Education Philosophy and Rationale Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Education Philosophy and Rationale - Essay Example Multiple Intelligences as a Personal Education Philosophy On a personal perspective, the theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) by Howard Gardner is the main basis of teaching philosophy. This is one the basis of the recognition of the capabilities of the students in terms of achieving the basic objectives of the teaching and learning process. The theory of Multiple Intelligences can be considered essential as a guide in enabling the educator to recognize the needs of the students in terms of learning. Metaphysics of MI Multiple Intelligences is one of the educational theories which serve as guiding principles in education. The basic knowledge which became the foundation of the theory originated from the two streams of the research conducted by Howard Gardner in 1970, the Project Zero. He also wrote the â€Å"Frame of Mind† in 1983 based on the said research. Gardner’s view is based on biological perspective mainly the collection of cognitive competences which originally was seven and became nine distinct concepts. His theory mainly explored the manner by which human intelligence works in terms of analyzing and the context by which such frames of mind were exhibited (Dixon & McPhee, n.d.). Epistemology of MI The theory of MI, according Gardner, was based on the consideration of the educational philosophers’ views before him. ... ization, work with brain damaged patients, gifted children and other form or conditions which can cause variation in terms of intelligence on the basis of Gardner’s definition. The second foundation of the theory of MI is the relationship of between the forms of intelligences to the human cultural contexts considered to trigger or to exhibit them (Dixon & McPhee, n.d.). There are different forms of intelligences included in Gardner’s theory namely spatial, linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalistic forms (Slavin, 2008). Linguistic Intelligence. One of the main forms of intelligence is related to the verbal aspect of development or the linguistic intelligence. Included in the said form are the spoken or written words and other faculties of language. The main contexts of linguistic intelligence are reading, writing, telling stories, vocabulary and memorization of words and dates. Strengths include reading, taking notes, listening to lectures, discussion and debate, and learning new languages (Slavin, 2008). It is one of the basic forms of intelligence based on Gardner which according to him can be observed in the â€Å"work and vision of a poet† (Dixon & McPhee, n.d.). Musical Intelligence. The musical intelligence is also referred to as rhythmic intelligence because it is related to pith rhythm and timbre. Based on data gathered by Gardner, the musical ability is distinct from other forms of intelligence, thus, students can be motivated through music-related activities. Also included in the strengths of musical intelligent learners are drama and role playing (Dixon & McPhee, n.d.). Spatial intelligence. One of the forms of intelligence is spatial intelligence which arms a person to comprehend the world

Wikis as Education Tool Essay Example for Free

Wikis as Education Tool Essay With the development of today’s technology, it has allowed the creation and proliferation of information in a more convenient manner. Due to this, individuals have used this towards achieving competency and gaining the necessary foundation for learning that paves the way for improvement. Seeing this, instruments such as â€Å"wikis† have allowed the creation and further expansion of data. By taking into consideration the advantages of this mechanism in education, it can further harness the way educational goals are administered and achieved. The development of the term ‘wiki’ in education started in 2006. It is composed of information that is subject for changes and improvement on a particular subject given. â€Å"Wikis are more versatile than a class blog, because blogs are typically one way communication and Wikis are updated by teachers and students† (Wetzel, 2008, p. 1). Since this idea is powered by the internet, it allows people to actively collaborate and contribute both information and insights on a subject, thus widening the horizons for change (Baird and Nye, 2009). Its creation originates from a posting of a particular topic of interest. Under this, the user then allows his/her work to be subject to editing and updating on areas that need further expansion. â€Å"Wikis improve upon more traditional modes of writing collaboration like sharing paper and document files since a wiki page is shared on the Internet and easily accessed and edited online† (Baird and Nye, 2009, p. 1). At the same time, since its creation, it has adopted new approaches that have made this process more user-friendly and applicable to all. â€Å"The use of hyperlinks, tables, images, media, as well as incorporating the customized layout that we see with carefully designed web sites is present in wikis† (Baird and Nye, 2009, p. 1). Looking closely at the content associated with ‘wikis’, the topics offer a myriad of information that students can deem to contribute. It can look into areas of Natural Sciences such as Biology, Physics, Chemsitry, etc. or other topics such as History, Mathematics, Religion, and Sociology. The presence of this diverse subject matter exemplifies its potential in creating an active environment for learning and enhances educational goals and objectives (Elgort, 2007). That is why continuing strategies should be explored to actively tap on its strengths and capability as an instrument for teaching and facilitation. Realizing the relevance of such approach in education, I feel that it can be an essential device for intensifying training and facilitate learning. In doing this, I need to understand the parameters and scope of what my subject of interest would be. After this, I have to actively link this on how I wish to use ‘wikis’ to encourage cooperation among my target students. â€Å"Decisions need to be made not only about how information is structured but also what navigational support is provided to the reader, and these decisions are crucial to the ways in which the reader interacts with the wiki† (Elgrot, 2007, p. 234). I feel that this is an initial step in making sure that the initiative is in-line with the objective, needs and standards mandated. After this, the next step involves the creation of an active system wherein students can explore the meaning of the subject and point out their relative inputs and understanding based on the information provided. This means that communication and interaction via the website is an important agenda to consider. By highlighting areas wherein changes or modifications can happen, it can increase the likelihood of participation and further acquisition of knowledge and information. To conclude, the creation of wikis is one instrument that technology has provided to humans today. By actively exploring its capabilities, it can be seen that this setup can be applied to intensify and increase learning objectives. At the same time, as people realize the relevance of such practice, it can be an alternative approach in education which can make it adaptive to 21st century trends. References Baird, R. and Nye, M. (2009) Beyond Wikepedia: Wikis as Learning Tools in CITES EdTech.Retrieved May 11, 2009 from http://www. cites. illinois. edu/edtech/newsletters_articles/articles/baird/beyond_wikipedia-spr09. html Elgort, I. (2007) Using wikis as a learning tool in higher education in ascilite. [online] Retrieved May 11, 2009. 233-238. Wetzel, D. R. (2008) Using Wiki Technology to Engage Students: Educational Technology Strategies for Creativity and Collaboration. Retrieved May 11, 2009 from, http://teachertipstraining. suite101. com/article. cfm/using_wiki_technology_to_engage_students

A Career As A Bricklayer :: Free Essay Writer

A good career for me would be a bricklayer. Bricklayers make a lot of money but it’s also a lot of work. It’s a job that most people wouldn’t necessarily enjoy but on the other hand you would make a lot of money, about $14-$18 an hour. (WOIS p ) A quote from my sister who works at Big Kmart is, â€Å"People work at jobs they don’t enjoy just so they can make a lot of money.† I think I could do the job well. Three reasons I think I could do the job well are, I’m a good worker, I have a lot of energy, and I know a lot about bricks. With these three reasons in mind, it would be good to think of a bricklayer as a career for me. I think that I would be a really good bricklayer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I’m a good worker. If you were to give me a job to do then I would do it and do it well. If I’m focused and determined to do the job, I will get the job done successfully. That’s pretty much all there is to it. If you told me to build a wall out of bricks, for example, I’m the kind of person who will be right on the job. I’ll just start working then I’ll work until the wall or whatever it may be is built. Now everyone has days that they are tired but they still have to work. Let’s say I was tired, I would work not only because I had to but because I would care so much about my job to do my absolute best.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For my whole life I have had a somewhat large amount of energy. That means that I can do something for a long period of time, without getting tired. Bricklayers work different amounts of hours all the time. It depends on the project and on who you are working for. A lot of bricklayers are self employed so they work what they want to. So it really depends on what exactly you are doing (WOIS p ). I could work long hours, that is another reason why I’d be good at my job. Most people would hire you for the job if they know that you will get the job done in a reasonable amount of time doing a fair job. My sister says that, â€Å"One of the most important aspects about a job is having a good reputation. If your boss knows you will do the job and do it well then you should be

History of Nursing

Nursing has been called the oldest of arts and the youngest of professions (Donahue, 1996). In ancient periods because of maternal instinct women were considered born nurses. They cared for their own family and trained their daughters and other women in their community in the procedures in which they specialized. In the 16th century the meanings nursing included â€Å"a person, or a woman who waits upon or tends to the sick†. During the 19th century, nursing was considered training of those who tend to the sick and carrying out duties under direction of a physician (Donahue, 1996). Today, nursing has become both an art and a science. It focuses on health promotion, professionalism, skills, knowledge and education. It is now a career of all genders and races and one of the highest growing professions in the United States. To understand how nursing has arrived we must first review where nursing has come from. In this paper you will learn about nursing before Florence Nightingale, the reforms that Florence made that changed nursing as a profession, and Innovations in nursing as it continue to evolve. Nursing has its origins in Christianity. According to Joyce (2002), some of the earliest nurses and individuals who ran hospitals were Catholic nuns and monks. Deacons and deaconesses of the church were trained as nurses and went out into the community to provide nursing care. In the 1840s, nursing- sisterhoods were founded to improve standards of nursing in Britain (Joyce, 2002). This organization was of the Catholic nursing order. According to Joyce (2002), St. John's House was an Anglican Nursing Sisterhood founded in 1848, it provided nurses to care for the sick in their own homes. This is considered one of the first training schools. They trained nurses for private work but they gained experience in hospital wards (Joyce, 2002). In the 17th and 18th century, the infirmaries were local houses used for providing employment for the destitute. During this time most people who needed nursing were nursed at home. Those who were not nursed at home ended up in workhouses, with primitive wards, for the sick and infirm. Some of the older hospitals were rebuilt often by private benefactors (Grell, 1997). They appointed private contractors who looked after the parish's poor. The individuals would then be employed and in return would receive board and lodging. The infirmaries were often filled with patients from the hospitals who could not be cured. They became so bad that only those who had resigned themselves to death would stay. Usually the infirmary was a freezing cold and draughty room. There were iron beds with thin mattresses, the only furniture in the room. The sick were not cared for properly, the volunteer hospitals were unable to cope with the increasing population and there were no facilities for training nurses (French and Wear, 1991). The growth of the 18th century brought overcrowding in the cities which increased the spread of disease. The building of railways in the vicinity led to the admission of many accident cases and often to a rise in the sepsis rate. Due to the overcrowding in hospitals; bedsores, malnutrition, and infections were everyday occurrences (Grell, 1997). Nurses were seen differently during the eighteenth century. They were not perceived as medical practitioners but as domestic servants. According to Grell (1997), nurses were inferior largely because nursing was historically subservient roles before the 1800’s. The people staffed as nurses were traditionally convicts, widows, and orphans in exchange for food and shelter. Nurses were poorly trained, poorly paid, and the ill were cruelly treated and abused and neglected (Grell, 1997). Charles Dickens novel, â€Å"The Life and Adventures of Marin Chuzzlewit†, tells of Sarah Gamp, a fictional nurse portrayed as an alcoholic who is a nurse midwife and layer out of the dead. She enjoys all of the hospitality given to her with no regard to the individuals to which she is hired to care for. According to the story nurses were ignorant, drunk, and lazy (Dickens, 2011). Although nursing care reform was a concern there were definite issues such as pay, workload, and recruiting quality individuals. The threat of nurse values arose concerning nursing care of the sick, so did the push for change in the quality of nurse selection. The domestic organization was under the direction of a Matron, recruited from a higher order of society and paid according to the position. Nurses were appointed by matrons who tried to find women of good character. According to French and Wear, in 1845 the matron of the Middlesex told the weekly board how she chose nurses. â€Å"They should be between 30 and 45 years of age, strong, healthy, unmarried and unencumbered with children. They should be accustomed to nursing, able to read and write, humane, honest, sober and clean in their work and person (French and Wear, 1991, 268)†. The nature and duties of patient care also was re-evaluated. The duties concerning patient care were the manual tasks of administering food and medicine, changing linen and emptying bedpans, and they also did the basic hospital cleaning (French and Wear, 1991). Pay being low, recruitment was difficult and many nurses were discharged for taking bribes or rollicking with the patients. The ward sisters, were principal nurses in immediate personal response on patients they played the key role. They were responsible to the matron and the steward for everything within the ward which was not a matter for the medical staff. They received differential rate of pay as senior nurses or sisters, typically in the range of five to ten pounds per annum 11 (French and Wear, 1991). By day the nurses performed domestic duties and administered to the wants of the patients. At night ‘watchers’ of a yet lower class supervised the wards, calling the sister who slept nearby if there was an important change in the condition of a patient. If watchers lay down or slept they were instantly discharged. The wages were comparable with the wages of a domestic servant and in certain areas lower (French and Wear, 1991). Reform took its shape in areas of parliament and government concerning wages. According to French and Wear (1991), many nurses required the sick or dying individual to pay them money before they would administer any care. This had become problematic, the Royal Infirmary Governor pushed to raise the wage for nurses. This wage increase would involve the nurse to discontinue this practice and was used to recruit and retain better nurses who took pride in their appearance and character. The change in recruitment strategy was to recruit women from a higher social class (French and Wear, 1991).

Reality and the Existence of God Essay

When Descartes decided to tear down his beliefs and start fresh, he needed a foundation upon which to build his ideology. When judging what reality is, God must be considered. He/she must be taken out of a religious concept and proven to exist, exist in a way in which we cannot be deceived into only thinking is real. The proof of the existence of God in this way forms the backbone of Descartes’ further forays into proving what is reality. God, being the supremely powerful, all-knowing all-seeing force that created the world and everything in it, was central in most 17th century philosophies. When investigating the importance of god in Descartes’ philosophy, one must first understand the science of the times. The basic principle of mechanism is that everything in the universe could eventually be explained in terms of mechanical laws, and with these laws there is no free will. The universe moves like a complex clock, with everything pre-determined and in accordance with the laws of matter. Pierre Simon de Laplace stated â€Å"We may regard the present state of the universe as the effect of the past and the cause of the future. An intellect which at any given moment knew all of the forces that animate nature and the mutual positions of the beings that compose it, if this intellect were vast enough to submit the data to analysis, could condense into a single formula the movement of the greatest bodies of the universe and that of the lightest atom; for such an intellect nothing could be uncertain and the future just like the past would be present before its eyes. † (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Mechanism_%28philosophy%29) Unfortunately for mechanism, the mind is impossible to define in mechanical terms, as it is not a corporeal substance that can be measured. Descartes responds to this problem with dualism, saying that the mind is a â€Å"thinking thing† which is the essence of himself. This â€Å"thing† doubts, believes, hopes and thinks, all the while existing only in a metaphysical sense as a non-extended, thinking thing; while the body is a non-thinking, extended thing. With this he had a clear and distinct idea of both mind and body, and whatever he could conceive, God could create. This led him to believe that the mind could be separate from the body, a substance whose essence was thought. Thus the idea of dualism was founded by the existence of God. As Descartes did not completely agree with mechanism or materialism, he had to essentially obliterate all his beliefs, wipe his proverbial slate clean, and start again. To reevaluate what was real and what was false, Descartes had to doubt everything, including the existence of God, and if he/she exists, whether or not God was a deceiver. Descartes put forward the question of whether or not there are any attributes to the idea of God which couldn’t have originated in himself, God being â€Å"infinite, eternal, unchangeable, independent, supremely intelligent, supremely powerful†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He came to the conclusion that none of these attributes could have come from him alone, as he possesses none of them. In this sense, God must exist. He then postulates the hierarchy argument, where the idea of God could not have been thought of by him, or man in general, as the attributes seen in God belong to some higher form. It does not matter that he cannot â€Å"grasp the infinite†, or touch the attributes of God as he himself is finite; the very nature of something being infinite is that it cannot be grasped by something finite. Thus, since the ideas of God are in some higher form, they must be the truest and most clear and distinct of all Descartes’ ideas. He then decided to ask how he could have received the idea of a perfect being from God, as he has never encountered such from the senses. He comes up with the idea of a craftsman, who, when he invents something, may fiddle and change parts of his creation as he chooses. The idea of God, in Descartes’ mind, could not be changed or interfered with; therefore he could not have created it himself. This leads to the belief in the idea of God being innate in him. He again uses the idea of a craftsman, with the idea of God as a â€Å"mark of the craftsman† stamped on his work, man. Descartes’ then postulated that he could not exist with the innate idea of God in his mind without God existing. This fostered his belief that God could not possibly be a deceiver, since for something to be fraudulent or deceitful it has to have some defect, which in God there is none. This began to form the foundation on which Descartes would continue to prove existence through methodical doubt. After he determined that yes, God exists, Descartes turned his attention to truth and falsity. He has determined that God would never deceive him, as wanting to deceive is a sign of malice or weakness, traits not pertaining to God. If God, then, does not deceive him, errors on his part must be of his own judgment. He uses God as a benchmark, saying he is somewhere between God and nothingness, between supreme being and non-being. In meditation number four, again he uses the craftsman analogy, that the more skilled the craftsman, the more perfect the creation. Since God created Descartes, he must be perfect, which leads him to believe that his making mistakes may be better than not doing so. Human free will is an issue that philosophers of every generation tackle in some form or another, and Descartes was no exception. When dealing with will, he believed that will is simply one’s ability to do or not do something, to accept or reject a proposition. This will is such that when a decision is presented to us, we have no sense that we are pushed one way or another by any external forces. He believed that freedom is strengthened by natural knowledge and divine grace, and that since God gave him the power of willing, it cannot be the cause of his mistakes. Simply, a mistake is made when one’s will extends beyond their intellect, when one applies will to matters they do not understand. This philosophy states that God has given him the freedom to choose his destiny in situations of which he does not have complete understanding, a view quite inconsistent with the beliefs of the time. Descartes could not have been an atheist and have come to the conclusions he did. The science of the time was a rigid belief that everything in the universe was bound by the laws of matter, and that it moved like a complex clock, everything pre-determined from the time it was created. A strong supporter of the idea of dualism, Descartes believed that the mind was not bound by the laws of matter and was intangible, a substance whose essence was thought. Since God created him, whatever he could conceive could also be created by God which is the founding principle of dualism. When he began to tear down his belief system, he needed a foundation on which to build his new knowledge. He proved the existence of God by using the hierarchy theory, that since none of the traits of God could be attributed to himself, they must have come from God. With this knowledge, Descartes tackled truth and falsity, the essence and existence of material things, and the real distinction between mind and body. All of which in some for or another were based on his foundation: that God exists and is not a deceiver. If he could prove the existence of God through methodical doubt, he could prove anything. He made this quite clear near the end of his fifth meditation; â€Å"I see plainly that the certainty and truth of all knowledge depends strictly on my awareness of the true God. So much that until I became aware of him I couldn’t perfectly know anything.

All American Jazz Music essays

All American Jazz Music essays Jazz music came about in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is considered to be Americas Music. People call it this because of the way it was developed. In the mid 1800s, during the times of slavery and segregation, the art of jazz music swept over the south. Particularly Louisiana. Blacks, whites, men and women of all ages and backgrounds came together and created a new, more artsy form of music that is known as jazz. What makes jazz music so special is that it is one of a kind and that it is unpredictable. People would just get together and play their instruments, usually the bass, trumpet or piano, and make beats and play any sporadic melody that came to them. The music was enjoyed by many, and was a sort of doorway for many other kinds of music to be developed from. These other kinds of music include the blues and ragtime. During the time period that jazz was developed, it was a way for both the musicians and the listeners to forget their problems and just enjoy what they were hearing. Jazz spread quickly and was soon spread throughout the south and became popular with all kinds of people. Slaves would sing and doo-wop on their plantations to help pass time. Many believe that this was also partly responsible for the birth of Jazz music. Throughout the jazz era, slavery was in full gear in the south. Within a few years, the civil war broke out. Jazz was not only played for listening pleasure, jazz was played as a way to express feelings and tell stories. This was called the blues. The blues was a form of jazz in which there would be a slow beat and a rhythmic story being told in sync with the beat. The sudden wave of another form of jazz called ragtime brought about mixed feelings. This was upbeat music and caught the attention of many of the younger listeners. This brought on the age of Flappers. Flappers were young women who felt free and wore shorter skirts and had shorter hair. Th ...

Understanding Delphi Class (and Record) Helpers

Understanding Delphi Class (and Record) Helpers A feature of the Delphi language added some years ago (way back in in Delphi 2005) called Class Helpers is designed to let you add new functionality to an existing class (or a record) by introducing new methods to the class (record). Below youll see some more ideas for class helpers learn when to and when not to use class helpers. Class Helper For... In simple words, a class helper is a construct that extends a class by introducing new methods in the helper class. A class helper allows you to extend existing class without actually modifying it or inheriting from it. To extend the VCLs TStrings class you would declare and implement a class helper like the following: type TStringsHelper class helper for TStrings public function Contains(const aString : string) : boolean; end; The above class, called TStringsHelper is a class helper for the TStrings type. Note that TStrings is defined in the Classes.pas, a unit that is by default available in the uses clause for any Delphi forms unit, for example. The function were adding to the TStrings type using our class helper is Contains. The implementation could look like: function TStringsHelper.Contains(const aString: string): boolean; begin result : -1 IndexOf(aString); end; Im certain youve used the above many times in your code - to check if some TStrings descendant, like TStringList, has some string value in its Items collection. Note that, for example, the Items property of a TComboBox or a TListBox is of the TStrings type. Having the TStringsHelper implemented, and a list box on a form (named ListBox1), you can now check if some string is a part of the list box Items property by using: if ListBox1.Items.Contains(some string) then ... Class Helpers Go and NoGo The implementation of class helpers has some positive and some (you might think of) negative impacts to your coding. In general you should avoid extending your own classes - as if you need to add some new functionality to your own custom classes - add the new stuff in the class implementation directly - not using a class helper. Class helpers are therefore more designed to extend a class when you cannot (or do not need to) rely on normal class inheritance and interface implementations. A class helper cannot declare instance data, like new private fields (or properties that would read/write such fields). Adding new class fields is allowed. A class helper can add new methods (function, procedure). Before Delphi XE3 you could only extend classes and records - complex types. From Delphi XE 3 release you can also extend simple types like integer or string or TDateTime, and have construct like: var s : string; begin s : Delphi XE3 helpers; s : s.UpperCase.Reverse; end; Ill write about Delphi XE 3 simple type helper in the near future. Wheres MY Class Helper One limitation to using class helpers that might help you shoot yourself in the foot is the fact that you can define and associate multiple helpers with a single type. However, only zero or one helper applies in any specific location in source code. The helper defined in the nearest scope will apply. Class or record helper scope is determined in the normal Delphi fashion (for example, right to left in the units uses clause). What this means is that you might define two TStringsHelper class helpers in two different units but only one will apply when actually used! If a class helper is not defined in the unit where you use its introduced methods - which in most cases will be so, you do not know what class helper implementation you would actually be using. Two class helpers for TStrings, named differently or residing in different units might have different implementation for the Contains method in the above example. Use Or Not? Yes, but be aware of the possible side effects. Heres another handy extension to the above mentioned TStringsHelper class helper TStringsHelper class helper for TStrings private function GetTheObject(const aString: string): TObject; procedure SetTheObject(const aString: string; const Value: TObject); public property ObjectFor[const aString : string]: TObject read GetTheObject write SetTheObject; end; ... function TStringsHelper.GetTheObject(const aString: string): TObject; var idx : integer; begin result : nil; idx : IndexOf(aString); if idx -1 then result : Objects[idx]; end; procedure TStringsHelper.SetTheObject(const aString: string; const Value: TObject); var idx : integer; begin idx : IndexOf(aString); if idx -1 then Objects[idx] : Value; end; If youve been adding objects to a string list, you can guess when to use the above handy helper property.