Hydrogen Fuel Cells The Fuel Of The Future Environmental Sciences Essay

Hydrogen Fuel Cells The Fuel Of The Future Environmental Sciences Essay Ever since the beginning of the human era, there has been an ever growing necessity for energy. Energy is the most basic aspect of human development. From lighting and communication to cooking and transport, quick and easy access to energy makes the modern way of life possible. Currently, planet earth is addicted to inefficient, polluting, and non-renewable sources of energy such as coal and oil. These energy sources allow for the unequal distribution of the benefits of energy. Some communities may receive the wealth and cheap energy that coal and oil bring, while others receive only polluted streams, acid rain, and deadly toxins. Fortunately, there is an answer to this problem: hydrogen fuel cells. Because hydrogen fuel cells are an emission-free fuel source, are more efficient than current fossil fuel sources, and have the possibility to create a diversified energy economy, more investments need to be made in this budding technology. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and has been present since the beginning of time. The earths own life-giving star, its sun, is composed almost entirely of this element (Bose and Malbrunot 22). As the smallest element in the universe, hydrogen consists as a diatomic, gaseous molecule with a single proton and a single electron. Hydrogen does not exist in its pure form on the planet, but it is present as a compound in molecules like water, glucose, natural gas, and even oil (Busby). Because it is found in such a variety of sources, hydrogen is the perfect power source for fuel cells. What exactly are hydrogen fuel cells and why will they be the fuel of the future? Hydrogen fuel cells are a mechanical device that convert the electrochemical energy found in a fuel source, like hydrogen, into electrical energy, with the only byproducts being heat and water (Hoffmann 6). In all fuel cells there are two electrodes, an anode and a cathode, with an electrolyte, a membrane capable of moving ions, in between the two (Sorenson 73). During their operation, hydrogen fuel is injected into the anode side, while oxygen, usually from the air, is pumped to the cathode. The hydrogen molecule disassociates, and the proton passes through the electrolyte to join the oxygen, while the electron from the hydrogen molecule travels in an outside circuit, producing electrical current (Brus and Hotek 22). Because of the fact that fuel cells have no moving parts, they are much more efficient than conventional internal combustion engines, which makes them a great investment for the future of the planets energy. In addition, there are multiple types of fuel cells, each with their own sets of merits and each able to be used a different way in todays energy economy. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are the most prevalent type of fuel cell today. They deliver a high power density and a low weight to volume ratio (Sorensen 81). Because of this, and their abnormally low operating temperature of 80Â ° Celsius, PEMFCs are ideal for use in cars, buses, and other small scale portable applications. Also, the low operating temperature of PEMFCs allow for less wear and tear on the electrolyte, thereby reducing maintenance costs (Hordeski 145). Although PEMFCs have excellent performance characteristics in vehicles, they do not produce the amount of power necessary for large scale operations, like power plants. Molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs) are the answer to this problem. MCFCs have a higher operating temperature, around 800Â ° Celsius, which allows them to create a much higher amount of energy per unit of fuel. This also makes them difficult to use in portable applications (Kandlikar). In addition, MCFCs can reach efficiencies of up to seventy percent if cogeneration, the capturing of waste heat, is used. This is much higher than the twenty five to thirty five percent efficiencies of coal fired power plants (Brus and Hotek). Because of the large amount of energy produced in MCFCs, their excellent efficiency, and their possible cogeneration applications, they are much better suited for stationary applications, such as power plants, than are fossil fuels. Currently, the main reasons that hydrogen fuel cells are not in more widespread use is the lack of production, delivery, and storage infrastructure. Almost all of the energy infrastructure in the United States, and indeed the world, is geared toward fossil fuels (Busby). With a forward looking investment, the current fossil fuel infrastructure can easily be converted to hydrogen. The first step in creating a reliable hydrogen infrastructure is to invest in renewable hydrogen production methods. Renewable production methods include wind, solar, and hydroelectric. All of these methods produce energy, which leads to the eventual electrolyzing or splitting of water to produce both hydrogen, which is used in fuel cells, and oxygen, which can be captured as a useful byproduct (Hydrogen Energy). One of the main reasons experts such as Peter Hoffmann argue for a more widespread use of hydrogen fuel cells is because they have the possibility to become a zero emission fuel source. Hoffmann recognizes that a future hydrogen economy would consist of hydrogen being produced from clean, primary sources of energy. (8-9). Although the conversion of the existing fossil fuel based infrastructure would cost billions of dollars, citizens of the United States must evaluate whether the continued damage to the planet is worth the cost of switching to a renewable hydrogen based infr astructure. Before switching to a hydrogen based economy, one of the problems that must be solved is hydrogen storage. Hydrogen is an excellent energy storage medium, with energies in the range of 142 MJ kg-1 per unit of mass, but it has a low density (Broom 5). This produces the above mentioned storage problem, because although fossil fuels have a much lower energy content per unit of mass, 47 MJ kg-1, they are a liquid at ambient temperatures, which gives them a much higher density (Farndon). How can the high energy hydrogen be stored in such a way that it gives off the greatest amount of energy per unit of volume, rather than per unit of mass? Multiple options are available, the first of which is storing hydrogen as a compressed gas. Compressing hydrogen results in acceptable pressures, which are around 70 MPa per liter (Broom 5). Compressed hydrogen can also be transferred from dispenser to car in much the same way as gasoline. This makes it both easier and less costly to modify the current gasoline based infrastructure to accommodate hydrogen, although more money is needed to begin to facilitate the transition. The second option for hydrogen storage in the future would be as a complex solid metal hydride. These metal hydrides are transition metals, chiefly lanthanum, which soak up hydrogen like a sponge and then release it when given small amounts of energy (Sorensen). An advantage of these hydrides is that they can store hydrogen at densities higher than compressed hydrogen and gasoline, therefore providing more energy per unit of volume, which allows for smaller storage tanks on vehicles and other portable applications (Ogden). This allows for smaller cars, cell phones, and even power plants. Although the technology of complex metal hydrides is only just beginning to become available, it has great potential for a future hydrogen storage source and now only needs investments to make it become a reality. The only remaining infrastructure necessity for a future hydrogen based economy is a hydrogen delivery system that effectively moves hydrogen from its production source to its destination quickly and efficiently. Fortunately, because of the recent natural gas boom in the United States, this problem may have solved itself. Natural gas and hydrogen are similar: both are a gas at room temperature, both have similar densities, and both can be transported in vehicles and pipelines (Backus 6). Because of their similar properties, it is possible to modify the existing natural gas transportation network to transport hydrogen in place of natural gas. This would result in the quick and easy movement of hydrogen from its production source to its final destination, whether it be a fuel pump, a power plant, or even a cell phone charger (Potera). However, additional investments are needed to convert the natural gas network to hydrogen. One of the most overlooked advantages of a hydrogen based economy are the diverse uses for fuel cells. Commonly thought that their only applications would be in vehicles, fuel cells can actually be used for both small and large scale power generation as well as in vehicles. The most promising frontier is probably large scale power generation. As noted before, fuel cells produce electricity, heat, and water as byproducts (Hoffmann 6). Both forms of energy, the heat and the electricity, can be used to generate power on an industrial scale, making fuel cells far more efficient than fossil fuels (6). Also, hydrogen fuel cells have a possibility fossil fuels never had. They can be used for large scale localized power generation to power homes and neighborhoods. This reduces energy loss that takes place with power plants (153). The size and cogeneration ability of fuel cells makes them a great candidate for the future of the centralized power grid. Another application for fuel cells is in the portable electronics field. Because they produce direct current, fuel cells can be used to power virtually anything that batteries are able to power (Potera). Currently, some companies, like Jadoo Power, are marketing small scale consumer electronics that are fueled solely by hydrogen fuel cells. The fuel cells in these electronics are not only smaller than most batteries, but they also deliver more power for a longer period of time (Hoffmann 154). Because of their size and longevity, the military is beginning to take notice of the potential applications for fuel cells in the armed forces. The military is in need of smaller and lighter power sources for portable devices, and Jadoos technology ideally suits them, says Bob Unger, program manager at Kuchera Defense Systems (qtd. in Potera). Although the prospective applications for portable hydrogen fuel cells are only beginning to emerge, the industry is already in need of investments to kic k-start the development of hydrogen fuel consumer electronics. While both the portable and the stationary applications of hydrogen fuel cells are still emerging markets, the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is not. Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) have been under development since the 1970s, with the main goal of making them cost effective. Currently, approximately 10,000 fuel cell vehicles are on the road worldwide, with the eventual goal of increasing that number to around 500,000 by 2025 (Peter Hoffmann Responds). Advancements in technologies such as complex metal hydrides have reduced the size, cost, and weight of FCVs. It is estimated that if mass produced, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles would cost between 20,000 and 50,000 dollars, which is comparable with the cost of current vehicles (Ogden). Also, FCVs have driving ranges from 300 to 400 miles and refueling times of five minutes or less, which is also comparable with those of the current gasoline powered cars (Brown). So the question now becomes, why are there not more FCVs on the road right now? The an swer to this is the lack of infrastructure, mainly refueling stations. If more investments are made in a hydrogen based economy and its infrastructure, then the possibilities for growth are limitless. Although there are numerous advantages of a hydrogen economy, it is possibly easier to make an argument against the continued use of a fossil fuel based energy economy. Fossil fuels are a polluting, climate-warming, and non-renewable source of energy (Dawson and Spannagle 17). During their combustion, fossil fuels release greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide. In addition to being extreme irritants for people with breathing difficulties, these compounds also cause the acidification of water, often resulting in acid rain, and the death of many organisms that survive in coral reefs (18). The emission of the above compounds also causes a severe depletion in the ozone layer, the high altitude barrier over the earth that protects its inhabitants from the harmful ultraviolet radiation of the sun (17). Because of the amount of harmful pollutants emitted into the atmosphere by fossil fuels, their use should be discontinued in favor of hydrogen fuel cell s. Although the amount of pollutants that fossil fuels emit is astounding, there are other disadvantages of their use. Climate change, which has only part of the international agenda since the 1970s, has continued to gain importance, especially in the wake of natural disasters like hurricanes Katrina, Isaac, and most recently, Sandy (Dawson and Spannagle 3). These natural disasters have also drawn attention to some of the effects of climate change, like rising sea levels and changing planetary climate patterns. There is significant evidence that supports the conclusion that humans, through the combustion of fossil fuels, are warming the atmosphere of the earth, roughly 1.4Â ° F so far. Although that number may seem insubstantial, over the next 100 years, the earths temperature is expected to rise anywhere from 5Â ° F to 14Â ° F if emissions of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide continue at their current rates (Climate Change Basics). For that reason, investments in renewable resource s, such as hydrogen fuel cells, are needed. The final argument against fossil fuels is their non-renewability. Unlike hydrogen, fossil fuels cannot be replenished, and their reserves are currently being depleted. At present, there are an estimated 1.3 trillion barrels of oil left in the world. This is expected to last for no more than forty years. (Dawson and Spannagle 7). Fossil fuels are merely a short fix to the long term energy problem facing the planet. As John and ÇiÄÅ ¸dem Sheffield so eloquently put it, a coherent energy strategy is required, addressing both energy supply and demand, taking account of the whole energy life cycle (1). Fossil fuels are not the solution that the planet needs for its energy crisis. In addition to the numerous disadvantages of fossil fuels, there are many advantages to a completely hydrogen based economy. The first of these is complete energy security and independence. Because hydrogen can be produced from such a wide variety of sources, there is no possibility that one single country, like Saudi Arabia, would control a monopoly on its production (Hoffmann 8). Any country where the sun shines, the wind blows, and there is water can produce enough hydrogen to satisfy its energy needs. If the United States completely switched to a hydrogen fuel based economy, there would be no need to import oil, coal, or natural gas from other countries (Sheffield and Sheffield 7). However, before that transition can come about, more investments are needed in hydrogen fuel cells. Yet another major advantage of hydrogen fuel cells as a future energy source is the lack of emissions. As mentioned previously, hydrogen fuel cells produce only water as their emissions, which is not a greenhouse gas (Benefits). Because of this, water would have no effect on the climate. This is possibly the greatest advantage of hydrogen fuel cells. A fuel cell running on hydrogen emits little to no pollutants over the course of the chemical process (Benefits). Based on data gathered by the United States department of energy, a stationary fuel cell power plant emits less than half an ounce of pollution per 1,000 Kw/h of produced electricity, while fossil fuels create around twenty five pounds of greenhouse gasses and pollutants for the equivalent quantity of produced electricity (Sperling and Cameron 27). Emissions of pollutants from fuel cells are so small that some places in the United States have allowed fuel cells to be exempt from air quality controls (Benefits). Because of the ir low emissions, hydrogen fuel cells should be used in place of fossil fuels in a future energy economy. The final main advantage of hydrogen fuel cells is their excellent efficiency when compared with fossil fuels. Because fuel cells create energy using an electrochemical process and do not combust fuel, they are essentially have greater efficiencies than combustion engines (Brus and Hotek 23). Fuel cell systems today achieve forty to fifty percent fuel to electricity efficiency using only the electricity produced from the electrochemical reaction as power. If cogeneration is used, a fuel cells efficiency can be dramatically increased to between eighty five and ninety percent. Cogeneration can even help reduce a buildings heating costs in the winter by around thirty percent (Benefits). Even fuel cell vehicles are between two and three times more efficient than regular fossil fuel vehicles (Hoffmann 37). Because of their incredible efficiencies when compared with fossil fuel combustion sources, hydrogen fuel cells deserve the money and subsidies that governments currently give to fossil fuel companies. Although hydrogen fuel cells have large amounts of advantages, there is one main disadvantage: cost. The current price for 1kg of hydrogen, the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline, is around twelve dollars (Hydrogen Energy). Most citizens of the United States are used to paying three to four dollars for a gallon of gas, which is much less expensive than hydrogen. However, the price of gas fails to take into account the environmental damage associated with fossil fuels. If factored into the price, one gallon of gasoline costs between ten and eleven dollars (Hoffmann 64). Although the initial price of hydrogen may seem high when compared with gasoline, when the environmental damage is taken into account, hydrogen is actually less expensive than gasoline. Since hydrogen fuel cells emit no harmful pollutants, have efficiencies greater than current fossil fuel sources, and can create a diversified energy economy, they need more investments. Planet earth is facing an energy crisis. The human race must grow, develop, and move past old and inefficient ways of generating energy and into a future where clean and efficient hydrogen fuel cells generate energy for eons to come. If this transition into a hydrogen economy can be made, then the human race has utilized an energy source that can power the earth for thousands more years. If not, then the human race may face a bleak future without one of the main essentials for human existence: energy.

Theories and Approaches to Learning

Theories and Approaches to Learning Write about helpful and unhelpful approaches to learning during your own education. What was positive about those approaches? Did they reflect or express any particular theories of learning? Life is a learning experience. When I was a young girl I was so confident and positive about what I wanted. Maths and Science were my favourite subjects but I was not given freedom to learn as I wanted to learn these subjects. I realized this after I gained a very good experience in teaching primary school children. Student motivation is rooted in students subjective experiences, especially those connected to their willingness to engage in lessons and learning activities and their reasons for doing so. (Brophy, 2004, p. 4) According to Brophy, I must say learning is, interesting fun and exciting when the curriculum is well matched to students interests and abilities and the teacher emphasizes hands-on activities in order to keep the students busy and engaged. When the teacher teaches the right things the right way, motivation takes place by itself. If students are not enjoying learning, something is wrong with the curriculum and teachers instruction. At times I felt my school life was boring and frustrating because I hated all subjects except Maths and Science. I had to sit and listen to longtime instructions and copy the notes from the chalk board. I managed myself for learning because I had to show the Progress Report with good grades to my dad. Ê »Science is like everything, I guess and I think everything has a science to it. [When] baking cookies you have to add the right amount of eggs and milk and stuff like that (Kaufman, Moss, Osborn, 2003, p. 48) As I agree with Kaufman, Moss Osborns point of view, these two subjects add lot of fun to learning as they contain lot of practical activities which are conducted in the school laboratory. I loved to learn through doing and touching, it is because I had trouble sitting still and learning. My worst day during Science period was when my teacher said no when I offered him my help to fix the Bunsen burner to the gas cylinder. He said ‘you are still young so must stay away. Now I understand that I was a kinaesthetic learner that time, my teacher could have engaged me in his work because I could be better able to understand information by doing hands-on activities. I am not going to blame my teacher for this because at the time of my learning teacher centred education was given importance by educators. If teachers are able to understand childrens learning needs, it will reduce lot of frustration like homework incompletion, failures in assessments and sports and speaking in public. A s long as I know sometimes kids are just doing what works for them but, the curriculum in practice when I was in school did not cater the childs individual needs and the educators did not consider the childs learning style. I know that cognitive focuses on the inner mental activities such as thinking, memory, knowing, and problem-solving so, I think at cognitive stage the children should be catered carefully according to their learning needs. I gained lot of experience in teaching, today I am an experienced teacher, I wish I was my teacher when I was in school because when I was a child I did not get what I give to the pupils in my classroom now. As a teacher, I work in my classroom according to my childrens expectations. I believe in group work, differentiated planning, reading a lot for fun, guided reading, shared reading, classroom policies, and ongoing assessments which help me know the level of progress frequently. The few hyperactive boys in my classroom are always my helpers; they are always engaged in classroom jobs. In a typical classroom, some children process information best by hearing the teacher explain it, some learn by seeing whats on the chalkboard, and others learn through hands-on exercises. Nowadays colleges have increasingly begun teaching new students about learning styles so they can develop effective study habits. Three basic learning styles are auditory, kinaesthetic, and visual. Auditory learners prefer listening to explanations over reading them and like to study by reciting information aloud. These types of learners may want to have background music while studying, or they may be distracted by noises and need a quiet space to study. Kinaesthetic learners learn by doing and touching. They may have trouble sitting still while studying, and they are better able to understand information by writing it down or doing hands on activities. Visual learners process new information by reading, looking at pictures, or watching a demonstration but, they may grow impatient listening to an explanation. I still remember the learning style and classroom setting when I was small which is mostly similar to what shown on the video clip of ‘The four UK teachers experience in a Kenyan school. At least for ten years my classroom strength was 35-40 children, our tables and chairs were laid in rows, teachers table and the chalk board was at the front of the class. The classroom layout was so congested, though we learnt how to move around without any incidents, our teachers never approached each table in order to assist the individual needs. Teacher instruction was mostly lecture based and activities contained more board work. We were never treated according to our learning styles which are auditory, kinaesthetic, and visual instead the whole class was given the same type of activities only the able children understood them and completed on time and the rest were neglected. Regret to say that our teachers failed to realise that all of us are designed to absorb information differently; each learning style results in people with various interests, desires and talents and learning is more fun and effective when the teachers look into multiple learning styles. Children learn more efficiently on their own way and can reach their potential by working smarter. Once a teacher identifies the childs learning style, she can give that child the freedom to learn which will support his work at home, at school, and in life. Once my English language teacher asked us to write a simple paragraph on ‘Good Schools, since I like role play activities, I wrote the paragraph and drew pictures of girls and wrote two dialogues in the speech bubbles as they speak the positive things in the school. My teacher saw my work and crossed out the picture and said ‘this is not required here. That time I took this as my teachers valid point of view but later when I became a te acher I thought my teacher should have appreciated my speech bubbles and corrected the sentences or showed me what rules I should follow when I write statements in the speech bubbles. In this way the teacher put a full stop to my desire in learning or trying new concepts. The educators should be able to understand the learning styles of the learners and should provide opportunities accordingly. A kinaesthetic learner should be given more activity based work, for an example- in maths lesson for addition; this type of a learner can be given counters rather than asking him to work out the sums mentally. Kinaesthetic learners should be able to experience and explore the learning aids/ models which are available in the classroom or lab. Learners with strength for visual learning tend to process information by visualizing and seeing it. During a PD training which I attended recently I learnt that about 65% of the population prefers to learn visually. Visual learners in schools can be given opportunities to use colors to organize, receive written instructions and lists, look at graphics like film, flow charts, or diagrams, use visualization when memorizing information, take detailed notes and draw graphics as they learn by looking. People with strength for a uditory learning tend to remember information they hear and discuss. According to what I learnt, about 30% of the population prefers learning with an auditory style. Auditory learners in the classroom can be given recordings of materials like video clips of rhymes or documentaries to be learned; can participate in discussions or discussion groups, have questions read out loud, receive verbal instructions and read written information out loud. It is very sad to say at the time of my learning in the schools I did not see teachers had any knowledge of the types of learners and teach them according to their needs but learning was on going in the classroom. If this is the case how did I learn? This is a very difficult question for me to answer. The learning theories of the school where I studied were forced me to learn in the way I did not want to, the classroom instruction in my school life was mostly suitable for visual learners as there were activities like reading text with pictures, key points of the lesson given on the chalk board and copying texts from the chalk board to the note books. There were hardly any resources around the classrooms; the teaching aids were the text books, chalk board and the chalks. I liked to spend more time in the Science lab its because of the laboratory equipment which our Science/Maths teacher used during practical lessons. I enjoyed these subjects though there were limited resources available in the school lab; the teachers conducted the lessons as for the whole class without realizing the individual needs of the children. I did not study the English language as the way I studied Maths/Science. English was taught through visualizing things, long instructions and reading paragraphs in tex ts. If teachers use a lecture style for instruction, the English language learner will not receive as much comprehensible input. (Haynes, 2007, p. 6) Haynes argument is right. I became impatient listening for long periods during English. Once my English teacher caught me reading my favourite story book in the class and said ‘you must spend time with your text books, you should never read story books it is a waste of time. I followed her instructions and never read story books ever since she told me. Why did not this teacher realize that reading open doors for many worlds? Had I read a lot or be encouraged to read that time I would have had a rich vocabulary when I entered the High school. Another day a story teller visited our school to read stories to each year group and involved the students in making story props and acting out the stories. This was the most enjoyable moment during my English lesson; I had an opportunity to learn new vocabularies too. Everyone had fun during this lesson because the story teller involved each and every student in a kind of activity. Another issue was no school policies were read to us on the first day of school as there were no many policies constructed for the school at that time. We knew how to go in a line to the library, hitting and verbally abusing the peers not allowed, wore neat uniform every day, respect the teachers and so on but we were never taught any of these. I think the hidden curriculum in my school was stronger than the curriculum which was in use that time. Then I moved to a college for my higher education. I can say from my college experience that many higher education instructors still do not realize that students vary in the way that they process and understand information or attempt to respond to those differences in their pedagogical efforts. Effective teaching cannot be limited to the delivery of information; instead it needs to be based on a model of minds at work. Effective instructors are those who understand the importance of involving all of their students in learning how to learn. Effective learners are created when instructors affirm the presence and validity of diverse learning. At the college level the cognitive development occurs at the same pace but the learners experience different kind of problems or issues due to many changes. One of them is ‘culture shock. Newcomers have usually left behind family members, friends, teachers, and pets. They are no longer surrounded by a familiar language and culture. Children often do not have the full support of their parents because the parents are experiencing culture shock, too. (Haynes, 2007, p. 2) I agree with Hayens because the greater the difference between the students new culture and the students primary culture, the greater the shock. During this stage, I as a newcomer was excited about the new lives. Everything was wonderful and we were having great time learning about the environment. For me the differences between the new culture and the old one become more apparent. I rejected my new surroundings because there was so much that I did not understand. At times I felt sleepy, irritable, uninterested, or depressed; there were few more students who felt the same as I did. In my college the English language learners were frustrated because they could not communicate and are bombarded with unfamiliar surroundings, unreadable social signals, and an unrelenting barrage of new sounds. I was homesick and missed my family, friends, and familiar sights and sounds but, our instructors failed to realise this and started their duty stuffing our brain with Physics, Chemistry and Biolo gy. I was compelled to listen and follow what they instructed but, I did not know how much I learnt at that stage. In fact, I was surprised and overwhelmed by the lectures though we were forced to learn what we were supposed to, because the instructors knew so much about the subject taught. At times I asked myself, how did the instructors prepare themselves so well in order to answer all types of questions asked by the students? I saw them as good role models from the way they socialized with others, and delivered the content of the subjects during lectures. Listening to a lecture involves active attempts to construct new knowledge but, most of the time I felt that the instructors could have included videos to their instructions, involved us in presentations or group discussions as I loved these types of activities. ACTIVITY 2: Why are theories of learning important? Write down some initial thoughts about your own priorities at this stage of your development as a (head) teacher. To what extent do your own current priorities coincide with the priorities mentioned above? There are many different theories of how people learn. What important and useful is to consider their application to how our students learn and we teach our educational programs. It is interesting to think about our own particular way of learning and to recognize that everyone does not learn the way we do. In my opinion one of the main points is a teacher should know that each student does not learn in the same way others do. This means if the teacher chooses just one style of teaching such as direct instruction or collaborative learning or inquiry learning the students will not be maximizing their learning potential. For sure a teacher cannot reach every student on the same level during one lesson, but implementing a variety of learning styles throughout the course allows all the students to experience the chance to learn in at least a way that matches their learning style. Most of the materials used to educate students beyond primary school are largely text and lecture based, which have significant limitations. Those students are not involved in group work or discussion activities. Reading is a very important learning mode but, not all students learn effectively from reading. There are students who do not like reading a lot but, respond better to visual and audio stimuli of lecture but often get lost in the material or lose interest in the presentation. In this type of a learning environment, students have limited opportunity to ask questions or may be uncomfortable asking a question in front of the class. So the learning theories we have should cater the individual needs of the children. I believe student learn best by trying to make sense of something on their own with the help of the teacher along the way. Therefore the learners should be involved in activity based learning and given the freedom to use the classroom resources around them. Another im portant point is that the best way to learn is by having students construct their own knowledge instead of having someone construct it for them. For an example, for giving them the concept of Addition they should be given counters or an abacus to find the sum of two numbers rather than explaining this on the chalk board. For the language development they should be given activities for listening and writing which will be an interesting activity too. Science and Geography can be taught through pictures, video clips, lab work with a lot of experiments and the use of internet. At times I did not get the clear concepts of the subject taught when I attended the lecture type classes but I had an opportunity to understand better when I was asked to teach the same concept to someone else on my own. An experienced teacher should always use cognitive terminology such as classify, analyze, predict, and create when assigning tasks to the students, this helps the students to explore and research to find lot of information about the subject. We should encourage student critical thinking and inquiry by asking them thoughtful, open-ended questions, and encourage them to ask questions to each other. Further, we should provide enough time for students to construct their own meaning when learning something new. We should acknowledge that, students understanding and prior experiences about a concept before teaching them, which is as vital as breathing. Group discussions that we organize should encourage communication between the teacher and the students and also between the students. All learning and some elements of non-learning begin with situations where there is a disjuncture between a learners biography (past experiences) and their construction of present experience. (Jarvis, Holford Griffin, 2003, p. 70) As Jarvis, Holford Griffin explain educators should pay importance to the childs prior learning experience in order to give them the proper foundation on learning. In the school where I work the children speak English as a second language therefore I had to construct my learning theories according to their past experience with the language of English. One of the word level objectives of English for first graders is ‘to represent in writing the three phonemes in CVC words, spelling them first in rhyming sets, then in non-rhyming sets. This is a very simple objective but difficult for a first grader in my school as their prior knowledge in English is zero due to use of no English at home. In that case if I as a teacher insist them to learn this objective then I will be committing a crime for not having any knowledge on their biography. So it is vital for me to spend correcting prior knowledge before new learning can occur, in fact we in our school where I work now spend at least 2-3 weeks at the beginning of the first term to learn the biography of the children. Teachers must be fair in distributing their praise and all students should receive praise. They should look for positive things to say about a students work even when pointing out problems or mistakes during lesson. Some might receive praise for bigger achievements than others but, even the lower performer needs a regular pat on the back. Teacher should also give praise or verbal rewards to the class as a whole to encourage the class and build team unity. True, the learning theories help support planning and teaching, help to critically evaluate classroom practice and help in the diagnosis of classroom problems but in my opinion the important person who constructs the learning theories in the classroom is the teacher who is not given enough opportunities to implement these in her classroom to experience the consequences. I hear teachers of other schools say that excess amount of paper work and work load do not provide enough time to engage the children on learning. In the school where I work our teachers are not given extra duties such as after school duty, snack duty etc in order to make sure that they spend more time in the classroom and prepare for students learning. We have special subject teachers for ICT, Physical Education and second languages so the class teachers can concentrate only on the core subjects like Literacy, Numeracy, Science and Geography. One may ask, why do our teachers are kept away from teaching ICT? In my opi nion ICT should be integrated in learning however, in some cases, teachers feel ICT increases their workload, with some tasks taking longer time to complete. This can often be traced to one or more of: a lack confidence or lack of ICT skills, ineffective networks or a lack of appropriate training or technical support. To reduce teacher workloads in our schools in future, ICT strategies will be included specific workload aims although this should not be at the impression of continuing to find ways in which ICT can raise quality and pupil performance. (We are planning to improve ICT strategic planning through strategic aims, hardware, software, connectivity, technical support and staff training and development in future and involve the teachers in integrating ICT to learning). Staff meeting or Curriculum meeting is conducted only once a week, which helps the teachers to spend more time with their work in the classroom and during their non contact periods they are supposed to prepare additional activities for the lesson they have planned. Progress Report for the pupils are being sent only thrice a year rather than every month, the teachers in our school have to spend less time dealing with behavioural issues because we have well constructed standardized policies for discipline, behaviour, uniform, food and bus and the Social worker is highly involved in implementing the policies. In our school calendar there are few days allocated as ‘Staff in Students out for professional development which is very important for the educators to upgrade their skills. I have seen few schools in this country utilize the student time I mean have shortened day in order to organise PD for the staff. In some schools teachers spend most of their time on disciplining the children and dealing with behavioural issues because of the weak hidden curriculum in place and no proper plan or policies to manage these types of issues there. Some educators want to expose themselves as good teachers or professional and show that they can manage the children very well, so they spend more time on putting up class displays, classroom management and less time on teaching the children. I have seen educators who work only for survival, their aim is to spend the days in the school and get monthly wage on time. The overall goal of the teachers should be to help and support students develop into self motivating learners. Students who are encouraged to become motivated lifelong learners will be more successful in and out of the classroom. When I worked as a teacher in other schools I had to teach all the subjects including IT and Physical Education, send monthly progress report home, prepare student portfolio for each child in my class, do after school duties and attend meetings with the Principal for four days in a week. I must say at that time I was frustrated for not having enough time to concentrate on the learning of my students and I was able to realise that they were not gaining anything according to their learning style. So, when I became as a head of a school I made sure that the teachers are given more time to spend for the children not with paper work and so on. The Social Worker and I are directly involved in solving behavioural issues in the school so the teachers will not have to spend time on this issue. The school policies and curriculum should be child centred and focus only on their learning. Educators should spend more time on pupils learning for which the strong hidden curriculum of the school should be helpful so that the teachers can construct proper planning for their teaching rather than wasting their time on other issues like behaviour and discipline. What I am trying to explain is that the learning theories we construct should focus on the childs academic and intellectual development. ACTIVITY 3: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation List eight ways in which you motivate pupils in your classroom and school. Explain which motivational forms are intrinsic and which extrinsic. We know nothing about motivation. All we can do is write books about it. Peter Drucker I have read a lot about ‘Motivation in books and on websites. I think Drucker is concerned about the nature of understanding the term ‘Motivation. I know what motivation is but, I do not think that I have made a closer inspection to it ever in my career. I have motivated the learners to read a lot, work smarter, behave well and be a good role model through rewards and appreciation as the way the factory workers are encouraged by ‘end of year bonus so that production improves and absenteeism falls. No one can know the future at least in any detail. In preparing the future, students should be able to develop viable occupational skills. Learning a discipline and doing it well provides the foundation for a sense of purpose, security and confidence in adulthood. In addition to this the students should prepare for change. As we see, change is best handled and even welcomed, when individuals possess a well developed mental skills associated with original creative and independent thinking. Further, according to Martin V. Cavington, the greatest legacy of education is to encourage in our students a will to learn and to continue learning as personal circumstances-change in short to promote a capacity for self renewal. Today many students drop out of school without a single achievement for which they can feel uniquely responsible for it. More ever the majority of the students fail achieve their potential due to lack of motivation in schools and home. How to always be motivated? Keeping our motivation high is the key factor to achieve our goals. We all face setbacks in life but, the ability to turn it into a lesson and move through a positive direction should be our aim for which motivation is highly required. If we are not motivated, we will experience difficulties in turning our great ideas into great results, wake up in the morning without any desire, ask people around us for support, give up our tasks before finishing them, postpone important decisions and wish that we will have a set of helping tips to overcome our setbacks. If we as adults will have to face a great deal of inconveniences due to lack of motivation, what will happen to those who just started their life in schools as children? What will be the consequences for being not motivated by important factors? How motivation takes place in classrooms and schools? A primary concern for educators is how to balance the use of extrinsic incentives as needed to promote student task engagement while establishing a climate that also fosters intrinsic motivation. (Alderman, 1999, p. 213) The motivation comes from the pleasure one gets from the task he does or from the sense of satisfaction in completing or even working on it. As Alderman explains, we should equally balance extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in order to promote engaging students on task. According to what I understood intrinsic motivation means motivation which comes from inside an individual rather than from any external or outside rewards, such as money, trophies or grades. Extrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from outside an individual. The motivating factors are external, or outside, rewards such as money, trophies or grades. These rewards provide satisfaction and pleasure that the task itself may not provide. Is intrinsic motivation the solution for increasing student engagement? One perspective is that intrinsic motivation to learn is a necessary, but insufficient, component for academic achievement in classrooms; that is, one can enjoy learning or have an interest in a subject, but lack the strategies necessary for continuing motivation (Alderman, 1999, p. 218) According to Aldermans argument, an extrinsically motivated student will work on a task even when he has little interest in it because of the anticipated satisfaction he will get from some rewards. The rewards can be something as minor as a smiley face to something major like a trophy or free computer game. For example, an extrinsically motivated child who dislikes maths may work hard on maths problems because he wants the reward for completing it right. For me it is very difficult to agree with Aldermans point of views on ‘motivating extrinsically will result positively as I have teaching experience with children of some (sorry to say) arrogant parents, rich parents who are proud of their wealth and children who enjoy the most lavish life in this country which is completely different where I come from. I have implemented many strategies for motivating children in my class; I never had an opportunity to discriminate intrinsic and extrinsic motivation until I come across some readings on these topics by Jerome S. Bruner and Alderman. All I knew were about motivating children to be engaged on task. Two years back I had few children in my class, whose parents especially the mothers were not supportive at all; their children most of the time turned in completed homework, they had poor reading skills and had unacceptable behaviour in the classroom. In order to motivate them towards task, I used to tell them if they complete work on time or behave well they will get a smiley sticker or a badge but, I always had reply from these kids ‘I dont need I can buy them when I go out with my driver or ‘who cares of those cheap stickers or ‘I have got plenty of them at home. In such a place where I am in, most of the children are not attracted by those extrinsic motivations rather they would like to get motivated by intrinsic factors. I have spent a lot of time trying to think of ways to motivate my more reluctant students. I have tried fear† If you are late again, I will call home†. I have tried rewards â€Å"If you follow the classroom code of conduct you will earn points that you can redeem for a free homework pass or computer game. As a motivational support fear and rewards do work, for a while but, I did not want to threaten my students, and I did not want to bribe them. I want them to develop a will to come to class and learn. I wanted their motivation to be intrinsic. The question then was how I get my students to become more intrinsically motivated so that the classroom experience is more enjoyable for everyone. When Iencouraged mystudents self motivation by structuringmy class and my teaching I met their needs which are love, respect, emotional support and to move about the classroom freely. I followed many ways to motivate the children but now, I can differentiate them according to intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors. Intrinsic motivation takes place when there is a positive relationship between the learners and the educators. As Jerome Bruner (1966), explains that extrinsic reinforcement may lead to a desirable kind of activity and cause its repetition but will not ultimately encourage sound learning. His belief was that intrinsic rewards are more important than extrinsic rewards in the long term. Intrinsic motivational factors I implemented in my classroom and school were, 1- When I asked my students to volunteer to be my assistant and assigned jobs for them more learning went on than if I did all the teaching myself. 2- When I had those students who could not sit still for very long and lose focus easily did their maths questions on the board, they were more likely to stay focused and learn which develop the interest of involvement. 3- When I greeted my students at the classroomdoor early morning with a smile and allocate games and puzzles for them to d Theories and Approaches to Learning Theories and Approaches to Learning Write about helpful and unhelpful approaches to learning during your own education. What was positive about those approaches? Did they reflect or express any particular theories of learning? Life is a learning experience. When I was a young girl I was so confident and positive about what I wanted. Maths and Science were my favourite subjects but I was not given freedom to learn as I wanted to learn these subjects. I realized this after I gained a very good experience in teaching primary school children. Student motivation is rooted in students subjective experiences, especially those connected to their willingness to engage in lessons and learning activities and their reasons for doing so. (Brophy, 2004, p. 4) According to Brophy, I must say learning is, interesting fun and exciting when the curriculum is well matched to students interests and abilities and the teacher emphasizes hands-on activities in order to keep the students busy and engaged. When the teacher teaches the right things the right way, motivation takes place by itself. If students are not enjoying learning, something is wrong with the curriculum and teachers instruction. At times I felt my school life was boring and frustrating because I hated all subjects except Maths and Science. I had to sit and listen to longtime instructions and copy the notes from the chalk board. I managed myself for learning because I had to show the Progress Report with good grades to my dad. Ê »Science is like everything, I guess and I think everything has a science to it. [When] baking cookies you have to add the right amount of eggs and milk and stuff like that (Kaufman, Moss, Osborn, 2003, p. 48) As I agree with Kaufman, Moss Osborns point of view, these two subjects add lot of fun to learning as they contain lot of practical activities which are conducted in the school laboratory. I loved to learn through doing and touching, it is because I had trouble sitting still and learning. My worst day during Science period was when my teacher said no when I offered him my help to fix the Bunsen burner to the gas cylinder. He said ‘you are still young so must stay away. Now I understand that I was a kinaesthetic learner that time, my teacher could have engaged me in his work because I could be better able to understand information by doing hands-on activities. I am not going to blame my teacher for this because at the time of my learning teacher centred education was given importance by educators. If teachers are able to understand childrens learning needs, it will reduce lot of frustration like homework incompletion, failures in assessments and sports and speaking in public. A s long as I know sometimes kids are just doing what works for them but, the curriculum in practice when I was in school did not cater the childs individual needs and the educators did not consider the childs learning style. I know that cognitive focuses on the inner mental activities such as thinking, memory, knowing, and problem-solving so, I think at cognitive stage the children should be catered carefully according to their learning needs. I gained lot of experience in teaching, today I am an experienced teacher, I wish I was my teacher when I was in school because when I was a child I did not get what I give to the pupils in my classroom now. As a teacher, I work in my classroom according to my childrens expectations. I believe in group work, differentiated planning, reading a lot for fun, guided reading, shared reading, classroom policies, and ongoing assessments which help me know the level of progress frequently. The few hyperactive boys in my classroom are always my helpers; they are always engaged in classroom jobs. In a typical classroom, some children process information best by hearing the teacher explain it, some learn by seeing whats on the chalkboard, and others learn through hands-on exercises. Nowadays colleges have increasingly begun teaching new students about learning styles so they can develop effective study habits. Three basic learning styles are auditory, kinaesthetic, and visual. Auditory learners prefer listening to explanations over reading them and like to study by reciting information aloud. These types of learners may want to have background music while studying, or they may be distracted by noises and need a quiet space to study. Kinaesthetic learners learn by doing and touching. They may have trouble sitting still while studying, and they are better able to understand information by writing it down or doing hands on activities. Visual learners process new information by reading, looking at pictures, or watching a demonstration but, they may grow impatient listening to an explanation. I still remember the learning style and classroom setting when I was small which is mostly similar to what shown on the video clip of ‘The four UK teachers experience in a Kenyan school. At least for ten years my classroom strength was 35-40 children, our tables and chairs were laid in rows, teachers table and the chalk board was at the front of the class. The classroom layout was so congested, though we learnt how to move around without any incidents, our teachers never approached each table in order to assist the individual needs. Teacher instruction was mostly lecture based and activities contained more board work. We were never treated according to our learning styles which are auditory, kinaesthetic, and visual instead the whole class was given the same type of activities only the able children understood them and completed on time and the rest were neglected. Regret to say that our teachers failed to realise that all of us are designed to absorb information differently; each learning style results in people with various interests, desires and talents and learning is more fun and effective when the teachers look into multiple learning styles. Children learn more efficiently on their own way and can reach their potential by working smarter. Once a teacher identifies the childs learning style, she can give that child the freedom to learn which will support his work at home, at school, and in life. Once my English language teacher asked us to write a simple paragraph on ‘Good Schools, since I like role play activities, I wrote the paragraph and drew pictures of girls and wrote two dialogues in the speech bubbles as they speak the positive things in the school. My teacher saw my work and crossed out the picture and said ‘this is not required here. That time I took this as my teachers valid point of view but later when I became a te acher I thought my teacher should have appreciated my speech bubbles and corrected the sentences or showed me what rules I should follow when I write statements in the speech bubbles. In this way the teacher put a full stop to my desire in learning or trying new concepts. The educators should be able to understand the learning styles of the learners and should provide opportunities accordingly. A kinaesthetic learner should be given more activity based work, for an example- in maths lesson for addition; this type of a learner can be given counters rather than asking him to work out the sums mentally. Kinaesthetic learners should be able to experience and explore the learning aids/ models which are available in the classroom or lab. Learners with strength for visual learning tend to process information by visualizing and seeing it. During a PD training which I attended recently I learnt that about 65% of the population prefers to learn visually. Visual learners in schools can be given opportunities to use colors to organize, receive written instructions and lists, look at graphics like film, flow charts, or diagrams, use visualization when memorizing information, take detailed notes and draw graphics as they learn by looking. People with strength for a uditory learning tend to remember information they hear and discuss. According to what I learnt, about 30% of the population prefers learning with an auditory style. Auditory learners in the classroom can be given recordings of materials like video clips of rhymes or documentaries to be learned; can participate in discussions or discussion groups, have questions read out loud, receive verbal instructions and read written information out loud. It is very sad to say at the time of my learning in the schools I did not see teachers had any knowledge of the types of learners and teach them according to their needs but learning was on going in the classroom. If this is the case how did I learn? This is a very difficult question for me to answer. The learning theories of the school where I studied were forced me to learn in the way I did not want to, the classroom instruction in my school life was mostly suitable for visual learners as there were activities like reading text with pictures, key points of the lesson given on the chalk board and copying texts from the chalk board to the note books. There were hardly any resources around the classrooms; the teaching aids were the text books, chalk board and the chalks. I liked to spend more time in the Science lab its because of the laboratory equipment which our Science/Maths teacher used during practical lessons. I enjoyed these subjects though there were limited resources available in the school lab; the teachers conducted the lessons as for the whole class without realizing the individual needs of the children. I did not study the English language as the way I studied Maths/Science. English was taught through visualizing things, long instructions and reading paragraphs in tex ts. If teachers use a lecture style for instruction, the English language learner will not receive as much comprehensible input. (Haynes, 2007, p. 6) Haynes argument is right. I became impatient listening for long periods during English. Once my English teacher caught me reading my favourite story book in the class and said ‘you must spend time with your text books, you should never read story books it is a waste of time. I followed her instructions and never read story books ever since she told me. Why did not this teacher realize that reading open doors for many worlds? Had I read a lot or be encouraged to read that time I would have had a rich vocabulary when I entered the High school. Another day a story teller visited our school to read stories to each year group and involved the students in making story props and acting out the stories. This was the most enjoyable moment during my English lesson; I had an opportunity to learn new vocabularies too. Everyone had fun during this lesson because the story teller involved each and every student in a kind of activity. Another issue was no school policies were read to us on the first day of school as there were no many policies constructed for the school at that time. We knew how to go in a line to the library, hitting and verbally abusing the peers not allowed, wore neat uniform every day, respect the teachers and so on but we were never taught any of these. I think the hidden curriculum in my school was stronger than the curriculum which was in use that time. Then I moved to a college for my higher education. I can say from my college experience that many higher education instructors still do not realize that students vary in the way that they process and understand information or attempt to respond to those differences in their pedagogical efforts. Effective teaching cannot be limited to the delivery of information; instead it needs to be based on a model of minds at work. Effective instructors are those who understand the importance of involving all of their students in learning how to learn. Effective learners are created when instructors affirm the presence and validity of diverse learning. At the college level the cognitive development occurs at the same pace but the learners experience different kind of problems or issues due to many changes. One of them is ‘culture shock. Newcomers have usually left behind family members, friends, teachers, and pets. They are no longer surrounded by a familiar language and culture. Children often do not have the full support of their parents because the parents are experiencing culture shock, too. (Haynes, 2007, p. 2) I agree with Hayens because the greater the difference between the students new culture and the students primary culture, the greater the shock. During this stage, I as a newcomer was excited about the new lives. Everything was wonderful and we were having great time learning about the environment. For me the differences between the new culture and the old one become more apparent. I rejected my new surroundings because there was so much that I did not understand. At times I felt sleepy, irritable, uninterested, or depressed; there were few more students who felt the same as I did. In my college the English language learners were frustrated because they could not communicate and are bombarded with unfamiliar surroundings, unreadable social signals, and an unrelenting barrage of new sounds. I was homesick and missed my family, friends, and familiar sights and sounds but, our instructors failed to realise this and started their duty stuffing our brain with Physics, Chemistry and Biolo gy. I was compelled to listen and follow what they instructed but, I did not know how much I learnt at that stage. In fact, I was surprised and overwhelmed by the lectures though we were forced to learn what we were supposed to, because the instructors knew so much about the subject taught. At times I asked myself, how did the instructors prepare themselves so well in order to answer all types of questions asked by the students? I saw them as good role models from the way they socialized with others, and delivered the content of the subjects during lectures. Listening to a lecture involves active attempts to construct new knowledge but, most of the time I felt that the instructors could have included videos to their instructions, involved us in presentations or group discussions as I loved these types of activities. ACTIVITY 2: Why are theories of learning important? Write down some initial thoughts about your own priorities at this stage of your development as a (head) teacher. To what extent do your own current priorities coincide with the priorities mentioned above? There are many different theories of how people learn. What important and useful is to consider their application to how our students learn and we teach our educational programs. It is interesting to think about our own particular way of learning and to recognize that everyone does not learn the way we do. In my opinion one of the main points is a teacher should know that each student does not learn in the same way others do. This means if the teacher chooses just one style of teaching such as direct instruction or collaborative learning or inquiry learning the students will not be maximizing their learning potential. For sure a teacher cannot reach every student on the same level during one lesson, but implementing a variety of learning styles throughout the course allows all the students to experience the chance to learn in at least a way that matches their learning style. Most of the materials used to educate students beyond primary school are largely text and lecture based, which have significant limitations. Those students are not involved in group work or discussion activities. Reading is a very important learning mode but, not all students learn effectively from reading. There are students who do not like reading a lot but, respond better to visual and audio stimuli of lecture but often get lost in the material or lose interest in the presentation. In this type of a learning environment, students have limited opportunity to ask questions or may be uncomfortable asking a question in front of the class. So the learning theories we have should cater the individual needs of the children. I believe student learn best by trying to make sense of something on their own with the help of the teacher along the way. Therefore the learners should be involved in activity based learning and given the freedom to use the classroom resources around them. Another im portant point is that the best way to learn is by having students construct their own knowledge instead of having someone construct it for them. For an example, for giving them the concept of Addition they should be given counters or an abacus to find the sum of two numbers rather than explaining this on the chalk board. For the language development they should be given activities for listening and writing which will be an interesting activity too. Science and Geography can be taught through pictures, video clips, lab work with a lot of experiments and the use of internet. At times I did not get the clear concepts of the subject taught when I attended the lecture type classes but I had an opportunity to understand better when I was asked to teach the same concept to someone else on my own. An experienced teacher should always use cognitive terminology such as classify, analyze, predict, and create when assigning tasks to the students, this helps the students to explore and research to find lot of information about the subject. We should encourage student critical thinking and inquiry by asking them thoughtful, open-ended questions, and encourage them to ask questions to each other. Further, we should provide enough time for students to construct their own meaning when learning something new. We should acknowledge that, students understanding and prior experiences about a concept before teaching them, which is as vital as breathing. Group discussions that we organize should encourage communication between the teacher and the students and also between the students. All learning and some elements of non-learning begin with situations where there is a disjuncture between a learners biography (past experiences) and their construction of present experience. (Jarvis, Holford Griffin, 2003, p. 70) As Jarvis, Holford Griffin explain educators should pay importance to the childs prior learning experience in order to give them the proper foundation on learning. In the school where I work the children speak English as a second language therefore I had to construct my learning theories according to their past experience with the language of English. One of the word level objectives of English for first graders is ‘to represent in writing the three phonemes in CVC words, spelling them first in rhyming sets, then in non-rhyming sets. This is a very simple objective but difficult for a first grader in my school as their prior knowledge in English is zero due to use of no English at home. In that case if I as a teacher insist them to learn this objective then I will be committing a crime for not having any knowledge on their biography. So it is vital for me to spend correcting prior knowledge before new learning can occur, in fact we in our school where I work now spend at least 2-3 weeks at the beginning of the first term to learn the biography of the children. Teachers must be fair in distributing their praise and all students should receive praise. They should look for positive things to say about a students work even when pointing out problems or mistakes during lesson. Some might receive praise for bigger achievements than others but, even the lower performer needs a regular pat on the back. Teacher should also give praise or verbal rewards to the class as a whole to encourage the class and build team unity. True, the learning theories help support planning and teaching, help to critically evaluate classroom practice and help in the diagnosis of classroom problems but in my opinion the important person who constructs the learning theories in the classroom is the teacher who is not given enough opportunities to implement these in her classroom to experience the consequences. I hear teachers of other schools say that excess amount of paper work and work load do not provide enough time to engage the children on learning. In the school where I work our teachers are not given extra duties such as after school duty, snack duty etc in order to make sure that they spend more time in the classroom and prepare for students learning. We have special subject teachers for ICT, Physical Education and second languages so the class teachers can concentrate only on the core subjects like Literacy, Numeracy, Science and Geography. One may ask, why do our teachers are kept away from teaching ICT? In my opi nion ICT should be integrated in learning however, in some cases, teachers feel ICT increases their workload, with some tasks taking longer time to complete. This can often be traced to one or more of: a lack confidence or lack of ICT skills, ineffective networks or a lack of appropriate training or technical support. To reduce teacher workloads in our schools in future, ICT strategies will be included specific workload aims although this should not be at the impression of continuing to find ways in which ICT can raise quality and pupil performance. (We are planning to improve ICT strategic planning through strategic aims, hardware, software, connectivity, technical support and staff training and development in future and involve the teachers in integrating ICT to learning). Staff meeting or Curriculum meeting is conducted only once a week, which helps the teachers to spend more time with their work in the classroom and during their non contact periods they are supposed to prepare additional activities for the lesson they have planned. Progress Report for the pupils are being sent only thrice a year rather than every month, the teachers in our school have to spend less time dealing with behavioural issues because we have well constructed standardized policies for discipline, behaviour, uniform, food and bus and the Social worker is highly involved in implementing the policies. In our school calendar there are few days allocated as ‘Staff in Students out for professional development which is very important for the educators to upgrade their skills. I have seen few schools in this country utilize the student time I mean have shortened day in order to organise PD for the staff. In some schools teachers spend most of their time on disciplining the children and dealing with behavioural issues because of the weak hidden curriculum in place and no proper plan or policies to manage these types of issues there. Some educators want to expose themselves as good teachers or professional and show that they can manage the children very well, so they spend more time on putting up class displays, classroom management and less time on teaching the children. I have seen educators who work only for survival, their aim is to spend the days in the school and get monthly wage on time. The overall goal of the teachers should be to help and support students develop into self motivating learners. Students who are encouraged to become motivated lifelong learners will be more successful in and out of the classroom. When I worked as a teacher in other schools I had to teach all the subjects including IT and Physical Education, send monthly progress report home, prepare student portfolio for each child in my class, do after school duties and attend meetings with the Principal for four days in a week. I must say at that time I was frustrated for not having enough time to concentrate on the learning of my students and I was able to realise that they were not gaining anything according to their learning style. So, when I became as a head of a school I made sure that the teachers are given more time to spend for the children not with paper work and so on. The Social Worker and I are directly involved in solving behavioural issues in the school so the teachers will not have to spend time on this issue. The school policies and curriculum should be child centred and focus only on their learning. Educators should spend more time on pupils learning for which the strong hidden curriculum of the school should be helpful so that the teachers can construct proper planning for their teaching rather than wasting their time on other issues like behaviour and discipline. What I am trying to explain is that the learning theories we construct should focus on the childs academic and intellectual development. ACTIVITY 3: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation List eight ways in which you motivate pupils in your classroom and school. Explain which motivational forms are intrinsic and which extrinsic. We know nothing about motivation. All we can do is write books about it. Peter Drucker I have read a lot about ‘Motivation in books and on websites. I think Drucker is concerned about the nature of understanding the term ‘Motivation. I know what motivation is but, I do not think that I have made a closer inspection to it ever in my career. I have motivated the learners to read a lot, work smarter, behave well and be a good role model through rewards and appreciation as the way the factory workers are encouraged by ‘end of year bonus so that production improves and absenteeism falls. No one can know the future at least in any detail. In preparing the future, students should be able to develop viable occupational skills. Learning a discipline and doing it well provides the foundation for a sense of purpose, security and confidence in adulthood. In addition to this the students should prepare for change. As we see, change is best handled and even welcomed, when individuals possess a well developed mental skills associated with original creative and independent thinking. Further, according to Martin V. Cavington, the greatest legacy of education is to encourage in our students a will to learn and to continue learning as personal circumstances-change in short to promote a capacity for self renewal. Today many students drop out of school without a single achievement for which they can feel uniquely responsible for it. More ever the majority of the students fail achieve their potential due to lack of motivation in schools and home. How to always be motivated? Keeping our motivation high is the key factor to achieve our goals. We all face setbacks in life but, the ability to turn it into a lesson and move through a positive direction should be our aim for which motivation is highly required. If we are not motivated, we will experience difficulties in turning our great ideas into great results, wake up in the morning without any desire, ask people around us for support, give up our tasks before finishing them, postpone important decisions and wish that we will have a set of helping tips to overcome our setbacks. If we as adults will have to face a great deal of inconveniences due to lack of motivation, what will happen to those who just started their life in schools as children? What will be the consequences for being not motivated by important factors? How motivation takes place in classrooms and schools? A primary concern for educators is how to balance the use of extrinsic incentives as needed to promote student task engagement while establishing a climate that also fosters intrinsic motivation. (Alderman, 1999, p. 213) The motivation comes from the pleasure one gets from the task he does or from the sense of satisfaction in completing or even working on it. As Alderman explains, we should equally balance extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in order to promote engaging students on task. According to what I understood intrinsic motivation means motivation which comes from inside an individual rather than from any external or outside rewards, such as money, trophies or grades. Extrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from outside an individual. The motivating factors are external, or outside, rewards such as money, trophies or grades. These rewards provide satisfaction and pleasure that the task itself may not provide. Is intrinsic motivation the solution for increasing student engagement? One perspective is that intrinsic motivation to learn is a necessary, but insufficient, component for academic achievement in classrooms; that is, one can enjoy learning or have an interest in a subject, but lack the strategies necessary for continuing motivation (Alderman, 1999, p. 218) According to Aldermans argument, an extrinsically motivated student will work on a task even when he has little interest in it because of the anticipated satisfaction he will get from some rewards. The rewards can be something as minor as a smiley face to something major like a trophy or free computer game. For example, an extrinsically motivated child who dislikes maths may work hard on maths problems because he wants the reward for completing it right. For me it is very difficult to agree with Aldermans point of views on ‘motivating extrinsically will result positively as I have teaching experience with children of some (sorry to say) arrogant parents, rich parents who are proud of their wealth and children who enjoy the most lavish life in this country which is completely different where I come from. I have implemented many strategies for motivating children in my class; I never had an opportunity to discriminate intrinsic and extrinsic motivation until I come across some readings on these topics by Jerome S. Bruner and Alderman. All I knew were about motivating children to be engaged on task. Two years back I had few children in my class, whose parents especially the mothers were not supportive at all; their children most of the time turned in completed homework, they had poor reading skills and had unacceptable behaviour in the classroom. In order to motivate them towards task, I used to tell them if they complete work on time or behave well they will get a smiley sticker or a badge but, I always had reply from these kids ‘I dont need I can buy them when I go out with my driver or ‘who cares of those cheap stickers or ‘I have got plenty of them at home. In such a place where I am in, most of the children are not attracted by those extrinsic motivations rather they would like to get motivated by intrinsic factors. I have spent a lot of time trying to think of ways to motivate my more reluctant students. I have tried fear† If you are late again, I will call home†. I have tried rewards â€Å"If you follow the classroom code of conduct you will earn points that you can redeem for a free homework pass or computer game. As a motivational support fear and rewards do work, for a while but, I did not want to threaten my students, and I did not want to bribe them. I want them to develop a will to come to class and learn. I wanted their motivation to be intrinsic. The question then was how I get my students to become more intrinsically motivated so that the classroom experience is more enjoyable for everyone. When Iencouraged mystudents self motivation by structuringmy class and my teaching I met their needs which are love, respect, emotional support and to move about the classroom freely. I followed many ways to motivate the children but now, I can differentiate them according to intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors. Intrinsic motivation takes place when there is a positive relationship between the learners and the educators. As Jerome Bruner (1966), explains that extrinsic reinforcement may lead to a desirable kind of activity and cause its repetition but will not ultimately encourage sound learning. His belief was that intrinsic rewards are more important than extrinsic rewards in the long term. Intrinsic motivational factors I implemented in my classroom and school were, 1- When I asked my students to volunteer to be my assistant and assigned jobs for them more learning went on than if I did all the teaching myself. 2- When I had those students who could not sit still for very long and lose focus easily did their maths questions on the board, they were more likely to stay focused and learn which develop the interest of involvement. 3- When I greeted my students at the classroomdoor early morning with a smile and allocate games and puzzles for them to d

Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Essay -- Harrison Bergeron Essays

Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut â€Å"The story is a satire, a parody of an ideological society divorced from common sense reality† (Townsend). As Townsend stated Kurt Vonnegut makes a satire about society in his fictional short story Harrison Bergeron, which in their society there has been attempt of conformity through the handicaps of the people, the similarity to an authoritarian government, and the technology, whereas the people will eventually overcome. The Kind if government authority seen both mimics and satirizes the way Americans came to see the enemy (the Soviet Union) during the Cold War, which was near its height of distrust and fear in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As an attempt to make the economy better Karl Marx a philosopher thought up the philosophy of Communism. A communist government plans and controls the economy, also has an authoritarian that has total control. Often the authoritarian claims that he will progress toward a higher social order in which the people equally share all goods. Although, the citizens in Harrison Bergeron in the same way â€Å"equal every which way† in the economy but, they are also â€Å"equal every which way† in physical characteristics (Vonnegut). In which the people know that they are unequal and that is why they have the handicaps. A handicap as stated in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, in a â€Å"race or contest [an] artificial advantage is given or disadvantage imposed on a [person] to equalize chances of winning† (Me...

Essay --

Of mice and men is a novella written by Steinbeck in the 1930’s at the time of the American great depression. Two migrant workers George and Lennie are the protagonists; through these characters Steinbeck highlights many themes. The themes presented in this novel can be compared with those in the ‘Moon on the Tides’ Anthology poems for example ‘Brothers’, ‘Farmer’s Bride’ and ‘In Paris with You’. ‘Brothers’ written by Andrew Forster is an autobiographical poem and is written in three stanzas which account for three different stages in the narrators’ afternoon. This poem explores the relationship between two siblings which can subsequently be compared with George and Lennie’s relationship. The ‘Farmers Bride’ is another poem which can be compared with ‘Of Mice and Men’ this poem explores the nature of the famers ‘bride’ and can also be interpreted to indicate that the poem is a metaphor for the way women are treated in Mews society? Charlotte Mew lived through the First World War and the women suffrage therefore it can be collated that her writing was influenced by the events in her time both historically and socially. In addition to this her personal life has an impact too as she made a pact never to marry because her family went through a tough time- they were mentally ill. Therefore she did not want insanity to be passed on to her children. Nonetheless Mew was bisexual and in her time period homosexuality was illegal, these things in her time period could be considered a source of stimulation for the deception in the poem. The third poem which links with ‘Of Mice and Men’ is ‘Hour’ by Carol Ann Duffy which explores the nature of love not typical richness of love but how spending time with a loved one is priceless and valuable. ... ...traditional desires of love, the narrator portrays the idea that nature is more valuable than typical materialistic things eg; ‘spend it not on flowers...but.. Sky and a grass ditch’ many similes, oxymoron’s, metaphors are used in the poem alongside enjaments to suggest that the narrator hasn’t enough time, her treasure is time. The short sentences used are pauses to perhaps show how the narrator is stressing time. ‘like treasure.. limbs gold’ is a simile used which refers to the richness of spending time with someone. Compared with ‘Of Mice and Men’ George and Lennie don’t have the luxuries of being good friends but make the most of things ‘guys like us.. no family...you got me.. i got you...’ however oppositely Lennie is overwhelmed by his dream to have rabbits and the alfalfa-materialistic things he thinks by achieving this dream himself and George can be happy.

Yaroslav the Wise :: History Ukraine Ukranian Essays

Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav, son of Vladimir, took over full control of Kyiv in the year 1036. This did not occur until after the deaths of his father and many brothers. Upon Vladimir’s death in 1015 his son Sviatopolk rushed in and took control over Kyiv, killing three of his own brothers in the process. Yaroslav could not let this stand. Joined by Mstislav, another brother, and hired Scandinavian mercenaries, they ousted Sviatopolk and split the empire between themselves. Mstislav controlled Chernigov and Yaroslav went to Novgorod, as he preferred that to Kyiv. Mstislav died in 1036, and at that time Yaroslav became the undisputed ruler of all Kyivan Rus lands. At this time he moved his capital back to the traditional city of Kyiv. [2] Yaroslav did much for the betterment of the Ukrainian state during his reign. He settled the problem of having unruly neighbors to the south. He led a sound defensive stand against an attack of the marauding Pechenegs.[3] These southern folk had been a pestering nuisance for a number of years. After the defeat of these troublesome foes, there was nothing else to worry about in the south because the people that moved in next were much more peaceful. He could now worry about the Polish problem in the east. The Poles were not happy about there western land holdings. They wanted to annex the Ukrainian lands to the west of them. Yaroslav lead an expedition in the late 1920’s and dominated the Polish army, plundered their cities and took many prisoners.[4] After this the Polish peoples revolted and threw out old hierarchy of government and getting rid of Christianity. He later married his sister to the new king of Poland and for the time being the trouble with Poland was over. During this time period it was a great honor to be married to the family of a foreign countries monarchy. It was also a wise governing decision as it made connections and allies out of countries that otherwise may have been foes. Yaroslav the Wise :: History Ukraine Ukranian Essays Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav, son of Vladimir, took over full control of Kyiv in the year 1036. This did not occur until after the deaths of his father and many brothers. Upon Vladimir’s death in 1015 his son Sviatopolk rushed in and took control over Kyiv, killing three of his own brothers in the process. Yaroslav could not let this stand. Joined by Mstislav, another brother, and hired Scandinavian mercenaries, they ousted Sviatopolk and split the empire between themselves. Mstislav controlled Chernigov and Yaroslav went to Novgorod, as he preferred that to Kyiv. Mstislav died in 1036, and at that time Yaroslav became the undisputed ruler of all Kyivan Rus lands. At this time he moved his capital back to the traditional city of Kyiv. [2] Yaroslav did much for the betterment of the Ukrainian state during his reign. He settled the problem of having unruly neighbors to the south. He led a sound defensive stand against an attack of the marauding Pechenegs.[3] These southern folk had been a pestering nuisance for a number of years. After the defeat of these troublesome foes, there was nothing else to worry about in the south because the people that moved in next were much more peaceful. He could now worry about the Polish problem in the east. The Poles were not happy about there western land holdings. They wanted to annex the Ukrainian lands to the west of them. Yaroslav lead an expedition in the late 1920’s and dominated the Polish army, plundered their cities and took many prisoners.[4] After this the Polish peoples revolted and threw out old hierarchy of government and getting rid of Christianity. He later married his sister to the new king of Poland and for the time being the trouble with Poland was over. During this time period it was a great honor to be married to the family of a foreign countries monarchy. It was also a wise governing decision as it made connections and allies out of countries that otherwise may have been foes.

Cirque

Performers tend to have short racers: the attrition rate Is about 20 per cent a year, whether through Injury or simply deciding It is time to retire. How do you renew the talent pool? The solution. Thirty talent scouts are listed on the Cirque website, and many of them are specialists In specific skills, such as sling or gymnastics and acrobatics. Sources of recruits Include the Olympic Games, the Mongolia State Circus and world championship athletics competitions. Auditions, described by Cirque a â€Å"treasure hunting†, are demanding and can last up to two days.After Minimal screening, potential secrets must demonstrate not just technical proficiency but range. After a long audition, dancers must then show their acting, improvisation and singing skills. Once identified as â€Å"Cirque people†, performers' names are added to the Cirque database to await a suitable role. Then the hard work really starts: they are drilled in their new craft at â€Å"boot camps† fo r up to four months before their first performance. Nevertheless, the Cirque â€Å"immersion programmer† aims to bring out the best in an individual.Key to the transformation process are mentors – veterans who guide new artists and get to know them. Cirque describes itself as a â€Å"family†, a â€Å"band of brothers†. Reinvention is a constant theme. Having redefined the traditional â€Å"big top† circus in the 1 sass, Mr.. Illiberal © keeps audiences loyal and attracts new ones by always offering something different. In the 2006 show Love, Cirque du Sole performs to the music of The Battles. A collaboration between Cirque, producer George Martin – â€Å"the fifth Battle† – and his son Giles, Love is still running at The Mirage in Lass Vegas.A new production is nearly always under way. Each show looks for a new theme, so the repertoire ranges from aquatics (O) to The Battles (Love) to martial arts (KS). The lessons. Managers must plan ahead. Hence, scouts are always sourcing new recruits In order to fill anticipated skills gaps. New techniques are developed constantly. Revealingly, acrobat mentor And © Similar, whose innovations Include a new safety line for aerial acrobatics, is not called creative director but research and development specialist.The focus Is also on constantly devising new content In the form of new themes and concepts. For Instance, for K, Mr.. Albert © asked Robert Leafage, the playwright, director and actor, to craft a show around martial arts. The company develops new products (shows) all the time. Because a show takes so long to create – recruiting performers, devising music, costumes and Infrastructure – It looks ahead to develop tomorrows performers and staging today.Cirque By appending audience, Cirque must do two things: continue to come up with spectacular ideas; careers: the attrition rate is about 20 per cent a year, whether through injury or imply decid ing it is time to retire. How do you renew the talent pool? The specialists in specific skills, such as singing or gymnastics and acrobatics. Sources of recruits include the Olympic Games, the Mongolia State Circus and world hunting†, are demanding and can last up to two days. After initial screening, potential recruits must demonstrate not Just technical proficiency but range. After a long artists and get to know them.Cirque describes itself as a â€Å"family', a â€Å"band of circus in the asses, Mr.. Illiberal © keeps audiences loyal and attracts new ones by he repertoire ranges from aquatics (O) to The Battles (Love) to martial arts (K). The in order to fill anticipated skills gaps. New techniques are developed constantly. Revealingly, acrobat mentor And © Similar, whose innovations include a new safety development specialist. The focus is also on constantly devising new content in the form of new themes and concepts. For instance, for K, Mr.. Illiberal © asked Rob ert to create – recruiting performers, devising music, costumes and infrastructure – it

Why Athletes Use Steroids

One of the most heated controversies in athletics centers on the use of anabolic steroids. Behind the dispute is the evidence that steroids pose a health hazard. They are linked to the cardiovascular disease, liver disorders, and cancerous tumors. In addition, there is evidence that they cause personality aberrations. Still, an alarming number of athletes are willing to risk their health for the enhanced performance steroids provide-and it is not hard to understand why. First of all, many athletes are so blinded by the obvious benefits of steroid use that they fail to note their adverse effects. They are so focused on the increased strength, stamina, and size that result from steroid use, that athletes may overlook the abuse their bodies are sustaining-often until it is too late. That is, athletes who are delighting in turning in the best performance of their lives are not likely to think about future harmful effects. This is the same psychology that keeps the nicotine addict smoking three packs a day, until the X-ray shows lung cancer is so advance that nothing can be done. Some athletes rationalize steroid use another way. They claim that anabolic steroids pose no greater health hazard than participation in such contact sports such as football, boxing, and wrestling. However, these athletes fail to understand that in addition to harming the body, steroids also heighten the danger of contact sports by making the users larger and stronger, thereby increasing their momentum and impact. Some people think steroid use continues despite the life threatening effects because athletes are just â€Å"dumb jocks† who are not smart enough to appreciate the risks. I don't accept that explanation. Instead, I suspect that steroid use continues partly because most athletes are young, and young people never feel threatened. Part of being young is invulnerable. That is why young people drive too fast, drink too much, and take risks like bungee jumping. They just do not believe that anything can happen to them. The same psychology is at work with athletes. They are young people who feel they will live forever. In addition, athletes assume that because their bodies are so physically conditioned they can withstand more punishment than the average person, so they feel even less at risk by steroid use. Perhaps the biggest reason athletes use steroids can be explained by the spirit lies at the heart of all athletics: competition. One a handful of athletes enhances their performance artificially, and then others follow in order to stay competitive. Eventually, steroid users dominate a sport, and anyone who wants to compete at the highest level is forced to use steroids or lose out. This fact explains why unscrupulous coaches and trainers who want to win at any cost have contributed to the problem by offering steroids to their players and urging them to use them. Sadly, this practice has even filtered down to the high school level in some cases. Competition for the thrill of winning is only part of the explanation, however, Big-time athlete means big-time money. As the financial rewards rise in a given sport, so does the pressure to win at any cost. Huge salaries, big bonuses, beautiful cars, girls and incredibly lucrative commercial endorsements all temp athletes to enhance their performances any way they can. Despite drug testing before competitions and dissemination of information about the danger of anabolic steroids, athletes still use steroids because the pressures to do so are so compelling. The truth is that too many athletes think steroids only hurt the other person, or else they think using steroids is worth the risk.