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Adult Learner Assessment

Adult Learner Assessment Theresa Ann Hayden, M. A. , Ed. S. Classroom Assessment in Education Dr. Kelli Ligeikis Capella University June 15, 2011 Adult Learner Assessment Classroom assessment is critical to the measurement of student achievement. As stated in Angelo and Cross, (1993): Classroom assessment helps individual college teachers obtain useful feedback on what, how much, and how well their students are learning†¦ [the purpose] is to produce the highest possible quality of student learning†¦to help student learn more effectively and efficiently than they could on their own (p. ). Student learning is the overall goal of education; the student may be a child, an adult, an informal learner, or a formal learner; regardless of which type of learner he or she is, the goal is to learn new concepts, topics, and subjects. The mastery of that subject matter is the charge of both the teacher and the student. In identifying three concepts pertinent to classroom assessments for adult learners, â€Å"assessment procedures can be used for measuring entry performance (placement assessment), monitoring learning progress (formative and diagnostic assessment), or measuring end-of-instruction achievement (summative assessment)† (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009, p. 14). This translates to the classroom as pre-test, or preview (to writing skills, for example); on-the-spot identification of â€Å"opportunities for improvement,† feedback and post-testing, whether it’s verbal, written, or another assessment. Classroom assessment is typically, one of the last steps performed in the education of adult learners. However, assessment of a student’s abilities before, during, and after teaching can also be performed. First, the teacher plans and prepares instructional objectives which are in line with the learning institution, state, and local objectives. These objectives must also be: Guided by what the students are expected to learn†¦ [while] the instructional objectives are also in harmony with the assessment produced†¦ [these] should also be stated in terms of the student performance to be demonstrated†¦ [and] those observable skills such as speaking, or a product such as a written paper†¦and typically a rubric, scale, or a checklist of some type is used (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009, pp. 43 – 44). Teacher Effectiveness According to â€Å"Effective Classroom Instruction† (2004): Effective classroom instruction refers to the application of the ‘teacher effectiveness’ variables, that is, those variables that have been demonstrated to bear the strongest relation to student achievement. These variables include time on task, content coverage, pacing, scope and sequence, questioning, feedback, and praise. Systematic application of these elements has been demonstrated to increase academic achievement. Behavioral outcomes are the initial objectives in place before any of the instruction takes place. In addition, the characteristics of classroom assessment include that it is â€Å"learner-centered, teacher-directed, mutually beneficial, formative, context-specific, ongoing, and rooted in good-teaching practice† (Angelo and Cross, 1993, pp. 4 – 6). In layperson’s language, the typical activities of a teacher and where they fit into the characteristics of student-achievement learning include: Teachers will use various techniques and tools to facilitate the learning of the students which is learner-centered. The teacher will impart knowledge and the student will obtain knowledge is teacher directed. The opportunity for both teachers and adult students to meet in an environment conducive to learning with a common goal of ‘knowledge’; the teacher to impart knowledge and the student to obtain knowledge is mutually beneficial. Using internal and external feedback to modify lessons is formative and ongoing. The assessment on the part of the teacher comes from goal-setting at the beginning of the quarter, semester, etc. ith regard to the quantity and quality of concept and skill knowledge required for the students to learn is context-specific. Teachers will use various techniques and tools (altering these to the ‘microculture’ of the classroom) to facilitate the learning of the students is rooted in good-teaching practice (Angelo and Cross, 1993, pp. 4 – 6). While it may seem obvious, teacher effectiveness is tantamount to meeting and exceeding planning, execut ing, and analyzing for improvement instructional objectives, assessment instruments, and measuring performance objectives. When the adult student finds that all of this is relevant to his or her personal and academic objectives, and there are instructional objectives which are interconnected to the personal and academic goals of the student, then there is student achievement and teacher effectiveness. This is illustrated where a diagnosis of sorts occurs by the teacher—this may be a pre-assessment; then the teaching begins; then the teacher may assess the situation by obtaining results from the assessment tool; and whatever adjustments or modifications are needed are determined and then put into place; and they the teacher assesses the learning again. See Appendix, p. 1). This is the visual flow of a teacher’s â€Å"work-in-progress† of diagnosing, teaching, and assessing results, and then modifying teaching, and then teaching, assessing, and modifying, and so on. Type and Purpose of the Assessment The type of assessment to be used is a multiple-choice question, true-false question, and short-essay exam. The purpose of the exam will be to determine whether the students have mastered the concepts of ethical theories; this will aid them in making quick decisions in a work environment or in an ethical dilemma. Context and Learning Situation The class being taught is Ethics which has several different ethical theories available through the textbook Ethics: Theory and Practice textbook. The applications of the different ethical theories and their tenets are applied to different relevant scenarios. The students will participate in class discussion and give their opinions freely in an open-environment. The goal here is to keep the students’ interest in the subject of ethics, as a whole, by using different circumstances, where the student might have to make split-second ethical decisions in the work environment. This shows the adult learner applicability and immediate relevance. Student Demographics The student demographics include the educational program of Criminal Justice with the adult students and are the following: 1. Ranging in age from 18 to 50 years and beyond. 2. The gender of the group is 55% male and 45% female 3. Currently pursuing an undergraduate degree; an Associate’s of Science degree in Criminal Justice. 4. The academic attainment before entering college of all students includes either a G. E. D. certificate or a high school diploma. 5. Some students have completed prior college coursework; some have other associate’s degrees. . The adult students in this assessment are European-American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, African-American, and Mixed Ethnicities. 7. The students come from Lower Class, Working Class, and Lower Class backgrounds. Hypothetical Learner Subject Taught The subject being taught in this scenario is Ethics, and the students are expected to develop sound ethical reasoning and judgment through the study of practical applications of ethical theories. Topics studied include ethics as it relates to criminal justice, health care and nursing, society, and the environment. Emphasis is on practical applications of ethical principles and analytic methods. In particular, the students are exposed to different scenarios involving reason and judgment in the context of the degree-seeking program. Learner Outcomes The adult learners are expected to learn the following at the completion of the Ethics class: 1. Apply the Consequentialist (Teleological) ethical theories to different scenarios presented as if a proponent of consequentialism. 2. Apply the Nonconsequentialist (Deontological) ethical theories to different scenarios presented as if a proponent of nonconsequentialism. . Discuss the origins of Virtue Ethics, and explain which cultures might be more predisposed to use this type of ethics due to its origin. 4. Solve ethical problems using Absolutism and Relativism 5. Describe and explain the difference between Determinism and Free Will 6. Perform critical thinking in ethical dilemmas using both Reward and Punishment. Adult Learner Assessment Instruments A ny type of assessment should always be congruent with the instructional objectives, as well as the content taught to those instructional objectives (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009). To assess students properly, the students must be made aware of the instructional objectives, first, at the beginning of the term, while covering the material in the syllabus, and then throughout the term, at the opening of each class meeting. This way, the students are kept â€Å"on track† as to what is expected of them to learn, and the daily instructional objectives are in alignment with the overall learning objectives. College and university policies should come into play regardless of the type of assessment (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009), but the assessment instrument can be tailored depending on the type of material which is being measured. There are different types of skills which can be evaluated in any one college subject. The assessment used in this scenario is at the conclusion of this course will be cumulative, and will assess all of the concepts using criterion-referenced assessment, which asks the question, â€Å"Did the student learn the concepts? † and then also using norm-referenced assessment, which checks for, â€Å"How did the student fair when compared to other students’ performance? † The Adult Learning Scenario The assessment used to ascertain the adult learners ranging in ages from eighteen to fifty plus, with dominant demographics of 75% Hispanic, and 15% European, and 10% African American, will be a Final Project, culminating the quarter’s learning in an Ethics course in an associate’s degree program in Criminal Justice. In addition, of the 75% Hispanic students, at least half of them are working as English as a second language learners. This course runs twelve weeks and will cover ten main ethical theories and each of their sub-theories. The Special Needs Student Overall, the adult learner has many challenges in â€Å"going back to school,† the ESL student has even more challenges. The foundation for education and the mindset of all students is aptly stated as: Many students today assume that it is the teacher's job to educate them, tell them what they need to know or give them the answers. Moreover, because they have been taught to be passive learners, they think that their job is to listen without resistance and to try to learn as best as they can, and, in some cases, verbatim what they are taught. Many students, in fact, accept everything they read as factual information (Baitlinger, 2005, p. 1). Adult Learners in the Southwest region of the United States, whose first language is typically Spanish, and English is their second language, are in good company. Often times, classrooms of adult learners are filled with several different students of many ethnicities and cultures. This is one of the beauties of living in the Southwest; there are typically Spanish speaking people who are the majority of bilingual speakers in cities such as Vista, which is a suburb of San Diego, California, where the Ethics class is located. In this particular classroom of thirty-two, about 24 (75% of the class) will speak Spanish fluently; some will speak English fluently, but there is also a large population who have been in the United States for only a few years, and there are challenges as an adult when it is tempting to stay in the native language with friends, but whose assignments and assessments are all either spoken, written, or lectured in English. These following are some of the challenges that both teacher and student face when the student is English as a Second Language (ESL) learner. As far as the educating of these adult learners whose English language is still in the practice stage, there are many students who are very open and willing to learn the new culture, the new language, and the new academia. However, there are challenges that face many who are not so approachable due to emotional issues such as embarrassment, shame, or resistance, which can even turn into stubbornness. The Teaching Strategies The administrator will use the following teaching strategies throughout the course: 1. Lecture 2. Board work 3. Demonstration 4. Classroom exercises 5. Class discussion 6. Textbook exercises 7. Practice quiz questions 8. Case studies and reading assignments 9. Guest speakers 10. Group and pair work 11. Verbal presentations 12. Pencil and paper examinations In addition, all students will be required to demonstrate proper use and application of the computer and the different software required, and the materials located in the Learning Resource Center throughout the course. The Teaching Strategies for Special Needs Students The teaching strategies for the special needs students which are comprised of 75% of this class’ population will include not only accommodation for the ESL student in the teaching stage, but also in the assessment stage. This will be accommodations for the assessment will be covered later in the paper. Many lessons may need to be repeated; the teacher may need to work tenaciously side-by-side at the desk with the ESL student until he/she understands the material; the teacher may exercise unlimited patience; and also need to use metaphors or analogies in order to find other avenues of reaching the student. Professors can be challenged to their limit when grading an ESL adult student’s written paper. Many times, there are words which are used which are not words at all in forming sentences. For example, a student who has only heard the word â€Å"limelight† in observing his non-ESL counterparts, may mistake it for the word â€Å"live light. † This type of error can perplex a professor who is unsure of what the student is trying to convey. It isn’t serious, but the point is, in order to build an assessment, the teacher must first teach, and the student must first have lots of practice and drill with reinforcement by the teacher. Another challenge for ESL adult learners is learning how to conjugate verbs; many bilingual and multilingual adults have experienced this. For example, if an adult learner, who spoke English first, and he or she were attempting to learn Spanish, the result is the same with conjugation of verbs. If a child grows up with correction by his mother or father when he says, â€Å"I ‘goed’ to the store,† with the parent saying, â€Å"No, Honey, you say, ‘I went to the store,† then this child has at least twenty years of practice. This is another challenge when grading any type college papers; many ESL adult learners will use substantially incorrect verb tenses. In addition to these challenges, most ESL learners do not have the immense vocabulary in English that many lifelong English speakers do; of course, this is the same for the inverse relationship and any other languages where the learner speaks a different first language and is learning another language. The estimated recognition vocabularies of fluent readers range from 10,000 to 100,000 words (Johnson and Steele, 1996 cite Nagy and Herman, 1987, p. 48); English or Composition teachers understand that reading, writing, and speaking are all related. In fact, students build a vocabulary by doing all of the above. Because reading is fundamental to all education and it follows that being able to write and speak the language; ESL students know this because their challenges â€Å"snowball into one another. † The Course Outcomes The course outcomes whic h align directly with the instructional objectives in each unit are what the student is expected to perform to upon completion of the course. The students should be able to: 1. nvestigate the importance of sound ethical judgment and reasoning for responsible living; 2. analyze significant case studies using key ethical concepts; 3. debate significant ethical issues using respectful, clear, and incisive argumentation; 4. explain, defend, and assess personal ethical perspectives on issues of significance in their own lives; 5. discuss application of course knowledge in professional settings in the criminal justice arena. The Course Outline The course outcomes will be achieved by the following outline of topics: 1. Unit One: Introduction to Ethics and Morality . Unit Two: Consequentialist and Non-Consequentialist Theories of Morality 3. Unit Three: Virtue Ethics, Absolutism, and Relativism 4. Unit Four: Freedom, Determinism, Rewards, and Punishments 5. Unit Five: Setting Up a Moral Sys tem 6. Unit Six: Ethical Applications: Dishonesty 7. Unit Seven: Ethical Applications: Personal Relationships, Business, and the Media 8. Unit Eight: Ethical Applications: Abortion and Bioethics 9. Unit Nine: Ethical Applications: Life and Death 10. Unit Ten: Ethical Applications: Environmental Ethics and Course Reflection The Assessment Instrument The actual student assessment handout (See Appendix, p. 2) that is developed by the educator is a Final Project, which is written in a research paper format; this paper should incorporate each of the ten main ethical theories, as well as each sub-theory which belongs under the main ethical theory presented. The theories, along with their sub-theories, are covered, as well as the students must show that they can apply each theory to a real-life criminal justice situation, albeit hypothetical, but realistic to a situation they might find themselves in as a law enforcement officer. Directions for the Students The student must use and reference the text book, Ethics: Theory and Practice, 10th edition, by Thiroux and Krasemann. The expected deliverables must be in American Psychological Association (APA) formatted paper; it must be between ten to twelve pages in length; it must have a cover page; a references page; there must be no less than twenty resources used, with at least three print books (including the textbook), and at least two peer-reviewed journal articles; and lastly, there must be fifteen in-text citations. In addition, the paper must be in Arial, 12 point font, double-spaced, and written in third-person perspective; there must be a thesis statement at the beginning of the paper, and to categorize the topics, there must be bold and centered sub-headings. The Page minimum and Resource minimum are non-negotiable; if the project does not meet these particular criteria, then the paper will not be graded. This project is worth 30% of the student’s overall course grade. The content must include each of the ethical theories, including the sub-theory; and each should be first outlined with a definition of the theory or sub-theory, and at least three examples of how this theory can be applied. Following the definition and basic application of the theory, the student will produce an ethical dilemma in a complex scenario which might occur in the life of a law enforcement officer, where each of the theories are applied as though the student is taking on the role of the decision-maker exercising ethical judgment as a Consequentialist, Determinist, etc. Essentially, the students are putting themselves in the place of each type of ethical theorist. The student must perform this decision-making for each theory and sub-theory; these theories are shown in the following paragraph. The Ethical Theories The theories with their sub-theories are as follows as cited in Thiroux and Krasemann, (2008): 1. Consequentialism (Teleological) a. Psychological Egoism b. Ethical Egoism c. Utilitarianism d. Care Ethics 2. Nonconsequentialism (Deontological) a. Act Nonconsequentialism b. Rule Nonconsequentialism 3. Virtue Ethics a. Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics b. Confucius’ Ethics . Absolutism 5. Relativism 6. Freedom and Free Will 7. Fatalism 8. Determinism a. Hard Determinism b. Soft Determinism 9. Reward 10. Punishment Directions for Special Needs Students The special needs student who is an English as a second language learner will have the same expectations for tangible deliverables as any other student. However, there will be some a ccommodations made. The ESL student will more time to complete the final project paper due to a slower reading-comprehension speed; these students are bright, they just have a special need, and if more time is necessary, then that is also possible. For example, if it is warranted, the special needs student will be given the final project specifications â€Å"cut sheet† up to two class periods sooner than the other students. This is so that the teacher has time to explain verbally each of the instructions in a more step-by-step fashion. If a teacher has a student who is truly struggling, then it is possible for that student to be assigned additional practice assignments so that he or she can practice the concepts. Another accommodation might be to assign daily dictionary readings by the student (along with their own language dictionary), so that the student’s vocabulary increases, and he or she practices reading. This also works with children’s books; assign the student stories to read out loud to the teacher after class; this will enable the student to practice his or her â€Å"American accent† and will help acculturate the student to the English-speaking, reading, writing environment. Prior to the final project assignment, the teacher can take the ESL student aside to check for understanding of the directions. The teacher can also read the final project specifications to the student with an English-Spanish interpreter so that any challenging words are truly understood. In addition, the teacher can show samples of quality papers to the ESL students so that they understand the format and comprehensiveness of the assignment given them. Lastly, the ESL adult student still needs lots of encouragement. While a teacher insists on keeping this fair amongst all students in the class, it doesn’t hurt to encourage these ESL students in the hall, in private, and in front of his or her peers. Direction for Assessment Administrator Since the assessment will be administered by the educator, the direction that she will follow includes: 1) checking for each component required of the students as outlined in the directions to the students, 2) verifying the adherence to the APA format standards using The Official Pocket Style Guide From the American Psychological Association 6th ed. Concise Rules of APA Style, in every aspect of the paper 3) confirming that the students used all of the ethical theories and sub-theories as outlined in the directions to students, by comparing to those in the textbook, Ethics: Theory and Practice, by Thiroux and Krasemann, 2009, to those that the student outlined in the paper, 4) Making certain that the definitions and applications for each theory is, in fac t, correct, and 5) attesting that the scenario produced and the ethical decisions made are aligned with those made by each of the ethical theories and sub-theories. Assessment Items Linked to Learning Objectives The assessment items linked to the learning objectives are in table-format and illustrate each assessment item in the final project assigned and its link to the learning objectives or course outcomes outlined above. (See Appendix, p. 3 – 4) Assessment Consistent with Learning Environment The assessment chosen, the final project which is written as a comprehensive paper by the student is aligned with the course outcomes, as well as the course outline of units covered. In addition, the adult learners’ environment, whether it be in a face-to-face classroom or an online course is conducive to a comprehensive written paper, as this is the medium for showing definition, application, and creativity in producing scenarios, in which the concepts learned can be used in immediate, relevant, and real-world situations. This is directly in line with Angelo and Cross (1993) states, â€Å"Creative thinking is the ability to interweave the familiar with the new in unexpected and stimulating ways† (p. 81). It is also consistent with Knowles’ assumptions of adult learners where: An adult accumulates a growing reservoir of experience which is a rich resource for learning†¦the readiness of an adult to learn is closely related to the developmental tasks of his or her special role†¦adults need to know why they need to learn something (Knowles, 1984; 1980; 1968, as cited in Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner, 2007). In fact, a final project in the form of a written paper is the best format to use the adult learners’ life while utilizing a performance instrument that is closely related to his or her special role. Above all, adults will find that the instrument is relevant to something they need to learn for their upcoming professions in criminal justice. Interpretation of Results Interpretation of a course assessment is the last step after administering a classroom assessment technique; it is the step that the teacher is most interested in after providing the instruction; adequate opportunities for practice and drill of concepts; planning and implementing procedures which are equitable to all; formulating the criteria for constant observation and timely and detailed one-to-one student coaching; and the analysis of each student’s improvement or the necessity for review; and then the assessment tool is administered (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009). Only then can the interpretation of the assessment be articulated. â€Å"In the interpretation step, the teacher seeks answers to the ‘why’ questions of the students’ [incorrect] responses† (Angelo and Cross, 1993, p. 54). Because interpretation is the â€Å"goal† of all teaching by teachers, and the learning by students, then it is crucial that the foundation of the teaching, the tasks and tools used, and the learning objectives are all synchronized with the assessment tool, and the interpretation of the results should align with the learning objectives. As outlined in Gronlund and Waugh (2009), assessment is an integral part of the teaching-learning-assessment process. Assessment Development and Use For the Ethics class presented, the assessment tool used is a research paper which offers the culmination of the entire course. This type of assessment is a criterion-referenced instrument due to the nature of the course subject, and â€Å"criterion-referenced interpretation is especially important for instructional uses of assessment results† (Gronlund and Waugh, p. 27). This assessment will suggest results which correlates to each individual student’s learning of the ethical concepts; the application of said concepts to invented scenarios; the application to realistic criminal justice events; the proper use of the American Psychological Association (APA) format; and the students’ research, organization, paragraph construction, and mechanics skills in using written communication. This final paper is a hybrid between the supply-response [assessments] which are higher in realism†¦ [and] can measure the ability to originate, integrate, and express ideas†¦ and] the summative assessment†¦ [which] checks the extent to which the students have achieved the intended outcomes of the course instruction†¦ [and] performance assessments using extended response which includes a high degree of realism (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009, pp. 9 – 10; 27). The supply-response speaks to the format of the final paper which is written using research, but the students must also integrate their own ideas. The summative portion is the overall assimilation of ideas and concepts to the made-up scenarios, and lastly, the performance assessment illustrates the knowledge and skills necessary to perform on-the-job in a criminal justice capacity. The assessment will gauge not only the students’ understanding of the concepts presented, but will also measure the ability of the student to develop everyday scenarios, and ultimately, devise realistic events in which the different concepts can be applied. This may ensure ethical stability on the part of student-then-officer while enhancing his or her decision-making ability when faced with ethical dilemmas where the law and ethics may overlap, run parallel, or do neither in some cases. In addition, the student would be assessed on his or her written communications skills which include formatting the paper in its entirety in the APA format. The other skills which would come into play include research, organization, paragraph construction, and the overall mechanics of the paper. The quality of the content and the application of the concepts and principles would be weighted more heavily at 75% of the total assessment, with the APA format, paragraph construction, and mechanics would be weighted less at 25%. Assessment Interpretation and Grading According to Gronlund and Waugh (2009), â€Å"criterion-referenced interpretation is facilitated by assessment tasks that provide a detailed description of student performance†¦in performance-assessment this means performance tasks that make clear what the student can and cannot do† (p. 5). Since the students have been given the final project subject, the directions for completing the final project in paper-form, the expectations for deliverables, the grading rubric, and the assignments and tasks throughout the course have been tailored to learn the concepts and application necessary, then there should be no issues with what the criterion are for performing in a superb manner. Although a grading rubric is considered an assessment tool used to grade using subjectivity, it can have a set of criteria and specific metrics which link it to students’ learning objectives, which in this case, measure the student’s performance using a final project in research paper format. Because assessment is an ongoing process with a student in a degree-seeking program, the rubric is aimed at accurate and fair assessment for all students, by fostering understanding, and indicating the way to proceed with subsequent learning, re-learning, and teaching and re-teaching. This is the integration of performance and feedback which occurs prior to each assessment, and during the course of the class term, so that by the time the student is nearing the end of the quarter term, he or she should be able to articulate the items presented in the rubric using the final project directions adhering to the expectations for deliverables. According to Flash (2009), when students are apprised of grading criteria from the start, they can be more involved in the process of working toward success. According to Mansilla, Duraisingh, Wolfe, and Haynes, 2009: Rubrics are generally thought to promote more consistent grading and to develop self-evaluation skills in students as they monitor their performance relative to the rubric. However, rubrics are not without their critics who are concerned that rubrics can never truly capture the complexity of written work. If rubrics are to be useful, they must capture all the actual objectives of an assignment (p. ). In this case, the rubric (See Appendix, p. 5 – 6) is given to the students at the third week of the quarter term; the directions are explained in detail with opportunity for questions answered, with the actual objectives outlined in the rubric along with final project specifications. As mentioned previously, this rubric, along with the final project specifications, is given to the student at the third week of the quarter. Conclusion In summarizing adult learner assessment, first, it is recognized that the adult learner is motivated differently than other learners. Therefore, the teacher who teaches adult learners must be aware of not only the learner’s diversity and culture, but also his or her motivators. Then, the teacher must identify the initial abilities of his or her class; align the course objectives along with the teaching activities; verify that the teaching is aligned with the assessment instruments; then, analyze the results. After completion of this â€Å"cycle,† the educator can them adjust or modify the teacher, or the re-teaching, in this case; and then the â€Å"cycle† starts all over again. In summarizing assessment procedures, an assessment, in and of itself, is the procedure which measures the entire student learning during a course, and the teacher’s teaching, facilitating, observing, and coaching, it is the interpretation of those performance results which are invaluable. As long as the educator plans for assessment during the planning of the learning, then it probable that the assessment will gauge student learning, and will meet the instructional objectives (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009). In this case, the final project is one of the best assessment tools when measuring students’ cumulative learning, this is as long as several mini-assessments are given throughout the quarter, and adjustments are made to teaching, if the students do not understand the material. In addition, an verall assessment is done on the student’s writing skills, as well as his or her attention to the proper writing format. However, it is possible that the â€Å"assessment often generates more questions than it answers,† (Angelo and Cross, 1993, p. 54) and it is incumbent upon the educator to answer these questions of â€Å"why†¦the students respond the way they [do]† (p. 54), during all of the previous assessments administered throughout the quarte r term, so that there are few to none, by the time the final project is due. Lastly, in reflecting how the process of interpreting assessments will impact teaching, it is important to note that in teaching, â€Å"the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,† meaning, in this case, that without analyzing the end product of learning; then it is difficult to choose an assessment tool and the types of results that can occur; which makes it nearly impossible to understand how to assess students after teaching has occurred; it will be fruitless to set initial learning objectives; if it is not understood what it is the educators would like to teach the students; and to diagnose when they build the student pre-assessments. Each section is bound to the other in seamless alignment, with the opportunity for improvement at each juncture; it is in this way that goals and classroom assessment drive everything in education, and in learning, in general. In teaching, there can be no greater impact than to learn that each of these components is critical to the goal of facilitating the obtainment of knowledge, and it is a bright insight to teachers of all philosophies, experiences, and tenure. References American Psychological Association. (2010). The official pocket style guide from the American Psychological Association: Concise rules of APA style (6th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Angelo, T. A. , ; Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers (2nd ed. ). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Baitlinger, K. (2005). Engaging adult learners in writing/ESL Classroom. College Quarterly, 8(1),1. Create Rubrics for your Project-Based Learning Activities. (2000 – 2008). Rubistar. Retrieved from http://rubistar. 4teachers. org/index. php? screen=NewRubric;module=Rubistar Effective Classroom Instruction. (2004). Encyclopedia of applied psychology. Retrieved from http://www. redoreference. com. library. capella. edu/entry/estappliedpsyc/effective_classroom_instruction Flash, P. (2009). Grading writing: Recommended grading strategies. Retrieved from http://writing. umn. edu/tww/responding_grading/grading_writing. html Gronlund, N. E. , ; Waugh, C. K. (2009). Assessment of student achievement (9th ed. ) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Johnson, D. , ; Steele, V. (1996, February). So many words, so little time: Helping college ESL learners. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. 39, 5; ProQuest Education Journals. . 348. Mansilla, V. , Duraisingh, E. , Wolfe, C. R. , ; Haynes, C. (2009). Targeted assessment rubric: An empirically grounded rubric for interdisciplinary writing. Journal of Higher Education. 80(3), 334-353. Merri am, S. , Caffarella, R. , ; Baumgartner, L. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide (3rd ed. ). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Thiroux, J. P. , ; Krasemann, K. W. (2008). Ethics: Theory and practice (10th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ————————————————- Top of FormBottom of Form| Adult Learner Assessment Running head: ADULT LEARNER ASSESSMENT Adult Learner Assessment Enter Student Name Here Capella University August 26, 2012 ED7712 Classroom Assessment in Education All students are familiar with assessments. They have been assessed on various levels all through primary and secondary school, and if they attended school afterward they've experienced assessments in postsecondary school as well. Why do we do assessments? Assessments are necessary – they not only tell the instructor how well the students are doing but they also tell the instructor how well they are teaching. But there is much more to assessments than that.Assessments can be â€Å"an excellent instructional method to provide understanding of what adults are learning, how they are thinking, what their progress is, and which learning problems to address† (Wlodkowski, 2008). This paper will demonstrate this. The purpose of this research paper is to demonstrate an assessment of the adult learning of students who are enrolled in IS100 – Introduction to Databases, a course at Two Rivers Community College. This course covers topics that include basic concepts of relational database systems, database architectures, data storage, and data mining.This course utilizes problem-based learning. Problem-based learning is an education strategy that uses problem-solving for optimal learning and is particularly useful in environments such as information technology. The benefits are twofold: students not only acquire knowledge but they also develop problem-solving skills necessary for real world application (Williams, Iglesias & Barak, 2008). Therefore the best type of assessment for this course will include a problem-based learning assessment.The learners are students who have been allowed to enroll in this course for one of three reasons: (1) it is a required course for the Information Systems major, (2) it is a being taken as an elective for another major, or (3) they are undecided on which majo r they want to pursue and want to learn more about this aspect of information systems career path. The majority of the students who attend this course are predominately post-adolescent white males who range in ages from 18 to 23 years old and are in their first year at the community college.These students typically complete their associates degree here prior to continuing their education to obtain a bachelor's degree in either Computer Science, Information Systems Management, or Industrial Technology. However, in recent years there have been an increasing number of adult learners who are of mixed nationalities, range between 28 to 35 years old, and are returning to the community college environment due to job loss or a change in career path. These individuals have chosen the community college environment because of the short duration of time to complete a degree as compared to the traditional four year university.Three Learning Outcomes The overall learning objective of this course is for students to demonstrate a fundamental understanding of database systems. To ensure this, students will be assessed on the following three learning outcomes throughout the course: 1. Unit 1: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the theory, history, and evolution of the relational database. 2. Unit 2: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the fundamentals of good relational database design. 3. Unit 3: Students will demonstrate basic knowledge of data mining and storage.Adult Learner Assessment The assessment described here will be on assessing students learning after the first unit is covered. The first unit of instruction is designated for an overall view of databases. Topics include relational database theory, the history and evolution of databases, types of database models, database query languages, and an overview of databases in use today. It is imperative that students have a good understanding of this information before moving on the next unit, therefore an assessment of this understanding needs to be evaluated.The two most widely used types of test items are selection-type items and supply-type items. The use of selection-type items will gauge how well the students can recognize or recall facts whereas the supply-type items will measure the more complex learning outcomes (Waugh & Gronlund, 2013). Items from both of these will be used to design the assessment to get a true measurement of students learning after unit 1. The assessment is listed in Appendix A. Accommodating Learners With Special NeedsIn accordance to the Americans with Disability Act and the policies of Two Rivers Community College, learners with special needs will have reasonable accommodations given during assessment taking. Reasonable and appropriate support services that may be needed for this course could include, but are not limited to: interpreters, questions and answer choices read out loud to the student, and extra testing time. Accommodations will be evalua ted on a case-by-case basis and every means will be done to ensure the student has a fair chance to take the assessment.The instructor will also seek guidance from The Alliance for Access to Computing Careers (aka AccessComputing). This organization partners with postsecondary institutions to increase participation of people with disabilities to computing fields. This organization can provides optimal strategies for instructors to accommodate a student with special needs. Specific to assessment taking, they recommend:  ·Alternative, quiet testing locations and distraction free rooms.  ·Alternative formats of the assessments, if needed.  ·Extended test-taking time. Reading or scribe services. All of these recommendations are already available at the school. Directions for the Assessment Administrator and the Adult Learner The way in which an assessment is administered to students is especially important for good assessment outcomes. Assessment administrators play a key role in this occurring. The main role of an assessment administrator for this course includes 1) to give clear instructions to the students and 2) to prevent cheating. The following directions will be provided to the assessment administrator.The instructions for the students will be written on the test itself:  ·Administrator: Prior to the class starting, ensure equal distance is between each student seat. Ensure there are no pieces of paper laying in or around the desks. When all the students have arrived, separate each student with a desk between them, if possible. Tell the students why they are there and the purpose of the test. Explain how the test is laid out (10 multiple choice questions, 10 true-false questions, and 3 short answer questions) and how much time they have to complete it (50 minutes).Breaks will not be given unless extenuating circumstances would dictate otherwise. Once the student has completed the test, they are to bring the test to you and place the test face down o n the desk. The student will gather their things and quietly leave the room. Interpretation of the Results of the Assessment Assessments provide the instructor with a relative ranking of students and a description of the learning tasks a student can and cannot perform (Waugh & Gronlund, 2013). These two items have more to do with the interpretation of the assessment results. Criterion-referenced vs.Norm-referenced The first item is centered around an interpretation method called norm-referenced assessment whereas the second one is centered around criterion-referenced assessment. The basic difference between the two is what the results are compared to. When an instructor is using norm-referenced assessment interpretation, they are comparing each student's performances with the other students in the class whereas when an instructor is using criterion-referenced interpretation, they are comparing each student's performance with a predefined set of criteria (Waugh & Gronlund, 2013).Each type of interpretation serves a specific purpose. If an instructor wants to use the interpretation of assessments for instructional decision-making, they would use the criterion-referenced approach whereas if they wanted to measure the psychometric different between students, they would use the norm-referenced approach. For the purpose of this paper, the criterion-referenced approach will be used to interpret the results of the assessments in this course. This will ensure the students have a clear guide to their learning objectives competency.Grading For the students, assessment is about grades. Grades tell the student to what extent they are meeting the instructional objectives. However grading is just as important to the instructor. There are three guiding principles that instructors use to determine their grading system for a course: 1. choose the best reference (standard) for the basis of grading, 2. choose the best way to combine the various assessment results, 3. choose the m ost effective and fair grading system (Waugh & Grunlund, 2013).Similar to the assessment interpretation types noted above, when choosing the best grading standard, instructors have a choice between grading the student's performance against predetermined standard (absolute grading) or against their fellow peer's performance (relative grading). The most common way is to use the absolute grading approach by assigning letter grades based on a 100 point system. This will be the approach used in this course. In choosing the most effective and fair grading system, there are a number of things an instructor can do to enlist the confidence of their students.First and foremost, the instructor should be upfront from the beginning with the students about their expectations of them, explain how the students will be graded, and explain the grading rubrics for the course. Lastly, the instructor should be sure to not grade based upon subjective components such as learning ability, the amount of imp rovement a student has achieved, or lack of or improved effort. In determine the best way to combine the various assessments, each graded item must be assessed. For this course, the students will have grades for four unit tests and one problem-based course paper.Each unit assessment will count for 15% of their grade and the course paper will count for 40% of their grade. No weighted scores will be used. The best way to grade the student's course paper was to develop a scoring rubric. For the problem-based course paper, students are given a completed database to study. Utilizing the Classroom Assessment Technique called Problem Recognition Tasks (Angelo & Cross, 1993), they students are to 1. determine if it meets the definition of a relational database, 2. elect and explain one relational database theory about their database (i. e. the relational model, dependency, normalization), 3. determine what database programming language was used to create it, 4. discuss database design model , and 5. explain one technique they'd use to extract data from it. The scoring rubric and letter grades for the course paper is below. Criteria|2 points|1 point|0 points| Determine if the database meets the definition of a relational database and provides supporting research to explain their reasoning for the decision. Correctly determines if the database meets the definition of a relational database and provides supporting research to explain their reasoning the decision. |Correctly determines if the database meets the definition of a relational database and but doesn’t provide supporting research to explain their reasoning the decision. |Doesn't correctly determines if the database meets the definition of a relational database. | Thoroughly explains one relational database theory about their database. |Fully explains one relational database theory about their database. Somewhat explains one relational database theory about their database. |Doesn't explain one relational dat abase theory about their database. | Correctly identifies the programming language use to create the database and thoroughly explains the programming language with supporting documentation. |Correctly identifies the programming language used to create the database and thoroughly explains the programming language with supporting documentation. |Correctly identifies the programming language used to create the database and but doesn't thoroughly explain the programming language with supporting documentation. Doesn't correctly identify the programming language used to create the database. | Correctly identifies the database design model used to create the database and thoroughly explains the model with supporting documentation. |Correctly identifies the database design model used to create the database and thoroughly explains the model with supporting documentation. |Correctly identifies the database design model used to create the database but doesn't thoroughly explain the model with supporting documentation. |Doesn't correctly identify the database design model used to create the database. Thoroughly explains what technique they'd use to extract data out of it. |Thoroughly explains what technique they'd use to extract data out of it. |Somewhat explains what technique they'd use to extract data out of it. |Doesn't explain a technique they'd use to extract data out of it. | Course Paper Letter Grades| 9-10 pts = A|7-8 pts = B|5-6 pts = C|3-4 pts = D|0-2 pts = F| A series of steps were taken to arrive at the scoring rubric. First, the intended learning outcomes were evaluated and used to construct the items needed to be graded on.Second, the focus of the assessment was determined by determining where the emphasis should be placed. It was determined that it should be focused on a process of examining a database for certain attributes. Third, it had to be determined if this would take the form of a paper-and-pen test or a practical exam. It was determined it would b e best to be a paper-and-pen test due to the time constraints of such a task. Forth, the performance situation was determine to be a identification test because the students need to be able to do this in a real world setting.Lastly, the method of observation chosen is the scoring rubric because they will provide the instructor with an objective scoring guideline, and they will give the students a clear guideline of what is expected of their final paper. (Waugh & Gronlund, 2013). In conclusion, the goal of this paper was to demonstrate assessment in an information technology course at a community college. The overall goal of instructing is to provide the highest possible quality of learning. Assessments, in forms of varying degrees, can be utilized to ensure this is happening.Specifically, the problem solving assessment described here will be a driving force in directing students' efforts toward critical thinking and real world applications. Appendix A IS100 – Introduction to Databases Unit 1 Assessment Name: ______________________________________ Date: ____________________ Assessment Instructions: This test is being given to assess your understanding of the theory, history, and evolution of the relational database. The Assessment Administrator will monitor your progress during the est to ensure students are completing their own work and not sharing their responses with others. Multiple Choice Directions: For each of the following multiple-choice questions, please select the best answer for each question and circle the letter to the left of the answer you have chosen as the most appropriate response. | | Question 1: Which of the following databases was an early implementation of the relational model developed by E. F. Codd ? A. IDMS B. DB2 C. dBase-II D. R:base Question 2: An online commercial site such as Amazon. om is an example of a(n): A. single-user database B. multiuser database C. e-commerce database D. data mining database Question 3: Which of th e following was the first to implement true relational algebra in a database? A. IDMS B. dBase-II C. Oracle D. R:base Question 4: The acronym SQL stands for: A. Structured Query Language B. Sequential Query Language C. Structured Question Language D. Sequential Question Language Question 5: The following are functions of a relational database except: A. creating and processing forms B. creating databases C. rocessing data D. administrating databases Question 6: Which of the following databases implemented the CODASYL DBTG model? A. IDMS B. dBase-II C. DB2 D. R:base Question 7: All the following are database models except: A. Spreadsheet Model B. Relational Model C. Hierarchical Model D. Object-Oriented Model | | Question 8: Today's banking systems use this type of database: A. Analytic database B. Operational database C. Network database D. Hierarchical database Question 9: The term Relational Database Management System (RDMS) was coined during the: A. 1950sB. 1960s C. 1970s D. 1980 s Question 10: All of the following are popular database query languages except: A. SQL B. OQL C. XML D. MySQL True-False Directions: For each of the following true-false questions, indicate a True response by circling the T next to the question and a False response by circling the F next to the question being answered. Question 1: A database is called â€Å"self describing† because it contains a description of itself. T F Question 2: One of the reasons why OODBMS is no longer used for today's businesses is because OOP is obsolete. T FQuestion 3: In an enterprise database system, users interact with database applications, which directly access the database data. T F Question 4: Microsoft Access is a database management system. T F Question 5: Prior to 1970, all data was stored in separate files, which were mostly stored on reels of magnetic tape. T F Question 6: SQL is an internationally recognized standard language that is understood by all database management system product s worldwide. T F Question 7: Databases that contain historical and summarized information are usually called data warehouses. T FQuestion 8: As legacy file-based systems and applications become candidates for reengineering, the trend is overwhelmingly in favor of replacing file-based systems and applications with database systems and applications. T F Question 9: A central focus of database theory is on understanding the complexity and power of query languages and their connection to logic. T F Question 10: The Object Oriented database model is best described by organizing data into a tree-like structure, implying a single upward link in each record to describe the nesting, and a sort field to keep the records in a particular order in each same-level list.T F Short Answer Directions: For each question, hand write your answer below each question. If additional paper is needed, please ask the Assessment Administrator. 1. Briefly explain three of the twelve rules of E. F. Cobb's relati onal database theory. 2. Briefly explain the three views (schema) of a DBMS. 3. List two advantages and two disadvantages of using a DBMS. References AccessComputing. The Alliance for Access to Computing Careers. Retrieved September 9, 2012 from http://www. washington. edu/accesscomputing. Angelo, T. A. , & Cross, K. P. (1993).Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers (2nd ed. ). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Waugh, C. K. , & Gronlund, N. E. (2013). Assessment of student achievement (10th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Williams, P. J. , Iglesias, J. & Barak, M. (2008). Problem based learning: Application to technology education in three countries. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 18( 4), 319 – 335. Wlodkowski, R. J. (2008). Enhancing adult motivation to learn: A comprehensive guide for teaching all adults (3rd ed. ). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Apush Outline

The Bonds of Empire, 1660-1750 o Rebellion and War, 1660-1713 ? Before Restoration (1660), England made little attempt to weld colonies ? Royal Centralization, 1660-1688 †¢ Restoration monarchs disliked representative government †¢ Charles II rarely called parliament into session after 1674, and none after 1681 †¢ James II wanted to rule as absolute monarch o Meant he would never face an elected legislation †¢ These 2 kings had little sympathy for Am.   RI, and Plymouth into Dominion of New Eng. o 1688= NY and the Jerseys came in o Sir Edmund Andros became governor of Dominion of New Eng. ? The Glorious Revolution in England and America, 1688-1689 †¢ Charles II converted to Catholicism on deathbed †¢ Eng. olerated James’ conversion to Catholicism b/c his heirs (Mary and Anne) were Anglican †¢ Bloodless revolution of 1688=Glorious revolution o Created limited monarchy in Eng. ? Promised to summon parliament once a yr. , sign all its bills, and respect traditional civil liberties o William and Mary (now king and queen of eng. after they overthrew James) dismantled Dominion of New Eng. o NY rebelled with Leisler’s Rebellion ? The Enlightenment †¢ In 1750 the Enlightenment’s greatest contributions to Am. life still lay in the future. A quarter-century later, Anglo-Am. drew on the enlightenment’s revolutionary ideas as they declared their independence from Britain and created the foundations of a new nation †¢ It was an age of optimism, tempered by the realistic recognition of the sad state of the human condition and the need for major reforms. The Enlightenment was less a set of ideas than it was a set of attitudes. At its core was a critical questioning of traditional institutions, customs, and morals. ? The Great Awakening †¢ In New England, the Great Awakening was influential among many Congregationalists †¢ In the Middle and Southern colonies, the Awakening was influential among Presbyterians and other dissenting Protestants. †¢ A time of increased religious activity. The revival began with Jonathan Edwards, a well-educated theologian and Congregationalist minister from Northampton, Massachusetts, who came from Puritan and Calvinist roots, but emphasized the importance and power of immediate, personal religious experience. †¢ Edwards’ sermons were powerful and attracted a large following. o Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, is his most famous sermon. †¢ The Methodist preacher George Whitefield, visiting from England, continued the movement, traveling across the colonies and preaching in a more dramatic and emotional style, accepting everyone into his audiences.

RQ2 Reflect on this statement by Ladd and give express your thoughts Assignment

RQ2 Reflect on this statement by Ladd and give express your thoughts and opinions - Assignment Example ch definition is based on emphasizing on a positive experience, experience oriented and majorly emphasizing the abilities of and possibilities in understanding the larger cohort of deaf selves (Kusters & De Meulder, 2013 P.429 L. 91-111). Deaf people are just ordinary people who have one deficit of hearing; nevertheless, deaf people gain is enhanced and rooted in cognitive skills. Such include increased peripheral recognition, increased spatial recognition, proficiency in visual learning and the use of visual language that is rich in metaphoric iconicity. A part from these intrinsic arguments, there are extrinsic reasons that explain the contribution of deaf people and their language. Ladd states that, there are destructive patterns that are rooted in the deaf culture, and they include; not realizing the positive meaning of being deaf, not appreciating that sign language is genuine and has a general dislike of hearing people(Kusters & De Meulder, 2013 P.430 L.67-75). The statements provided by Ladd demonstrate many things that the deaf community undergoes and how they need and feel to be handled. The deaf communities many a time like using their own language and continued to maintain their culture. These are demonstrated through the deaf clubs, international and national organizations and their successfully raising of colossus number of non-deaf children in their culture. Deaf hood, therefore, involves a dynamic understanding of deaf people, how they behave among themselves and in the community at large. Given that, humans have alike to seek fixity, it is imperative to state that deaf hood is a process, not a fixed state but it is a checklist of many characteristics that can be used to describe ideologies that arise to attempt hegemony(Ladd, 2005 P.14 L. 11-19). In essence, many deaf people feel that their oral counterparts take them as lesser people in the society. It can be seen in some action that the deaf people do. A pointing example is the perpetual

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Stats26 - Essay Example The results of a two-factor analysis of variance produce df = 1, 28 for the F-ratio for factor A, df = 2, 28 for the F-ratio for factor B, and df = 2, 28 for the AÃâ€" B interaction. Based on this information, what is the total number of different treatment conditions that were compared in the study? In a line graph showing the results from a two-factor experiment, the levels of factor B are presented on the X-axis and the line for A1 is consistently 5 points higher than the line for A2. What result is indicated by this pattern? A two-factor study with two levels of factor A and three levels of factor B uses a separate group of n = 5 participants in each treatment condition. How many participants are needed for the entire study? If the mean and variance are computed for each sample in an independent-measures two-factor experiment, then which of the following types of sample data will tend to produce large F-ratios for the two-factor ANOVA? The following data represent the means for each treatment condition in a two-factor experiment. Note that one mean is not given. What value of the missing mean will result in no main effect for factor A? The following data represent the means for each treatment condition in a two-factor experiment. Note that one mean is not given. What value of the missing mean will result in no main effect for factor B? 1. The results from a two-factor experiment can be presented in a matrix with the levels of factor A forming the rows and the levels of factor B forming the columns, with a separate sample in each of the matrix cells. Using this matrix structure, describe the null hypothesis for each of the three F-ratios computed in the two-factor analysis. (3) A X B-interaction: The null hypothesis is that there is no interaction between factors A and B. All the mean differences between treatment conditions are explained by the main effects of the two factors. 3. The following table summarizes the results of a

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Law of Contract LA-112 (Joint Honours) coursework 2009 - Essay Example course of business or trade, there is an implicit condition that goods so supplied under the contract of sale are of acceptable quality and should rationally fit for their purpose. Thus , under SGA , a seller should sell products that well fit into its description , should conform to its purpose and should have acceptable quality and if the product fall short of these , then , supplier has the duty to redress the grievances raised by the buyer . Certain contract inserts clauses giving the right to buyer to terminate the contract under certain circumstances. For instance, when the market price for product decreases after the entering of a contract, a buyer in normal course is keen to take the privilege of termination rights as a result of delivery of non-conforming products or late delivery. However, a seller has the duty to make sure that the products sold â€Å"adhere to the contract.† For instance, if a car is sold, then the seller should clearly express the model of the car to be sold, the details about its engine size, its previous owner’s history. In case, if the seller has described the product imprecisely, then the buyer can make a claim against the seller for breach of contract and thus seller might be involved a breach under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. (The UK insolvency helpline 2008). In Fletcher v Sledmore, a car dealer and his customer visited the defendant who was a dealer in second hand cars. The customer inquired the defendant about a specific car and defendant informed him that it was â€Å"a good little engine.† However, this was not true. Then, car was sold to the customer. It was held by the court that the defendant committed an offence under false trade description Act. Thus, this decision clearly demonstrates that Act can travel beyond the restrictions of contractual relationships. (Weatherill 2005: 402) If any seller has sold the product that does not adhere to the description in the sales contract, or if it is not suitable for

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Corruption of Love Within the Inncocent Essay Example for Free

Corruption of Love Within the Inncocent Essay Within the works of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein the concept of love is found within characters that are innocent and filled with good intentions. In all three works, love fills specified characters with joy and gratefulness towards the other characters who they claim to love. Unfortunately, the characters that experience love are only satisfied with its graces until it somehow gets corrupted. The minds of the victimized characters are filled with anger, hatred, and some with the idea of vengeance. Corruption of love within Othello, Dracula, and Frankenstein come with causes and effects. In the two works Frankenstein and Othello, both Frankenstein’s creation and Othello were in love. The creature was in love with the cottagers and Othello was in love with Desdemona. When being presented with evidence to no longer feel love towards the people they claim to admire- it causes them to hate. The corruption in the relationships of Jonathan Harker from Dracula and Victor Frankenstein from the novel Frankenstein is primarily caused by the supernatural beings working against them. Frankenstein’s love (Elizabeth) is murdered by the beast he creates, and Jonathan’s love (Mina) was corrupted when she is bitten by Dracula. The effect of love being corrupted in the works Frankenstein and Dracula results with the characters to seek revenge and to stop Frankenstein’s creature and Dracula from causing more pain to humanity. As a result of the characters Othello and the monster created by Frankenstein having their love corrupted, they murder the people who they see as the motivation for all of their actions. Once these characters come to a realization of their mistakes, it is too late and they commit suicide. Thus the works of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein all focus on the causes and effects of love being corrupted within the innocent and how it changes its victims for the worst. The creation of Frankenstein from the novel Frankenstein and Othello from the play Othello are b oth affectionate towards the ones they love. The creature loves the cottagers and Othello is in love with Desdemona. They put their loved ones on a pedestal and admire them for the many things they do. The cottagers taught the creation of Frankenstein how to socialize; how to speak, how to show affection towards others, to work with others, how to be humble, etc. By fascinating him and impressing him with the ways they lived their lives, he grew to love them without having to make a personal appearance. Othello is in love with a woman who he believes is forever loyal to him. Desdemona proves her love for Othello when she agrees to elope with him. As a token of Othello’s love, he presents Desdemona with a handkerchief that belonged to his mother. However, when the creation of Victor Frankenstein and Othello are given evidence that the ones they love are no longer worthy of their affection- their attitudes change completely and they let go of all previous feelings. Frankenstein’s creature had bad encounters with humans in the past, but from his observations of the De Lacey’s, he assumes they are different and won’t reject him. After discovering that he would undergo the same harsh treatment from his beloved cottagers as those from the other village, it is stated by the beast himself, â€Å"I could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and its inhabitants and have glutted myself with their shrieks and misery† (125). He then changes his feelings of love towards humanity into hate, and swears to get revenge on the man who created and abandoned him to be tortured and neglected. Othello is told that his wife has been having affairs with one of his most trusted companions (Cassio). He dismisses the thought immediately and sees no threat until he is provided with visual proof from Iago. After seeing Cassio with his mother’s handkerchief, Othello perceives the innocent Desdemona as guilty. â€Å"Ay, let her rot and perish and be damned tonight, for she Shall not live† (4.1.172) exclaims Othello. The situation makes him so enraged that he no longer cares for her existence and he is now willing to get prepared to execute her. Therefore, the characters Othello and Frankenstein’s creation are filled with hatred and the need for vengeance once they feel that they are victims whose love has been corrupted and abused. The supernatural beings Count Dracula from the novel Dracula and the monster produced by Victor Frankenstein from the novel Frankenstein work as the main forces that contribute to the corruption of the relationships of Jonathan Harker and Victor Frankenstein. Jonathan constantly shows his affection towards Mina by portraying her to be his motivation to stay alive in Dracula’s castle. Both he and his betrothed are anxious to be reunited. Growing up together, Frankenstein has always been very fond of Elizabeth. Both characters come to the conclusion that they share mutual feelings of love towards one another and decide to get married. Both couples remain happy until they have encounters with beings that have selfish intentions of destroying their relationships for their satisfaction. It is stated by Count Dracula, â€Å"Your girls that you all love are mine already; and through them you and others shall yet be mine my creatures, to do all my bidding and to be my jackals when I want to feed† (332). The quote implies that the female characters in the novel Dracula- like Mina Harker are no longer bonded with their lovers but are enslaved by The Count. When being held under the power of Dracula, Mina is not in her right state of mind and she no longer prioritizes her love for Jonathan. Victor Frankenstein is given an ultimatum by his creature to create a companion. However, Victor is unwilling because he does not want to be responsible for more chaos that could potentially be caused. After being denied of his request, the monster threatens, â€Å"I will be with you on your wedding night† (Frankenstein, 158), and the thought alone tormented Frankenstein. On Victor’s wedding night, the words of the monster were no longer a threat, but reality. Elizabeth was found murdered in their room. Therefore, when Count Dracula bites Mina and the monster created by Frankenstein murders Elizabeth; they corrupt the love of both couples by preventing the women to love their partners back. When love is corrupted in the two works Frankenstein and Dracula, outcomes are characters who want to seek revenge and to defeat both fiends before they cause more chaos and pain. The creature created by Frankenstein has proved itself to be dangerous to humanity. At first, the people who hadpersonal encounters with him just assumed he was a threat because of his appearance. After being so tired of being rejected, the beast shows himself as someone who would kill innocent people for satisfaction. Specifically, he targets Victor’s loved ones as a punishment for creating him and abandoning him in an atmosphere that does not accept him. In the novel Dracula, The Count is seen as a hazard as well. In one of his many forms, he approaches the innocent and attacks them with a bite so he can use them for his selfish needs. After the loss of practically everyone he holds dear to him, Victor decides that he has been through enough. â€Å"I devote myself, either in my life or death to hi s destruction† (191), concluded Victor confidently. By saying so, Victor made the commitment to devote the rest of his life to finding the beast that destroyed the lives of so many innocent people. The warning, â€Å"We must either capture or kill this monster in his lair; or we must, so to speak, sterilise the earth† (261), is said to inform that it is requirement to put an end to Dracula in order to save the rest of the human race from becoming his slaves. With that being said, Van Helsing and the other male characters eagerly set out on the hunt for Dracula. Therefore, results of love being corrupted within the works Dracula and Frankenstein are the affected characters feeling obligated to avenge the death of their loved ones and destroy those who inflicted pain so they can not hurt anyone else. Committing murder is a result of corrupted love in regards to the characters Othello from the work Othello and the monster created by Frankenstein from the novel Frankenstein. The two types of murders that occur are ones directed towards people seen as the cause for feelings of being Victimized, and suicide from guilt and regret. Being persuaded that he has been betrayed by the innocent Desdemona, Othello is enraged by the idea and declares, â€Å"Yet she must die, else shell betray more men† (5.2.6). Determined to put an end to his wife, Othello does not realize that he is falsely accusing Desdemona, and is making a huge mistake by bringing her to her death bed. At first, the beast feels remorse for being responsible for personally taking two innocent lives. However, after being denied a companion, the monster of Frankenstein is filled with hatred and believes that it is essential for his creator to feel just as lonely as he does. He is not satisfied until all the loved ones in the life of Victor Cabildo Frankenstein are dead. After finally being revealed the truth about Desdemona’s innocence by Bianca, Othello is filled with shame, misery and regret. To punish himself for being responsible of destroying the love of his life, he kills himself to join her in the afterlife. Once the beast discovers the recent death of his creator he says, â€Å"What does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me? I, who irretrievably destroyed thee by destroying all thou lovedst† (Frankenstein, 209). Feeling guilty and responsible of the situation, like Othello, the beast also decides to join the deceased by murdering himself. Therefore, the characters in the works Othello and Frankenstein who act as villains commit suicide because of the shame and regret that overwhelms their consciences when they realize they have murdered innocent people. Corruption of love in the relationships of the innocent characters in the works of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein are based on the causes and effects and how it alters its innocent targets to becoming their worst. Characters like Othello and the creation of Frankenstein freely showed their affection until they were provided with reason to express hatred. Thanks to the supernatural villains in the works Dracula and Frankenstein, love was corrupted in the relationships of Jonathan Harker and Victor Frankenstein when they could no longer approach their loved ones in the same way. When love was corrupted in the works Dracula and Frankenstein, the affected characters felt obligated to seek revenge and prevent any harm towards the rest of humanity by putting an end to the villains that posed a threat. By being affected by corrupted love, the characters Othello and the monster of Frankenstein even resorted to murdering innocent lives. Unfortunately they did not identify the mistakes that were made until it was too late. Out of guilt and shame of their actions and the villains commit suicide to join the ones they killed. With so many lives being lost throughout the three works, it can be seen as a tragedy. The love of those lost can never be expressed or brought back; and that defines the situation as turning out for the worst. Therefore, negative interferences in any shape or form contribute to the corruption of love within the innocent characters from the three works- which leads to the motivation for revenge and killing. Work Cited: Shakespeare, William. Othello New York: Washington Square Press: 1993. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein New York: Bantam: 2004. Stade, George. â€Å"Introduction†. Dracula New York: Bantam, 2006 v-xiv. Stoker, Bram. Dracula New York: Bantam: 2004.

Child labour and possible prevention

Child labour and possible prevention The purpose of this essay is to discuss child labour and possible prevention. Child labour is when a child under the legal age (fifteen) are made to do work that is physically and mentally harmful and which interrupts their education or social development.1 Child labour is a serious problem in many countries. Africa and Asia has the most child employment with both making up 90% of total child employment. They are everywhere but invisible, toiling as domestic servants in homes, labouring behind the walls of workshops, hidden from view in plantations. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that there are more than 200 million children today which are involved in child labour. Some of these children are as young as 5. Child labourers are involved in all type of jobs agriculture, the sex industry, carpet and textile industry, brick making, construction work, quarrying and prostitution. The children that are working in a dangerous or hazardous environment usually dont wear any type of protective clothing or equipment this exposes them to toxic fumes and dangerous chemicals. Child labour should be prevented as it is taking away the childrens childhood, education and it is harmful to their health. There are many reasons why a child is working as a labourer. Most work because of poverty, lack of education and also to support themselves and their families. 1 in 7 children worldwide are working as a child labourer. In Africa, it is 1 in 3 children. 166 million of the children are under the age of 14. 74 million are risking their lives because they are working in a dangerous environment such as mining and construction there are no safety standards, no one has protective equipment, they are all working with bare hands and feet and only earning less than US $1.00 a day. 2 Child labourers that are working in match factories will suffer from phossy jaw. Phossy jaw is caused by accidently ingesting chemicals to make matches. Sometimes the chemicals used to make the matches causes the gums and jaw to become so infected that the jaw bones have to be removed. 3 Child labourers work almost every single day. They work for up to 16 hours a day for 6 days a week. This leaves them to have no time for an education which is important for a childs future. Parents are sometimes responsible for child labour. They force their kids to go to work rather than getting an education. This happens because there are many people who are graduated but still are not able to get a job. Young boys are put into work such as agricultural as soon as they are old enough to do the work. This is from the age as young as 5. Young girls also have to work at a young age but the works they do are not as heavy as the boys. Young girls do household and domestic work. These children have to keep working and are just exhausted at the end of the day which leaves them with no play time with other kids at all. The children who are going to work every day dont get to spend much time with their own family. They dont even get time to play with other children in the same age. The only other children they are with are the ones that they are working with. The children who are suffering from physical and mental job stress will face several health problems in their childhood and later in their life. Child labour is a must for many countries in Africa and Asia, without child labour, it would be even more difficult to survive. But, efforts should also be made to eliminate it. The effort made should be done in a proper manner which will not worsen the problem for those who are already affected. For the unemployed, programs should be introduced which provide an adequate salary. For the poor and the orphan centres, education should be provided for free. Efforts should also be made to change the way parents view child labour. Many poor parents consider child labour as a good though they do not realise how it endangers their childrens health and development. Parents should be made to realize that it is in their best interest to not let their child work at a very young age as this will affect their health, development and self esteem. In general, poverty is the problem that is causing child labour, eliminating poverty would solve most of the problems in Africa and Asia. The world would be a better place for everyone especially the children that are working as a child labour. Without child labour, the children would be enjoying their childhood with friends instead of working every day. There are several other steps that could be taken to prevent child labour. many children left their homes in a way to avoid the abuse that they are victims of from their parents. To prevent this bad treatment, the government could help give conferences to the parents about child labor and the consequences that it brings. In this way, we can help prevent other children running away from home and living as homeless children. Another option could be to build homes for those children that are living in the streets. They will be sent to these homes and they would not have to live outside. In this way we can help prevent children from any abuse that they can suffer in the streets. In these homes, children are not supposed to work; they can study and learn a career, and they will get a better job and a future. Child labor is a very serious problem. Politicians should make laws to prevent child labor and find solutions. Children are our future and we have to take care of them if we want a better future. Bibliography 1 Child Labour Definition. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2009, from http://www.redgoldfish.co.uk/viewglossary.asp?gid=45 2 YouTube Child Labour. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruh0O_mj1v0 3 Child Labour and Disease VA Museum of Childhood. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2009, from http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/childrens_lives/health__work/health/index.html Child labour Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labour

The Behaviorist and Cognitive Approaches to Psychology Essay -- Papers

The Behaviorist and Cognitive Approaches to Psychology In this essay I am going to explore two of the major approaches to Psychology, Cognitive theories and Behaviorist theories. I will discuss in some detail the two approaches, state how they compare and illustrate the similarities and the differences between them. John Watson, one of the founders of Behaviorism, based his theories on the principles of learning outlined by Pavlov who suggested the theory known as Classical Conditioning; he trained dogs to salivate whenever he rang a bell. Dogs have a natural reflex response to salivate when they see food, Pavlov rang a bell when the dogs were given food and after several repetitions of this action, the dogs began to salivate whenever they heard the bell, even when there was not any food there. This approach rejected the idea of the conscious mind. Albert Ellis & Aaron T Beck developed the present form of the Cognitive approach to psychology in the 1950’s. This development emerged from a growing dissatisfaction with the narrowness of the behaviorist approach as it neglects complex human activities such as planning and communication. Behaviorists emphasize the relationship between the environment surrounding a person and how it affects a person’s behavior. This approach has a tendency to ignore mental processes. Behaviorists believe that studying the brain is not ultimately the best or most effective way to understand behavior. A person might act oddly in one particular environment, but normal in others. Whilst cognitive psychologists agree with the behaviorist theory that the environment surrounding a person does have some inf... ...hey may be thinking or feeling, if focuses on what you can see not the emotions. It is difficult to measure the thinking or feeling of independence and the behaviour of others, as well as the expectations of others in any particular given situation, for example John Watson believed that given the right environment anybody could be made into anything. Sources of Information ====================== Psychology – A New Introduction by Richard Gross, Rob McIlveen, Hugh Coolicun, Alan Clamp and Julia Russell (Twelfth Edition) Hilgards Introduction to Psychology by Rita L Atkinson, Richard C Atkison, Edward G Smith, Daryl J Bern and Susan Nolen-Hoeksema (Second Edition) Basic Psychology by Henry Gleitman (First Edition) www.sntp.net/behaviourism.thml http://scs.une.edu.au/Materials/573/573_4.html

Essay --

Psychology has different ways of defining human behaviour using different psychological perspectives. This essay will be focussing on two different psychological perspectives which are socio-cultural and psychoanalysis. We will therefore provide an explanation for Tumi’s experiences using different sources. We will define the perspectives, discuss the proponents of the theory, basic premises and causes of behaviour, research methods used, strengths and limitation. Sociocultural perspective examines how the social environment and cultural learning influence our behaviour, thoughts and feelings (Holt, N., et al.2013, p.34). Sociocultural perspective has different approaches as Santrock (2003) stated that sociocultural approach examines how social and cultural environments impacted on behaviour and debates a full understanding of human’s behaviour that requires knowledge about cultural context which the behaviour occurs. According to Matsumoto (2001) sociocultural approach also focusses on the behaviour of people from unique ethnic and cultural groups within a culture. Psychoanalysis is the theory of personality developed by Freud that emphasizes the roles of unconscious mental processes, early childhood experiences, and the drives of sex and aggression in personality, behaviour is largely influenced by our unconscious wishes, thoughts, and desires, especially sex and aggression (Gray, 1994). As Nolen-Hoeksema et al (2009) psychoanalysis developed by Freud, unconscious, childhood experiences are controlled by inner forces. Tumi’s feeling of going crazy is being influenced by what she thinks, feels and her experiences as she had a poor relationship with her mother and sister, passing away of her aunt, her belongings being stolen, ... ...jective and extremely interpretative and he also placed an over-emphasis on sexual drive and provides us with an extremely pessimistic outlook on personality as it discounts the notion of free will. Weakness of sociocultural perspective is that to become a sangoma requires difficult training, as it is regarded as a calling which is as great honour gift and that if the person abuses the power ancestors withdraw power (Cumes, 2013:71). In conclusion both psychoanalytic and sociocultural perspective helped in giving a better understanding of Tumi’s behaviour and how we can help her to recover from the situation. I recommend that psychologists should keep on training students about these perspectives as it will enable them to gain more knowledge and be able to exercise new skills of dealing with problems and innovations in supporting the people in the communities.

Multimedia in the Palm of your Hand :: Technology Technological Papers

Multimedia in the Palm of your Hand Hand Held Video Games Hand held video games have been around since 1991 when Game Boy came out with the first hand held video game. When Game Boy hit the market it sold about fory eight million copies worldwide. Video game systems are a big part of are popular culture right now. We have seen many advances in the hand held video game industry since 1991. Game Boy has recently come out with a new colored Game Boy called Vitual Boy. The Virtual Boy uses two, tiny mirrored screens. Along with two screens they used two different colors, red and black, to produce a 3-D effect. This game console came out in the U.S. in 1995 but was not a success at all. Game Boy will now try again this year to build of their success in 1991. Nintendo is now coming out with Game Boy Advance. Game Boy Advance (also known as GBA), will be coming out this year and will sell for about $80-$90. You the consumer will have fifteen games to chose from which run for about$30-$40. You will also be able to use your old Game Boy games to play on the GBA. The GBA has fifty percent bigger screen and fifty percent better battery life. Nintendo says that the built in screen will have a sharper picture than the 64-bit consoles connected to a regular television. We are seeing Nintendo trying to build off their big success of the original Game Boy. Many people do not see Game Boy as a computer. Nintendo’s software company called Gametek has developed a program that you can take your Game Boy and turn it into a personal organizer, spell-checker, or even a travel guide. Sega which came out with the colored Game Gear system, also sell an attachment that will convert your Game Gear into a television . Music at Your Fingertips Portable MP3 players have come a long way in just a short period of time. Soon cassette and CD players will be considered as stone-age devices. Right now there are more than 50 different kinds of MP3 players ranging from simple to high-tech. Yet, the question that still remains is why are these players so popular?