Monday, January 27, 2020
Principle And Practice Of Assessment Theory
Principle And Practice Of Assessment Theory Within unit three of principles and practice of assessment, we as students were required to research the following areas: Principles of assessment, Peer and Self Assessment, Feedback and Questioning and Assessment Record Requirements. Research was completed on the four topics to help increase understanding and background knowledge of the areas. Further examination of these topics would allow me to think about the way in which I teach my students, be able to incorporate the ideas and illustrate the process of teaching and learning using these methods. During the research, it was intended that we explore the topics given, selecting and analysing material and using it to relate to the specialised area in which we teach. Initially, we worked as a group to research the principles of assessment which we were then to present back to other students as a micro teaching session. Petty (2004, pg 219) suggests that group work is active and gives students †¦chance to use the methods, principles and vocabulary that they are being taught. Assessment is a method which measures the extent and degree of learning which has taken place within or outside of the classroom. Skills, knowledge and attitudes can be measured against a pre determined standard set by the tutor or examining body of a subject module or qualification. Dictionary.com (2009) defines assessment as the act of assessing; appraisal; evaluation. As Petty (2004) suggests, assessment serves many different purposes. It can grade the attainment of learners, help to select candidates for jobs or courses, contribute to evidence the effectiveness of a course content and tutors abilities and provide a long term goal for learners. Assessment also allows opportunity to adjust teaching to ensure all targets or criteria is being met. However, it has been argued that assessment is unreliable and inaccurate and is a poor tool of predicting a students future performance. There are various types of assessment methods; these include initial diagnostic, formative, summative, norm and criterion referencing. Assessment starts at the very beginning of a students academic career. The initial or diagnostic assessment can take on many forms such as an informal chat to an entrance essay or examination. The goal is to attempt to find out as much information as possible about the student. The more information we have on the student, the more we can adapt the learning experience, to suit the learners needs. When working with adults with learning disabilities it is crucial that a tutor tries identify the abilities of a student as soon as possible. This is so we can identify their basic literacy and numeracy and as to whether we will have to place extra staff support into the classroom to ensure an inclusive environment. Often a student and tutor will create an Individual Learning Plan or ILP, which will identify learners needs and support they may require as well as any goals they may have for the future. Initial assessment can also help identify a students learning style. Gravells (2008) believes that †¦a key part of initial assessment is to involve your learners in assessing their own skills and knowledge. Formative assessment is continuous and frequent and is a tool used to inform the student and the tutor of students progress and whether they are meeting the objectives of the course. This form of assessment provides information and feedback upon which decisions and adaptations can be made and provides students with directions for future learning. Research has shown, (Petty, 2004) that this feedback while you learn has more effect on student achievement than any other factor. It gives students an intrinsic motivation to learn rather than extrinsic, therefore doing something or learning something because they want to not because they have been told they have to. Generally the results of formative assessment do not contribute to a students final grade but are purely for the purpose of assisting students to understand their strengths and weaknesses in order to work towards improving their overall performance. A major barrier to the effectiveness of formative assessment is the fact that t he mark generated doesnt usually count towards a students final grade and therefore students can be less motivated to put a great deal of effort into such assessment. Brown and Knight (1999) suggest that if used in an effective manner, formative assessment can help students to be more autonomous in their learning and to reflect on their performances and take responsibility for their academic growth. As a tutor, I tend to rely on formative assessment with my students; the reason for this is to alleviate any stress or nerves for the student. Due to having a student with autism, the idea of a formal summative assessment would upset that student and impact on their final grade. Summative assessment occurs at the end of a course or academic year. It is often achieved by the means of an examination or test which is †¦designed to differentiate between candidates on the basis of the breadth and depth of their learning. (Petty, 2004 pg 466). Summative assessment is also seen as formal testing of what has been learned in order to produce marks or grades which may be used for reports of various types.  Research by the Assessment and Learning Research Synthesis Group has shown that the emphasis of formative assessment can help students to learn and be motivated to learn, whereas the use of summative assessment can have a negative impact on pupils motivation. Within the learning environment, norm and criterion referencing is also used. James (2002) suggests that Best practice in grading in higher education involves striking a balance between criterion-referencing and norm-referencing. A norm referenced test compares students achievements relative to other students achievements. This is often apparent with the General Certificate in Education (GCSE). Criterion referenced test does not compare student with student but requires the student to meet a certain set of criteria or targets to be seen as competent. This can be seen in National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ). Criterion referencing emphasizes the achievements of a student against a predetermined set of standards rather than comparison to another student. Criterion referencing can provide a tutor with the information of exactly what a student has learnt; therefore identify the abilities of that student. With this information, a student can then fill in any gaps of knowledge they may have missed. Whereas norm referencing can only show a tutor how one student has performed against another. When working with students with learning disabilities, I often rely on initial/diagnostic assessment to ensure I can provide the correct support for that student. Using formative assessment can also motivate my students, Most students with learning disabilities respond favorably too seeing their academic progress charted, and this can become†¦a very motivational tool. Bender, 2002, pg 116). Another area that we researched, through individual research and peer micro teach sessions were peer and self assessment. Petty (2008) believes that Self assessment encourages reflection and purposeful activity towards useful goals, as well as encouraging learners to become responsible for their own learning. Kolb (1984) proposed a four stage cycle of learning and within one of those stages was observation and reflection. This stage allows students to take a step back from the task in hand and review what they have done and the experience of it. Which then moves on to the abstract conceptualisation stage and allows students to plan how they might carry out the task differently. Whilst working with students with learning disabilities, I often use peer assessment. Behaviourist theory suggests that giving feedback whether positive or negative, will enable students to behave in a certain way. Skinner (1974) believed that a learner will repeat a desired behaviour if positive reinforcement follows. During a session with my students I often allow them to assess each others work, students are always almost honest and do not hold back their thoughts and feelings. This often motivates students to work harder or continue that particular behaviour due to the fact they get praise and can encourage self correction. On the other hand, when working with mainstream students, they may not always be honest when assessing each others, worrying in case they upset their peer or being bias because they have issues with the student they are assessing. Feedback and questioning can play an important role in assessing our students. There are many reasons why as a tutor we would use questions, but mainly it is to assess our students learning. Questioning allows us to check understanding and whether learning has taken place. It can also encourage participation within a classroom and allows us to draw on students experiences. Effective questioning is an assessment tool in which I use as a tutor of adults with learning disabilities, as many students cannot portray their ideas or thoughts on paper due to their lack of literacy skills. Using probing questions, either open or closed allows differentiation within my classroom and ensures an inclusive environment. Petty (2008) implies that questioning has a crucial advantage when considering student motivation in the classroom. Nothing motivates quite as much as the glow of satisfaction that a student gets when he or she answers a question correctly. (Petty, 2008, pg 183). Giving rewarding fe edback following this will encourage student learning and they have seen they can succeed. Feedback is a way of communicating information back to the student. We must ensure that when giving feedback to a student, it should be done in a positive manner which enhances, rather than damages their self-esteem. Negative feedback will often demotivate the student and make them feel as though they have failed. Internet site Brooks.ac.uk (2009) suggests that There is a school of thought that praise of a students work will lead to under-performance, whereas criticism will spur them on to greater achievements. There seems to be very little evidence that such a strategy is successful in achieving its goals. While there are dangers in becoming too blasà © about ones achievements, negative criticism can be highly de-motivating. However, it is necessary that as a tutor we must point out the shortcomings of a students work to ensure they meet the criteria set, it is the manner in which we do it to ensure progression. We as a teacher should †¦support the student in finding their own way of correcting problems, and should not do all the work for them. (Rogers, 2001). When giving feedback to my own student, it is essential that it is clear and specific and must not focus on too may aspects at the same time as this may confuse or upset the student. We must also ensure that feedback is delivered in a suitable area or environment so not to distress the student. A feedback session should also conclude with the student and tutor agreeing what should be done for the student to succeed. The final area that was to be researched was the types of assessment records that which would be needed to meet organisational and external requirements. It is important that as a tutor we keep records of our learners, both personal and how they are progressing. Initial assessment records are an essential tool as this would inform us of the students background and where the student expects the course to take him or her. Information received by these methods needs to be recorded in a way that the student, tutor, organisation and external bodies can access at any time. External bodies may need access for funding reasons. They can be stored in a portfolio for the student for ease of access by all concerned. An awarding body such as City and Guilds will monitor the teaching of a course and therefore teachers must keep records of what and how they are teaching, as well as formative and summative assessment records. This will allow a process called internal or external verification to take place to ensure quality teaching and learning is taking place. Formative assessment records will also allow teachers to fill in any gaps of knowledge that their students may have. Learning institutions will often be inspected by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted), this is to promote service improvement and ensure an inclusive educational environment for all students. The points which were researched, by group work, individual research and through peer micro teach sessions are areas that tutors need to be aware of and are imperative to successful teaching. As a tutor we need to be tuned in to a variety of issues to ensure that we meet the needs of all learners and organisations.
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Understanding Shakespeare :: essays research papers
Understanding Shakespeare: The Power of Footnotes and Paraphrase Objectives: The students will†¦ 1.     Compare Shakespeare’s language to a moderately familiar foreign language. 2.     Apply the techniques of reading a foreign language to reading Shakespeare. 3.     Translate Shakespeare’s English into modern English by means of class discussion, teamwork and individual study. Methods:      The teacher begins by presenting an identifiable text to the students in a foreign language. The students are to identify this text through the use of prior knowledge and footnotes. The teacher then guides the students to summarize the text in modern English. The teacher connects this exercise to how students should approach Shakespeare’s language. The students then work on a worksheet with a partner where they apply foot notes and careful reading to decipher the Shakespearean Insults handout. The students share their work with the rest of the class. If not all of the quotes were covered during class, the students will translate the quotes at home as homework. Materials:  §Ã‚     Overhead projector  §Ã‚     Transparency sheet of foreign languages  §Ã‚     Overhead pen (optional)  §Ã‚     Copies of Shakespearean Insults handout Outline:      Translation of identifiable text     3 minutes      Lecture comparing foreign text to Shakespeare     4 minutes      Pair translation     2 minutes      Wrap up and summary of material     2 minutes Evaluation:      The teacher will evaluate the students’ comprehension of the lesson through the participation of the students in the class discussion, the quality of student responses to the paired translation exercise, and from the homework of the remaining passages to translate which were not discussed in class. Shakespearean Insults 1.     Make thy sepulcher*,      And creep into it far before thy time.      * Sepulcher: tomb 2.      Polonius: I will most humbly take my leave of you.      Hamlet:     You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will not           More willingly part withal. 3.     What fool hath added water to the sea,      Or brought a faggot* to bright-burning Troy?      * Faggot: a bundle of sticks used for kindling 4.      Do you amend thy face, and I’ll amend my life. 5.     Thou wilt be as valiant as the wrathful dove,      Or most magnanimous mouse.      * Magnanimous: brave, courageous 6.     Her beauty and her brains go not together. 7.     Do not      Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven,      Whiles like a puff’d and reckless libertine*      Thyself the primrose path** of dalliance*** treads.                          * Libertine: an immoral person           ** Primrose path: easy and care-free           *** Dalliance: to waste time, dawdle 8.      Thou wast* not wont** to be so dull.           * Wast: was or were      ** Wont: habit, used to 9.
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Organizational Control
Organizational control is the systematic process through which managers regulate organizational activities to make them consistent with expectations established in plans, targets and standards of performance (Kuratko, 2001). These organizational expectations are a collection of goals and accountabilities represented in the budget, which help establish performance metrics, document actual performances, allow comparison between the estimated and actual performance, and allow for corrective actions (Jones-George-Hill, 2003). Measures of financial performance are those ratios against which actual performance can be meaningfully measured against the expectations of the budget. These measures are objective measures of performance, and a careful analysis of a combination of these ratios may help dis ¬tinguish between firms that will eventually fail and those that will continue to survive, sometimes as early as five years before a firm fails trouble can be detected from the value of these financial ratios (Keating). These performance ratios measure profit, liquidity, leverage and activity and the combination tell a significant story as to the overall health of an organization. Profitability ratios demonstrate the efficiency of the use of resources to generate profits from organizational inputs of materials to value added activities (Jones-George-Hill, 2003). These are Return on investment and Gross Profit Margin. ROI, or â€Å"return on investment,†measures competitive advantage because it allows managers to compare performance against other similar organizations. Although firms will differ on how that calculation is reached internally and what activities are considered profit drivers. For instance, in her 2010 book Open Leadership, Charlene Li argues that a social media campaign goes beyond marketing in that it reduces other costs by not only building affinity but can reduce other costs using Ford Motor Company and Comcast as an example (Li, 2010). Gross Profit Margin is the difference between the amount of revenue generated from the product and the resources used to produce the product. For the current quarter, Apple Computer is projecting an increase in GPM from their expectations of 36% to 37% with further expectation that will increase to 38% next quarter (Barrons, 2011). The iPad generated $4. 4-Billion in revenue last quarter with 80% of the Fortune 100 deploying the computer (Goldman, 2011). With strong business acceptance and revenue performance for a market that didn’t exist a year ago, the GPM associated ith such a product increases far more quickly. Real Networks, on the other hand, has had significant difficulty maintaining its gross profit margin indicating it either cannot control costs or that it has been forced to lower prices (Phillips, 2011). Apple has had no downward price pressure and costs have been kept under control (Hadhazy, 2010). Liquidity ratios measure the overall organizational preparedness to meet the short-term obligations of the organization. The higher the ratio, the greater the organizational ability to cover short-term debts, but a high liquidity ratio also indicates a significant proportion of assets are being used in non-productive ways (Yahoo Finance). Two common liquidity measures are the current ratio and the quick ratio. The current ratio is the difference between current assets and current liabilities and it speaks to the question of whether there are enough assets to pay claims on short-term debts without selling inventory. The ratio expression indicates how much money is available versus how much short term debt is outstanding. A ratio of 2:1 indicates $2 in assets for every $1 in debt. The Motley Fool dissects Real Networks stock performance while determining whether or not to sell the stock. One positive sign for the company is a high current ratio – 3. 13 (Phillips, 2011). However, while the company has â€Å"miniscule†debt, the company’s equity has been shrinking over the past 5-years, so a question to ask is do they have too high a current ratio, bearing in mind that represents non-productive assets? There are enough assets to pay short-term claims, but the stock performance lags the S&P by almost 2/3 – raising the question in my mind if they have too much non-performing assets on hand which need to be reevaluated. The quick ratio answers the question of whether an organization can pay claims without selling inventory. Inventory is not necessarily worth the amount represented on the books, and removing it from this calculation gives a better view of whether or not an organization has liquid assets available. If a company has too much of its liquidity tied up in inventory, it will be dependent on selling that inventory to finance its operations and will have a low quick ratio (Motley Fool). Leverage ratios measure the use of debt or equity to finance operations, with the use of debt becoming problematic if profits cannot cover the interest on the debt (Jones-George-Hill, 2003). Two common such ratios are debt-to-assets ratio and times-covered ratio. Debt to assets shows to what extent the organization is financed with debt, with a lower number being more favorable. With a low number, an organization and its investors can be more confident a company can weather difficult times. Real Networks, as discussed earlier, has a debt to equity ratio close to zero, largely because there is close to no debt – this is a company which can weather some difficult times, however while the debt remains low, the equity is decreasing as well signaling there may be some continuing difficult times (Phillips, 2011). The times-covered ratio measures the extent to which a company's can meet its current debt obligations with available net income. If the times-covered ratio declines to less than 1, then the company is unable to meet its interest costs and is technically insolvent (Jones-George-Hill, 2003). Activity ratios are a measure of an organizations utilization of resources to create value. For a company to be profitable, it must be able to manage its inventory, because it is money invested that does not earn a return. So, inventory turnover measures how well a company is moving its inventory so the assets are not carried as non-performing assets and days sales outstanding measures how quickly that inventory is converted to payment on what it owed. I worked for a small printing company which was dependent on its ability to collect on outstanding projects – age of account was an important measure of the company’s health and much effort was placed on collecting. Inventory was not an option as each job was unique to the client and was good only for that client. These measures help direct the activities of the organization and help set the goals of the organization. The indicate the health of the company, by measuring the management effectiveness in meeting the organizational goals.
Friday, January 3, 2020
Before You Buy an Inventors Log Book
An inventors log book is used to record the progress of your inventing. You should start using one the moment you think of an idea for an invention. However, your log book must be of a certain type. You can buy a specially printed inventors log book. You can also buy a generic bound notebook. The most important thing is that the pages of the notebook cannot be added or subtracted without that being evident. Before Buying Specially Printed Log Books Look for sequentially pre-printed numbered pages, fade-away backgrounds, spaces for you and a witness to sign date, and instructions on how to use the journal. Look for pages with blue-lined grids for easy drawing. Some log books have special copy features; copy drawings on a light copier setting and the grid pattern fades away for preparing patent application drawings, or copy the drawings on a dark setting and the words, Do Not Reproduce appears for confidence usage. Inventors NotebooksScientific Journal Generic Bound Notebooks Never buy a loose leaf notebook. Never buy 3-ring binders to use as a log book. Never buy a legal pad or any glued together notebook. Buy a notebook with pages as secure as possible - a bound or sewn notebook. Mead brand composition books are perfect. Buy only notebooks with white pages - the lines can be colored blue or black. Mead Composition Notebooks Generic Ledger Books These common and inexpensive ledger books can also be used as a log book. The same considerations given to bound notebooks will apply - bound books only. Remember you have to buy a separate log book for each different idea, so inexpensive is sometimes the way to go. Staples Office Supplies ledger book
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