TACTics
Journal
A Publication for and by TOC
for Education Practitioners
April 25, 2003
In this week’s issue:
Elementary/Secondary TACTics
(1) Students and Teachers
Comment On New Essay Process, Francois Moll
(2) Technique for Writing
Critical Literature Essays, Francois Moll
Connections
(3) Announcing: TOCFE
Conference Presenters, Kathy Suerken
(4) 7 th International TOCFE Conference
Editors’ Notes
(5) Kay Buckner-Seal, Cheryl A.
Edwards
ELEMENTARY/SECONDARY
TACTics
(1) Students and Teachers Comment on New
Essay Process
Francois Moll, South Africa
Dear Cheryl,
Some time ago, I wrote about the technique I had developed on writing critical literature essays. I have now tested the method with approximately 140 Grade 12s and their teachers and can give the following feedback.
The method was taught in lecture/demonstration format to about 70
learners at a time in a one 45 minute period.
The teachers were stunned! On average, they are reporting a 10-25%
increase in grades on the essays. It is generally agreed that this is the most
difficult aspect of our English course to teach.
Our classes are streamed so that better candidates are in Set 1
and the weakest are in Set 5.
The students were allowed to give feedback anonymously so that
there was no perceived pressure on them. Here is some feedback from the
STUDENTS of Set 1:
· "It helps to get your thoughts
into order and keep you from straying from the topic. Keeps paragraphs logical
and well set out"
—Karen Nienaber
· "I found this technique very
useful and user-friendly. When looking at the essay topics, I felt I wouldn't know
what to write for them but in applying the technique to a chosen topic, I ended
up with an essay. It does also not take up very much time, thus I feel I shall
use it in
exams."
· "I didn't know that essay writing
could be so easy. The planning has helped my essays become more structured,
concise and logical. I no longer dread English literary essays."
STUDENT feedback from the middle stream:
· "I find it a very effective way
of writing an essay. It is easier and the essay takes 'shape' much quicker. I also
found the method useful to use in other subjects e.g. History essays. Therefore
I found that it doesn't only relate to English."
· "This method of
essay-writing/planning has gone across my subject borders, I don't just use it
in English, I also use it in History."
I did not demonstrate its use in History (at least not to these
learners). The implications are very exciting at Senior Secondary level (and
others of course).
Here is the feedback from the TEACHER of a weaker stream (Set 4):
· "The method of writing essays as
explained by Francois Moll has benefited my learners enormously. I have a class
of weak learners, which generally struggles with work of this nature. The
method of writing literature essays has taught my learners (within an extremely
short space of time) how to structure an essay in a logical and coherent
manner. Furthermore, it has helped them to gain a deeper understanding of the
play as a whole through a wonderful process of self-teaching. There was a vast
improvement in their writing both in terms of content and structure. I feel
that the knowledge gained by them will be of huge benefit within other learning
areas. I believe that the method holds exciting possibilities for application
to other areas of teaching."
—Glynnis Moore
I, myself, teach the bottom stream where many learners are not
English-First Language Speakers but who generally speak Xhosa. I have found
some of these students now scoring as much as 55% on an essay where previously
they were scoring as low as 15%. I would love to print one but I suspect space
does not allow. However I am more than willing to share discussion and
demonstrate some of the examples.
Love to you and all in the TOCFE family,
Francois
(2)
Technique for Writing Critical Literature Essays
Francois Moll, South Africa
In our October
18, 2002 issue of TACTics, Francois Moll of South Africa shared his framework
for planning a critical essay using the Cause-and-Effect Branch in the article
entitled: “Literature Essays and, by Extension, any Argumentative/Discursive
Writing.” Here is the basic article. To view the entire article and to see the
graphics Francois included please refer back to that TACTics Journal issue.
—Cheryl
Edwards
A way to write logical, well-formulated argumentative/discursive
essays/papers with relevant structure and examples. An example: "King Lear
is not only a play about political leadership, but also private
relationships." Discuss.
Step 1: Split the topic into the main points which you wish to
discuss.
A: King Lear is a play about political leadership.
B: King Lear is a play about private relationships.
The opening paragraph (which must serve as an introduction) is a
combination of A and B. Obviously, if you disagree with the statement then that
will be the statement in A or B:
A: King Lear is not a play about political leadership.
B: King Lear is not a play about private relationships.
Similarly, if you wish to argue both for and against the
statement, then this will be your layout and introduction:
A: King Lear is a play about political leadership..A1: King Lear
is not a play about political leadership.
B: King Lear is a play about private relationships.
B1: King Lear is not a play about private relationships.
Step 2: Now, view these entities as the endpoints of a negative
branch/cause-and-effect tree and fill in
the branch going down by filling in the two entities below as BECAUSE and AND
entities. This is because you are looking for the CAUSALITY that leads to your
initial statement.
Thus: Read as follows: "King Lear is a play about political
leadership, BECAUSE ---------- AND-------------.
Instruct your students (or yourself) to try and find a more
GENERIC answer and save the SPECIFIC answer for one stage down. So in our
example we could now have:
A: King Lear is a play about political leadership. BECAUSE...
C: It deals with decisions that affect the whole country. AND...
D: It is concerned about the king's understanding of ordinary
people.
Note: There are many options here as there is in any literature
essay. One could add more ANDS if required (in the case of a very lengthy
essay, for instance).
Step 3: The next stage is working off entities C and D. Go down the branch again, looking for two entities, which now will
be SPECIFIC (i.e. examples) rather than the GENERIC. This ensures that relevant
examples from the text are used to support your argument.
A: King Lear is a play about political leadership.
BECAUSE...(Generic)
C: It deals with decisions that affect the whole country.
AND...(Specific)
G: King Lear divides his kingdom between Goneril and Regan in the
opening act.
H: France, under Cordelia, invades England to intercede on behalf
of Lear.
A: King Lear is a play about political leadership. BECAUSE...
(Generic)
D: It is concerned about the king's understanding of ordinary
people. AND...
(Specific)
I: (Specific statement related to D)
J: (Specific statement related to D)
[The same is done for B:]
B: King Lear is a play about private relationships. BECAUSE....E:
(Generic statement) AND...
K: (Specific statement related to E.)
L: (Specific statement related to E.)
F: (Generic statement) AND...
M: (Specific statement related to F.)
N: (Specific statement related to F.)
Step 4: The planning is now complete:
- A and B form the Introduction.
- C, G, H form Paragraph #1
- D, I, J form Paragraph #2
- E, K, L form Paragraph #3
- F, M, N form Paragraph #4.
The concluding paragraph is a reworking of A and B or you could
combine them and see if they lead one step further up the branch. IF King Lear
is a play about political leadership AND it is also a play about private
relationships, THEN (e.g.) it is a play that has universal appeal and
relevance.
Step 5: ONE MORE TRICK—the
relevant examples, for example G and H, but struggles to find the more generic
C. Simply take G and H and work UP in the normal way to find C. Check to see
that C links to A.
CONNECTIONS
(3) Announcing:
TOCFE Conference Presenters
Kathy Suerken
The Under Secretary the Department of Education, the Philippines,
Dr. Theodore Catindig, has accepted our invitation to address the 7th
International TOCFE Conference. Other Ministry of Education level presenters
are:
• Jose Martinez, Minister of Education, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
• Snezana Klasnja, Director of Professional Development, Serbia
• Khaw Choon Ean, Director of Special Projects, Curriculum Development Center,
Malaysia
• Dr. Cora Santiago, Director National Capital Region of Dept of Education,
Philippines.
·
Our Keynote Speaker is our founder: Dr. Eli Goldratt
Additional presentations/workshops will be given by:
• Colin Rose and Kevin Brown, Accelerated Learning Systems, United Kingdom
• Don Gaetz, Superintendent of Schools, Okaloosa County, Florida, USA
• Bill Lyford, Rotary District Governor, Florida, USA
• Rami Goldratt, Tel Aviv University, Israel
• Dr. Danilo Sirias, Saginaw Valley University, Michigan, USA
• Dr. Audrey Taylor, Western Washington University, Michigan, USA
• Rafael Conde, Education Consultant, Latin America
• Cheryl Edwards, Reading Specialist and Consultant, Michigan, USA
• Gila Glatter, Talipot Teacher's College, Israel
• Marina Rodriguez, Department of Education, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
• Eleanor May-Brenneker, Dyslexia Specialist, Netherlands
• Svetlana Tchoubakova, Education Consultant, Russia
• Mary Ellen Bourbeau, Counselor, Michigan, USA
• Sandra Fierro, Teacher, Ecuador
• Michelle Royan, Counselor, Michigan, USA
• Belinda Small, Teacher, Florida, USA
• Francois Moll, Teacher, Republic of South Africa
• Rina Raviv, Education Consultant, Israel
• Francis Conde, Education Consultant, Colombia
• Michael Round, Consultant, Kansas, USA
• Javier Avevalo, Education Consultant, Venezuela
• Shoshana Reiter, Teacher, Israel
• Anamaria Conde, Student, Colombia
(4)
7th International TOCFE Conference
May
16-19, 2003
Ramada Plaza Beach Resort
1500 Miracle Strip Parkway
Ft Walton Beach, Florida, USA
Hotel:
• For reservations, USA toll free: 800.874.8962.
• Please reserve your room under the TOCFE Conference block of
rooms.
• Boxed continental breakfast-up to two per room included.
• Blocked rooms will be held until April 24, 2003 (afterward,
reservations only if space available).
• The following prices are for maximum of 2 people per room
(additional person is $10/person per night up to maximum of 4 per room).
Standard: $120 (plus tax) per night.
Courtyard: $135 (plus tax) per night
Poolside: $155 (plus tax) per night
Beach Front: $175 (plus tax) per night
Airport:
• Fort Walton Beach, Florida (VPS is the airport code).
• Cab/shuttle service from airport to hotel is about $15.
• Driving information will be shared in a future TACTics.
Conference
Fees:
• Daily Rate: $25 includes lunch, coffee breaks and all materials.
• Full conference rate: $125 includes 4 lunches, all coffee
breaks, all materials and Special Dinner/Entertainment Event on Sunday, May 18.
Registration:
To
download a registration form or to see the most current conference agenda,
visit www.tocforeducation.com. Or, you can also e-mail Kathy Suerken at
suerken@cox.net.
EDITORS’
NOTES
(5) Kay
Buckner-Seal, Cheryl A. Edwards
Our
newsletter is unusually long this week, due to the inclusion of Francois Moll’s
“Technique for Writing Critical Literature Essays,” which was featured in our
October 18, 2002 edition of TACTics. This addition was made for your
convenience.
The
success of TACTics depends on you, so thanks to all for your contributions.
Always 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 cedwards@cedarville.net or bucknek@earthlink.net.
You
may also view TACTics in its intended formatting, by visiting our web
site at www.tocforeducation.com. Click on “What’s
New.”