• A certain dilemma is presented through a
story. The dilemma is not necessarily a
scientific one; it can be moral, logic, social etc.
• We
word together the cloud.
• The
children raise suggestions for solutions (injections).
• We examine the existence of positive and
negative implications in every suggestion.
• The tutor presents the subject of the
lesson as one of the possible solutions.
• We
check the solution by experience.
• The tutor presents the scientific
explanation with the aid of logic branch.
The use of those tools
has two advantages:
1. The
connection between the problem and its scientific solution is clear and assists
in understanding the studied process.
2. The
scientific phenomenon presented before them is worded in if-then
contexts. The wording is clear and summarized.
In
each and every lesson emphasis is put on practical experiencing of each one of
the children. The product received is a possible solution to the problem
presented in the cloud or a product of the process presented in the logic
branch.
(4) Kay
Buckner-Seal, Cheryl A. Edwards
Next
week we will publish Part 2 of this article entitled: Samples of Contents
Studied with the TOC Tools. This
article will include two science lessons, one on the study of centripetal force
and another on the study of hard and soft water.
Great things happen when we collaborate, as C.
Ean Khaw expressed with the use of the Ambitious Target
tool in this week’s TACTics. Each week
in collaboration with Bernie, we work diligently to deliver a newsletter that
is “reader friendly” in format. Due to
the variables involved in using electronic mail, the TACTics you receive does
not always look the way we intend.
Therefore, we would like to remind you that TACTics can be viewed and
downloaded each week in our “intentional” format. All you have to do is visit our TOCFE website at
<http://www.tocforeducation.com/> and click on What’s
New!
And, speaking about “what’s new” the TOC for Education family extends
their sincere congratulations to Rami Goldratt on his upcoming marriage to Miri
Tzadok. We wish you the gifts of love
and hope as you follow your dreams and make a new life together!
Thanks to all for sharing! If you would like to share, send by mail to:
Cheryl A. Edwards
2253 S. Hill Island Rd.
Cedarville, MI 49719 USA
Or hyperlink to
<redwards@sault.com> or <bucknek@resa.net.