TACTics Journal

A Publication for and by TOC for Education Practitioners

August 29, 2003

In this week’s issue:

Connections

(1) The Logic Branch for Teachers with Special Needs/Dyslexia

Interests at Heart, Eleanor May-Brenneker

Reader Feedback

(2) Denise Meyer

Editors’ Notes

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

CONNECTIONS

(1) The Logic Branch for Teachers with Special

Needs/Dyslexia Interest at Heart.

By Eleanor May-Brenneker MA, U.K./Netherlands

This full-day workshop was entitled: “The ABC of FACT (Florida Comprehensive Achievement

Test)” and was presented at the 7th International TOCFE Conference in Florida, USA.

Specific Objectives:

1. Participants guide students to effectively question relationship in

information.

2. Participants apply any text with graphic organizer (Logic Branch

Diagram) to clearly retell and logically explain causal relationships in

information.

3. Participants enable students to draw inferences from text/prior

knowledge and to logically explain them in writing.

4. Participants apply what they learn through application of TOC Branch to

authentic situation.

The workshop started with a teacher/student Round-Robin Introduction, a

personal statement of each participant of expected outcomes and the

individual’s specific interest in/relationship with Special Needs/Dyslexia. I

pointed out that the workshop would have the character of my teaching

approach, which is Socratic, multi-sensory, and holistic; and I solicited any

possible objections. None were raised, so out came the funny hats, juggling

balls games and psycho-acoustic music which generated great enjoyment

right through the day and led to delegates feeling relaxed and at ease till

the last minute (and beyond I hope!).

Examples stemmed from my Dyslexia practice, from TOC story materials

(The Boy and the Nuts), from every day life occasions (organising a home

dinner party), and finally from (very interestingly) “The Titanic.” These

examples surfaced many surprising inferences and implications! All the

examples were transposed from objective story/event to subjective,

personal and relevant situations.

Why? Only when learning material is made relevant to the student’s own

experience or life does the material come to life! Then the student is

associated and emotionally connected—true learning and long-term memory

are engaged. Only when skills can be transferred can we be certain that the

student has learned the material.

In this workshop, the Logic Branch introduction started with a sheet from a

dyslexic adult student saying:

“I thought I would put pen to paper and outline what has happened in the

last few months, where I am now, and where I want to go. The main tool I

have been using is the “IF, THEN will happen. BECAUSE…”

We raised if-then-because situations to start getting our minds around

causal relationships. Some of these were soon put into diagrams to

familiarise the participants with the Logic Branch tool.

All along we discussed the relevance of causal relationships in the

structured diagrams to the “selfand to students with Special

Needs/Dyslexia. We were ready to see real life examples of dyslexics that

I work with.

The first few examples were based on behavioural issues, which all

participants recognised or could identify with. This in itself created the

relevance feeling, which encourages motivation and intensifies participation.

We also witnessed how some of the negative behavioural issues had been

addressed simply by thinking through the results of ongoing undesirable

behaviour, the need that generated the behaviour, and how it could be

turned around into positive behaviour shown in a new Logic Branch diagram.

The diagrams showed the IF…Thensequence all the way through from

bottom to top. Only then did we surface the “Because”—the reason, the

explanation in each If…Thensequence.

Positive Logic Branch (Text Version):

Goal: To get into the Middle Group of English (M.E.10 years) by half term.

IF: I practice reading daily (10),

THEN: I get better at reading (25).

BECAUSE: (20) —provides the explanation: e.g. practice makes perfect

Next you’ll read it as:

IF: I practice reading daily (10) and

I do daily Brain Gym and visualisation (15) and

Practice makes perfect (20), the explanation in order to verify the logic in the new

sequence)

THEN: I get better at reading (25). Why the explanation? The more refined and

detailed the logic the less you go astray!

Now (25) forms the new base for the next sequence:

IF: I get better at reading (25),

THEN: The teacher notices I’m better at reading (35).

BECAUSE: (30) forms the explanation.

Read next:

IF: I get better at reading (25) and (30 —the explanation),

THEN: The teacher notices that I’m better at reading (35).

IF: The teacher notices that I’m better at reading (35),

THEN: The teacher moves me up a group (45).

BECAUSE: (40) forms the explanation

IF: The teacher moves me up a group (45) and (40 — the explanation),

THEN: I have achieved my GOAL (50)!

Positive Logic Branch (Graphic Version):

Goal: To get into the Middle Group of English (M.E.10 years) by half term.

READER FEEDBACK

(2) Denise Meyer, USA

I just want to say that you guys are doing a great job with the journal.

Thanks,

Denise

EDITORS’ NOTES

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

Thanks to all for sharing with us the week. We look forward to your

continued contributions. Please Feel free 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.”