TACTics Journal
Connections
Elementary/Secondary TACTics
Quote
(3) Buckminster
Fuller
Editors’
Notes
(4) Kay Buckner-Seal, Cheryl A.
Edwards
Paula
Sommer and Dr. Charles Blanton, Texas, USA
Paula shared the scope of the
work that she and her team were working on in Texas at our June
Conference. After recently visiting the
schools Paula has submitted this updated report. In last week’s TACTics we featured Part 1: Weatherford ISD-Turning the Campus
Improvement Plan into the Teachers’ Plan for Campus Improvement. To read Part 1 of this series, visit our
website at: www.tocforeducation.com
What is
Excellence? —Van Alstyne ISD
In the Van Alstyne Independent School District the team we trained
consisted of the superintendent, principals and vice-principals. We began with “What is excellence?” and we
used the Baldridge Model as the world-class model for managing the
organizational systems. Then we moved
to TACT to answer: How to cause change?
With an understanding of the Ambitious Target they were able to begin
aligning the entire curriculum from kindergarten to grade 12. They now have the TOC thinking tools, the
Ambitious Target, the Cloud, and the Negative and Positive Branches. The result was for us to be asked to train the
elected school board members with the expectation that through the Ambitious
Target they could determine what “excellence” means and we could begin to craft
a strategic plan for the district. They
have added key players so the next step is to get them up to speed, train the
counselors, and refresh the other members of the executive team. Their high school student council is
planning a retreat to develop their initiatives for the year. We are discussing doing the Ambitious Target
during the fall retreat day and the Cause /Effect for peer mediation in the
spring.
So, when we get these key points into place, we will have touched
everyone from the executives to the board to the students. The remaining task will be to knit
everything together to help them with deployment that has continuity from year
to year and makes a lasting change to their processes.
ELEMENTARY/SECONDARY TACTICS
(2) Teaching Grammar with TOC
Danilo Sirias, Michigan, USA
I am assuming here that in most languages, there are a series of
"rules" governing the proper way to write and transform words and
sentences. At least, I know this is the
case in English and Spanish. In
chemistry and physics, there are rules governing cause and effect relationships
explained by natural laws. The same
situation occurs with grammatical rules, which is the logical explanation why
some word transformations are the way they are. Establishing logical
connections facilitates learning and retention. One of the strengths of the thinking tools is that they provide
the important elements and show how these elements are connected. So, I
think cause and effect can be used to teach grammar. The whole purpose is to use cause-and-effect trees to help
students find the grammatical rules by themselves.
My idea is as follows:
Put three different and separate cause-and-effect trees all of
them showing the base word (cause) and the transformed word (effect) explained
by a grammatical rule we are trying to teach.
The box corresponding to the rule must be blank, so students can find
patterns and determine the grammatical rule.
For example:
IF the base word is "cook," THEN the past tense is
"cooked" BECAUSE
___________
IF the base word is "appear," THEN the past tense is
appeared BECAUSE
___________
IF the base word is "stamp," THEN the past tense is
"stamped" BECAUSE
___________
Then, guide students until they find the rule. After the students find the rule. In this case, the rule is you add “ed” to
form the past tense of the verb.
As we all know, there are exceptions, so how can we teach them
Socratically? One idea is to give
students a list that includes verbs that do not follow the rule. I can imagine a smart student's face when
"correcting" the teacher, “Hey, this does not work with the word
eat.” Another way is to ask the
students to come up with examples when the rule does not work. If you are teaching other subjects with
cause and effect, using this approach should reinforce not only grammar but
also the use of the thinking tools.
This procedure is a suggestion but I am sure you can
improve/modify it. Please use this
approach in your class with your modifications and let us know how it goes.
(4) Kay Buckner-Seal, Cheryl A. Edwards
Thanks to all who contributed to TACTics this week. The use of tools in teaching grammar is an idea worth trying in the language arts classroom. Whenever we give students the opportunity to use the tools, we promote the importance of inquiry and critical thinking in the development of reflective learners.
Feel
free to share with us. Send your
responses, applications of the thinking processes, lessons, announcements, and
etc. by mail to: Cheryl A. Edwards, 2253 S. Hill Island Rd., Cedarville, Michigan 49719,
USA. Or send hyperlink to: redwards@sault.com, or bucknek@earthlink.net.
To view TACTics in its intended
formatting, visit our website at
www.tocforeducation.com and click on “What’s New.”