Frogs Essays - Amphibians, Frog, Chorus Frogs, Pickerel Frog

Frogs Essays - Amphibians, Frog, Chorus Frogs, Pickerel Frog Frogs A Frog is a small, tail less animal that has bulging eyes. Almost all frogs have long back legs. The strong hind legs make the frog able to leap farther than the length of its body. Frogs live on every continent except Antarctica, but tropical regions have the greatest number of species. Frogs are classified as amphibians. Most amphibians, including most frogs, spend part of their life as a water animal and part as a land animal. Frogs are related to toads, but are different from them in a few ways. The giant frog of west-central Africa ranks as the largest frog. It measures nearly a foot (30 centimeters) long. The smallest species grow only 1/2 inch (1.3 centimeters) long. Frogs also differ in color. Most kinds are green or brown, but some have colorful markings. Although different species may vary in size or color, almost all frogs have the same basic body structure. They have large hind legs, short front legs, and a flat head and body with no neck. Adult frogs have no tail, though one North American species has a short, tail like structure. Most frogs have a sticky tongue attached to the front part of the mouth. They can rapidly flip out the tongue to capture prey. Frogs have such internal organs as a heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys. Some of the internal organs differ from those of higher animals. A frog's heart has three chambers instead of four. And although adult frogs breathe by means of lungs, they also breathe through their skin. The eggs of different species vary in size, color, and shape. A jelly like substance covers frog eggs, providing a protective coating. This jelly also differs from species to species. Some species of frogs lay several thousand eggs at a time. But only a few of these eggs develop into adult frogs. Ducks, fish, insects, and other water creatures eat many of the eggs. Even if the eggs hatch, the tadpoles also face the danger of being eaten by larger water animals. The pond or stream in which the eggs were laid sometimes dries up. As a result, the tadpoles die. Certain tropical frogs lay their eggs in rain water that collects among the leaves of plants or in holes in trees. Other tropical species attach their eggs to the underside of leaves that grow over water. When the eggs hatch, the tadpoles fall into the water. Among some species, one of the parents carries the eggs until they hatch. For example, the female of certain South American tree frogs carries the eggs on her back. Among another species of frog, the midwife toad, the male carries the eggs wound around his hind legs. Males of another species, Darwin's frog, carry the eggs in their vocal pouch. Some tropical frogs lay their eggs on land. They lay them under logs or dead leaves. These frogs have no tadpole stage. A young frog hatches from the egg and begins life as a land animal. Tadpoles are not completely developed when they hatch. At first, the tadpole clings to some support in the water, using its mouth or a tiny sucker. A tadpole has no neck, and so its head and body look like one round form. The animal has a long tail and resembles a little fish. It breathes by means of gills, which are hidden by a covering of skin. A tadpole's form changes as the animal grows. The tail becomes larger and makes it possible for the animal to swim about to obtain food. Tadpoles eat plants and decaying animal matter. Some tadpoles eat frog eggs and other tadpoles. In time, the tadpole begins to grow legs. The hind legs appear first. Then the lungs begin to develop and the front legs appear. The digestive system changes, enabling the frog that develops to eat live animals. Just before its change into a frog, the tadpole loses its gills. Finally, a tiny frog, still bearing a stump of a tail, comes up from the water. Eventually, the animal absorbs its tail and assumes its adult form. After a frog becomes an adult, it may take a few months to a few years before

Prepping Your Kid for a Test With No Study Guide

Prepping Your Kid for a Test With No Study Guide Its the moment you dread: Your child comes home from school on a Tuesday and tells you that there are a test three days from now over chapter seven. But, since she lost the review guide (for the third time this year), the teacher is making her figure out the content to study without it. You dont want to send her off to her room to study blindly from the textbook; Shell fail! But, you also dont want to do all the work for her. Theres a method that will get your child prepped for that chapter test despite the little misplacement habit shes grown fond of, and even better, she may learn more than she did had she actually used the review guide. Ensure She Learns The Chapter Content Before you study with your kid for the test, youll need to know that shes learned the content of the chapter. Sometimes, kids do not pay attention during class because they know the teacher will be passing out a review guide before the test. Teachers, however, want your kid to actually learn something; they typically put the bare bones of the test content on the review sheets offering a glimpse of the facts shell need to know. Not every test question will be on there! So, youll need to make sure your child has actually grasped the ins and outs of the chapter if she wants to ace the test. An effective way to do it is with a reading and study strategy like SQ3R. The SQ3R Strategy Chances are good that youve heard of the SQ3R Strategy. The method was introduced by Francis Pleasant Robinson in his 1961 book, Effective Study, and remains popular because it enhances reading comprehension and study skills. Kids in third or fourth grade through adults in college can use the strategy solo to grasp and retain complex material from a textbook. Kids younger than that can use the strategy with an adult guiding them through the process. SQ3R utilizes pre-, during and post-reading strategies, and since it builds metacognition, your childs ability to monitor her own learning, its a highly effective tool for every subject in every grade shell encounter. If you happen to be unfamiliar with the method, SQ3R is an acronym that stands for these five active steps your child will take while reading a chapter: Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review. Survey Your child will browse through the chapter, reading titles, bold-faced words, introduction paragraphs, vocabulary words, subheadings, pictures, and graphics to grasp, in general, the content of the chapter. Question Your child will turn each one of the chapter subheadings into a question on a sheet of paper. When she reads, The Arctic Tundra, shell write, What is the Arctic Tundra?, leaving space underneath for an answer. Read Your child will read the chapter to answer the questions shes just created. She should write her answers in her own words in the space provided. Recite Your child will cover her answers and attempt to answer the questions without referring to the text or her notes. Review Your child will reread portions of the chapter about which she isnt clear. Here, she can also read the questions at the end of the chapter in order to test her knowledge of the content. In order for the SQ3R method to be effective, youll need to teach it to your child. So the first time the review guide goes missing, sit down and go through the process, surveying the chapter with her, helping her form questions, etc. Model it before she dives in so she knows what to do. Ensure She Retains The Chapter Content So, after applying the reading strategy, youre fairly confident that she understands what shes read, and can answer the questions youve created together. She has a solid knowledge base, but there are still three days before the test! Wont she forget whats shes learned? Its a great idea to have her learn the answers to the questions prior to the test, but in reality, drilling will force those specific questions, but nothing else, into your kids head. Besides, what if the teacher asks different questions than the ones youve learned together? Your child will learn more in the long run by getting a learning combo meal with knowledge as the main course and some higher-order thinking as a tasty side. Venn Diagrams Venn diagrams are perfect tools for kids in that they allow your child to process information and analyze it quickly and easily. If youre not aware of the term, a Venn diagram is a figure made of two interlocking circles. Comparisons are made in the space where the circles overlap; contrasts are defined in the space where the circles do not. A couple of days prior to the exam, hand your child a Venn Diagram and write one of the topics from the chapter on top of the left circle, and a correlative topic from your childs life on the other. For instance, if the chapter test is about biomes, write Tundra above one of the circles and the biome in which you live above the other. Or, if shes learning about Life on Plymouth Plantation, she could compare and contrast that with Life in the Smith Household. With this diagram, shes attaching new ideas to parts of her life with which shes already familiar, which helps her build meaning. A cold page filled with facts doesnt seem real, but when compared to something she knows, the new data suddenly crystallizes into something tangible. So, when she steps outside into the brilliant sunshine of a warm day, she may consider how cold a person might feel in the Arctic Tundra. Or the next time she uses a microwave to make popcorn, she may think about the difficulty of food acquisition on the Plymouth Plantation. Vocabulary Writing Prompts Another creative way to help your child gain a complete understanding of the textbook chapter for that big test coming up is with synthesis. This higher-order thinking skill can certainly help cement information from the textbook directly into your childs brain better than straight memorization can. An enjoyable, effortless way to have your child synthesize info is with a snazzy writing prompt. Heres how to set it up: As your child surveyed the chapter, she shouldve noticed the bold-faced vocabulary words scattered throughout. Lets say the chapter was about the Plains Native Americans, and she found vocabulary words such as expedition, ceremony, raid, maize, and shaman. Instead of having her memorize a definition shell have trouble remembering, instruct her to use the vocabulary words appropriately in a prompt like one of these: Using at least five of the vocabulary words from the chapter, compose a letter to the shaman from a warrior who is away on a raid.Youre visiting a Plains Native American tribe. Write a 1-2 paragraph description of the things you see, smell and hear using at least five of the vocabulary words from the chapter.You are a Plains Native American child. Using at least five of the vocabulary words from the chapter, convince an outsider that your tribe is the best place to grow up. By giving her a situation that may not have been described in the book, like a childs perspective, youre allowing your child to mesh knowledge she already has in her head with knowledge from the chapter shes just learned. This fusion creates a map for her to get to the new information on test day just by remembering her story. Brilliant! All is not lost when your child comes home sobbing because she mislaid her review guide for the umpteenth time. Sure, she needs to get an organizational system in place to help her keep track of her stuff, but in the meantime, you have a system in place to help her keep track of her test grades. Using the SQ3R Strategy to learn the test content and tools like Venn diagrams and vocabulary stories to reinforce it ensures that your child will ace her chapter test and totally redeem herself on exam day.

Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Annotated Bibliography Example Teams become effective and productive, whenever working on a similar task, since such groups can leverage off one another’s strong point and compensate weaknesses of other colleagues. Project team leadership explains individual roles. Leadership gets dispersed among the members of the team. Team leader leads members to lead themselves. Leaders can generate thought patterns, which are motivating and positive. Project team leadership embraces personal goal setting through self evaluation and observation. Goals can be attained through enhancing illuminating roles among team members. The book, Field Guide to Project Management has the importance of measuring and monitoring individual and team performance (Cleland, 2004, p. 398). Project team leadership should develop motivation using extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Developing skills among team members requires team training and coaching. Global project management entails a framework which tackles the combined challenges in the virtual and distributed projects internationally. Global project management includes leading by exception. The book, Field Guide to Project Management, find many leaders or managers in different time zones, and locations to have detrimental meetings to initiate activities. It is recommendable to plan a vast project management tool for tracking that gives accurate information, right metrics, and maintains the status of the work efforts of everyone appraised. Create team synergies through strategic gatherings (Cleland, 2004, p. 12). A social on line application can be made to allow the team members recognize one another. Respect the numerous cultures, activities and holidays the team members take part in without allowing work boundaries sorting the home. Virtual project team gives a virtual growth of assets. Virtual project team requires core elements. Leadership provided should be robust and

Effectiveness of Public Service Announcements Research Proposal

Effectiveness of Public Service Announcements - Research Proposal Example (Erica Weintraub Austina*, 2008) Kiakati believe that use of celebrities can have many benefits and advantages such as - (Anita Elberse, July 2011) Facilitating the identification of brand by consumers Changing the negativity associated with a brand Repositioning a brand Affecting the purchase intentions of the consumers. Celebrities are fickle in nature and although promotions through them may increase brand visibility it may also make your brand related to some negative characteristics. (Veer, Becirovic, & A.S.Martin, 2010) Public Service Announcements are designed to inform the audience about certain aspects or to induce certain behavior in them by the use of mass-media approaches. The important point in most of the public service announcements is that they are not trying to sell a product. They are trying to sell an idea or a belief system. A PSA which encourages people to use public transport system is trying to modify their behavior over a long period of time. Making a person b uy soap is entirely different from making him do a particular thing again and again. (Dan Werb1, 2011) We will try to analyze through this research how effective the use of popular celebrities or respected spokesperson is in creating the final attitude change in the target audience of the PSA. all celebrities responsible for just bringing in the crowd or can they help PSA in the same way they help the FMCGs. Consumers tend to copy their icons and use the products preferred by them ; will they also follow their lead in changing their attitudes towards a particular thing or is it too personal to be affected by a celebrity. We will analyze this particular aspect of PSAs in the research paper – How effective is the use of celebrities for bringing about the attitude change desired by PSAs. Literature review Some properties such as likeability of the celebrity , expertise , trustworthiness and similarity causes a celebrity endorser to become a cause of persuasive information to the audience and also ends up creating a sense of certainty and encourages the user to try the product or the service. Acceptance of a message by a receiver can be influenced by celebrity endorsers as people consider them to be believable sources of information about a product. The balance theory principles emphasize the creation of an emotional connect between the observer and the endorser. This emotional relationship also creates and emotional connect between the audience and the cause. Is this fact also true for a cause espoused by the PSAs? Will a celebrity help in creating an emotional connect of the user with the cause. McGuire (1998) has created a very effective input output matrix for creating effective public service announcements. Along the input axis are important aspect of the message such as source, message factors, channel factors, receiver factors and finally target behaviors at which the communication is aimed at. McGuire says that for the PSA to be effective; the targe t audience must have contact with it, must pay attention to it, like it, understand and learn from the content, agree with it, store the information presented by it and make decisions based on it. (Kang, Cappella, & Fishbein, sep 2009)

Teen Pregnancy Essay Example for Free

Teen Pregnancy Essay Today in this society so many teenagers are having sex and not realizing the outcome of what is going too happened after they have done it? Not all parents are in their kids business enough when they should be. Wondering where your kids are at all times when they are in their early teenage years are one of the good ways you can keep track of what they do on daily basics. Most of the time kids don’t do the right thing and they are most likely to not return from school on time either and that’s why parents need to understand their kids and for the kids to try to understand the parents and know that their parents are not putting them down they just care. see more:short informative speech examples Teenage pregnancy is increasing rapidly in our country. In fact, Manila has the highest teen birth rate in the Philippines. There are factors that contribute to this increasing problem. Teen pregnancy comes with effects that can cause serious problems. Teenage pregnancy is a growing problem that can be prevented by using contraceptives. Teenage pregnancy is a growing problem. It can cause many emotional effects. Being pregnant can cause a teenage mother to wonder how and why she got pregnant in the first place. A teenage mom is also affected emotionally by realizing that she has to carry the child for nine months, and the father does not. He gets to go out and do whatever he wants to do. Finances are more problems for the teenage parents to have to face. They have to have a job to support the child. Most teen families end up on welfare. According to Kristie A. Klusaw, states that â€Å"Pre Marital Sex is a huge problem in the society today.† Klusaw also states that â€Å"teenagers are not waiting to get married to have sex.† And by doing that, this is clearly a cause of teen pregnancy. Meenakshi Madhur also added that â€Å"Sex is a very strong biological need. However sex after marriage has a purpose of not only evolution but also amedium of expressing love between couples.† Inside the â€Å"The Unplanned Pregnancy Book† written by Dorrie Williams-Wheeler it says in there that â€Å"There are reasons of teen pregnancy, the first one is Psychological Factors, the immature and irresponsible behavior arising due to complex teenage psychology is another important cause of teenage pregnancies. â€Å"Teenagers often go through a number of emotions because of their own transition from childhood and peer pressure.† Williams-Wheeler added. In addition to that, Williams-Wheeler also said that that thee second cause of teen pregnancy is â€Å"Lack of Discipline and Control, factors like alcohol and substance abuse accompanied by unrestricted interaction with the opposite sex can ignite the sparks of lust and passion in youngsters very easily ultimately leading to teenage pregnancy.†

Gay and Lesbian Partners Deserve Health Benefits Essay -- Argumentativ

In the United States today, one to twelve percent of the population is homosexual (Gilbert, 17). In recent years, gay men, lesbians and bisexuals have been fighting long and hard to get the same rights and benefits as their heterosexual counterparts. Now, employers and health care providers are being forced to listen to their cries for equality. Should employers offer health benefits for domestic partners of gay employees? This question is forcing society to think about, and possibly change, what their definition of couple/family truly means. As would be expected, most employers offer health benefits to their heterosexual employees and their families. Some companies cover the total cost of this benefit, others cover the bulk of the cost while the employee contributes a small amount each week out of their salary. In some instances, this can account for 25% of the employee's total wages (Partners-Domestic). Employers are using the excuse of high expenses as their main reason behind not offering these same benefits to their homosexual employees. They think it will cost them more in health care contributions for homosexual employees than it does for heterosexual ones. Their main concern? AIDS. In reality, many current domestic partner plans relate that: "Less than one percent of the workforce participates, AIDS health care benefit costs come to only about one-tenth those of a premature baby, gay men do not always get AIDS, and AIDS is not exclusive to gay men" (Partners-Domestic). A major obstacle for gay employees is that their employers have to confront their employee's homosexuality; something many employers are afraid of, or refuse to do. Using the law as their scapegoat by say... ...p.html. December 1995. Partners Task Force for Gay and Lesbian Couples. "Factoids on Domestic Partnership Benefits" 1995. Internet URL: http://www.eskimo.com/~demian/d-p-fac.html. Dec 1995. Partners Task Force for Gay and Lesbian Couples. "Partners National Survey of Lesbian and Gay Couples" 1995. Unternet URL: http://www.eskimo.com/~demian/survey.html. Dec 1995. "Companies, Municipalities and Universities with Domestic Partnership Plans". Internet URL: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/dtw/www/companies.html. "In the Superior Court For the State of Alaska Fourth Judicial District". Internet URL: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/scotts/domestic-partners/Tumeo_v_U_Alaska.txt "University of Iowa Domestic Partner Coverage". Internet URL: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/scotts/domestic-partners/U-Iowa-costs.html.

Case Study Cicso Essay

How does building a brand in a business-to-business context different from doing so in the consumer market? When companies market (company A) their products to other business (Company B), they are looking to build a lasting business relationship. Company B is marketing their product and services because they know and understand what the company will need in order to operate more efficiently. When companies make purchases, it is a multi-step process that involves executive decisions and planning, company financial review (depending on the amount of the purchase), and possible sales meetings to offer demonstrations of new products (Business Marketing Association, n.d.). B2B marketing is to convert prospects into customers and build a lasting business relationship; they need to focus on relationship building and communication using marketing activities that generate leads that can be nurtured during the sales cycle (Murphy, 2007). Marketing to a company can be done through email, webcasting, newsletters, telemarketing, direct mail, and representative follow up services. Companies keep in constant contact with the business in an attempt to keep doing business with them and ensuring that any needs the company may have, they will attempt to meet or exceed. When companies decide to market to consumers, they use a different approach. The majority of the products on the market for consumers are not a necessity; companies have to use creative ways to ensure that consumers will purchase the product. The ultimate goal of B2C marketing is to convert shoppers into buyers as aggressively and consistently as possible (Murphy, 2007). Unlike how companies make decisions, consumers go off their emotions, product eye appeal, prices, discounts, and coupon usage. When consumers decided to make purchases, the buying process starts long before the actual purchase and has consequences long afterwards (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Since consumers make purchase for  different reasons than companies, consumers face a higher risk because of factors that may not be in their control. Technology has made marketing easier and even free for some companies. When companies target consumers, they use social media, blogs, electronic coupons, and customer survey completions that offer winnings. Consumers review the advertisements and see them as a good deal, even if it’s for a product they don’t need. To make the deal even better companies also offer loyalty rewards for frequent shoppers and buyers. Companies combine merchandise and education to consumers to keep the coming back (Murphy, 2007). This marketing technique lets the company know that the customer will return to make purchases and even purchase new products when they come on the market. Business Marketing Association, n.d. Key differences between B2B and consumer marketing. Retrieved from http://www.marketing.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=3418 Kotler. P., Keller, K. L., 2012. Marketing Management (14th ed.). Upper Saddle, NJ: Prentice Hall Murphy, D. 2007, Marketing for B2B vs. B2C similar but different. Retrieved from http://masterful-marketing.com/marketing-b2b-v s-b2c/ Is Cisco’s plan to reach out to consumers a viable one? Why or why not? Cisco’s plan to reach consumers looks like a very viable plan. The company was able to launch a campaign that introduced them to consumers as being able to service not only large companies, but also to everyday consumers. Most consumers may have never thought about wireless capabilities being used within their homes; however Cisco was looking to change that by offering wireless network options to consumers. The â€Å"Human Network† campaign tried to humanize the technology giant and the initial results were positive (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Cisco Connected Sports allowed the company to showcase their product in a large venue. The fans who attended the games were able to see the new technology being used and how the stadium made the devices seem easy to use and navigate. Serious sports fans would be pleased, but the company still needs to think about consumers that do not attend games. The downside of Cisco entering the consumer market is that they had a lot of competition when attempting to market to consumers. While the company does have a viable plan to obtain the customers attention, the downside is that they have to compete with well-known electronic companies. For instance, vendors such as Samsung Electronics, which have long experience and established brands in that business, can fairly easily add networking to their products; its less likely that companies out of the network and into the living room Lawson, 2013). According to Kotler & Keller, (2012), Cisco’s revenues increased 41 percent from 2006 to 2008, led by sales increases in both home and business use; by the end of 2008, Cisco’s revenue topped 39.5 billion and Business Week ranked it the 18th biggest global brand (p. 57). Even with the increased revenue, Cisco sold its home networking business to Belkin International; the company plans to fold Linksys’ employee and products into its operations while keeping the Linksys brand alive (Lawson, 2013). Since the sale of Linksys to Belkin, Cisco has once again attempted to enter the consumer market by offering services through a service provider. The essence of Cisco’s business with services providers, where it makes both set-top boxes for homes and back-end infrastructure for content delivery (Lawson, 2013). Cisco could possibly make a comeback into the consumer market and if Cisco wants to be part of that, they will need to market and introduce products that consumers really need and want. Lawson, S., 2013. After selling Linksys, Cisco aims to reach consumers through carriers. Retrieved from http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9236213/After_selling_Linksys_Cisco_aims_to_reach_consumers_through_carriers Kotler. P., Keller, K. L., 2012. Marketing Management (14th ed.). Upper Saddle, NJ: Prentice Hall

CU3820 Principles of Assessment in Lifelong learning Essay

1.1: Explain the types of assessment used in lifelong learning. To ‘Measure (assess) the breadth and depth of learning’ (Geoff Petty 1998) I, as a teacher must ensure that my students will understand the targets and goals set for them. This is achieved by using assessment practises. ‘Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning’ breaks down the structure of assessing and learning thus: †¢ Creating †¢ Evaluating †¢ Analysing †¢ Applying †¢ Understanding †¢ Remembering These methods also enable me, as a teacher to measure success within the classroom. To evaluate whether learning is taking place, there are three assessment methods to use. Initial Assessment: To assess the learning capabilities of the learner an initial assessment will take place. This will enable me to determine whether there are any learning difficulties that may affect the learning and teaching process. Once any difficulties are found the relevant support can be given to the learner. Formative Assessment: This method is used to monitor the learning progress of the learners during the course. It will enable me to provide feedback on their progress and also give the learner the opportunity to give me feedback on my performance. This method can also highlight ant problems that may need o be addressed. Summative Assessment; Summative assessments takes place at the end of each course or learning session. It will assess to what extent learning has been achieved and to enable me to re-evaluate my own teaching methods. This will allow verifiers to assign course grades and certification. 1.2 EXPLAIN THE USE OF METHODS OF ASSESSMENT IN LIFELONG LEARNING To explain how assessments show progress and achievement, it is essential to learn what an assessment is. Assessment for learning is a term used to describe how evidence of student learning is recorded by me the teacher and is used by both students and teachers to decide where a student is within their learning and what they need to do better or to keep to the level that they are working at. Assessment for learning is a very effective way to put on record that learning and good teaching are being achieved. Assessment for learning is a joint process between student and teacher where both are engaged in an on-going process of student progress and development. The assessment to use will depend on the subject in my case spanish and any requirements of the organisations involved. Although all teachers should use some initial assessment to identify needs of the learner and to see if they have any previous experience in the language work set to them which in my subject would be spanish. Assessment methods can be recorded for group or individualls to reflect on the ability of the students. The student or learning group and the activities you select and the learning outcomes might affect your choice of assessment methods in a lesson. Formative assessment takes place during learning with the purpose of improving learning and involves me as the teacher giving feed back into the learning process to help me as the teacher, to decide whether a student is ready to move on or needs to practice what is being learnt, or has still yet to learn. It is usually the teacher’s final decision as to whether a student is ready to move on to the next stage of the course. Formative assessment can take a variety of forms; peer and self assessment, verbal and written, questioning and marking. Summative assessment happens at the end of a course. To measure and talk to the student/groups about what they have learned so far in the lessons. Summative learning is less about informing and improving the learning process but more about measuring the end result; for example end of year exam. 1.3 Compare the strengths and limitations of assessment methods to meet individual learner needs Student questioning is an effective way for engaging students within the learning process, obtaining existing knowledge of the chosen course and demonstrating, thinking and understanding of the students enables me to informally yet formatively assess their knowledge and the understanding of the progress the student is making with their studying. For example; at the beginning of my micro teach session, which was a De-fragmentation learning exercise, I asked the group if any of them had any previous experiences. This aided me in what level to teach the group. A good ice-breaker can be used as a group activity, as in my micro teach i got the group to exchange questions and answers with the person next to them to get the group engaged. I then dealt with each learner individually by asking them how they were getting on and if they understood the subject. This simple but effective method engaged the group, then I could address the learners individually and provide individual needs for the said learner. David Miliband stated: ‘We need to do more than engage and empower pupils and parents in the selection of a school: their engagement has to be effective in the day-to-day processes of education, at the heart of the way schools create partnerships with professional teachers and support staff to deliver tailor-made services, In other words we need to embrace individual empowerment within as well as between schools.’ References: Milliband,D (2004)’Personalised learning meeting individual learner needs’ Published by The Learning and kills Network 2. Understand ways to involve learners in the assessment process. 2.1. Explain ways to involve the learner in the assessment process. Carol Boston says ‘Black and William (1998b) define assessment broadly to include all activities that teachers and students undertake to get information that can be used diagnostically to alter teaching and learning. Under this definition, assessment encompasses teacher observation, classroom discussion, and analysis of student work, including homework and tests. Assessments become formative when the information is used to adapt teaching and learning to meet student need.† Where and how do we include students in the formative assessment process? What is the role of technology in this feedback cycle?’ Formative assessment, as I understand it, is an on-going process where both teachers and students evaluate assessment evidence in order to make adjustments to their teaching and learning. Robert Marzano has called it â€Å"one of the more powerful weapons in a teacher’s arsenal.† The formative assessment process can strengthen students’ abilities to assess their own progress, to set and evaluate their own learning goals, and to make adjustments accordingly. Formative assessment can also elicit valuable feedback from students about what teachers are doing effectively and what they could do better. Student Self-Assessment and Reflection Activities which promote meta-cognitive thinking and ask students to reflect on their learning processes are key to the formative assessment process. When students are asked to think about what they have learned and how they have learned it (the learning strategies they’ve used), they are better able to understand their own learning processes and can set new goals for themselves. Students can reflect on their learning in many ways: answering a set of questions, drawing a picture or set of pictures to represent their learning process, talking with a partner, keeping a learning log or journal, etc. Goal Sheets Having students set their own goals and evaluate their progress toward achieving them is an effective part of the formative assessment process. Goal setting has a positive effect on student motivation and learning when the goals are specific and performance based, relatively short-term, and moderately difficult. Goal sheets are an effective way to help students set goals and track their progress. It is best to identify specific goals. For example, â€Å"I will read in English for 20 minutes each night† is more specific than â€Å"I will read more.† Also, goals need to be achievable in a short period of time and not impossibly difficult. The teacher can model how to set effective goals and also how to evaluate one’s progress toward achieving them by asking students to periodically write or talk about what they have achieved, what they still would like to achieve, and how they will do it. 2.2. Explain the role of peer and self-assessment in the assessment programme F. Dochy (2006) said ‘The growing demand for lifelong learners and reflective practitioners has stimulated a re-evaluation of the relationship between learning and its assessment, and has influenced to a large extent the development of new assessment forms such as self-, peer, and co-assessment. Three questions are discussed: (1) what are the main findings from research on new assessment forms such as self-, peer and co-assessment; (2) in what way can the results be brought together; and (3) what guidelines for educational practitioners can be derived from this body of knowledge? A review of literature, based on the analysis of 63 studies, suggests that the use of a combination of different new assessment forms encourages students to become more responsible and reflective. The article concludes with some guidelines for practitioners.’ Principles for using self and peer assessment 1. The purpose for using self and peer assessment should be explicit for staff and students A major reason for using self and peer assessment is for its role in developing students’ skills in improving learning and in helping students to improve their performance on assessed work. Additionally, it has a place as a means of summative assessment. 2. There is no reason why peer and self assessment should not contribute to summative assessment In many such cases such assessment will not contribute a major proportion of the mark until it has been well tried and tested. However, in a well-regulated scheme, there is no reason to limit the proportion of the marks involved. It is particularly important that the principles below are noted. 3. Moderation For any situation in which the mark from peer or self assessment contributes towards the final mark of the module, the member of staff should maintain the right to moderate student-allocated marks. The initial step in alteration of a student-allocated mark may be negotiation with the student(s) concerned. 4. Instances of unfair or inappropriate marking need to be dealt with sensitively Any instances of collusive (‘friendship’) marking need to be dealt with sensitively and firmly. 5. The quality of feedback on student work must be maintained In situations of self and peer assessment, students are usually in a position to learn more than from situations of tutor-marked work. They learn from their engagement in assessing and frequently from oral, in addition to written feedback. However, the tutor should monitor the feedback and, where appropriate, elaborate it to ensure that students receive fair and equal treatment. 6. Assessment procedures should always involve use of well-defined, publicly-available assessment criteria While this is true of all assessment, it is particularly true where relatively inexperienced assessors (students) are involved. The assessment criteria may be developed by the tutor, but greater value is gained from the procedure if students are involved in developing the criteria themselves. 7. Involvement of students in assessment needs careful planning Many students see assessment as a job for staff, but at a later stage they are likely to recognise the benefits to their academic learning and skill development. Initial efforts will take time and tutor support. For these reasons, it is preferable that the use of peer and self assessment is seen as a strategy to improve learning and assessment across a whole programme. The common situation is for these assessment procedures to appear in isolated modules, often not at level 1. 8. Self and peer assessment procedures should be subject to particularly careful monitoring and evaluation from the tutor and students’ point of view It can take time for such procedures to run smoothly and for this reason, the initial involvement of relatively few marks – or solely formative assessment is wise. Student feedback to the tutor on the procedure will be important. 9. The use of peer and self assessment should be recognised as skill development in itself Such procedures are not just another means of assessment but represent the development of self-appraisal/evaluative, analytical, critical and reflective skills. These are important as employability skills and can be recognised in the learning outcomes of a module. References: Dochy,F (2006) Studies in Higher Education. Published by Web of Science(2006) 3.1. Explain the need to keep records of assessment of learning. Record keeping is part of the role and responsibility of the tutor and some often these records are required by law or codes of practice in the institution or industry. But there are boundaries and legislation regarding what can be collected and kept and how it can be used. The Data Protection Act 1998 states that records must be kept securely, be relevant and not excessive, accurate and up to date and not kept for longer than necessary. Students can request a copy of all information held about them under The Freedom of Information Act 2000. All important things to bear in mind. The need for keeping records I like that you are forced to think about why there are these records, not just what they are or how they work. Why are these records being kept, to what end? †¢ Track progress †¢ Prove achievement †¢ Identify issues such as low attendance / learning difficulties †¢ Ensure all sections of course have been completed It could be that a lot of these are required by your institution. But I’m not sure that’s the best answer: â€Å"because I have to†. Take it one step further back and think about why the organisation requires you to keep or submit them. Once you’ve thought about what records you need then it is on to how you collect and categorise that information. The types of records you would maintain A lot of this focuses more on the pastoral side, which I think is nice. Make sure you show a variety of types of records, to show you have thought about the full spectrum: †¢ Attendance and assessment †¢ Everything in between †¢ Tutorials, one to ones, learning reviews / goals / plans 3.2. Summarize requirements for keeping records of assessment in an organisation. Recording and Keeping Assessment Results Most organisations have a process in place for recording the results of assessments, and so does your Registered Training Organisation. It is not uncommon as well for assessors to maintain their own records in case of any follow up or appeals. A generic approach would be: †¢ Assessor either records or passes on the results for recording †¢ Assessor checks that the result has been accurately recorded †¢ Result provided to learner There are several reasons why the results need to be kept: †¢ Feedback to learner †¢ Legislative requirements †¢ Record in case of appeal †¢ Company records for future training needs Recognition of Prior Learning Another reason to maintain a record is for the recognition of prior learning and credit transfer processes. If outcomes can be matched by different training organisations detailed records of exactly how competency is assessed simplify the process. It also means, the competency a learner has acquired in one environment may be considered in another, different environment. With records a learner can apply to have prior learning recognised often before commencing a new training program. While it is necessary to keep a record of the actual result, it can be useful to also keep details on how the assessment was made. Training Records and Confidentiality Generally speaking, the only way an external person is able to access another person’s record is with the written permission of the person involved. |Access to records must be restricted for the sake of confidentiality. | | |Generally, managers and supervisors have limited access to personal files, but consider: | | |Who should have access to assessment records? | | |Why would they need the information? | | |What level of detail do they require? | | Each organisation will have a policy and procedures for access that should comply with ethical and legal obligations. It would be worthwhile checking your store policy and procedures in relation to this area.

My Antonia by Willa Cather

My Antonia by Willa Cather Free Online Research Papers From two different places, from two different worlds, it is amazing how two people with separate pasts can come together and form an enigmatic bond. Willa Cather captured this in My Antonia between its two main characters, Jim and Antonia. Throughout the story, Antonia was a representation of a life very different from Jim’s and as a strong bond with the land shows us Jim’s fascination with Antonia. She is his counterpart. Antonia represents an alternative to Jim’s life as a middle-class American boy. Unlike Jim, she’s able to move away from all the stereotypes and boundaries of her class and gender. â€Å"Antonia is a lot less inhibited than Jim is and listens to her heart more.†(Woodress) In the end, Jim’s decisions are made according to social thumbs up or thumbs downs. He goes through a rebel stage and ignores all of his responsibilities to his own class to hang out with people his family and friends don’t think highly of, but when he figures out that what he’s doing is hurting his grandparents and where they stand socially like honor wise, he stops really fast. He goes back to the whole country women feel of life when he ignores his studies and starts to hang out with Lena in Lincoln. But right after Gaston Cleric, his mentor, gives him a little bit of advice, he forgets about Lena and focuses back onto his studies. After doing things like this over and over, he ends up really far away from Nebraska to the point where he can’t ever be as close again. Back to present tense, the grownup Jim regrets not being able to stop and enjoy all the country girls, the â€Å"Real Women† like Lena and Antonia, and at the same time, be admired for his successful professional life. He wishes he could’ve had both. In the end, he plans out lots of visits from New York to Antonia and her family back in the country. The second thing Antonia represents to Jim is a close tie to the land. As much as he loves the land, Jim is able to give it up for the city whereas Antonia is the happiest there. The differences between Antonia and Jim almost spell out what the Nebraska prairie means to two really specific different types of people. â€Å"Jim has a lot of harmony with the land and loves it a lot, but he never has to work it like Antonia did.† (Bohlke) She has to go through the pains of it more than him, like how when they are both cold and sick during the winter at different times, Jim is protected by his grandmother’s house and Antonia has to wait it out in the cold. He only lives there three years before moving to Black Hawk and he never moves back. Generally, whenever Jim sees the land, he thinks of what we can use it for, as in railroads and buildings. He’s all about progress, and he doesn’t mind when the grasslands are wiped out for railroads. He looks at the land a s an instrument for progress. Antonia on the other hand thinks of the land as a divine entity driven by its own force. At the end Cather portrays Antonia in her orchard touching all of her trees that she planted and took care of like people. Antonia is much more a relative like a sister to the land and Jim is more of a master. When Jim tells Antonia how important she is to him, he is telling her that she is his counterpart. He says, â€Å"The idea of you is a part of my mind; you influence my likes and dislikes, all my tastes, hundreds of times when I don’t realize it. You really are a part of me.† (Cather) Jim and Antonia are never exactly the same; they were always notably different socially and attitude wise. Her difference helped him to define himself and make his own choices. Jim says that he might have liked to have Antonia as something closer like a sweetheart, or a wife, or my mother or my sister (Cather), but he never went after her like that. Willa Cather’s opinion of them comes across as Antonia and Jim being better counterparts than intimates. The last thing he does in reference to this all is him writing â€Å"My† in front of her name. She is his because he took in his image of her so much that its part of him now. That’s why he says The idea of you is a part of my mind. He is saying that it’s the â€Å"Idea† of Antonia that’s a part of him, like his own imagination of her in his head. Antonia is a big part of Jim. The connection in My Antonia is the contradictions between Jim and Antonia that form a bond, ultimately uniting them. Willa Cather is very accepting of Jim and Antonia’s fate. They both represent their respective people, class and native wise. I think she’s trying to get the point across that when you don’t have much in life, money and status wise, you take what life gives you and you make that everything. Research Papers on My Antonia by Willa CatherThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsWhere Wild and West MeetThe Hockey GameCapital Punishment19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraHip-Hop is ArtThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationThe Spring and AutumnComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoPersonal Experience with Teen Pregnancy

Three Basic Principles of Utilitarianism

Three Basic Principles of Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is one of the most important and influential moral theories of modern times. In many respects, it is the outlook of Scottish philosopher  David Hume (1711-1776) and his writings from the mid-18th century. But it received both its name and its clearest statement in the writings of English philosophers Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). Even today Mills essay Utilitarianism, which was published in 1861, remains one of the most widely taught expositions of the doctrine. There are three principles that serve as the basic axioms of utilitarianism. 1. Pleasure or Happiness Is the Only Thing That Truly Has Intrinsic Value. Utilitarianism gets its name from the term utility, which in this context does not mean useful but, rather, means pleasure or happiness.  To say that something has intrinsic value means that it is simply good in itself.  A world in which this thing exists, or is possessed, or is experienced, is better than a world without it (all other things being equal). Intrinsic value contrasts with instrumental value.  Something has instrumental value when it is a means to some end.  For example, a screwdriver has instrumental value to the carpenter; it is not valued for its own sake but for what can be done with it. Now Mill admits that we seem to value some things other than pleasure and happiness for their own sake- we value health, beauty, and knowledge in this way. But he argues that we  never  value anything unless we associate it in some way with pleasure or happiness. Thus, we value beauty because it is pleasurable to behold. We value knowledge because,  usually, it is useful to us in coping with the world, and hence is linked to happiness. We value love and friendship because they are sources of pleasure and happiness. Pleasure and happiness, though, are unique in being valued purely for their own sake. No other reason for valuing them needs to be given. It is better to be happy than sad. This cant really be proved. But everyone thinks this. Mill thinks of happiness as consisting of many and varied pleasures. Thats why he runs the two concepts together. Most utilitarians, though, talk mainly of happiness, and that is what we will do from this point on. 2. Actions Are Right Insofar as They Promote Happiness, Wrong Insofar as They Produce Unhappiness. This principle is controversial. It makes utilitarianism a form of consequentialism since it says that the morality of an action is decided by its consequences. The more happiness is produced among those affected by the action, the better the action is. So, all things being equal, giving presents to a whole gang of children is better than giving a present to just one. Similarly, saving two lives is better than saving one life. That can seem quite sensible. But the principle is controversial because many people would say that what decides the morality of an action is the  motive  behind it. They would say, for instance, that if you give $1,000 to charity because you want to look good to voters in an election, your action is not so deserving of praise as if you gave $50 to charity motivated by compassion, or a sense of duty. 3. Everyones Happiness Counts Equally. This may strike you as a rather obvious moral principle. But when it was put forward by Bentham (in the form, everyone to count for one; no-one for more than one) it was quite radical. Two hundred years ago, it was a commonly held view that some lives, and the happiness they contained, were simply more important and valuable than others.  For example, the lives of masters were more important than slaves; the well-being of a king was more important than that of a peasant. So in Benthams time, this principle of equality was decidedly progressive.  It lay behind calls on the government to pass policies that would benefit all equally, not just the ruling elite. It is also the reason why utilitarianism is very far removed from any kind of egoism. The doctrine does not say that you should strive to maximize your own happiness. Rather, your happiness is just that of one person and carries no special weight. Utilitarians like the Australian philosopher Peter Singer take this idea of treating everyone equally very seriously. Singer argues that we have the same obligation to help needy strangers in far-off places as we have to help those closest to us. Critics think that this makes utilitarianism unrealistic and too demanding. But in Utilitarianism,  Mill attempts to answer this criticism by arguing that the general happiness is best served by each person focusing primarily on themselves and those around them. Benthams commitment to equality was radical in another way, too. Most moral philosophers before him had held that human beings have no particular obligations to animals since animals cant reason or talk, and they lack free will. But in Benthams view, this is irrelevant. What matters is whether an animal is capable of feeling pleasure or pain. He doesnt say that we should treat animals as if they were human. But he does think that the world is a better place if there is more pleasure and less suffering among the animals as well as among us. So we should at least avoid causing animals unnecessary suffering.

Business Innovation - Six Sigma program and Motorola Term Paper

Business Innovation - Six Sigma program and Motorola - Term Paper Example This process saves a great deal of time that is used to improve on design and general quality aspects of products. Introduction Motorola’s history is quite helpful for many businesses especially in the manufacturing sector. Its major contribution to this sector is the Six Sigma initiative in production where focus was shifted from measuring quality in percentages to parts per million. This idea stemmed from the realisation that the advancement in technology cannot stick with the conservative forms of measurement. Six Sigma was introduced to achieve the set quality goals so as to minimise chances of wastage in terms of resources and time. The company since the adoption of this strategy has saved its shareholders billions of dollars in terms of resources and time. The initiative has also enabled it to deliver high quality products to its consumers all over the world. Cell phone sales have shot up tremendously in the last decade and Motorola was well positioned in the 1990s to ca ter for the rising demand. For the initiative to work the company has to ensure that it changes its leadership and invest in rewarding innovation coupled with creating the right metrics. This paper will aim at discussing the circumstances that led to the innovation of Six Sigma in Motorola, how Six Sigma project was implemented at Motorola and the results achieved by the company after implementation. Company overview Motorola is one of the leading companies in the electronic communications business. It deals in designing and manufacturing cellular and cordless phones, broadband products and modems among other products. It ranks as the second largest producer of mobile phones behind Nokia. It has for a long time controlled about 17% of the entire world market in regards to mobile phones but leading in two-way radios (Pande, Neuman & Cavanagh, 2000). It has concentrated a great deal in wireless communication and internet related technology. The company further produces a wide range of products for use in the automotive industry together with computer and navigation. It is also important to appreciate that the company enjoys a bigger market outside the USA at almost 60%. Motorola’s glory can be attributed heavily on its quality products which in 1988 saw it receive Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. This award recognises businesses that act as role models for others in various areas of management and general operations. It is the Six Sigma initiative at Motorola that attracted this admiration. Motorola acted as the first company to incorporate this Six Sigma in its operations back in January 1987 and due to its almost-immediate success, many other companies followed suit. Before this initiative Motorola was experiencing one of the most turbulent times since it was Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in 1928 (Coronado & Jiju 2002). However, since February 2011 Motorola became two separate companies; Motorola Mobile and Motorola Mobility. Motorola and Six Sigma Before Motorola came up with the Six Sigma initiative, it was on its downward trend and it required an intensively innovative approach to the market. The competitive market arena had become too competitive for the company to rely on its traditional management practices and operational methods. The changes towards a fully-fledged Six Sigma project