Learning environment Essay Example for Free

Learning environment Essay â€Å"The environment we are in affects our moods, the ability to form relationships and the effectiveness in work or play, even our health. † (Bullard, 2006). In effectively educating children an educator must build a foundation that has a stimulating environment which includes the inside and outside areas, classroom design and decor size. The outdoor learning area must be one that is organised in a way that promotes exploration and investigation of the elements of nature which includes planting trees and flowers, as well as nature stations where children can observe the different insects. On the other hand is the classroom design which also endorses discovery along with cooperation among peers. The centres should be spacious that enables free movement where group gathering can take place, as well as the different materials and manipulative that are easily accessible to children in the different learning areas in facilitating their knowledge. But however not only that, but as well as decor size which pertains to using child size toys, tools and furniture in the classroom that eliminates children from asking for assistance from adults, as well as allowing them to feel empowered by not requesting of their help. In providing a stimulating environment like the one that was now described would allow children to actively participate in their learning. This is so because the surroundings therefore cater for â€Å"appropriate ways in developing the vital skills, the knowledge and a positive attitude to learning in the individual needs of each child. It is based on â€Å"guiding children to observe, question, discuss, listen, manipulate, feel, investigate and develop the ability to think creatively and independently. This is defined as Active Learning. In discussing the importance of the active learning environment above which includes the inside and outside areas, classroom design as well as decor size that promotes active learning, this paper would now focus on one such area that is assessed in the internal environment, meaning a learning centre that needs to be enhanced, as well as strategies used for improvement to reflect my curriculum goals. Description of the Learning Centre that needs to be Improved While children were in the indoor setting of the classroom I took time to sit and observe what exactly was happening at each of the different centres. While monitoring I noticed that most of them were at the diverse learning areas excluding the language centre which had only about two (2) children who took a short amount of time interacting within that area. The other centres were very attraction as they had many tangible objects that children can interact with, whereas the other had old objects that were very unattractive and discoloured. Most of the materials were posters that were stuck to the wall which were there for a very long time, in turn making it appear distasteful and unappealing. In the language centre it therefore created a barrier that enabled children to further promote their language development as there were an insufficient amount of materials that catered for it. In addition, that learning centre did not cater for the children as it did not promote active learning, because as stated earlier when a centre has materials and manipulatives that are easily accessible to children it therefore facilitates their learning as it guides them to observe, engage and grasp different concepts in a simpler way. But however, there were no materials that held the attention of the children that they can become involved with; hence it developed a barricade for the active learning process to take place. When comparing the centres I have found that this is a situation that needs to be put back into working order immediately, because â€Å"language is an important skill that allows a person to communicate. † (Brannagan, 2010). It is a significant skill that is crucial in a child’s life as they use it to adequately exchange information with others in a meaningful way, as well as understanding the uses of reading and writing and becoming successful early readers and writers as it determines a successful future for them. In contrast, if this particular skill has a delay it can create complications in communication with others. This therefore can build frustration within the child since it may lead to miscommunication about what he/she is trying to convey. This is why it is important for me as an educator to address this matter quickly, so in turn children can have the opportunity to interact within that said learning centre and not only in the others, as they would gain better knowledge by coming into contact with materials and experiences that are provided for  them by adults, hence making it easier to make sense of the world around them, as well as influencing their rate of growth. This process is referred to as The Constructivist Theory in which the philosopher Jean Piaget believed that children’s learning is an active process where there is interaction between the person and the environment. This improvement of the Language Centre would be effective as it will continually provide active learning within all the centres in the classroom without the segregation of one. My Curriculum Goals within the Language Centre As stated by the National Early Childhood Care and Education Curriculum Guide in the strand Effective Communication â€Å"language and literacy play a critical role in the development of children’s thinking, learning and communication. To develop into successful, contributing adults, children must learn to be effective communicators and masters of their official language. † (Ministry of Education , 2005) With this being said my curriculum goals within the Language Centre are taken from the National Early Childhood Care and Education Curriculum Guide. The goals are as follows: ? A growing awareness that speaking is an effective way to communicate thoughts, ideas and views. ?A growing awareness that print (common signs and symbols) conveys meaning. ?An increasing understanding of some symbols, language patterns, letter sound relationships to predict, confirm or make meanings from using their hundred languages, which includes multimodal texts. ?Develop ways to experiment with conventional letters, word signs and symbols to convey meaning. ?Understanding of the relationship between letters and sounds. Develop ways to explore how symbols and written and visual texts are used to communicate meaning. ?The ability to derive and convey the meaning of common signs and symbols (exit signs, area labels etc. ) in the various environments (school, home, community. ) ? A love for listening to and retelling familiar stories, as well as a desire to â€Å"read† on their own. Learn new vocabulary and extend language to communicate and negotiate ideas and plan for activities. Strategies used for Improvement in the Language Centre Letters are all around us! Therefore using environmental prints stuck to the wall in the language centre such as signs, labels and logos can be of great assistance in accomplishing some of my stated goals in developing children’s reading skills. This was stated by Colorin Colorado as an influential method in making the connection between letters and first efforts to read. It discusses how adults can make these techniques interesting to a child’s learning in talking about letters, words and print. The article suggest that in taking advantage of cereal boxes, as they are colourful to facilitate learning in which they can request for the child to find the first letter of his/her name on the box which assist in letter recognition as well as when going on a car trip. This results in children making the explicit link between letters and sounds. Another strategy the article further suggests that can be utilized, is about the use of technology in taking digital pictures of signs such as â€Å"exit† or â€Å"do not enter† to create a book for children to promote his/her reading skills. Environmental print provides lots of opportunities for kids to interact with letters, sounds, and words. † After reading â€Å"Colorin Colorado† 2010 it is concluded that not only can you facilitate children’s learning in the classroom but using the environment prints that surround us everyday can be of grand assistance. As stated by the U. S Department of Education 2011, Phonological Awareness and Training assist in the development of preschool language and literacy. The article defines Phonological Awareness as the ability to detect or manipulate the sounds in words independent of meaning whereas phonological awareness training is the means of involving various training activities that focus on teaching children to identify, detect, delete, segment, or blend segments of spoken words (i. e. , words, syllables, etc. ). In the language centre I can provide picture cards along with letter cards as well so that children can make the distinction between sounds and their letters as they are able to match the letter sound card to their pictures. Other materials may include ABC books, magnetic letters, alphabet blocks and puzzles as well as alphabet charts. It has a positive effect because it’s easier in learning alphabet letters as well as the letter sound knowledge that enables them to add letters together to form words and in turn add words together to form sentences; in addition it also provides the knowledge of print awareness and early reading abilities; Incorporating Interactive and Dialog Reading declared by the U. S Department of Education 2011 refers to the adult reading stories to the children. When teachers repeat the reading’s of favourite books it enables children to become familiarized with the books that will allow for independent reading as well as utilizing different techniques to engage children in the text, while dialog reading is the term used when the adult and child switches roles where the child now becomes the storyteller and the teacher the listener and assistance of the child. Dunst, Simkus and Hamby 2012 says â€Å"Engaging young children in retelling stories read to them by parents or teachers is a strategy that is often used to promote story-related comprehension and expressive vocabulary. This article similar to the one mentioned above suggest that in reading and repeating stories to the child or a small group of children and therefore engaging them to retell the story in their own words results in the expansion of ideas and their imagination. This becomes effective because Interactive and Dialog Reading assist in oral language and vocabulary development as the teacher may ask open ended questions in engaging the child in verbal elaborations which allow the child to gain knowledge about the meaning of spoken and written words and the development of comprehension skills which caters for early literacy and language development. To further endorse these skills in the language centre that is significant in improving and supporting literacy development the materials that would be provided are lots of good child friendly books that are attractive and prints that deals with class activities e. g. helper charts, toy shelf labels, as well as charts that display good habits etc. Apart from all those strategies mentioned above this one takes a different course. This article written by Howard Phillips Parette talks about the acquistion of Phonological Awareness and Alphabetic Principles through the use of Microsoft PowerPoint. It declares that through Microsoft PowerPoint it can facilitate a child’s phonological awareness because teachers can modify such features such as colour, pictures, sounds, animation, slide design and slide transition. This promotes the acquisition of reading skills and fluency. Whereas, alphabetic principles also known as phonemic orthography which refers to relationships between letters and their associated sounds help young children develop letter-sound correspondence. Using the techniques through technology enables the promotion of comprehension skills, the understanding of the concepts about print as well as the facilitation of vocabulary development. This article is critical as it shows how to assist children in identifying letters and sounds through the use of technology. In being educated about how to incorporate technology in teaching children the acquisition of these skills, I would therefore try my utmost best in providing a computer in the language centre that would be most available to the children, as well as undertaking that strategy of how to teach the children phonological awareness and alphabetical principles on that such computer. How does the Active Language Centre Created reflect my Curriculum Goals? When assessing the language centre before I did my creation it was evident that there were no signs of my curriculum goals, mainly because of the lack of attention I gave to that particular centre and the insufficient amount of materials that were provided to the children in classroom. But however, now when comparing the centre from how it was before to this very moment, I can observe that my curriculum goals are off course reflecting. The reason for this is because it is more attractive in the eyes of the future members of society, as well as the materials that are presented to them mirrors my goals. The materials that were mentioned and described earlier above and that would be offered to them facilitates the particular skills that would be met in the declared goals and that are of great importance to the children, as well as the teacher learning strategies that were undertaken in further endorsing and accomplishing them. Limitations and Innovations In implementing the strategies that were discussed earlier, there was off course one (1) obstacle that was preventing me from accomplishing my entire task. But luckily, there were more innovations than limitations presented. They are as follows:- Innovations – all this were possible with the help and the support of the parents ? I was able to provide lots of books in the language corner that were incredibly attractive to the children. ?The magnetic letters, some puzzles along with many beautiful charts. ?Labels ?Alphabet blocks Picture cards ?Letter sound cards ?Environmental Print e. g. (signs, logos etc. ) ?Together with the children we were able to create the book that includes the different environmental signs. Limitations ?The strategy that was very different from the others which was the incorporation of the computer into the classroom was unable to accomplish due to the expense that it would have implanted. It was hard to achieve, but however after sometime we would be able to achieve it to facilitate the children’s learning. Conclusion In discussing the strategies above that I have undertaken in enhancing the Language Centre in my classroom in reflecting my goals, it has enabled me to realize how unique this learning area is to the children in the environment and to there future. When adults create rich language and literacy environments with the appropriate materials, manipulatives and teacher learning strategies to further endorse the important skills, it boosts the child’s vocabulary along with the use of language, which in turn increases their likelihood of future success.

W.B. Yeats and History Essay -- Poetry Poet Yeats

Yeats in Time: The Poet's Place in History All things can tempt me from this craft of verse: One time it was a woman's face, or worse-- The seeming needs of my fool-driven land; Now nothing but comes readier to the hand Than this accustomed toil. In these lines from "All Things can Tempt Me" (40, 1-5), Yeats defines the limitations of the poet concerning his role in present time. These "temptations" (his love for the woman, Maude Gonne, and his desire to advance the Irish Cultural Nationalist movement) provide Yeats with the foundation upon which he identifies his own limitations. In his love poetry, he not only expresses his love for Gonne, he uses his verse to influence her feelings, attempting to gain her love and understanding. In regard to the Nationalists, he incorporates traditional Irish characters, such as Fergus and the Druids, to create an Irish mythology and thereby foster a national Irish identity. After the division of the Cultural Nationalists, Yeats feels left behind by the movement and disillusioned with their violent, "foolish" methods. He is also repeatedly rejected by Gonne. These efforts to instigate change through poetry both fail, bringing the function of the poet and his poetry into question. If these unfruitful poems tempt him from his ?craft of verse,? then what is the true nature verse and why is it a ?toil? for the poet? Also, if Yeats cannot use poetry to influence the world around him, then what is his role as a poet? As ?All Things can Tempt Me? continues, Yeats addresses this question of role by describing the way he perceived bards in his youth. He speaks of the poet?s song, saying, "Did not the poet sing it with such airs/ That one believed he had a sword upstairs;" (7-8). Thi... ...ory is not a nightmare from which Yeats is trying to awake; it is the very world in which he lives. When he says that if Gonne had understood him he would have ?been content to live,? it is another way of saying that (since she can never understand him) he is not content to live. As a poet, he has undergone a kind of death, rendering him a lifeless observer of the present while becoming an active participant in the past which his poetry explores. Whether he sees this role as a dream or a nightmare, if Yeats ever awoke from history, he would cease to be a true poet and his verse would lose its true meaning. Works Cited Yeats, W.B.. Yeats's Poetry, Drama, and Prose. Ed. James Pethica. New York: Norton, 2000. Ramazani, Jahan. "The Elegiac Love Poems: A Woman Dead and Gon(n)e. " In Yeats's Poetry, Drama, and Prose. Ed. James Pethica. New York: Norton, 2002.

Abb Essay

As a result the front-line profit center managers’ performance is getting affected. * The conflict between long-term technical development and short-term profits is making the situation worse. As per the Business Area’s concern, the COMSYS project should be given priority over other activities as this project, if successfully implemented, would enhance the operations and efficiency of our relays business across the world. However, the development of the project is affecting the daily activities of the company. The problem spilled-over to the regional transmission performance and thus allocation of funds to the project COMSYS (in this case investing in R&D) rises as an important issue to be discussed. * Such an issue increases the difficulty in reaching to a decision. The more time we take in reaching to a conclusion; more will the performance of the company get affected. First of all, we need to ensure that the development of project COMSYS doesn’t affect the operations and performance of the company. Second, we need to allocate suitable resources like funds, workforce etc. or project COMSYS separately. Moreover, from the short-term perspective we need to implement the project as soon as possible as the resources allocated to the project would then be available for daily operations, and from the long-term perspective we would be able to eliminate the compartmentalized framework of the profit centers and thus form a common base of software and hardware. * In the current situation it would be difficult to achieve this goal as the priorities within the organization doesn’t coincide. Project COMSYS is important for long-term development of the organization and, thus, needs sufficient resources for its implementation. I would, therefore, request the committee to take the afore-mentioned points into consideration and carry this discussion forward and helps us to reach to a decision. 2. ABB’s Global Matrix: As mentioned in its annual reports for the year 1988 and 1989, the Chairman(s) has(ve) clearly mentioned about the strategy of â€Å"think global, act local†. Since the merger the ABB group has been following the philosophy of decentralization; its aim to be close to the customer, to have short-lines of communication and decision-making and clearly defined accountability, all are reflected in its matrix structure. The matrix structure was proposed by a 10-person top management so that it enables the group to achieve a balance between its global business focus through its 58 business areas with the market created by the 1300 local companies under the umbrella of several country-based holding companies. The structure focuses on the principles of decentralization and individual accountability with clearly defined responsibilities from business areas heads to regional and front-line profit center managers. The business areas were responsible for carving out strategies while the local companies were responsible for implementing the strategies and achieving the objectives. All the business area heads had additional responsibilities of their national company’s operations. Thus, the overall goal of the top management was to develop managers who can take leadership roles as a result of which â€Å"a self-driven, self-renewing organization† would be formed. One of the main reasons for the success of the matrix structure in ABB was proper communication of the philosophy by the top management to every single employee of the organization. Communicating values to the managers was given priority based on the belief that managers are loyal to values rather than to the company or a particular boss. The core values included quality not only in products but also in the organizational processes and relationships. The management emphasized on dedication to productivity and performance at all levels of the organization. The structure implemented was well in line with the overall strategy of the organization. With rapid acquisitions after the merger ABB grew bigger, spreading its operations throughout the world. The matrix structure, therefore, provided a platform for ABB to absorb the acquired companies and made implementation of its strategies in them easier. One of the important initiatives taken by the top management was to translate the company’s philosophy to specific task requirements for managers at all levels. Throughout the internal restructuring process it was ensured that the organization was not distracted from the market place. Important issues were delegated to teams consisting of front-line managers. The company also had a unique philosophy of resolving of problems wherein the problem, if escalated to the higher level manager, was pushed back to the team to resolve and to reach to a conclusion. This process enabled and enhanced the problem solving capabilities of the managers. In order to implement individual accountability, a transparent reporting system named ABACUS was developed to collect performance data for all the 4500 profit centers in dollar denomination. The business area heads did not stop with just crafting strategies, rather they were personally involved up to some extent in implementing the strategies and policies. The top management, also, was well informed of the daily activities as well as the performance of all its companies. In case any business underperformed, the top management would step in and demand explanation and offer help if needed, thus, giving proper attention to all its businesses. All the above mentioned points explain why ABB was successful with the matrix structures while many could not. Having explained the advantages of the matrix structure, I would like to mention few disadvantages which were prevailing in ABB too. 1. The complex structure with dual hierarchy sometimes leads to confusion and conflicts within the organization resulting in decreased productivity as is visible in case of the COMSYS challenge faced by Don Jans in ABB. . It is sometimes time consuming and delay in taking decision may affect the organization’s performance largely. 3. In such a structure it is difficult to ascertain accountability. The larger the organization, the complex the structure, thus, more difficult is individual accountability. 3. Management roles and responsibilities in ABB and Don Jansâ€℠¢s performance in ABB The management of ABB has been playing a vital role in the post-merger restructuring of ABB. The structure evolved as a pathway for the management to achieve its goal of operating in a global scale. It provides managers the flexibility and autonomy in taking decisions. The management was driven by policies made by the CEO, Percy Barnevik. The frameworks set by Barnevik were well implemented throughout the hierarchy, for example, Barnevik implemented â€Å"7-3 formula† which says that it is better to decide quickly and be right 7 out of 10 times than delaying action in search of a perfect solution. This policy was driven by the principle that the only unacceptable behavior is not doing anything. Under his leadership, the company grew rapidly with numerous acquisitions across the world. Nevertheless, the same philosophy, values were implemented in each of its companies. The matrix structure of ABB defined responsibilities for business area heads to work on the strategy whereas the front-line managers were held responsible for the daily operations of the local company. The managers were provided autonomy to the extent that they had control over their company’s balance sheet such that they inherited their results year to year and, thus, the top management had no say in the decisions regarding their company’s operations. This particular autonomy motivated many managers to perform better and better. As ABB was acquiring companies, it became important for ABB to ensure that the acquired companies imbibed the culture and values of ABB. The management took this as a challenge and ensured this by communicating the strategies and goals of the organization to managers from corporate level to business area heads to country level managers. One such regional manager for the relays division in the Coral Springs, Don Jans, who became part of ABB after the acquisition of Westinghouse in early 1989, had well-received the communication from the head of the ABB’s power transmission segment, Goran Lindahl, where he emphasized on the responsibilities of the local companies to implement the plans and achieving positive results. It was not an easy task for Don Jans and his team from Westinghouse to adapt to the culture of ABB, however, he found the management of ABB much supportive and involved as compared to that by Westinghouse’s. When first exposed to the philosophies of ABB, Don Jans found it to be much different than Westinghouse, where the decisions were taken by the top management, unlike ABB where he had the autonomy of taking the decisions. He found ABB to be much more flexible as the decisions were very much delegated and the organization was result oriented, i. e. he top management continuously monitored results of each of its companies, and would interfere only when the results were not satisfactory. Proper communication of the organization’s strategies to the managers was given importance as they were the ones who were responsible for achieving results. For Don Jans this experience was exhilarating, as he mentions once in a meeting where the corporate managers(for relays business) were presenting to his team â€Å"about how the industry was developing, where ABB wanted to be, how it was going to get there, and so on. †. Such meetings were received in a positive manner as they educated his team about the organization. Moreover, the meeting did not end there, the proposals for investing in relays business by his team were given proper attention, which further encouraged Don Jans to provide better performance. The matrix structure provided Don Jans with the flexibility of operations and taking decisions. Due to which the performance of relays business (of which Don Jans was in charge) had improved. With clear communication from the top management, he was aware of what was required to deliver. He used his experience in the industry to invest in a small-scale in microprocessor relays technologies as he had financial resources at his disposal. He used his freedom to improve the product lines of the relays division by broadening the microprocessor technologies experiment to solid state devices, and thus gave ABB a competitive advantage in the market where other players were taking advantage of the technology. Thus, Don Jans tried to improve the performance of the relays division by leaps and bounds by regular investment in newer and better technologies.

The Westboro Baptist Church When Does The 1st Amendment...

Francois Reihani Dr. Yoder PPD 240 05/03/15 The Westboro Baptist Church: When does the 1st Amendment trump the Public Interest? Introduction The Westboro Baptist Church is a group that has been in the spotlight for the last two decades because of their unusual tactic of picketing at soldier’s funerals. The act is motivated by the notion that America’s moral are being corrupted by their acceptance of homosexuality. The act of picketing of soldier’s funerals according to the group is motivated by the fact that it is a time when mourners are emotionally vulnerable and they think of their mortality. They believe that by picketing in soldier’s funerals their message is stronger. However, this tactic has caused much consternation from both the public and the government. In the interest of the public, state legislatures have enacted laws against the actions of the Westboro Baptist Church. The landmark case of Snyder v. Phelps would have been the deciding factor against the group, but the Supreme Court held in favor of the group because their actions were protected by the First Amendment. This then wou ld present the notion that the First Amendment trumped public interest in the decision. However, that is not the case because the case was an IIED case among others, it was a personal one. As long as the group coordinates with public authorities and does not break laws, then their acts are nothing more than nuisances that should not get in the way of celebrating the life of the dead.