TACTics Journal

A Publication for and by TOC for Education Practitioners

July 13, 2001

 

Connections

  (1)   The Israeli Association for Literacy Conference, Zzippi Margalit

   (2)   Conference Feedback: Insights Gained from the Henry Ford Museum, Francois Moll

    (3)   Summary of Dr. Danilo Sirias’s Presentation at the 5th Annual TOCFE International Conference, Beatrice Kovacs

Editors’ Notes

   (4)    Kay Buckner-Seal, Cheryl A. Edwards

 

CONNECTIONS

(1)        The Israeli Association for Literacy Conference

From Zzippi Margalit

 

While reading all these feedback letters about the Detroit conference, I feel happy and excited to hear about the success.  On the other end, you know, I’m also jealous because I still remember the warm atmosphere and the enthusiasm at the Monterrey conference last year.  Good luck to everyone!

 

I’m also happy to tell you that I was invited to share my ideas about TOC, in a very special conference of the Israeli Association for Literacy.  They were interested on the idea of using news group/forums on the Internet in order to work cooperatively and from a distance, on an ambitious target.  And this the way it works:

 

In the subject field of the root message, you write the ambitious target.  (e.g.  I safely lead the people of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land.)  You can, of course, add more information in the body of the message.  In the subject fields of the responses to the root message, you write the obstacles.  (e.g. the population includes children and elderly people.)  And in the subject fields of the responses to the obstacles, you write the goal.  (e.g. adjust the rhythm.)

 

As I mentioned in the Monterrey conference and in other opportunities, the advantages of this activity are:

     Teamwork and knowledge pooling towards a shared creation, without the need of appointments

 

     Flexibility in time; no need to make a synchronous appointment

 

     Intuitive thoughts are written with no pressure, no limits of time, and therefore are deeper and more meaningful (Feenberg, 1991; Garrison, 1997).

 

     Ideas are written on the screen, and therefore are permanent, visible, articulated and explicit (Vygotsky 1978).

 

     Clear outline of the procedure is created.

 

     Whole procedure is written to a protocol and can be reviewed.

 

     Material can be used in any computerized application for rewriting and summarizing.

 

Love to all and may God be with all of  us.

 

(2)            Conference Feedback: Insights Gained from the Henry Ford Museum

Francois Moll, South Africa

 

Firstly, thank you for the hospitality; we really felt very welcomed.

 

Thinking about the conference, I had an interesting experience on my last day in Detroit.  We visited the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village (Well worth the visit!).  The exhibition on Henry Ford as a person focused on his life-long learning and what it means to be an innovator.  Now read this in the light of the conference and TOC in general (the words are verbatim from the exhibition).

 

About learning:

1.     Never stop learning

2.     Teach your children well

3.     Learn how you learn best

4.     Satisfy your curiosity

5.     If something excites you, follow it

6.     Don't let doubts stop you from trying

7.     Master new skills one at a time

8.     Education is where you find it

9.     Innovation does not watch the clock

10.   What appears simple, often isn't

11.    Seek out your inspiration

12.        Encouragement can make a difference

 

About innovators:

1.     Innovators educate themselves

2.     Innovators take risks

3.     Innovators have great expectations

4.     Innovators lead, follow or get out of the way

5.     Innovators are open to diverse opinions

6.     If you don't do it first, do it better

7.     When the rules change, innovators adapt

8.     New circumstances can change the rules

9.     Innovators seek new challenges

 

What are we unleashing on the world!

 

 

(3)  Summary of Dr. Danilo Sirias’s Presentation at the 5th

Annual TOCFE International Conference

By Beatrice Kovacs

 

Concepts as Solutions

·         Many concepts are solutions.

·         If a concept is a solution to a problem and we want students to invent the solution then we must first make them aware of the problem.

 

Solution to a Problem

·         The objective is to teach a content that is a solution to a conflict. 

·         The focus is on understanding the problem and finding an assumption that invalidates the solution.

 

Using the Cloud

·         The Cloud can be used to teach concepts that are solutions to a conflict.

·         The teacher decides the content to be taught and a conflict resolved by the solution.

·         The teacher guides students towards finding the conflict, finding a solution, and naming the concept.  When guiding students to find the cloud there are two options:

1.        If the students have some experience with the subject discuss the advantages and disadvantages. 

2.       If students have no experience use case studies or stories.

·         The teacher introduces the model for the cloud.  The teacher leads the students through the steps for creating a cloud.

1.        Determine an undesirable effect (UDEs) if the solution did not exist.  Make it as specific as possible.

2.       Write the opposite of the specific UDEs.  This is the Cloud’s B.

3.       Find an action you can take to achieve B that is not as efficient as the solution you are teaching.  This becomes D.

4.       Not doing D becomes D’.

5.       C is the opposite of the UDEs caused by D

6.       Find Common Goal A

7.       Refine Cloud.

 

An Example—

Danilo used the story about a friend who lost a coin and wanted to direct a second friend to locate the coin without directly showing the second friend the coin’s location.

 

Math Concept: X-Y coordinates

(1)     Specific UDE if the concept did not exist:  I can not find my friend’s coin in the field next to my house

(2)     Opposite of UDE:  B-I find my friend’s coin

(3)         Alternative solution:  D-I randomly look for coin

(4)     Not doing D:  D’-I do not randomly look for the coin

(5)     Opposite of UDE caused by D:  C-Avoid wasting time

(6)     Goal:  A-Make good use of my time

(7)     Refine cloud:  In order to (A) feel good about myself I must (B)find my friend’s coin.  In order to find my friend’s coin I must look for it randomly.  On the other hand, in order to feel good about myself I must (C) go home and finish my homework. In order to go home and finish my homework I do not look for the coin.

 

When students understand the concept the cloud can be applied to another concept. Danilo chose another example: concept of estimation.

 

Helping student’s find the solution 

Danilo reminded the teacher to:

·         concentrate his/her efforts on the arrow that is broken by the solution that you are trying to teach

·         develop as many assumptions as possible

·         develop actions to invalidate the assumptions

 

The Transition Tree for Class Preparation

Danilo also reminded us that in most classes teachers are teaching a series of connected concepts.  To improve retention of these concepts, the concepts must be linked to a logical sequence.   A modification of the TrT (transition tree) forces you to create these links among topics.

To demonstrate, Danilo developed a TrT whose topic was the Importance of Data.  He guided students through the tree (thinking process) so that they would see the disadvantage of using the traditional file environment.  Through cause and effect techniques students find the disadvantages and problems of the traditional file environment.

 

EDITORS’ NOTES

(4)  Kay Buckner-Seal, Cheryl A. Edwards

 

It’s always wonderful to hear from our colleagues, thanks for sharing.  Please feel free to share with us.  Send by mail to Cheryl A. Edwards, 2253 S. Hill Island Rd., Cedarville, MI 49719, USA.  Or, send hyperlink to <redwards@sault.com> or <bucknek@earthlink.net.

 

To view TACTics in its intended formatting and to read previous issues, visit the TOC website at: www.tocforeducation.com