TACTics Journal

A Publication for and by TOC for Education Practitioners

February 6, 2004

 

In this week’s issue:

Networking

(1) The Delivery Cloud, Danilo Sirias

Reader’s Feedback

(2) Ng Swee Lin

Connections

(3) 8th Annual TOCFE Conference

Editors’ Notes

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

 

NETWORKING

(1) The Delivery Cloud

Danilo Sirias, Saginaw Valley State University, Michigan, USA

 

Last year, after my presentation on the ABC teaching system, Jim Trimble

came up to me and said, “I think you are missing something.” At that point

he was not sure exactly what was missing, but later he handed me a napkin

with one word “Delivery” written on it. That word made me think, “Are there

different conceptual ways to teach a class? If so, is there an optimal way to

deliver a class?”

I started reviewing my own teaching style and those of others. I found that

there are two generic approaches to deliver a class that seem to be in

conflict. As I present the two approaches, I am going to use the topic of

teaching the cloud as an example. It is not my objective, however, to debate

the BEST way to teach the cloud. Instead, my purpose is to start a

discussion about the two generic approaches to deliver a class for ANY given

topic.

One teaching approach is to first show the big picture and then delve into

the details. Under this philosophy, you will first present some type of

teaching aid explaining everything to be covered under the specific topic.

Examples are an agenda, a graphic organizer, or a table of contents. Then,

you use that aid as a map to guide the teaching process and explain every

detail. The main advantage of this approach is that you provide a sense of

direction of where you are going. Probably most readers have heard or

learned the principle behind giving a good presentation, “tell them what you

are going to tell them, then tell them, and finally tell them what you told

them.” The process to teach the cloud using this philosophy would be to

present a diagram of the cloud with all its components (wants, needs and

common objective) and then explain the details of each components one by

one.

There is however an alternative delivery mechanism, which consists of

starting with a detail and then building up to construct the big picture.

Here, you will not show anything about what is going to be covered. You

simply start with a component of the whole picture, then create the need

for the next concept, and continue the process until the big picture is built.

The purpose is to provide students with the opportunity to discover the

concepts by themselves. Continuing with the cloud example in this delivery

approach, you will probably first introduce the concept of wants, then build

up to the needs, and finally to the common objective. It is not until then

that you will show the whole picture.

 

So, the delivery cloud is:
A: In order to have effective delivery of content,
B: I must provide students with a sense of direction.
In order to provide students with a sense of direction,
D: I must present the big picture first and then explain the details.

On the other hand…
A: In order to have effective delivery of content,
C: I must create a sense of discovery (be Socratic).
In order to provide students with a sense of discovery (be Socratic),
D’: I must start with a detail and then build up to complete the big picture.

For our TACTics readers: HOW WOULD YOU BREAK THIS CLOUD?

 

READER’S FEEDBACK

(2) Ng Swee Lin, Singapore

I have been receiving all the TACTics Journals since 2001. It has been very

encouraging reading about the learning journeys made by different

participants of the TOC. I myself learnt it in Singapore under the

programme for School Principals and Vice-Principals.

I am now moving on to another phase of my life; I am pursuing studies in

Brisbane, Australia in February 2004. Could you please change my current email

address? This way, I can continue to be updated with what is going on

in TOC.

Thank you and best wishes!

 

CONNECTIONS

(3) 8th Annual TOCFE Conference

 

8th Annual TOCFE Conference

Location: Belgrade, Serbia

Dates: Thursday, May 20 - Sunday, May 23, 2004

Conference: Intercontinental Hotel in New Belgrade

Accommodations: Jugoslavija Hotel

If you would like to book rooms at the Jugoslavija Hotel, you can do that

through the Miross Travel Agency. The person to contact is:

Ms. Dobrila Puzic

dobrila@miross.co.yu

Miross Travel Agency

Svetogorska 4, Beograd 11000

Serbia

Tel/Fax: +381 11 33 44 945

+381 11 33 44 510

+381 11 33 44 529

 

EDITORS’ NOTES

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

Danilo, thanks for getting us thinking about a very important issue. All of us

will agree, I think, that there are many clouds surrounding our goal as

educators to provide the best possible education for everyone. You have

identified one very important one. TACTics readers, as you think about

how you would break this cloud, won’t you please share it with us?

Send your responses by mail to: Cheryl A. Edwards, 2253 S. Hill Island Rd.,

Cedarville, Michigan 49719, USA. Or send hyperlink to

cedwards@cedarville.net or kayseal@comcast.net.

This week’s TACTics includes a Cloud graphic, which can be seen in its pdf

version. Please note that the pdf version is attached, however you must

have Acrobat Reader to open the file. It is freely available for download from:

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html. If you have the

Reader installed but still can’t open the file, drag it from this e-mail to your

desktop, launch the Acrobat Reader, and open from the FILE menu.

You may also view TACTics in its intended formatting, by visiting our web

site at www.tocforeducation.com. Click on "What's New."