Thursday, August 15, 2019
Inclusive Learning Essay
We cannot assume that just because a teacher teaches, a learner learns. The process is far more complex than one of received input and intended outcome. This is because teachers, when engaging with learners, are not involved in programming machines; the learning process involves humans who are diverse in their needs, development, attitudes, values and beliefs.à (Oââ¬â¢Brien & Guiney, 2001, p. 2) Whilst studying inclusion for this assignment, I have learned much about the ways in which children learn. Yandell (2011) argues a similar point to Oââ¬â¢Brien and Guiney (2001), which is that for pupils to learn, the learning needs to be more than a teacher giving mountains of information. Both in researching and in teaching a scheme of inclusive lessons, I have learned that teaching needs to be differentiated for the variety of children in each class. In my own experience, having taught a class consisting of thirty pupils, two of whom are hearing impaired children and seventeen pupils for whom English is an addition language, ââ¬Å"reasonable adjustmentsâ⬠(Rieser, 2002, p. 259) made to make the curriculum accessible for one pupil can be greatly beneficial for others in the class also. Anything the teacher does in the classroom whilst focussing on one group will impact on the others. It is these reasonable adjustments which form the basis of inclusive learning, as the need s of each pupil will vary depending on anything from preferred learning styles to whether the child has a profound barrier to learning. Reddy (2004) writes about the needs of pupils with hearing impairments, and relates these to Maslowââ¬â¢s Hierarchy of Needs. He also provides some teaching strategies to ensure these needs are met in order to allow a hearing impaired pupil to inclusively take part in the lesson. The lowest sections on the hierarchy are the physiological needs and the safety needs (Maslow, 1970, p. 22). In terms of planning inclusively for hearing impaired pupils, the reasonable adjustments should be to ensure the safety and physiological needs of all pupils are met. This influenced the lessons I have taught, as I have been sure to include a variety of visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and tactile learning episodes. When straining hearing and lip reading for a long period of time in discussion, the eyes and ears can become sore and in needà of rest. It is important therefore, that I provide pupils with a list of key objectives and a plan prior to the lesson so that they are able to know exactly whe n it is necessary to listen hard and to ensure they are lip reading. The variety of tasks also allows for rest breaks for the senses which have been used earlier in the lesson, so that pupils do not experience pain and become frustrated and irritable. To help support this physiological need for comfort, I also ensure that background noise is at a minimum during learning segments when concentration is necessary, as without this it can be painful for a student wearing a hearing aid (Reddy, 2004, p. 178). Butt too, agrees that learning is a more social experience than a teacher transmitting knowledge to students. He states that ââ¬Å"simply listening to the teacher will rarely constitute effective learning for most students. The teacher has to plan and prepare for all the students in the class ââ¬â an act of differentiationâ⬠(Butt, 2006, p. 39). He continues, [as a teacher,] ââ¬Å"your aim should be to keep all students engaged and interested in the learning that you are planningâ⬠(Butt, p. 40). He also discusses the reasons why this is difficult; there are an infinite amount of learning styles and educational demands in any one group of children. By changing the task and keeping a quick paced classroom for the hearing impaired pupils, each of their classmates are experiencing a variety of learning styles also. This is beneficial for keeping all my pupils engaged and interested in the learning. Likewise, in order for pupils to concentrate, silence can be beneficial more many more pupils than those who are hearing impaired for their physiological needs to be met. Also, providing all pupils with the same plan and key objectives prior to the lesson not only allows for the hearing impaired pupils to feel as though they are being given the same instruction as their classmates, but also provides all pupils with a prior knowledge of what is most important to listen explicitly to and to makes notes on, meaning more effective learning can take place. Therefore, I have come to understand this differentiation strategy as simply being best practice for all learners in an inclusive classroom. A number of researchers have argued that explicitly teaching the big ideas of a discipline is crucial for students with disabilities. Motivation is ensured when we continuously return to a small number of known big ideas (Gore, 2010, 76). If pupils are given a lesson plan and a very short amount of key objectives, they can see that theirà learning is contributing practically towards something. ââ¬Å"Motivation is an essential factor for learning to take place; it is considered to be the driving force behind learningâ⬠(Reddy, p. 178). Aware of pupilsââ¬â¢ history Establish good relationships and trustEstablishing Lessons contain explicit valuemotivation Listen to all pupils patiently Accept all feelings, frustrations and fears (Reddy, p. 178) In terms of Maslowââ¬â¢s hierarchy, in order for pupils to feel comfortable they must feel some element of success in order to be motivated. Often, hearing impaired pupils show signs of difficulties throughout their academic career and this may become a reason for de-motivation. There are a huge number of inclusion strategies which can aid motivation, and thus maintain an inclusive classroom. OFSTED regularly report a lack of differentiation, appropriate challenge, insufficient motivation and poor pacing (Butt, p. 41). In a recent report, OFSTED wrote about motivation being the; ââ¬Å"inspiring of young people, building their self-esteem and helping them to progressâ⬠(Ofsted, 7th Nov 2011). Learned helplessness is what Seligman (1975) calls low achievement motivation. In general, adolescents with learning difficulties demonstrate lower achievement motivation towards school work, except for in areas where they experience success. After repeated failures students quickly learn that they cannot succeed in school and become de-motivated and frustrated (Gore, p. 21). Frustration is reduced when students understand what they are supposed to do. Inclusive teachers communicate to pupils exactly what is expected to be learned. By providing both written and oral instruction sequencing is facilitated (Gore, p. 30). As all children have the right to learn, it is inclusive practice to ensure that all pupils know exactly what the instruction is. In my classroom, it is imperative that I repeat instructions as with seventeen students for whom English is an additional language and two hearing impaired pupils, there is a good chance that instruction can be misheard or misunderstood. Paiv ioââ¬â¢s dual coding theory (1990) refers to teaching visually and auditory at the same time. It posits that the more neural paths that a memory involves, theà more likely it is to be accessed at a later date (Gore, p. 25). With my class, I have found that providing both oral and written instruction reduces frustration and increases motivation. The instructions given must follow three rules; ââ¬Å"explicitness, structure and repetitionâ⬠(Gore, p. 23). Even classroom rules can be displayed obviously in the classroom and referred to whenever they are broken by bad behaviour. Research has been done to show that students with learning difficulties are more likely to notice salient information than the critical information that teachers direct them to observe, as they have difficulty discriminating between the critical and the irrelevant (Gore, p 15). By reading and hearing a small number of bullet pointed instructions, confusion is eliminated and attention is captured, ensuring all pupils can understand exactly what is necessary for a task to be undertaken correctly. These instructions are given orally, shown on the interactive whiteboard and a copy given on work sheets to provide ample repetition. This allows for a much bigger chance of success and thus motivation for all pupils. Another way to ensure inclusion is the way in which you use room layout. In the class I picked for this assignment, I have chosen to seat both the hearing impaired students at the front of the class next to each other. This way I can oversee the work they are doing without causing embarrassment, and I can subtly ensure they are completing the correct task. I can also make sure that when I have finished explaining, they are the first pupils I go to when circulating the room. On either side of them I have picked a student from their friendship group who copes well with work. I think this works well, as when working in pairs, the hearing impaired pupils are less uncomfortable when talking either to each other or to their friends than they would be someone who they were nervous or shy about their impairment around. I can then have these pairs of friends be reading partners, whereby fluent readers help the other pupils who are less advanced in their reading skills (Fleming, 2000, p. 59). Pupils with hearing impairment often struggle with grammar and cohesion in writing; they ââ¬Å"exhibit linguistic difficultiesâ⬠(Reddy, p. 165). In order to combat this, schemes need to be planned with modifications not only to what we teach, but how we teach it in order to make the curriculum accessible for all the pupils in the class, for example as suggested by Purdie (2000), by teaching phonics (Clough, 2002, p. 165). Although planning has to be done primarilyà on the class level, consideration of the need for differentiation in the case of particular individuals is suitable. Getting to know your students as individuals is therefore an important first step (Butt, p. 45). As writing can be a very solitary experience, this may not be the preferred learning style of the class. Writing needs to be scaffolded when this is the case, as it is for my class. When writing creatively, for example in the lesson where my students write a diary entry on a gas attack, we first looked at real gas masks, followed by real gas attack posters, and then created sentence starters together on the board. This scaffolded the writing process by providing opportunities for the auditory, kinaesthetic and tactile learners to learn at their fullest potential also. Reading makes up a large part of the national curriculum, and is something which the hearing impaired pupil can be given opportunities to succeed with. ââ¬Å"Modelling and imitation are important learning processesâ⬠(Reddy, p. 167) and this is something which I carry out daily in the classroom, particularly when reading a text. I will model the most important sections of each chapter and invite other readers to read aloud other more descriptive sections. Although not always available, I would also aim to use a loop system which would enable pupils to hear the other, perhaps quieter pupils reading, more effectively. This ensures that I am able to assess how pupils can read aloud whilst allowing those who struggle hearing to understand the text thoroughly. However, in my class, for hearing impaired pupils and those for whom English is an additional language, reading aloud can be feared greatly. In order to provide inclusion for these pupils, it is possible for them to have prepared passages beforehand (Fleming, p. 59) by allocating sections to be read aloud the following week or lesson. For one of my hearing impaired pupils and for a couple of EAL pupils I selected, this worked extremely well, as the child was prepared for reading aloud and could practice the section in advance knowing that they would have to read aloud. I chose to not ask the other hearing impaired pupil to read out in front of her classmates, as her impairment is mor e profound and if affects her speech. She is very withdrawn and shy around most people in the class and I thought that it would be unwise to ask her and risk her embarrassment and further de-motivation. Instead, she is seated next to a friend for peer tutoring. This term refers to reciprocal tutoring of students with similar achievement which isà relevant here; the pupil does not struggle with reading alone as shown in comprehension tasks, but with reading aloud. Peer tutoring can increase pupilsââ¬â¢ motivation and persistence because of the adolescentsââ¬â¢ social drive (Gore, p. 64-65). It is for these reasons that peer tutoring not only benefits the pupil with a barrier to learning, but the ââ¬Ëtutorââ¬â¢ in the pair also. I have therefore arranged the seating plan for all pupils to be seated next to someone with a similar ability, so that all pupils can benefit from peer tutoring. As learners handle content differently, they should be given opportunities to be more active than passive; understanding, processing, applying, storing and passing on information in peer tutoring is a good way to ensure all pupils have consolidated learning (Butt, p. 39). Becoming an inclusive teacher is particularly difficult when a trainee, as it is imperative that you know your pupils. Inclusion can be as simple as having a pupilââ¬â¢s favourite cartoon character appear on a presentation to increase interest and motivation, or needing to know their exact reading and writing ages or ability, so as not to de-motivate them with work which is impossible for them to complete. A competent and inclusive teacher will say, ââ¬Å"this may be toughâ⬠instead of ââ¬Å"this will be easyâ⬠to give room for students to feel inflated when they are successful (Reddy, 169). Once the teacher knows their pupils, work can be differentiated so that each and every one of the class has the opportunity to reach their fullest potential. This could be in the form of preferred learning style, tailored resources, lots of formative assessment, higher/lower order questions, use of a teaching assistant and various other teaching strategies. It is important to remember when planning a scheme, that pupils may struggle and become de-motivated with one aspect of learning and thrive in another, and so therefore it is necessary that the teacher is a learner also. The most important lesson I have learned during my time with this class, is that successful inclusion strategies are not only for those pupils who you think may need it the most, but are beneficial for all pupils in the classroom. My idea of inclusive learning has altered hugely whilst researching for this assignment, as has my idea of what the role of a teacher is. The teacherââ¬â¢s main role is to ensure that all pupils learn, and that is simply impossible without inclusive teaching strategies being employed.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Business Economics for De-Unionization
In the entire Article, the author discusses about the increasing disparity between the upper- and lower-half of the society. The major narrator of the piece is Robert Reich who is primary illustrating the Americaââ¬â¢s social classes. The metaphor is utilized in explicating how the economy of America is fluctuating for the rich and poor. It is alluded to a boat that everyone is in whereby 1 is rapidly sinking 2 nd one sinking more gradually while the 3 rd steadily rising. The three social classes are referred to here including lower-, middle- and upper-class. The lower-class keeps going poorer due to job loss, increase automation alongside petition from other economies which are enthusiastic to work for less money. The middle-class is somewhat staying unchanged but remain still diminishing economically. This is due to machinery that is substituting employees, lower wages due to the surged social security drawn by the government from the retirees, alongside the stiff petition from immigrant searching for jobs. The upper-class does well and ascending past everyone else since they are the people who are thinking regarding selling their notions to overseas nations who could never think of them independently. The topic is anchored on the Robert Reich as both eye opener and simultaneously a cautionary for the society about the unemployment which the society shall be facing and is presently facing as a result of the lack of education and technology. It precisely enunciates that routine producersââ¬â¢ jobs and in-person servers have extinguished wholly as the contemporary techniques have substituted them. Reich posited that strictly individuals whose jobs remain on the upsurge are symbol analysts. The symbol analysts remain the actual problem solvers. The symbol analystsââ¬â¢ skills remain extremely in the demand globally since they are the people who initially examine the problem and subsequently solve the problem (Reich 15). The same unemployment problem alongside the global recession that has left workers focusing on workers not solely with skills of specialist but further a vaster array of knowledge and skills. The report remains a clear reflection of what is required by the modern day employers, but the question remains whether it is universities or learners individually that fail to cope with the needs of modern world that is marred with advancement in technology alongside critical thinking. The modern day generation alongside reasons for huge drop in employment are truly missing something critical. The opposition holds that the job losses in America is caused not by the immigrants into America but due to technological development and globalization. The opposition acknowledges that the main challenge is the employment crisis that the millennials shall be facing as a result of educational challenges, either in schools or in learners, and the similar period the ascending symbol analysts demand (Spangler 472). This is an eye-openers for millennials since the opposition has precisely illustrated all the challenges facing millennials and shall be facing in the ing years about employment. The main strength in my opponent claim is that it is true that globalization and technological advancement have greatly led to a laying off of many workers. On the other hand, the opponent fails to appreciate that as technology is advancing, many jobs are destroyed and through innovation, many new jobs are created and many firms upskill their old employees rather than retrenching which would indeed retain workers and even employ new ones. The Robert Reich Article remains wholly true. There is a widening gap between the rich and the poor. This disparity/gap is increasing blooming visibly as months turn to years. The rich are increasingly b ing richer since they are the people taking over the lower-class jobs and doing whatever they wish with them. Often, the upper-class fire all the employees and place in automatic machinery since it is increasingly effective and cost really less. The upper-class have further put a surge on immigrants over the previous ten years and it is still ascending today. The immigrants e to America and require jobs to support both families and themselves. This is the reason there is increasing jobs less in the US. If the American economy keeps up with this declining trend, there will people trapped in absolute poverty and those who are filthy rich. Accordingly many of the rich individuals shall refute to assist the poor, even where they are increasingly capable of helping the poor. à à à Based on my claim, the millennialsââ¬â¢ future is analyzed with respect to unemployment problems the millennials will face as a result of globalization. The advancement in technology and entire world ââ¬Å"going globalâ⬠remains significant.à Unlike my claim, that I hold also contributes to the American job losses, I see sense in the opponent claim that attributes the job loss to the shift of jobs from the developed to developing economies established by the huge recession in the developed-economies to have triggered by the advancement in technology and globalization. à It is true that both claims remain cognizant that the main challenge is the unemployment. Whereas I attributed the lack of employment among the Americans to the petition arising from the immigrants who seek the same jobs to support themselves and families, I am in agreement with my opponentââ¬â¢s claim that globalization and advancement in technology have also played a significant role (Stiglitz 133). It is true that advancement in technology has made workers stay in touch with the entire globe with the assistance of certain optical wires alongside satellites and hence began hiring employees who were willing and ready to work for the lower salaries. In the same manner, introduction of novel labor-saving machineries like ATMs and robotized vending accounts for job losses. Both opposing claims have a sense in arguments and hence there is a mon ground. Both technological advancement and globalization have indeed led to job loses while at the same time Americans have lost jobs due to influx of immigrants. Reich, Robert B. "Why the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer." The way class works: Readings on school, family, and the economy (2008): 13-24. Spangler, Eve. "When Good Jobs Go Bad: Globalization, De-Unionization, and Declining Job Quality in the North American Auto Industry." (2017): 471-473. Stiglitz, Joseph E. "The overselling of globalization." Business Economics 52.3 (2017): 129-137.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
The importance of information to organisations Essay
The importance of information to organisations - Essay Example e package designed to engage and entertain its customers such as the the Starbucks Entertainment division which is engaged in promoting and marketing of popular books, music and films. Itââ¬â¢s outlets spread worldwide are equally popular in local as well as international markets. Owing to the ongoing environmental crisis and the heightened awareness of global warming, the company contributes its share by adopting environmental friendly measures. Starbucks was ranked at #17 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as one of the Top 25 Green Power Partners for the purchase of renewable energy2. The company strives to establish itself as a market leader by promoting business practices which would assist them in engendering social, environmental and economic assistance for communities where they operate. It centers its efforts in offering excellent work environment for its employees, making positive contribution to its communities, establishing long term and cordial working relations with the coffee farmers and taking stringent measures in reducing their environmental footprints4. Starbucks Entertainment comprises of a selection of finest quality music, books and films aimed at offering maximum ease and satisfaction to its customers and has several strategic alliances with some of the major players in the entertainment industry and has teamed with Apple iTunes which offers exclusive soundtracks which can be downloaded from the site. Strategic decisions involve the choice of alternatives which has the potential of having a significant impact on the companyââ¬â¢s success in the long term. Tactical decisions on the other hand involve decision making in the day to day process that are required to reach the ultimate strategic goals of the organization. Operational decisions involve decision making in the routine decisions that affect the functioning of the organization such as planning, production sales, staffing, adjusting production rates, as well as controlling the
Monday, August 12, 2019
Oil and us foreign policy in middle East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Oil and us foreign policy in middle East - Essay Example Significance of Study The Middle East is one of the most strategic places that have attracted many nations from most parts of the world with regard to both commercial and political interest. Middle east is actually at the centre of world attention and always captured on the global news bulletin all around the world for both political social and economic reasons. This shows that Middle East is a key partner in the global economy. Its role in the global commercial and political ties cannot be undermined. Oil and petroleum are key element in the economies of all the nations of the world and changes in economic trends for various nations are often linked with changes in the oil prices in the world market. The major reason is that petroleum products are a major source of energy for both household and firms in all parts of the world. Cars, motor vehicles, airplanes and many machines rely heavily on fossil fuel as a source of their power. Thus, the demand for petroleum products is almost co nstant and increases steadily as global demand rises. The United States is then submerged in crude oil. Up from 2008 to 2013, domestic oil production in United States went up by 2.4 million barrels in a day this was the biggest in the countryââ¬â¢s history. ... q or Saudi Arabia still have a big impact.à That is one conclusion of a major new report by a commission ofà former generals and senior officials, backed by Securing America's Energy Future (SAFE). Wallander Celeste in his article explains that many experts who have worked for the U.S. government believe that there has been careless talk in the recent days that America can now ignore Middle East1. These middle east nations have come together to consolidate their power by forming the Organization of petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which provides the oil producing nations a strong bargaining power to negotiate for the best deal in their commercialization and sale of crude oil. OPEC sets the production quotas and support in the provision of earning levels and standards for producing nations. This goes a long way to determine the prices of petroleum products. It is worthy to note that after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the bipolar global ideological war ended and th e United States and the Capitalist West emerged as the global leaders1. Currently, the United States leads the global economic order. Due to this, the United States plays a vital role in putting in place measures to ensure that OPEC and other nations are meeting all necessary requirements to ensure a reasonable and stable price for crude oil. Since the United States plays a fundamental leadership role in dealing with OPEC countries the volatility of Middle Eastern nations causes major fluctuations in oil prices, there is the need to understand the foreign policy of the US in the Middle East. The essence of this study is to identify the main ways the United States keeps oil prices stable to maintain stable oil prices. This will provide significant information and guidance on the core indicators
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Chapter summaries 1 page each chapter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Chapter summaries 1 page each chapter - Essay Example by scholars, it has not be written for scholars.1 The chapter seeks to inform a wider audience on how to go about interpreting the Old Testament and this chapter is especially set for students, pastors, and the general public regardless of their level of education. A correct understanding of any written or spoken information depends on the context. If such statements are taken out of the context, this deprives the information its true meaning, and leads to misinformation.2 The meaning of the passages depends on the context of the message and the paragraph. The meaning of such a passage would thus depend on the grammatical form of the word, and the role of the word or phrase in relation to the sentence. This is what amounts to an immediate context. The scripture is best understood by considering the literary form, which is a middle level context. In addition is the distant context that is also referred to as the theological context. The latter requires consideration of the canon of the scripture to understand. There is a need to consider the genre as a critical step in interpretation. The literary form of the Old Testament has been ignored by many, and this has led to lack of a holistic understanding of the context among the general audience. The bible in both the new and the Old Testament use different forms of communication, which include stories, music and homiletics. These forms of communication have to be analyzed according to their own genre. Owing to the overreliance of story forms in writing the Bible, the narrative becomes the ideal essence in Bible revelation, and this makes narratives to be the essential part for all bible interpreters.3 The literary forms becomes essential in understanding the Bible, as the Bible is entirely written in literary form. Therefore, the correct interpretation of narratives would largely depends on the appreciation of the plot as it entirely describe the beginning, the middle and the end of both the single and complex
Saturday, August 10, 2019
You can choose the topic you want Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
You can choose the topic you want - Essay Example VanderLans and Licko provided a stage in which artful typographic configurations could be explored to their greatest effect (Chwast, 235) while amateurs have introduced both a splash of new excitement and creativity as well as a cause for concern for the future expectations of quality. With the help of computers, fonts have introduced to the population at large and have allowed individuals to explore letterforms to the fullest extent of legibility. The introduction of graphics specific software like Adobe Photoshop symbolized a breakthrough in graphic design freedom and paved the way for ever more sophisticated programs such as 3DS Max and Macromedia Flash. With these tools, designers are now able to create nearly realistic 3D worlds within the confines of the computer. The degree of realism afforded through such features as lighting, shading and texturing has also sparked new areas of graphic design growth, specifically in the areas of animation and game design. With the advent of the computer, the world was introduced to an awesome new toy that could come up with all kinds of new tricks. One of these new tricks was an ever-increasing ability to digitally produce artwork that could then be manipulated to any degree and reproduced in precise detail any number of times. It was easily manipulated to fit all types of sizes and formats, instantly accessible from numerous sources and quickly printed in a variety of media at once. These attributes meant digital illustration became the wave of the future for graphic design as well as many other forms of art media. It was the perfect solution to advertising needs and the ultimate expression of precise control. As software became more advanced and more user friendly, a greater number of individuals with an idea of an image found it possible to create their own ââ¬Ëartworkââ¬â¢ simply by following the step-by-step instructions of tutorials or copying and pasting elements of other peopleââ¬â¢s artwork into their own
Friday, August 9, 2019
Loyalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Loyalty - Essay Example Marketing has become one of the most important disciplines in business administration. The level of success an organization achieves depends on its ability to satisfy the needs of the customers by providing products and service they seek at reasonable prices that add value. A strategy that many multinational corporations have pursued for many create a brand image that will help companies achieve customer loyalty. Customer loyalty can be defined as a deeply held commitment to re-buy or repatronize a preferred product or service in the future despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behavior (Kotler, 2002, p.294). This paper examines the concept of loyalty in order to evaluate the statement there is no such thing as customer loyalty anymore. Customer loyalty is key business strategy utilized to increase the levels of customer retention within a firm. A high customer retention rate adds value to a company because these customers represent future stream of revenues that the company can achieve with minimal marketing investment. There is a basic marketing rule that states that 80% of a companyââ¬â¢s sales come from 20% of their customers (About, 2009). This implies that building a solid foundation of customer is extremely important for the long term success of a company. The stronger the sense of loyalty a customer feels towards the product of a company, the less likely this individual will purchase the goods or services from a competitor. A marketing quantitative analysis performed by Hughes (2009) of Fast Lube Corporation revealed that the longer a customer is retained the more the person spends annually with the company. One of the basis reasons marketing exist is to help a firm increase its sales totals. The sales of a company increase if the company is able to growth its customer base or if the
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