I am grateful to my Innovative Students...

Dear All,

Innovative Teaching course participants created miracle with their first SQC projects last Wednesday. They focused on creative marketing projects in a group of four.Each of the 12 teams presented 20-slide ppts to convince the audience on their newly-created products. The innovativeness and creativity were at the highest level, and we all had wonderful 3 hours together. All the teams were assessed by the other teams and the winners will be announced on the coming week. The first three teams will be awarded.
I am very happy that all of my students are very talented, innovative, productive and creative. They presented their products with fun; sometimes used drama, sometimes video and sometimes funny stories. I am grateful to them for showing great interest to my course. Even though it is an elective course for teacher trainees, it is a lovely feeling to be instructing to a full classroom. I know that all those teachers will be "Innovative Teachers" just like the ones I trained between 2005-2008 through the Microsoft's PİL Program. I believe that our future will be enlightened by them. I thank to all of them for being my students and for giving a total satisfaction to me. I wish all of them good luck for their near future career. Loves,

Hayal Koksal

To be a Good Model Teacher

Dear Colleagues,
Yesterday I gave my Students' Quality Circles and Project Management seminar in Boğaziçi University. It was very fruitful. At the end of the seminar, my students determined their final project topics and formed 12 circles. Their excitement and enthusiasm, created the similar thoughts and feelings in me. My profession_teaching_is not only a profession or job for me: It is a real and a very powerful Hobby! It has been 33 years but I feel as if I graduated yesterday.
I worked with almost every age group in my professional life: I started with 6th graders and then High schools students. In 1985, I moved to University. During the last ten years, I have been giving "In-service training" to every subject matter teacher and administrators at every age. They all have different values and beauties, however, I must confess that I always prefer the youngest students and the teacher trainees. Collaborating with them always opens different wondows before me. Some of my colleagues are afraid of teaching older students due to witnessing some possible discipline problems but I always smile at this thought. It is essential to give self-confidence in teacher training. Another improtant issue is as a teacher; showing the courage of admitting her/his ignorance in some problem areas. A teacher is not the one who knows everything in his/her field. Sharing the unknown topics and asking help from them or collaborating with the students how to learn it is a very critical and significant issue. A teacher is not the one who sits in an iwory tower but a life-long learner. A teacher must perform and also prove his/her attitude in this point. I always try behaving like this, but I never lose the interest or respect of my students. Up to now, I have never lost my authority within the class, either. Believe me! They are our real partners and real dosts. They learn to show tolerance to you if you do the same. This is a way of having fun altogether. It is also the only way of giving self-confidence and teaching critical thinking to them.
Last night, an old student of mine called me. I had taught him English in 1978-1981 at Göle High School. Yücel is now working in Istanbul and calling me from time time. Last night he shared his feelings concerning my being a good teacher and a real Ataturk daughter. He also said that he was reading my blog regularly to learn more what I did. It was one of the best times of mine; I felt happy. Just like how happily I felt on Sunday.
On sunday morning Ms Şükran Çetin, my dearest instructor from İzmir Teachers' Training College, called me and she shared her sincere feelings with me related to my achievements in the profession. She was so excited and she sounded very happy and healthy. This also made me very happy, for she was my idol teacher with her perfect English, human-focused attitude, and with her kind and smiling face. We had never seen her in a sad or angry manner. She was very careful with her outlook and she used to wear formal suits. She was a lover of nature, working and teaching. We all have learned a lot from her. She was a real expert of training teachers. During my life, I have always tried to be like her. I salute her with great respect and love.
While saying good bye, I wanted to share a photo from the SQC seminer. With love and peace...

Hayal KÖKSAL

Seminar for İmece Circles

Dear Dosts,

The way of "Managing Change" and "Managing Quality" in any organization starts with the establishment of "Continuous Improvement" philosophy. Then, it goes on with the "Project Management" focusing on "Quality Circles (QC)". If we make a list of TQE Aopplications, the steps can be listed as follows:
- After "Awareness and Leadership" seminars, drawing the Road map and Making the "Strategic Planning".

- SWOP Analysis and,

- İmece Circles (QCs) with the collaboration of students, parents and teachers.

Since 2000, we have been conducting the QCs under the name of İmece Circles. İmece is a very important concept within the Turkish culture. For years, Anatolian people used to finishing up all their works with their neighbours and friends. Such as wedding ceremonies, harvesting, building a new house, or agriculture... In order to start a new method or approach you must not apply it as it was founded in its original land. Re-inventing the "tyre" is wasting time, energy and money. But localization and adaptation are the key words. That is why I changed the content and philosophy of SQCs and localized it for the Turkish schools as "İmece Circles" and since 2000, I have conducted almost 1000 students' İmece Circles: Not only in my university courses but within my projects like Bigg-İst and ICT Seagulls. Participants appear both successful and happy. These features are very important. Students learn critical thinking and problem solving skills at a very early age and through "technology use", they share and present their projects. Using affective technology (Web page and Blog design) forms a good sample for the partners abroad.
Tomorrow, I will give the "İmece Circles and Project Management" seminar in Boğaziçi University. We will meet on the North Campus, between 1.00-4.00 pm. Participation will also be certified. We invite you to our meeting. With love and peace...
Hayal KÖKSAL

We should start with; "Ourselves"...

Dear Colleagues,
I would like to continue with "Personal Quality".

In order to talk about the "Quality in school", we shoul go back and look into the family. Parents should be aware of the importance of "quality of home" and they should hug their children with a great affection and love supported with "personal quality strategies". We all know that children start learning just after their birth and they gain the basic life skills from their parents. In order to mantion about the quality of family, we should also know the personal quality concept. Self-awareness is the initial step. We are talking about a total quality improving; starting from ourselves, and then sharing the quality strategies with near enviro, distant enviro and then with the whole community. Since 1992, I have read many articles and books about the quality issues and I should admit that the most impressive one belongs to my dearest dost and my president John Jay Bonstingl. For the personal quality strategies, he had determined five, first of all. But then, he increased them to 7. I would like to share those 7 strategies of Prof. Bonstingl with you once more, reminding that he holds all the copyright of them. If you focus on them, perhaps you can add more based upon your needs and wants. Why not?
With love and peace...
Hayal KÖKSAL

BONSTINGL’S SEVEN PERSONAL PRACTICES OF QUALITY
1- PERSONAL LEADERSHIP
I am a force for good in this world. Today and everyday I will strive for my personal best, as I lead my life with gratitude, integrity, respect and the courage of my convictions.
2- TRUE PARTNERSHIP
I will actively seek opportunities today to combine forces with others for our mutual benefit and for the good of all.
3- SYSTEMS FOCUS
Today I will expand my personal perspectives to see the big picture. Rather than fixing blame, I will do what is needed to fix the system
4- PROCESS ORIENTATION
Today I will create effective processes in my life to achieve my personal goals, as I help others to achieve theirs.
5- A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING
Today I will try to understand myself and others at a deeper level. I know that I may not have all the information I need to truly understand what the situation is, so I will open my heart and mind to see things as they really are.
6- LOVE AND APPRECIATE, NO MATTER WHAT!
When we are unlovable, that is the time we aremost in need of love. I will love and accept myself and other people, no matter what!
7- PERSONAL DEDICATION TO ONGOING LEARNING AND IMPROVEMENT
I will build upon my strengths, growing stronger and wiser today, helping those whose lives I touch to do the same. I dedicate myself to learning and personal improvement for all the days of my life.
Copyright: John Jay Bonstingl 1998. Worldwide rights reserved.

What can be done to improve "Quality" in Schools?

Dear All, I would like to mention about a philosophy I have been admiring since 1992: "Continuous Improvement". Due to some misunderstandings in my country, I try not to use the term "Total Quality" especialy for educational settings. In fact TQM is not only a management system or an affective approach, but a "life style". I believe that with the "human focus & Customer satisfaction" side, it is so much convenient to be applied at classrooms and in schools.
It is not in vain to write many books about TQE for years. My first book "On the Way of Creating Schools of Quality, 1998" used to share the history, philosophy, implementation and tools of quality in schools. Last year, my last book appeared under the title of "Continuous Learner: Me!". I love publicizing that sacred approach everytime, everywhere.
With the "Correct" leading of this philosophy, this philosophy creates a real "change". As we all know, it appeared as a outcome of "Systems Approach" in 1960s. It followed the normal path in the science of "Management" and after the business world, it has been affcetive in educational administration. I believe that, it is a miracle. After the 2. World War, Japan was in a terrible situation but through TQM it has become one of the richest giants of the world. I know, they ove this to correct TQM applications. Through "Kaizen", it creates a real wellness miracle within persons and organizations. In Türkiye, we had an educational system; "Village Institutions" carrying similar characteristics but they were unfortunately closed in 10 years' time due to some political reasons. If they still existed, our villages would have been in a totally different view.
With this belief, I have been working on "İmece Circles" which are now almost 1000. This qualitfocused work is mostly called as "Quality Circles" by others, but I define them as "İmece (Collaboration) circles" as a result of its national-cultural localization to Turkish schools. This sytem was localized and publicized with a different philosophy and content by me to make it applicable to the new Curriculum of the primarys and secondary schools in Türkiye. I had done a similar implementation for the Worldwide Innovative Teachers Program of Microsoft. I was the advisor of the program, and I had localized and implemented the pilot studies of the program for the Turkish educators between the years of 2004-2008. I have started those İmece Circles in 2001 and it was awarded by the World Bank as one of the "Creative Projects for the Development of Türkiye" in 2005. ICT Seagulls Projects have been going on with this system for 6 years and so is "2010 Bigg-İst project". I also wrote another book which is called "İmece Circles for the Power Unity at Classrooms" in 2004. It includes the road maps of first 16 İmece Projects and the book can be obtained from http://www.pandora.com.tr/ . I believe it is a big achievement to be leading 1000 projects now, after the first 16 projects of 2003. I still get very positive feedbacks of those projects and I fill with joy (Please visit: http://www.bilisimcimartilar.com/). Furthermore, the results of similar projects at various countries show similar results. We had shared all those projects during the 11.ICSQCC on 26-28 August, 2008 in Istanbul with the support of CMS and WCTQEE (Visit: www.hayalkoksal.com/en/convention).
The initial phase of İmece Circles starts with the "TQE Awareness & İmece-Project Management Seminars" in which participants learn the quality philosophy and tools. That is why I set aside the first two weeks of my each term to basic seminars in my courses at the Faculties of Education. The above photos were taken during my "Innovative Teaching" course at my first seminar in Boğaziçi University yesterday. Next week, at the same hall I will be giving the second seminar about İmece Circles. Everyone is invited to it, as usual.
BThe most important characteristics of those seminars are teaching the following skills to the youngesters;
- The Continuous Improvement Philosophy which exists within every human being,
-Collaboration,i.e., İmece Culture,
-Time management,
-Leadership, communication and effective technology use skills,
-Problem solving skills, and -By removing "stage fear", teaching presentation skills for sharing the results with the public. We also conducted these projects at pre-school education institutions and we saw very fruitful results. We added the challenged students into this program. Up to now, we noticed that very few projects were not completed. When we analysed the reasons, we realized that the following reasons had put obstacles in front of the project's. They are;
- Lacking leadership of teachers and / or administrators,
- Technological problems at schools,
- Jealousy, laziness and different negative personal characteristics of person.
As it is seen clearly understood, there is no definite obstacled before the İmece Projects. The only reason is related to the problems concerning the personal qualities of some educators. Whereas, it is the primary mission of both teachers and parents to be good models and to motivate the students to obtain the optimal results. My next paper will be about personal quality. If I get your comments, I will be pleased. I wish you good luck on your quality journey. Dr.Hayal KÖKSAL

I WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY WOMEN'S DAY!

Dear Dosts,

This morning I got the first message from my dear brother Yogi and felt very happy. A dost, a brother miles away from me was celebrating my "Women's Day". I felt honoured and I thankked Allah for this prestigious place He put me in. I have had many dearest sisters and brothers from very different locations of the world. This is a unique feeling. I am grateful to all of you for sharing your sincere feelings with me. This is the real wealth of the life. Yogi writes:

Humanity is possessed of two wings-The male and the female. When the two wings become equal in strength, the flight of humanity will be exceedingly lofty & extraordinary". He is right.

Now I want to share some words of Atatürk with you:

"Everything we see in the world is the creative work of women." M.K.ATATÜRK

With abiding faith in the vital importance of women in society, Atatürk launched many reforms to give Turkish women equal rights and opportunities. The new Civil Code, adopted in 1926, abolished polygamy and recognized the equal rights of women in divorce, custody, and inheritance. The entire educational system from the grade school to the university became co-educational.
Atatürk greatly admired the support that the national liberation struggle received from women and praised their many contributions:

"In Turkish society, women have not lagged behind men in science, scholarship, and culture. Perhaps they have even gone further ahead."

He gave women the same opportunities as men, including full political rights. In the mid-1930s, 18 women, among them a villager, were elected to the national parliament. Later, Turkey had the world's first women supreme court justice.
In all walks of life, Atatürk's Turkey has produced tens of thousands of well-educated women who participate in national life as doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, writers, administrators, executives, and creative artists. In the photo, you see Atatürk with his daughter, pilot Sabiha Gökçen.
We owe everything to our great leader, Atatürk!

(Source:http://www.ataturk.com/content/view/20/39/)

With love and peace...

Hayal Köksal