TOC for Education

• Pedagogy and Curriculum Delivery• Counseling and Mediation

• School Governance

Kathy Suerken, President TOC for Education© TOC for Education 2010

Thinking for a CHANGE

http://images.google.com.br/imgres?imgurl=http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jean-claude.regnier/images1/Image76.gif&imgrefurl=http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jean-claude.regnier/joao_claudio/sitiodogato1.htm&h=199&w=315&sz=3&tbnid=0S8XnkD2knUJ:&tbnh=71&tbnw=113&hl=pt-BR&start=2&prev=/images?q=bandeira+brasil&svnum=10&hl=pt-BR&lr=

.

•Not for profit organization

•Founded 1995 by Dr. Eli Goldratt

•To spread the logic-based thinking and communication tools and common sense methodologies of TOC to all who educate in order to leave behind a better world.

Theory of Constraints for Education (TOCfE)

© TOC for Education, Inc. 2010 All rights reserved 2

Since our founding in 1995,what is our bottom line?


• Over 200,000 education stakeholders trained through TOCfE seminars and workshops impacting….

• all with whom they interact in the workplace, home and especially

• more than 8 million children• in ….

Russia

Colombia

United Kingdom

Serbia

PhilippinesMexico

Costa Rica Ecuador Israel Malaysia

Netherlands

Singapore South Africa Taiwan Trinidad & Tobago

United States Venezuela

Brazil

South Korea

Peru Poland

21 Countries on 5 continents


United Kingdom Articles published:

Child Education – a monthly publication for primary school educatorsTimes Educational Supplement - a weekly newspaper supplement for all educatorsTeaching Expertise ~ Primary Leadership Paper - the quarterly magazine of the

National Association, Head Teachers

SingaporeTOC is being taught to prison inmates.

“I would like to quote some of their feedback, “This is the best thing that happened to me in prison”, “If I had attended this course during my first sentence, I would not have come back to prison again”. “

Mr. Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs


Some TOCfE highlights from around the world

Malaysia• TOC thinking tools incorporated into curriculum materials to teach civics

education

• 35,000 year one teachers trained in 2000

Poland• TOCfE training endorsed and sponsored by Mazovian In Service Teacher

Training Centre (MSCDN) which services 50,000 Polish teachers

• University of Gdansk research statistically validates TOC as a methodology to create “positive influence on relation between children and their environment and to increase level of social adjustment because it enables children to solve problems in a mature way.”

Conclusions of PhD thesis of: Dr. Edyta Sinacka-Kubik, University of Gdansk, Institute of Psychology


United States

“Learning the Theory of Constraints can provide the TOOLS to bridge

the gap between having ‘good’ ideas and effectively making the improvements we envision.”

Dr. Suzanne Klein, Superintendent of Schools, Grosse Pointe, Michigan

“I will now work on cause and effect before I teach essay writing. This course has changed my entire way of teaching. I now see the process is the problem, not the student.”

Beverly Brown, High School English Teacher, Ashland, Ohio

“We did not experience any more harassment of new students by ourhigh school senior students in the two school years since this 30 minute intervention took place using the TOC cloud.”

Doug Roby, Counselor, South High School, Michigan


• 9,000 + principals, teachers, counselors and social workers trained

• Universidad Nacional Project. In 2005, a youth TOC Peer Mediation Project was chosen as best project out Of 186 projects presented to the Mayor of Bogota and Universidad Nacional.They have sponsored the TOC training of 10,000 students and 100 mediators.

Colombia


Philippines In Quezon City (population 2.6 million) : Elementary Level Administrators• 95% are TOCFE-TRAINED (92 out of 97 principals)Secondary Level Administrators• 94% are TOCFE-TRAINED (44 out of 47 principals)“TOCfE tools are dynamic tools that enable one to accomplish

goals, analyze problems, communicate clearly and become life long learners.” Dr. Victoria Fuentes, Superintendent of Schools

Why has TOC for Education continued to succeed…

more and more?


The TOC methods to bring desired improvements are developed to

answer three questions:

What to Change?

What to Change to?

How to Cause the Change?


But first… what are we trying to achieve through our improvement efforts? What is

the target toward which we strive?

What is our pot of ‘GOAL’?

The Goal of Education


Productive and Responsible People

Educate Children to Become Responsible and Productive Now and in the Future


© TOC for Education, Inc. 2010 All rights reserved

1313

WHY?

Do we agree that, in spite of all our current best practices, this goal is still a very

AMBITIOUS TARGET?


What to Change… some common problems in education

• There are negative influences and declining family and social values

• Bullying and truancy is on the rise• Many students do not know how to effectively solve

problems (especially conflicts)• Many students do not take responsibility for their actions• Many students memorize instead of analyze• Many students do not know how to interpret, question and

evaluate information


What to Change…more problems• Learning is not seen as relevant to real life and many

students are not able to apply what they learn

• Competition and testing sometimes creates disharmony within classrooms and school systems

• There are insufficient resources (especially time) available to educators to differentiate instruction within groups of students with very diverse prior knowledge and experience

• Fixing these problems requires intervention outside the classroom, such as remediation, tutoring and counseling services.


Does the existence of these problems prevent children from being productive and responsible now and in the future?

What do you think?

Do you think these same problems exist in other countries?

Do these problems exist worldwide?

Why is it that, in spite of dedicated educators and many best practices, we still have these problems?

Is it because students are unable to prevent or fix these problems for themselves?

Is it because educators lack the resources to do it for them?

OR Is it because current best practices are not sufficiently

robust?

Why can’t we fix these problems?


What if there were simple THINKING TOOLS that enable students at all levels to:

What to Change to?

• Analyze, rather than just memorize, information

• Apply the same process of analysis and clear, critical thinking

to real life, everyday, problems

• See what they learn and do as relevant to their everyday

lives, thereby enhancing their motivation

• Think through consequences of actions and ideas

• Make reasoned judgments and decisions

• Establish and create logical plans to achieve goals© TOC for Education, Inc. 2010 All rights reserved 18

What to Change to?

And what if…..

These tools could be used to teach existing curriculum and responsible, ethical decision making at the same

time?

Would such tools enhance educators existing resources, leaving them with more time for that which they consider

most important and rewarding?

If such tools actually existed, should we teach them to students?



TOC Thinking TOOLS

• Simple….breaks seemingly complex problems down into simple, clear and focused analysis

• Graphically structured … provides visual framework to enhance understanding and memory

• Practical….enables the underlying theory to yield practical outcomes

• Activates prior knowledge…enables learner to scaffold prior knowledge and experience to new knowledge

• Socratic…provides questions that enables the learner to discover and take ownership of answers

• Non exclusive….works with all ages, cultures and political systems

Criteria of the TOC methodology


toCAUSE THE CHANGE


The Cloud is a TOC thinking tool that analyzes the details of a conflict, meaningful action or decision in a concise and

non provocative way.

OBJECTIVE

NEED

NEED WANT

WANT

Side 1Side 2


Joel was teasing Alex and called him names. Alex got so angry that he bit Joel and used bad language to try to make Joel stop. Joel told the teacher Alex had bitten him and they both got sent to the principal's office. The principal used the cloud to enable Joel and Alex to solve their problem by themselves and in a responsible way.

Application to Name Calling


Written by Joel and Alex who are 9 yrs old and live in Singapore

Play happily

together

To berespected

Have fun Joel calls Alex names

Alex doesn’t wantto be called names.

Side 1Side 2


GOAL

NEED WANT

NEED WANT


The Principal’s TestimonialJoel decided calling Alex names was not the only way to meet his

need to have fun so as he could invite Alex to play games with him. The principal reports:

“It was heartening to note how easily they got the hang of how to use the the Cloud template of wants, needs and a goal. Afterwriting that his need was to have fun and, in order to do, Joel wanted to called Alex names, Joel look at me sheepishly and said that it wasn’t really true.

When Joel thought through his reasons, his assumptions, hehimself saw that they did not stand up to scrutiny. In fact, he cameup with his own solutions to fix the problem.”

Wong Siew Shan, Vice Principal, Singapore


The TOC tools work at all developmental levels of students, even those who do not yet have well developed literacy skills as noted in this pictorial application of the cloud by a kindergartner in Israel.

The Cloud thinking tool can be used to analyze existing curriculum.

Any meaningful action, decision or conflict in content can be analyzed using the cloud in a way that promotes the perception of relevance to

the students’ daily life.

Survive

Get money

Clear conscience;not do

something wrongDon’t be

a pickpocket

Side 1Side 2

Be a pickpocket

An example from Oliver Twist written with six year olds at Alderman Pounder Nursery School, England



The CLOUD as a way to question, interpret and evaluate content under study

• The students were asked: In order to get money, why must Oliver be a pickpocket?

• They answered: Oliver must think the only way to get money is to steal!

• The students came up with other solutions: “I can do something else to earn money: clean windows, wash clothes, look after horses, or work in a shop!”

Get money Be a pickpocket

Solving Oliver’s Dilemma


Transfer of Learning to real life problemsAfter learning the cloud in a curriculum lesson in class, this year- one Malaysian student went home and, on his own initiative, applied the tool to a conflict he was having with a sibling.


Consider each fact separately and

independent of the others

Use cause and effect logic to find relationships between the facts so that you can remember them more

easily

The Logic Branch provides a framework for analysis


Let’s consider two types of frameworks

The Logic Branch to analyze a sciencelesson

The quality of human life is damaged

The water pollutes the environment

The water causes

diseases and death

The filthy water

spreads bad smell

People become sick and their

health is damaged

The filthy water harms the animals

and the plants

People drink the under

ground water

Some of the filthy water trickles in the ground

The filthy water harms the animals

and the plants

Filthy water contains harmful components,

microbes and pollution

Filthy water flows on the

ground surface


Written by 5th

grade class in Israel

Analysis of history lesson by 8th grade student in Maryland, USA


34

In World Studies, the TOC process has helped the students put an immense amount of facts and information into a logical and systematic order. From this, they are able to extract and apply information to writing prompts, group discussions, and expand their answers beyond basic recall.

This is phenomenal because many of the students being served in this class were once self-contained special needs students who are reading at or near a third or fourth grade reading level.

The TOC process has given them the ability to clearly understand how facts and information relate to other areas in history and it is has pushed them to another area of higher-order thinking. Jennifer G. Harris 8th grade Inclusion Teacher for World Studies Takoma Park Middle School

The TOC learning processes differentiate instruction:


Rather than tell students to do and what not to do,lead them to discover the consequences of theiractions and ideas so that they self-regulate their

behaviors.

The branch is used to understand cause-effect links between actions and consequences, make predictions, and create new and better solutions.


Application of the LOGIC BRANCH to behavior

Belinda Small, teacher, Florida, USA


“A 7th grade student had been making noises in another teacher’s class. She asked me to help. I used the TOC process to enable this student to think for himself the cause/effect results of his actions.

Although I did the initial writing of his words, at one point I had to leave and attend to my own class (obvious in the graphic). Nevertheless, this normally very disruptive student picked up the pencil — and responsibility — and continued in his own words/graphics.”


38

I make noises in class

Another student gets

mad

Teacher gets mad

I get mad

Don’t listen

Don’t do assignment

I get an F

Fail class

Furious

Although he had been sent to the principal’s office 40 times in the previous 6 weeks by this teacher, after this experience with TOC, he completed the year (next 6 months) without a repeat offense with this teacher.

RESULTS


• Used by teachers and students to achieve mutual goals• Used by students to achieve personal goals• Used by educational staff to achieve management goals


AMBITIOUS TARGETOBSTACLES OBJECTIVES PLAN

The Ambitious Target TreeTarget: Raise Reading Test ScoresOBSTACLES OBJECTIVES PLAN1. The test is too long.

1. Make it shorter.

1. Use a pencil to divide passages into smaller parts.

2. I get stuck and can’t remember the 1st paragraph.

2. Have reminders in the margins.

2. Summarize after each section/under-line.

3. All the answers look the same.

3. Know the differences between choices.

3. Underline key differences in possible choices.


How is this different? According to the teacher, Belinda Small, Florida, USA:

• The STUDENTS think of the solutions.• The STUDENTS create the language.• The STUDENTS use THEIR logic.• The STUDENTS form the connections between the

State Academic Standards.• The STUDENTS make the connections between the

State Academic Standards and the State Standardized test questions.


“At our school we used TOC tools with veryproblematic groups of students to change theirattitudes. In one case, we worked with a group onthe Ambitious Target of being the best students.

When the students wrote their obstacles, theyblamed others, but when they thought of ways toovercome their obstacles they took theresponsibility for the solution.”

Case study: Maria E Villarreal Primary School, Escobedo, Mexico


Be the best studentsOBSTACLES OBJECTIVES

Grumpy teachers We listen to teachers

Lazy students We are prepared for class

We don’t study We study continually

Missed classes We attend school regularly

We talk in class We listen to our teachers

We bother classmates We respect each other in class

We get to class late We are on time for class

We do not participate We gladly participate


The teacher reports that the group has changed.

“The students are learning to value themselves. The group was very much in conflict, but now I can see they are growing up because they are using the TOC tools to think through their problems.”

Results?


Target: A prosperous civilization in the land between the rivers.

OBSTACLES OBJECTIVES PLAN1. The river floods and there is no way to know when.

1. We are protected against unexpected floods.

1. We irrigate the fields by building network of canals and dikes.

2. There can be summer droughts.

2. We have enough water and food.

2. We get water from the river. We keep extra supply of food.

3. We don’t have all the resources needed for a wealthy civilization.

3. We have access to the resources we need to have a prosperous civilization.

3. We trade with other communities.

4. Neighboring people are not friendly.

4. We protect our security.

4. We establish an army. We build strongholds.

47

The Ambitious Target tool to analyze curriculum


A set of THINKING TOOLS that enable students at all levels to:

What to Change to?

• Effectively analyze, rather than memorize, information

• Apply the same process of analysis and clear thinking to real

life problems

• See what they learn and do as relevant to their everyday

lives, thereby enhancing their motivation

• Think through consequences of actions and ideas

• Make reasoned judgments and decisions

• Set and create logical plans to achieve goals© TOC for Education, Inc. 2010 All rights reserved 48

Productive and Responsible People

Tools that educate children to become responsible and productive now

and in the future.


Do the TOC thinking/learningprocesses work with everyone?


Alderman Pounder Infant and Nursery SchoolUnited Kingdom

“ TOC is simple enough to be used by kindergarteners and profound enough to be used with CEO’s”

Denise Meyer, former Assistant Principal, Los Angeles Unified School District

And… maybe even those with a tougher set of obstacles…

Do the TOC thinking/learningprocesses work with everyone?


When listening to a group of 15-18 year old juvenile offenders explain how they ended up in jail, I noted that their explanations were written in the language of blame. Because nobody likes to feel they are a bad person, it is common practice for us to justify our actions by deflecting the blame elsewhere. Therefore, we tell ourselves we are just responding to someone else’s mistake/ bad behavior.

But what about taking responsibility for changing our reality to include our ‘mode of operation’? I worked with three groups that day using the Ambitious Target tool—never more than 60 minutes per group. The following example was typical for each group as the TOC tool enabled THEM to hold themselves accountable… WITH DIGNITY.

Taking responsibility for achieving Ambitious Targets


…..a case study

Ambitious Target In Life Situations:GOOD LIFE

OBSTACLE INTERMEDIATE OBJECTIVE

1. Jealous people

2. Prejudiced people.

3. Criticism.

4. My past.

5. Ignorance.

6. MYSELF

7. Lack of self esteem.

8. Lack of confidence.

Class of Juvenile Offenders, Juvenile Detention Camp, California, USA





1. Jealous people

2. Prejudiced people.

3. Criticism.

4. My past.

5. Ignorance.

6. MYSELF 6. I have to change myself.

7. Lack of self esteem.

8. Lack of confidence.






1. Jealous people 1a. Ignore them.1b. Focus on your goal.

2. Prejudiced people. 2. Same as #1.

3. Criticism. 3. Same as #1.

4. My past. 4. Don’t make the same mistakes.

5. Ignorance. 5. Stop hanging around with gangs

6. MYSELF 6. I have to change myself.

7. Lack of self esteem. 7. Have faith in yourself.

8. Lack of confidence. 8. Courage.





Written by a Juvenile Offender at a Juvenile Detention Center in California


.

Written by a Juvenile Offender at a Juvenile Detention Center in California

“I hope she succeeds.”

With the TOC tools and the synergy of ALL those who champion a better world, I know

that WE can and…

WILL SUCCEED

Thinking for a CHANGE

www.tocforeducation.com

http://images.google.com.br/imgres?imgurl=http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jean-claude.regnier/images1/Image76.gif&imgrefurl=http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jean-claude.regnier/joao_claudio/sitiodogato1.htm&h=199&w=315&sz=3&tbnid=0S8XnkD2knUJ:&tbnh=71&tbnw=113&hl=pt-BR&start=2&prev=/images?q=bandeira+brasil&svnum=10&hl=pt-BR&lr=

Documents

TOC for Education