TOC for Education

Thinking for a CHANGE

• Pedagogy and Curriculum Delivery
• Counseling and Mediation
• School Governance

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

Theory of Constraints for Education .

(TOCfE)
• 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.

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

• 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 ….
© TOC for Education, Inc. 2010 All rights reserved 3

21 Countries on 5 continents

Brazil Colombia Costa Rica Ecuador Israel Malaysia

Mexico Netherlands Peru Philippines Poland Russia

Serbia Singapore South Africa South Korea Taiwan Trinidad & Tobago

United Kingdom United States Venezuela


Some TOCfE highlights from around the world

United Kingdom
Articles published:

Child Education – a monthly publication for primary school educators
Times Educational Supplement - a weekly newspaper supplement for all educators
Teaching Expertise ~ Primary Leadership Paper - the quarterly magazine of the
National Association, Head Teachers

Singapore
TOC 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


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 our
high 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.

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‟?


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

Productive and Responsible People


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

WHY?
© TOC for Education, Inc. 2010 13
All rights reserved 13

• 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


• 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. © TOC for Education, Inc. 2010

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

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?


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


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 © TOC for Education, Inc. 2010 All rights reserved 21

to
CAUSE 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.

NEED WANT

OBJECTIVE Side 1
Side 2

NEED WANT


Application to Name Calling

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.


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

Have fun Joel calls
GOAL
Alex names
Play
happily Side 1
NEED WANT
together Side 2

To be Alex doesn’t want
respected to be called names.


Joel 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. After
writing 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, he
himself saw that they did not stand up to scrutiny. In fact, he came
up 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.

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

Clear conscience;
Don’t be
not do
a pickpocket
something wrong
Survive Side 1
Side 2

Be
Get money
a pickpocket

© TOC for Education, Inc. 2010 All rights
reserved 28

Solving Oliver‟s Dilemma
• 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


Transfer of Learning to real life problems
After 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.


The Logic Branch provides a framework for analysis

Let‟s consider two types of frameworks

Consider each fact Use cause and effect logic to find
separately and relationships between the facts so
independent of the that you can remember them more
others easily


The Logic Branch to analyze a science
Written by 5th
lesson
grade class in The quality of human life is damaged
Israel

The water People become
causes sick and their
diseases health is
and death damaged

The filthy
water
The filthy spreads
water harms bad smell The filthy
the animals People drink
The water water harms the under
pollutes the and the plants the animals ground
environment and the plants water

Filthy water Filthy water contains Some of the
flows on the harmful components, filthy water
ground microbes and pollution trickles in
surface the ground

33

Analysis of
history lesson by
8th grade student
in Maryland,
USA
© TOC for Education, Inc. 2010
All rights reserved

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


Application of the LOGIC BRANCH
to behavior

Rather than tell students to do and what not to do,
lead them to discover the consequences of their
actions 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.


“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.”


Furious
RESULTS
Fail class

Although he had been I get an F

sent to the principal‟s Don’t do
assignment
office 40 times in the
Teacher
previous 6 weeks by this gets mad
Don’t listen

teacher, after this Another
student gets I get mad
mad
experience with TOC, he
I make noises in class
completed the year (next
6 months) without a
repeat offense with this
teacher.

© TOC for Education, Inc. 2010 All rights 38
reserved

• 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 TARGET
OBSTACLES OBJECTIVES PLAN


The Ambitious Target Tree
Target: Raise Reading Test Scores
1. 1. 1.
The test is too Make it shorter. Use a pencil to
long. divide passages
into smaller parts.
2. 2. 2.
I get stuck and can‟t Have reminders in Summarize after
remember the 1st the margins. each section/under-
paragraph. line.
3. 3. 3.
All the answers Know the Underline key
look the same. differences differences in
between choices. possible choices.

42

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.

43

“At our school we used TOC tools with very
problematic groups of students to change their
attitudes. In one case, we worked with a group on
the Ambitious Target of being the best students.

When the students wrote their obstacles, they
blamed others, but when they thought of ways to
overcome their obstacles they took the
responsibility for the solution.”


Be the best students
OBSTACLES 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

45

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.”

© TOC for Education, Inc. 2010

The Ambitious Target tool to analyze
curriculum
Target: A prosperous civilization in the
land between the rivers.
1. The river floods 1. We are protected 1. We irrigate the fields
and there is no way to against unexpected by building network of
know when. floods. canals and dikes.
2. There can be 2. We have enough 2. We get water from
summer droughts. water and food. the river. We keep
extra supply of food.
3. We don’t have all 3. We have access to 3. We trade with other
the resources needed the resources we need communities.
for a wealthy to have a prosperous
civilization. civilization.
4. Neighboring 4. We protect our 4. We establish an
people are not security. army. We build
friendly. strongholds.


What to Change to?
A set of THINKING TOOLS that enable students at all
levels 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


Tools that educate children to become
responsible and productive now
and in the future.

Productive and Responsible People


Alderman Pounder Infant and Nursery School
United Kingdom

50

“ 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…
51

…..a case study
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.


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

53

GOOD LIFE
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.

54

GOOD LIFE
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.

55

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

56

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

.

57

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

TOC for Education

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