Idea Transcript
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MORE E F F E C T 1 YE CLASSROOM C O N M U N I C A T I O N ROBERT DONNELLY
W e a r e here t o demonstrate, Ladies and Gentlemen, a t o o l which can help you become a b e t t e r communicator o f f a c t s and f i g u r e s , a b e t t e r p r e s e n t e r of ideas and possibly even a more e f f e c t i v e teacher.
Each o f you have spent years of your l i f e studying and p r a c t i c i n g t h e philosophy, t h e psychology, and techniques of teaching. We don't i n tend t o presumptuously bombard o r bore you with a seminar t h a t overlaps any of these ideas.
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Instead today we a r e prepared t o t a l k about t o o l s of t h e prot o o l s of cormrmnication. I a m a professional salesman. They fession t e l l me t h a t a salesman i s nothing more than a high-priced explainer of ideas. H i s income and success a r e d i r e c t l y i n proportion t o h i s a b i l i t y as an explainer.
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I b e l i e v e t h a t educators, too, a r e i n a r e a l sense salesmen - explainers of ideas. And, t o f u r t h e r t h e analogy your success a s an educator depends on your a b i l i t y t o communicate. I t h i n k y o u ' l l agree t h a t one of an educator's u l t i m a t e goals i s t o have h i s students leave t h e classroom with a reasonably l u c i d understanding o f the t o paraphrase M r . J u l i u s s u b j e c t matter explained o r discussed. Or Caesar
or i f you p r e f e r
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"Veni I came
I came
Vidi
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I saw
Sensi"
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I understood.
. . . I s a w .. . I understood. ... he understood?
Wouldn't it be g r a t i f y i n g
i f every student t h a t leaves your c l a s s could l e g i t i m a t e l y say t h a t he
came
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saw
I ' v e j u s t used a communications t o o l -- t h e f a m i l i a r chalkboard t h a t you probably use d a i l y . The very same t o o l t h a t -- I suspect -- e2uc a t o r s used as f a r back a s t h e time of J u l i u s Caesar a piece of s l a t e and a piece of l i m e stone. L a t e r i n t h i s program we would l i k e t o show you t h e 3 M version of the 20th century chalkboard we l i k e t o c a l l it a l i g h t board. F i r s t , however, l e t ' s t a l k about t h i s chalkboard.
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I t ' s one of t h e handiest communications i n t h e classroom.
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or audio v i s u a l t o o l s
In s p i t e o f t h e f a c t t h a t i n order t o use it you have t o t u r n your back on t h e students it can be messy ... i t ' s s l o w it's frequently hard t o read ... and it c e r t a i n l y i s n ' t permanent. In s p i t e of
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a l l these drawbacks, t h e chalkboard has survived s i n c e before t h e time of Caesar. Why?
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F i r s t , i t ' s spontaneous. It doesn't f i g h t t h e teacher d o e s n ' t i n t e r f e r e w i t h t h e educators? individual teaching method
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Second, i t ' s easy t o use i t ' s r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e and t h i s leads t o the t h i r d point.
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t h e r e i s a need i n nearly every teaching Which i s s i t u a t i o n f o r some form of v i s u a l communication t o supplement and complement t h e t e a c h e r ' s audio presentation.
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even Educators have been aware of t h i s need f o r v i s u a l aids f o r years c e n t u r i e s . I t ' s a w e l l accepted f a c t t h a t t h e human mental process l e a r n s more understands more r e t a i n s more, when t h e eye and t h e e a r work together t o comprehend an idea o r a f a c t . This was d e m n s t r a t e d r a t h e r conclusively i n a study which indicated t h a t we l e a r n : 1 p e r cent through t a s t e , 1-1/2 p e r cent through touch, 3-1/2 p e r cent through smell, 11 p e r cent through hearing, 83 p e r cent through s i g h t . We r e t a i n : 10 p e r cent o f what we read, 20 p e r cent of what we hear, 30 p e r cent of w h a t we see, 50 p e r cent of what we s e e and hear.
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I ' m sure t h a t these s t a t i s t i c s would have been r e l a t i v e l y v a l i d even i n Caesar's time. But we d o n ' t have t o go back 2000 years i n h i s t o r y o r people i n general -- a r e poor t o prove t h e p o i n t t h a t students t h a t human beings comprehend only a minor p a r t of what they listeners hear. A recent experiment took place i n Connecticut among psychologists. A s u b j e c l was p u t before them, presented t o them and discussed. It was a new phase of a t o p i c w i t h which they were a l l very, very f a m i l i a r . They discussed it thoroughly f o r a complete afternoon. Three weeks l a t e r they were c a l l e d back and given a t e s t on t h e matter presented t o them. 8.4 percent of t h e information presented t o them was retained; 40 percent of t h i s was wrong. I have a l i t t l e homemade experiment which I might t r y on you. D r . Kropf has consented t o a i d me w i t h it. He's going t o describe t o you something and I am hopeful you have p e n c i l and paper with you and you draw e x a c t l y what he t e l l s you t o draw.
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DR. XROPF: I am sure I c a n ' t do j u s t i c e t o t h i s , b u t g e t out your p e n c i l and paper everybody. This f i g u r e we're going t o draw i s made up of 5 rectangles. Now I assume t h a t you have t h e paper w i t h t h e long a x i s up and down l i k e t h i s . I want you t o draw the f i r s t rectangle across. This rectangle should be roughly 2% times a s long as it i s wide. Okay. Now on top of one end of t h i s rectangle I want you t o draw another one w i t h the long a x i s up and down and see how well you do. On top of the f i r s t rectangle draw another one w i t h t h e long a x i s up and down and t h i s rectangle should be r i g h t on the end o f t h e f i r s t rectangle. Now, w e ' l l put i n rectangle no. 3. Rectangle no. 3 should be a t a 45' angle on t h e one edge of t h e top rectangle, the second one. You s e e how poor I am giving i n s t r u c t i o n s here b u t I am a t a disadvantage. Again rectangle 3 w i l l be balanced a t a 45' angle on one of the upper corners of rectangle 2 and balanced r i g h t i n t h e middle of rectangle 3. Okay. Rectangle no. 4 w i l l be off o f the
134. same s i d e of r e c t a n g l e no. 1 with t h e top end of it f l u s h with t h e top of rectangle no. 1. Again, r e c t a n g l e no. 4 w i l l be t o one s i d e and extending below mostly r e c t a n g l e 1 and f i n a l l y now t h a t you're a l l confused w e ' l l add rectangle no. 5 on t h e lower corner o f rectangle 4 a t a 45O angle t o rect a n g l e 4 and below, mostly below rectangle no. 1. Now I d o n ' t know what t h e s e look l i k e , b u t M r . Donnelly i s going t o show you how t h e s e ought t o look and you can see t h a t I need t o l e a r n a l o t about classroom i n s t r u c t i o n . ROBERT DONNELLY : Thank you, Don. I ' v e g o t $5.00 t o anybody t h a t has it r i g h t . Has anybody g o t one t h a t looks l i k e t h a t ? You do? L e t ' s s e e i t . You've never seen t h i s before? (Applause) Suddenly I f e e l l i k e A r t L i n k l e t t e r . I ' m a l l o u t of $5.00 b i l l s . W i l l you take a check? That was e x c e l l e n t . I ' l l t e l l you I ' v e done t h i s with engineers and draftsmen who t h i n k t h a t t k c y h a v e it wired. They g e t up here and they puff up t h e i r c h e s t s and go through t h i s t h i n g . I ' v e never heard t h e number system used before; t h a t ' s cheating. I should have c u t t h a t o u t r i g h t away. Fellows, l e t ' s g e t i n t o a l i t t l e b i t of preparation before c l a s s . One of t h e problems of preparation before c l a s s i s t h e use of my biggest enemy, t h e chalkboard. Can you r e a l l y go i n t o a classroom before and put your information on t h e board, o r t h e n i g h t before and have it t h e r e when you g e t t h e r e t h e next day? If you walk i n t h a t day j u s t before t h e c l a s s and p u t it on you're probably taking up some v i t a l classroom time t o do it. Here's an e x c e l l e n t piece of work t h a t w a s done w i t h merely a l i t t l e p a i n t brush. Don gave it t o me and it w a s done on a piece of c l e a r a c e t a t e o r reclaimed X-ray f i l m , I ' m not s u r e which. But t h i s was something t h a t was done before-hand o r before walking i n t o t h e c l a s s . How long would it take you t o put t h a t on t h e chalkboard, o r do you have t h e a r t i s t i c a b i l i t y t o do s o ? I c e r t a i n l y d o n ' t . If my classroom presentation had t o depend upon my a r t i s t i c a b i l i t y i t wouldn' t look l i k e t h a t . Fellows, h e r e ' s another very simple method of g e t t i n g your information and ideas beforehand and walking i n t o t h e classroom w i t h it a l l ready and not having t o use t h e chalkboard. Merely by w r i t i n g on a piece of a c e t a t e and p u t t i n g your ideas down as you s e e them, a l i t t l e l e s s hurriedly than t h a t I hope, but that's a very, very simple method. With an overhead p r o j e c t o r and a piece of c l e a r a c e t a t e and e i t h e r grease p e n c i l o r marking pen you've g o t a system.
Why d o n ' t we t a l k about c o l o r f o r j u s t a second? Color can be used f o r many t h i n g s . Color can be used most of a l l o r first of a l l t o j u s t break t h e monotony. When you break t h e monotony, hopefully, you won't l o s e a t t e n t i o n . B u t most of a l l c o l o r ' s biggest place, i n t h e use of t h e v i s u a l , i s impact. This i s an a r t i s t ' s conception of a committee meeting a t Berkeley o f the Students Non-Violent Courting Committee. Fellows, I a m going i n t o a few very, very simple techniques of t h e use of c o l o r . There i s one more p o i n t I want t o make with t h i s type of t i n t e d transparency. Why use a transparency a t a l l ? It r e a l l y doesn't look any d i f f e r e n t from a p l a i n white one. I t ' s s t i l l a p o s i t i v e . If you're giving a long v i s u a l presentation, i t ' s much e a s i e r t o look a t t h e s t a g e and read o f f t h e s t a g e w i t h a s l i g h t l y t i n t e d transparency. I t ' s a l s o much e a s i e r on t h e s t u d e n t ' s eyes than a c l e a r white transparency g l a r i n g a t them a l l t h e time o f f t h a t screen. L e t ' s g e t i n t o some very simple methods of adding c o l o r t o a transparency, o r t o a v i s u a l . Now t h e o r i g i n a l s of these v i s u a l s were provided by one of your group, and f r a n k l y I d o n ' t understand them. But h e r e ' s w h t we d i d with them and if we have t h e c o l o r i n a l l t h e wrong p l a c e s , you t c l i ae about i t . This i s merely a p o s i t i v e transparency and as you can
135. s e e we put an adhesive f i l m on t h e r e , c u t it o u t t o t h e shape we wanted and pasted it up. A very, very simple method.
I would l i k e t o say r i g h t now though t h a t c o l o r f o r t h e very sake of c o l o r i s a u s e l e s s t h i n g . I t ' s a waste o f time and you could be p u t t i n g more time t o g e t t i n g your ideas down than t o j u s t worrying about g e t t i n g a l o t of p r e t t y c o l o r s . A v i s u a l i s a means of communication, it shouldn't have t o be a work of a r t . Here's another simple method with t h e use o f what we c a l l a negative f i l m , adding c o l o r s again with t h a t very same p a s t e up o r adhesive back f i l m over t h e f i l m which shows through only where you want t h e image. Here's an example of t h a t without any c o l o r on it o r example of a negative f i l m . Here's a very, very simple way t o add c o l o r t o t h a t . Just t a k e a coloring pen and c o l o r over any p a r t t h a t you want and hopefully t h a t ' s coming o u t behind me. I t ' s not as b r i g h t and i t ' s not as good as t h e p a s t e up f i l m b u t it c e r t a i n l y i s f a s t . How about j u s t coloring r i g h t on a p l a i n transparency? I t h i n k you g e t t h e idea of j u s t how simple you can add c o l o r . I a m not going t o go on and on and take up your time showing my coloring a b i l i t y . How about j u s t l a b e l i n g ? We can p u t on t h i s transparency of a piece of b e e f , and go on down and l a b e l what you want. Gentlemen, h e r e ' s another simple way t o add c o l o r . This i s an x'd f i l m ; i t ' s x ' d on t h e back. When you run it through a Thermofax copy machine, merely t a k e a colored p e n c i l . This doesn't r e a l l y give you a good c o l o r b u t it i s f a s t . There again I d o n ' t preach c o l o r f o r c o l o r sake. There i s such a t h i n g as an overlay, however, t o r e a l l y emphasize what you want; merely by c u t t i n g o u t t h a t t i n t e d f i l m and p u t t i n g it around t h e image t h a t you r e a l l y want t o stand o u t . Now h e r e ' s a technique t h a t I used probably j u s t a few minutes ago. Why not do something l i k e t h i s and use w h a t we c a l l r e v e l a t i o n ? Nobody can read ahead; they've g o t t o follow you along. If you give them a handout I am sure t h a t you r e a l l y depend upon t h e s t u d e n t following e x a c t l y t h e p o i n t you're t r y i n g t o s t r e s s a t t h a t t i m e . Handouts a r e e x c e l l e n t and they w i l l always be used. But t h i s , i n conjunction with a handout, can be followed along on a piece of paper. L e t me g e t i n t o making a handout f o r j u s t a second. I ' m not going t o make one b u t on t h i s p a r t i c u l a r copy machine, i t ' s an i n f r a r e d machine, it can make a s p i r i t master on it i n about 4 o r 5 seconds. Merely by taking t h e o r i g i n a l , laying it up w i t h a s p i r i t master, running it through, p u t t i n g on your d i t t o machine and you've g o t your s p i r i t master. You've g o t your handouts a l l s e t . Then run your transparency i n another 4 t o 5 seconds and you've g o t r e a l l y a team t o work with; both t h e handout and t h e v i s u a l i n f r o n t of you. Here's another example of t h a t overlay, t h a t brings o u t t h i s part i c u l a r p o i n t and h i t s you r i g h t i n t h e eye. This l i t t l e technique here i s used very o f t e n and very e f f e c t i v e l y . It i s a p o i n t e r and brings your eye r i g h t t o t h e p o i n t t h a t you're t r y i n g t o make, t h e firm's name. Fellows, a t t h i s time I t h i n k it might be i n order t o j u s t show you how we can make a transparency and j u s t how f a s t and j u s t how simple and how spontaneous you can be with it. I ' m t o l d by D r . Kropf t h a t o r i g i n a l s such as t h i s o r such as we've been using here a r e r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e t o anybody, and most of t h e schools involved. It takes nothing more than p u t t i n g it together with a piece of f i l m , running it through i n approximately 4 seconds and you've g o t your v i s u a l . What could be f a s t e r ? That
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c e r t a i n l y i s a l o t f a s t e r than w r i t i n g a l o t of t h i n g s on a chalkboard. You can g e t i n t o a l o t more sophisticated means, t h e r e i s no question about it. There's another l i t t l e machine. I don' t want t o over-emphasize how simple t h i s t h i n g i s ; I c a n ' t over-emphasize i t . Unfortunately it has one drawback. It w i l l only make a transparency o r a copy o r a s p i r i t master from anything t h a t i s made from a carbon o r metallic-faced ink. Now maybe you have heard t h e o l d name Thermofax. People throw rocks occasionally when you say it, b u t here i s a l i t t l e piece of equipment which we commonly r e f e r t o as a s t y l i s h camera. This w i l l make a transparency o r copy o u t of anything t h e eye can s e e . There i s n ' t another machine on t h e market t h a t can do t h i s . It w i l l make a transparency o u t of any book regardless of t h i c k n e s s . This i s what we c a l l a photographic system; i t ' s a l i g h t source. You put t h a t on any page of a book without t e a r i n g it o u t . I t ' s developed on an ink pad; i t t a k e s approximately 30 seconds and you have a transparency. I ' m not going t o g e t i n t o t h e making of them r i g h t now. If I might sum up my case here very b r i e f l y - why t h e overhead p r o j e c t o r ? F i r s t of a l l i t can be used i n a normally l i g h t e d room as we're using h e r e . You're always f a c i n g t h e c l a s s o r t h e people you're making t h e presentation t o . I t ' s teacher d i r e c t e d . I n o t h e r words, they r e a l l y c a n ' t g e t ahead of you with t h i s p a r t i c u l a r system. Control t h e tension, merely by t h a t switch. That's t h e f a s t e s t e r a s e r i n t h e world. If you could stand where I a m standing now, it looks l i k e you're watching a t e n n i s match. Everybody's eyes go t o l i g h t . It i s l i k e l i g h t i n g t h a t match i n t h e dark; your eyes a r e automatically and i n v o l u n t a r i l y a t t r a c t e d t o it. I t ' s spontaneous; I t h i n k you can see t h e s p o t . It d o e s n ' t take a g r e a t genius t o make a v i s u a l . Certainly i s easy t o u s e and we f e e l as though i t saves a l o t of time and p u t s t h e teacher back i n t o teaching. I am t o l d by D r . Krspf t h a t many of you gentlemen and l a d i e s have t o go o u t occasionally i n extens i o n work and so f o r t h and make p r e s e n t a t i o n s . I c e r t a i n l y couldn't blame you i f you d i d n ' t want t o c a r r y t h i s along. B u t I do have something t h a t maybe you would want t o c a r r y along - a portable overhead p r o j e c t o r i n a very n i c e case. They t e l l me t h i s has taken t h e Northwest A i r l i n e s cargo a r e a t e s t which i s supposed t o be one of t h e toughest. Gentlemen, t h i s merely unpacks from t h i s case and you have a desk type overhead p r o j e c t o r , a l l compact. One of t h e advantages of t h i s p a r t i c u l a r p r o j e c t o r i s t h a t it has a s h o r t f o c a l l e n g t h . I n o t h e r words you can g e t within 4 - 4% f e e t of a screen and s t i l l g e t a l a r g e image; not a6 b r i g h t an image as you g e t on that, but you can g e t a reasonably l a r g e image a t a c l o s e r d i s t a n c e . This i s e x c e l l e n t f o r a small conference, o r s e t it r i g h t on t h e desk. You can s i t r i g h t down and use t h i s p r o j e c t o r ; you d o n ' t have t o s t a n d up t o use it as i n a l a r g e meeting o r formal s t y l e . So t h i s i s f o r t h e t r a v e l i n g man. If you ever see anybody i n an a i r p o r t with f l i p c h a r t s , you should f e e l sorry f o r h i m .
DR. KINSMAN: Thank you very much M r . Connelly f o r t h e f i n e p r e s e n t a t i o n . Before we dismantle t h e overhead p r o j e c t o r and similar equipment do you have any questions p e r t a i n i n g t o i t s use o r h i s demonstration here a t t h i s time? Otherwise w e ' l l l e t t h e gentlemen go ahead and take it down. Professor Lyman Brat z l e r ?
137. LYMAN BRATZLER: Where do you g e t colored ink o r a colored p e n c i l t h a t works when you g e t in a classroom? ROBERT DONNELLY: You've obviously had some troubles before. We f i n a l l y , a f t e r 7 o r 8 o r 9 o r 10 unsuccessful t r i e s , came up with a decent pen. Our d e a l e r s a r e giving us more trouble than the people using them. B u t I think now w e have solved o u r problems. You can leave o u r p a r t i c u l a r pen o u t f o r about a h a l f an hour o r 45 minutes and it won't dry up. The p o i n t s no longer break o f f . You c a n ' t s t e p on them o r anything l i k e t h a t , b u t I know your problems and we have had them. A l o t of o t h e r companies who have been making pens a l s o have. But t h e r e a r e some a v a i l a b l e , not only ours, that are e x c e l l e n t . DON KINSMAN: Further questions p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e equipment o r i t s use a t t h i s moment? The next speaker needs no introduction - Don Kropf.
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