(1)
If
Only Macbeth had TOC, Frances
Moll
(2)
Can
You Work and Have Fun Too?, Roslina bt. Ismail
Quote
(3) Christa
McAuliffe
Editor’s Notes
(4) Cheryl
A. Edwards
For
this issue of TACTics we have selected two articles from The International
Anthology of TOC for Education Case Studies compiled by Kathy Suerken. The first is from a high school English
literature class and the second is from an elementary class. Both show the use of the TOC Thinking Tool,
the Evaporating Cloud, in teaching content.
I teach Shakespeare to Grade 12 students as part
of their English course. We are under
time pressure because South African students have to do writing, speaking,
language and literature all in one course.
I found the following cloud a very quick and
useful method to introduce the topic of Macbeth’s motivation.
A: Have
a successful life.
B: Satisfy
ambition.
D: Kill
the king.
B: Satisfy
conscience.
D’: Do not kill the king.
It is clear from one’s knowledge of the play that
Macbeth does not resolve this dilemma.
The cloud led to a fruitful discussion on an essential element of the
play. What I found interesting was that
the cloud very neatly points to the tragic nature of the play because Macbeth
does not meet his need for satisfying conscience. Macbeth was doomed because he could not break this cloud (if
only he had studied TOC!).
Naturally the same type of cloud could be used for Hamlet, King Lear, Othello…
The teacher tells her class the story of the Ant
and the Grasshopper. The children
then go to the school compound where the outline of the Cloud has been drawn on
the tarmac. The children take the roles
of the lazy grasshopper and hardworking ant.
The ants and grasshoppers act out their parts. The ants are working hard and the
grasshoppers laugh and play as they hop from the cloud at D to B and D’ to
C. As they move to their positions,
they think about their characters needs and wants.
A: A
happy life
Ant
B; Feel
secure for the future
D: Work
hard
C: Enjoy
D’: Not
work hard
The teacher asks the ants and grasshoppers
to think about what they wanted to do and why they needed to do it.
B/D
Assumption: Work hard because this will
ensure the ant will be safe for the future.
C/D’
Assumption: The grasshopper can only
enjoy himself if he doesn’t work hard.
·
Can
you feel safe for the future and still enjoy yourself?
·
Can
you work hard as well as enjoy yourself so that you have a happy life?
Then the teacher asks for suggestions on how a person can feel safe for the future and still enjoy their lives …a WIN/WIN solution. This helps to motivate the children to think meaningfully on such an abstract idea by learning it through a story and working out the conflict in a Cloud. At the same time, the teacher is able to help them comprehend that certain values in life, such as being hard working, should be upheld and that at the same time, be able to enjoy themselves. The ideas that come from the children themselves are acceptable because they feel the “ownership’” over them.
WIN-WIN Suggestions by the children:
·
The
grasshopper can work hard in the morning and play in the afternoon.
·
The
grasshopper can make a timetable.
Finally, the teacher asks children to think based on their lives: “Can YOU work hard and have fun too?”
(3) “I touch the
future. I teach.” —Christa McAuliffe
(4) Cheryl A. Edwards
Are we having fun now? Would you agree that using the TOC Thinking Tools with students
is fun for the teacher as well as the student?
That is certainly my experience.
We hope these examples of using TOC in the classroom will serve as a
spark to your imagination as you develop lessons for your students. As you develop these lessons won’t you share
them with our TACTics readers? Send by
mail to Cheryl A. Edwards, 2253 S. Hill Island Rd., Cedarville, MI 49719,
USA. Or, you can send hyperlink to redwards@sault.com or bucknek@earthlink.net.
Interested in your own copy of the International
Anthology? Contact Cheryl Edwards.
To view TACTics in its
intended formatting and to read previous issues, visit the TOCFE website at: www.tocforeducation.com