TACTics Journal
A Publication for and by TOC for Education Practitioners
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,
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
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
programme
for School Principals and Vice-Principals.
I
am now moving on to another phase of my life; I am pursuing studies in
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:
Dates: Thursday, May 20 -
Conference: Intercontinental Hotel in New
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,
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,
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."