TACTics Journal

A Publication for and by TOC for Education Practitioners

September 27, 2002

In this week’s issue:

Elementary/Secondary TACTics

(1) A Professional Goal, Manfred Smith

(2) Incorporating the TOC into College Classes, Gila Glatter

Reader’s Feedback

(3) Michele Royan

Editors’ Notes

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

ELEMENTARY/SECONDARY TACTICS

(1) A Professional Goal

From Manfred Smith, Maryland, USA

Last year Manfred and his student teacher created lessons plans using the TOC Thinking Process

Tools. Then they used the tools to involve the students in constructivist learning. The results were

really exciting. Manfred shared the lessons and the results with us earlier this year in TACTics.

My goal this year will be to infuse TOC into virtually every lesson/unit that I

do with my classes. We will utilize TOC for everything from working on

students’ personal goals to writing. It may be the most ambitious attempt to

apply TOC in school anywhere. I will be in a better position to write

something once I get a couple of units under my belt—remind me every so

often. If I have new revelations to share, I will forward my findings right

away.

I am keeping notes, and expect to learn whole new ways to apply the thinking

processes. You should see what my students could do with having read only

three pages about Jamestown. The possibilities, and I’m talking about the

DIVERSE usage of tools for different purposes, are (I believe) awesome! I

feel like I’m a kid in a candy store who can’t decide what morsel to try next!

Hell of a lot of fun!

Best Premises,

Manfred

(2) Incorporating the Thinking Tools of T.O.C. (“Theory of

Constraints”) into College Education Courses

By Gila Glatter, TOCFE Director, Israel

The following abstract, describing the academic work done at Talpiot Teachers’ College, was

published in the Israeli Educational Journal in October, 2001. One day while reflecting on her

wonderful experiences with her TOC colleagues at the 6 th International TOCFE Conference, Gila

ran across this article and decided to share it with us. We hope that it will give you pause for

reflection.

This article describes processes and results of teaching and learning in

Education courses at Talpiot Teachers’ College, which were constructed

according to the rationale and instrumentation of T.O.C. (“Theory of

Constraints”).

T.O.C. is recognized throughout the business world as a theory of

administration whose aim is to effect continuous improvement of an

organization. It is a practical theory developed by Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt,

applied successfully in many organizational systems for over twenty years.

(Goldratt, 1988, 1992, 1995, 2000).

The direction taken in this research was to examine the influence of the use

of the thinking instrumentation of T.O.C. on learning necessary in teacher

training courses. The aim was to find a systematic and attractive way of

building a quality lesson which would integrate effective teaching, learning

and assessment, and which would serve as a model for imitation and transfer.

The courses were planned according to a strategy answering to three

questions involving change, which characterize any system in need of

improvement:

1) What should be changed?

2) To what should change be directed?

3) How can change be effected?

The courses were organized as follows:

1) The first part was directed to identifying the basic problem for which

the course was to provide some answer.

2) The second part derived from identification of the problem, followed by

brainstorming of creative solutions based upon discussion of such problems

in academic literature.

3) In the third part, the course participants tried out the suggested

solutions, applying structured procedures, which enabled the construction of

new knowledge in a manner, which was fast, focused and clear.

Dealing with the questions of change was facilitated by means of the

following TOC thinking tools:

1) The “cloud” of conflict;

2) Integration of three “clouds” into one generalized “cloud;”

3) Use of the “ prerequisite tree,” an instrument for achieving an ambitious

target.

The processes, which were observed, point to:

• Effective use of structured strategies for identifying a basic problem,

which the course should answer;

• Systematic and successful experience in achieving the aims of the

course, entailing an holistic view of the optimal conditions for effective

learning;

• The observed results suggest that use of TOC is a breakthrough in the

planning and application of powerful learning in the field of teacher training.

READER’S FEEDBACK

(3) Michele Royan, Michigan, USA

I would just like to share how excited I was to share Denise Meyer's "Who

is in Control? Using a Negative Branch to Solve a Problem and Accept

Responsibility" (TACTics, 9/20/02) with our Middle School Principal,

Assistant Principal, Counselor and Substance Prevention Specialist. Several

of them participated in the TOCFE training in our building last Spring, and

have very positive comments about how easy it is to use the techniques in

these circumstances. It is not learning something new, but just approaching

it from a different perspective.

Thank you, Denise, for sharing.

Michele Royan

Counselor, Northwestern Middle School

Battle Creek, Michigan

EDITORS’ NOTES

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

Thanks to all for sharing with us this week—your contributions keep TACTics

alive. To the rest of our TOCFE family, feel free to share with us. Your

responses need not be long; your applications to the thinking processes

nourish our minds. Send by mail to: Cheryl A. Edwards, 2253 S. Hill Island

Rd., Cedarville, Michigan 49719, USA. Or send hyperlink to

cedwards@cedarville.net or bucknek@earthlink.net.