Agricultural sector for the country Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Agricultural sector for the country - Coursework Example Therefore, agriculture is rated as one of the crucial economic sector in Cambodia, this is because it represents more than 30 percent of the country’s GDP. Most of the Cambodia household lives in the rural regions. With such a population, most families depend on agriculture. The agricultural sector offers employment to more than 50 percent of the population. The highest rate of employment experienced by the country was in 1998, where it recorded a rate of 78%. Most income for rural household is low, thereby resulting to food insecurity. A percentage of the Cambodia population stays in plateau region that had limited access. However, due to the contribution of agriculture to the economy, the roads are well connected to major cities. Therefore, Agriculture has remained to be one of the most important sectors in Cambodian economy, based on its share of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the country and contribution to

Linguistics and Language Essay Example for Free

Linguistics and Language Essay What will be covered in this class? †¢ How do we produce and recognize speech? †¢ How do we perceive words, letters, and sentences? †¢ How do we learn and recall information from texts? †¢ How can we improve texts to make them easier to understand? †¢ How does the brain function to process language? †¢ What are the causes and effects of reading disabilities? †¢ Is there language in other species? Central themes in psycholinguistics 1) What knowledge of language is needed for us to use language? Tacit (implicit) knowledge vs. Explicit knowledge  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ tacit: knowledge of how to perform something, but not aware of full rules †¢ explicit: knowledge of the processes of mechanisms in performing that thing 2) What cognitive processes are involved in the ordinary use of language? How do we understand a lecture, read a book, hold a conversation? Cognitive processes: perception, memory, thinking, learning Some definitions of basic components of language: Semantics: The meaning of words and sentences Syntax: The grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence or phrase Phonology: The sound pattern of language Pragmatics: How language is used in a social context  Examples from psycholinguistics Parsing garden path sentences The novice accepted the deal before he had a chance to check his finances, which put him in a state of conflict when he realized he had a straight flush. 1) The defendant examined by the lawyer turned out to be unreliable 2). The evidence examined by the lawyer turned out to be unreliable The process of parsing is the process of making decisions The effect of prior knowledge on comprehension The procedure is actually quite simple. First you arrange things into different groups. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities, that is the next step; otherwise you are pretty well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too many. In the short run this may not seem important, but complications can easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. At first the whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate future, but then one never can tell. After the procedure is completed, one arranges the materials into different groups again. Then they can be put into their appropriate places. Eventually they will be used once more, and the whole cycle will then have to be repeated. However, that is part of life. Bransford Johnson, 1973 Recall: No context: 2. 8 idea units out of a maximum of 18 Context afterwards: 2. 7 idea units Context before: 5. 8 idea units Child language development How many words do you know? Hint: Dictionary has about: 450,000 entries Test high school graduates: How many words do they know? About 45,000 english words About 60,000 including names and foreign words. The average six year old knows about 13,000 words. Learning about 10 words per day since age 1. (One every 90 minutes) How much do we have to teach children to learn language? Do you have to teach a child to walk? Is it the same way of learning a language? My teacher holded the baby rabbits and we patted them I eated my dinner A brief history of psycholinguistics Wilhem Wundt (early 1900s) Interest in mental processes of language production †¢ Sentence as the primary unit of language †¢ Speech production is the transformation of complete thought processes into sequentially organized speech segments. Behaviorism (1920s-1950s) †¢ Rejected the focus on mental processes †¢ Measurement based on objective behavior (primarily in lab animals) †¢ How does experience (reward and punishment) shape behavior? B. F. Skinner: Children learn language through shaping (correction of speech errors) Associative chain theory: A sentence consists of a chain of associations between individual words in the sentence What’s wrong with the behaviorist approach? Noam Chomsky (1950s present) 1) Colorless green ideas sleep furiously 2) Furiously sleep ideas green colorless. 3) George picked up the baby. 4) George picked the baby up. Almost every sentence uttered is a new combination of words The Poverty of stimulus argument: There is not enough information in the language samples given to children to account for the richnes and complexity of children’s language The pattern of development is not based on parental speech but on innate language knowledge Linguistic Diversity vs. Linguistic Universals Linguistic diversity There appears to be a lot of diversity among languages Even within languages there is diversity When are two languages different? We speak the same language if we can understand each other  Exceptions: Norwegian and Swedish Cantonese and Mandarin Dialects within languages: The myth of pure language How/why do languages change? Why does there seem to be a correct English? Members of the dominant (most powerful) sub-culture tend to speak one dialect and may punish those who do not Linguistic Chauvinism Belief that one’s own language/dialect is the best of all possible languages Black English Vernacular (BEV) Study by William Labov Interviewed African-American street youth You know, like some people say if you’re good an’ sh*t, your spirit goin’ t’heaven . . . ‘n if you bad, your spirit goin’ to hell. Well, bullsh*t! Your spirit goin’ to hell anyway, good or bad. [Why? ] Why? I’ll tell you why. ‘Cause, you see, doesn’ nobody really know that it’s a God, y’know, ‘cause I mean I have seen black gods, white gods, all color gods, and don’t nobody know it’s really a God. An’ when they be sayin’ if you good, you goin’ t’heaven, tha’s bullsh*t, ‘cause you ain’t goin’ to no heaven, ‘cause it ain’t no heaven for you to go to. †¢ Place holders: There vs. It in the copula †¢ Copula: Is, Was optional †¢ Negatives: You ain’t goin’ to no heaven. BEV just as linguistically complex as Standard American English We don’t see/understand the complexity in other languages Moral: All languages seem to permit as wide range of expressions as others Linguistic Universals What is in common with all languages? Sentences are built from words based on the same physiological processes †¢ All languages have words †¢ All humans have ways of making sounds. †¢ Languages tend to use a small set of phonemic sounds †¢ Phoneme: The minimal unit of sound that contributes to meaning How many phonemes in a language? †¢ English: 40 phonemes †¢ Range: Polynesian 11 to Khoisan 141. Discreteness Messages in human language (e. g. speech sounds) are made up of units of which there is a discrete (limited) number Arbitrariness The relationship between meaningful elements in language and their denotation is independent of any physical resemblance between the two. Words do not have to look or sound like what they describe Openness †¢ New linguistic messages are created freely and easily †¢ Languages are not constrained in a way so that there are a limited number of messages that can be created. †¢ Linguistic Productivity: The ability to understand and create an unlimited number of sentences. The question studied by psycholinguists is how to characterize and account for the creativity to construct and create an infinite number of sentences given the limited capabilities of the human brain Duality of Patterning Language involves relating two different kinds of patterns or forms of representation †¢ A phonological system †¢ A semantic system These two systems use very different types of codes, although there is a phonological representation for each item in the semantic system Phrase structure Information on how a sentence is grouped into phrases. The quiet boy ate the red apple A set of Phrase Structure rules: PS 1 S (sentence) - NP + VP PS 2 NP (noun phrase)- det + (adj) + N PS 3 VP (verb phrase) - V +NP PS 4 N (noun) - boy, dog, man, book PS 5 V (verb) - ate, broke, kissed PS 6 adj (adjective - quiet, red, happy, wormy PS 7 det (determiner) - a, the We use lexical-insertion rules to put words into the structure. Phrase-structure rules provide a good account of phrase-structure ambiguity. They are broiling hens Morphology Morphology is the component of grammar that builds words out of units of meaning (morphemes) A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of language How many morphemes? bird firetruck undereducated unmicrowaveability Insights from American Sign Language (ASL) Unlike speech, signs are expressed in visual or spatial form Do a lot of the same grammatical concepts hold? Arbitrariness ASL possesses iconicity signs can represent objects or actions to which they refer. However, the degree of iconicity has declined over the years Duality of Patterning signs are composed of smaller elements that are meaningless Example: 3 parameters †¢ 19 values of hand configuration. †¢ 12 values of place of articulation †¢ 24 values of movements Meaningless patterns can be combined in various ways to from ASL signs. What about openness and discreteness within ASL? Transformational Grammar (Chomsky 1950s) Language: an infinite set of well-formed sentences Grammar: A finite set of rules that generates sentences in the language How do we know that a grammar is a good theory of language? Three criteria: Observational Adequacy: A grammar is observationally adequate if it generates all acceptable sequences and no unacceptable sequences. Descriptive adequacy: A grammar must also explain how a sentence relates to other sentences that are similar opposite in meaning. The ball was caught by John John caught the ball The ball was not caught by John Explanatory adequacy It is possible for multiple grammars to attain observational and descriptive adequacy. Which is the correct/best one? Children learning language are presented with many samples of language and must determine the grammar from these samples. There must be some innate language constraints that help children determine the correct grammar. There exist Linguistic Universals that are common to all languages. The fact that there are similarities in languages is based on the fact that languages are determined by the nature of the mental structures and processes which characterize human beings A Grammar must explain the role of linguistic universals in language acquisition Deep and Surface structure Deep structure: The structure of the sentence that conveys the meaning of the sentence. Surface Structure: The superficial arrangement of constituents Deep structure ambiguity: A single surface structure that is based on two different deep structures Flying planes can be dangerous. Phrase structure rules would not be able to account for the differences in meaning Sentences can have similar phrase structure, although their underlying structure is different: John is easy to please John is eager to please Sentences can different surface structure, but similar deep structure Arlene played the tuba The tuba was played by Arlene Transformational Grammar A two part process to derive a sentence 1) Use Phrase-structure rules to generate the underlying tree structure (deep structure) 2) Apply a sequence of transformational rules to the deep  structure to generate the surface structure of the sentence Transformations occur by adding, deleting or moving constituents John phoned up the woman John phoned the woman up Phrase structure approach: Two different rules VP V + (particle) + NP VP V + NP + (particle) Each sentence is derived separately, using different phrase structure rules. Transformational grammar approach: One rule V + particle + NP V + NP + particle John phoned up the interesting woman John phoned the interesting woman up John phoned up the woman with the curly hair John phoned the woman with the curly hair up. Restrictions on transformations The particle-movement transformation can not be applied to pronouns John called them up *John called up them Example 2: Passive transformation NP1 + V + NP2 NP2 + be + V + en + by + NP1 Arlene played the tuba The tuba was played by Arlene Psychological Reality of Transformational Grammar If using language is a process of converting the deep structure to the surface structure, then the number of transformation rules applied should affect how long it takes to process a sentence. However, experiments do not consistently show that this holds true Current theories of grammar Lexical-Function Grammar  Made up of three components: a constituent structure, a functional structure, and lexical entries Constituent Structure: Similar to phrase structure Functional Structure: All the information needed for semantic interpretation John told Mary to leave Bill Predicate tell (subj, obj, V-comp) Tense Past Subj John Obj Mary V-comp predicate leave subj Mary obj Bill Lexical Entries Lexical entries contain information about: †¢ the forms of the word †¢ the kinds of sentences into which they fit, †¢ arguments and semantic roles Mary kissed John John was kissed by Mary Entry for kiss includes underlying semantic structure  kiss: (agent, patient). Forms of the word kiss: agent = subject: patient = object (be) kiss: agent=object: patient = subject Major significance of LFG Most of the explanation of how we process language is based on the lexicon (where we store information about words) . Government-Binding Theory or Universal Grammar Chomsky’s view of innate grammatical mechanisms. In GB theory, grammar is modular. Grammar due to interaction of several independent subsystems, or modules. Each module is fairly simple and performs part of the task But all modules interact in order to constrain the rules made by the other modules in the grammar. Implications We all inherit a universal grammar that can be set to different parameter values. These parameter values correspond to different languages. As we get experience with a language, we acquire these parameter values, and thus the language upon which it is based. Research methods in Psycholinguistics How do we observe, collect information on phenomena related to psycholinguistics? Naturalistic Observation Observing information in a non-experimental setting Slips of the tongue Phonological switching: Crushing blow Blushing crow semantic replacements: blond eyes for blond hair. Language Acquisition The use of language over time Data from naturalistic observation Rich, but hard to analyze Controlled experiments Goal: test an empirical hypothesis Hypothesis: A chapter will be easier to understand if each section starts with a summary of what will be said. Independent Variable: Variable that is manipulated to test the hypothesis. Dependent Variable: Variable representing the behavior we want to measure Control Variables: Other variables we need to control in order to see the effect of the independent variable Subjects: Who is going to participate in the experiment? Analysis: How do we know if there are differences bewteen the two chapters? The Human Information Processing System What psychological mechanisms are involved in using language? The Sensory store Processes incoming information from the environment †¢ Individual sensory stores for each sense †¢ Information retained for a short duration The visual sensory store Experiments by Sperling (1960) X M R K C N J P V F L B The partial report technique Auditory sensory store Experiment by Darwin, Turvey Crowder (1972) 3 digits or letters auditorally presented to each ear and center at the same time. What is the use of the sensory store? It maintains information long enough so that we can do additional processing to it. Working memory or short term memory (STM) STM used to describe the fact that it holds information for a short time, while working memory refers to the processing capacity. STM works as a temporary holding place for intermediate decisions. Limited in size. Chunking Working memory: there is a limited amount of processing capacity that you can use as you perform a problem Long term memory Knowledge of how to do things, things we have learned, grammar rules, personal memories. All knowledge that is not active. Information that becomes active is retrieved from LTM and put in STM. Anything we learn is first processed in STM and some of it is put into LTM Episodic vs. Semantic Memory distinction Semantic memory †¢ Organized knowledge of words, concepts, symbols and objects. motor skills, general knowledge, spatial knowledge , social skills. †¢ All information is organized semantically, but not tagged based on when it was learned. Episodic memory †¢ Holds traces of events specific time and place. †¢ Memory of personal experiences. Interaction between semantic and episodic memory. What does the organization of the information processing system have to do with language processing? Pattern Recognition Parsing/understanding sentences in working memory This is a long sentence and yet somehow you can keep it all in working memory The organization of Long Term Memory That cat plays really cool jazz Serial vs. Parallel Processing Serial processing: One process working at a time Parallel Processing: Multiple processes working at a time In a serial model of language processing, individual modules would work one at a time to process the information. A parallel model would say that the processes happen at the same time. Parallel models as neurally inspired models of cognitive processes Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up processing Cognitive processing occurs at levels Bottom-up processing is done in such a way that all processing occurs starting from the lowest level processes and proceeds onto the higher level processes Higher level processes do not influence any of the processing done at the lower levels Top down processing: Information at the higher levels influences processing at the lower levels. Advantages and disadvantages of Top-Down processing Automatic vs. Controlled processes We have a limited amount of processes that we can do at a time. Controlled processing: Processes that require a substantial amount of cognitive processing. Automatic processing: Processes that do not require a substantial amount of cognitive processing. The role of practice in automatic processing The Stroop effect Putting it all together: Cognitive processes in action The novice accepted the deal before he had a chance to check his finances, which put him in a state of conflict when he realized he had a straight flush. The Internal Lexicon How are words stored? What are they made up of? How are word related to each other? How do we use them? Internal lexicon The representation of words in long term memory Lexical Access: How do we activate the meanings of words? Aspects of Meaning Reference: The relationship between words and things in the world Things in the world are referents of a word My dog has fleas My dog is from Mars But not all reference can be mapped to concrete things Abstract words: Love, Justice, Equality Non existent objects: Unicorn, Martians Meaning is not restricted to the real world, but also imaginary worlds Sense: The relationship of a word with other words in the language Student at NMSU vs. Undergraduate at NMSU Synonymy (same meaning) Car Automobile Antonymy (opposite meaning) Happy Sad Incompatibility (do the words contradict each other? ) John is happy vs. John is sad Hyponymy (are they part of the same class? ) A dog is an animal, Bowser is a dog, Denotation vs. Connotation Denotation: The objective meaning of the word Connotation: The aspect of the meaning beyond its explicit meaning Bachelor Spinster Hungry Starving The Mental Representation of Meaning The representation of the meaning of a word is based on the semantic features of that word. We acquire the meaning of a word by learning its semantic features Children make semantic mistakes Verbs of possession. We understand more than the meaning, we have knowledge of the relations between these words sold vs. paid give vs. receive lose vs. find Prototypes: Some members of a category are better instances of the category than others Apple vs. pomegranate What makes a prototype? More central semantic features What type of dog is a prototypical dog What are the features of it? We are faster at retrieving prototypes of a category than other members of the category Semantic Networks. Words can be represented as an interconnected network of sense relations †¢ Each word is a particular node †¢ Connections among nodes represent semantic relationships Mental models: A model/understanding of how the world works and how pieces of textual information fits in with it. John is sitting in a chair. That chair is on a table. The table is blue and round. John has red hair. The structure of the Internal Lexicon How do these pieces of semantic information relate to each other? Semantic verification task An A is a B An apple is a fruit A robin is a bird A robin is an animal A dog has teeth  A fish has gills A fish has feathers An apple has teeth NMSU is in New Mexico Harvard is in California Use time on verification tasks to map out the structure of the lexicon. Models of the Lexicon Collins and Quillian Hierarchical Network model Lexical entries stored in a hierarchy, with features attached to the lexical entries Representation permits cognitive economy Testing the model Sentence Verification time Robins eat worms 1310 msecs Robins have feathers 1380 msecs Robins have skin 1470 msecs A category size effect: Subjects do an intersection search Problems with Collins and Quillian model . 1) Effect may be due to frequency of association 2) Assumption that all lexical entries at the same level are equal The Typicality Effect Which is a more typical bird? Ostrich or Robin. A whale is a fish vs. A horse is a fish Major conclusions of the model: 1) If a fact about a concept is frequently encountered, it will be stored with that concept even if it could be inferred from a more distant concept. 2) The more frequently encountered a fact about a concept is, the more strongly that fact will be associated with the concept. And the more strongly associated with a concept facts are, the more rapidly they are verified. 3) Verifying facts that are not directly stored with a concept but that must be inferred takes a relatively long time. Spreading Activation Models (Collins Loftus) †¢ Words represented in lexicon as a network of relationships †¢ Organization is a web of interconnected nodes in which connections can represent: categorical relations degree of association typicality Retrieval of information †¢ Spreading activation †¢ Limited amount of activation to spread †¢ Verification times depend on closeness of two concepts in a network Context effect in spreading activation models Present either: Murder is a crime or Libel is a crime Then get verification time for Robbery is a crime Subjects faster when they see Murder than Libel. Why? Advantages of Collins and Loftus model †¢ Recognizes diversity of information in a semantic network †¢ Captures complexity of our semantic representation †¢ Consistent with results from priming studies Lexical Access What factors are involved in retrieving information from the lexicon? Semantic Priming Meyer Schvaneveldt (1971) Lexical Decision Task Prime Target Time Nurse Butter 940 msecs Bread Butter 855 msecs Evidence for associative spreading activation. Ratcliff and McKoon (1981) Subjects study and memorize The doctor hated the book Task: Was this word from the sentence you memorized? Prime Target Time None Book 667 msecs Doctor Book 624 msecs Word Frequency Does word frequency play a role in lexical access? Lexical Decision Task: gambastya, revery, voitle, chard, wefe, cratily, decoy, puldow, raflot, oriole, vuluble, booble, chalt, awry, signet, trave, crock, cryptic, ewe, himpola mulvow, governor, bless, tuglety, gare, relief, ruftily, history, pindle, develop, gardot, norve, busy, effort, garvola, match,sard, pleasant, coin, maisle. Lexical Decision is dependent on word frequency Eyemovement studies: Subjects spend about 80 msecs longer fixating on low-frequency words than high-frequency words Morphological Structure So we strip off the prefixes and suffixes of a word for lexical access? Decision = Decide + ion Lexical Decision Tasks: Prime Target Time Nurse Butter 940 msecs Bread Butter 855 msecs Evidence for associative spreading activation Ratcliff and McKoon (1981) Subjects study and memorize The doctor hated the book Task: Was this word from the sentence you memorized? Prime Target Time None Book 667 msecs Doctor Book 624 msecs Word Frequency Does word frequency play a role in lexical access? Lexical Decision Task: gambastya, revery, voitle, chard, wefe, cratily, decoy, puldow, raflot, oriole, vuluble, booble, chalt, awry, signet, trave, crock, cryptic, ewe, himpola mulvow, governor, bless, tuglety, gare, relief, ruftily, history, pindle, develop, gardot, norve, busy, effort, garvola, match,sard, pleasant, coin, maisle. Lexical Decision is dependent on word frequency Eyemovement studies: Subjects spend about 80 msecs longer fixating on low-frequency words than high-frequency words Morphological Structure So we strip off the prefixes and suffixes of a word for lexical access? Decision = Decide + ion Lexical Decision Tasks: Presented subjects with a sequence of words to study Examined the probability of recognizing words over 14 days Performance systematically decays over time Negatively accelerated decay. Bahrick (1984) Students retention of spanish-english vocabulary items from 0 to 50 years Power law of decay Review on the internal lexicon Aspects of meaning: Reference and Sense Denotation and Connotation What is the mental representation of meaning? Models of the Lexicon Hierarchical Network Model Spreading Activation Model What factors are involved in retrieving information from the lexicon? Semantic Priming Word Frequency Morphological Structure Lexical Ambiguity Retention of lexical items.

English Language Teaching Methods

English Language Teaching Methods BACKGROUND: The Grammar Translation Method is the oldest method of teaching. The grammar translation method is a foreign language teaching method derived from the classical (sometimes called traditional) method of teaching Greek and Latin. This method has been used from the classical times to translate classical languages, Latin and Greek, it has been called Classical method. ADVANTAGES: The phraseology of the target language is quickly explained. Translation is the easiest way of explaining meanings or words and phrases from one language into another. Communication between the teacher and the learner does not cause linguistic problems. Even teachers who are not fluent in English can teach English through this method. DISADVANTAGES: It is an unnatural method. The natural order of learning a language is listening, speaking, reading and writing. Speech is neglected. The Grammar Translation Method lays emphasis on reading and writing. Exact translation is not possible. Translation is, indeed, a difficult task and exact translation from one language to another is not always possible. It rather attempts to teach language through rules and not by use. The persons who have learned a foreign or second language through this method find it difficult to give up the habit of first thinking in their mother tongue and then translating their ideas into the second language. The ability to communicate in the target language is not a goal of foreign language instruction. The primary skills to be developed are reading and writing. Little attention is given to speaking and listening, and almost none to pronunciation. TEACHER ROLE: The teacher is the authority in the classroom. There is no interaction from teacher to the students (except in questions). STUDENT ROLE: Students are the passive receivers of the new information. Students are supposed to memorize the rules and the new vocabulary with their meanings in their native language. If students can translate from one language to another, they are considered successful language learners. It is very important that students get the correct answer. METHODOLOGY: Teaching and learning process is based on translation, the study of grammar rules through examples (deductive approach) and memorization of vocabulary. Texts from the target language literature are used. The techniques used are: Translation, Reading comprehension questions, antonyms/synonyms, cognates, deductive application of rule, fill in the blanks, memorization, use of new words in sentences, composition, and so on. L1 USAGE: Classes are conducted in the native language. Students use their native language to translate. Since oral communication in the target language is not important, classroom instructions are given in L1. L2 USAGE: The use of the foreign language is limited; teacher and students use it only to translate words or sentences to their mother tongue to the foreign language. LISTENING: little attention is given to speaking and listening. There is no listening training. Students only listen the foreign language when translate. No listening exercises. SPEAKING: Also this is not an important aspect of the method, teacher doesnt work on speaking. No speaking (but the translation, because it may be spoken) the ability to communicate in the target language is not a goal of foreign language instruction. No pronunciation exercises. READING: read literature in the target language is the aim of this method. Grammar rules and vocabulary are stressed. A fundamental purpose of learning a foreign language is to be able to read literature written in it. WRITING: reading and writing are studied at the same time. The importance in this method is to read and write the foreign language translating from their mother tongue. EVALUATION: Translation is an important technique to test students progress in the target language. In addition, fill-in-the-blank type test items are also used. Synonyms, antonyms, and cognates can be asked to test vocabulary in formal tests. Reading passages and comprehension questions about the passages can also take place in tests as the reading section. PERSONAL OPINION: Nowadays teachers shouldnt base their teaching practice only on this method. Students probably find it boring and discouraging, besides the most important goal when we are learning a foreign language is to be able to communicate in this language, and this method doesnt put any attention to this aspect. But rather than reject totally this method, teachers can use it sometimes when they need, for example, to convey the meaning of a difficult word when other visual aids cant help students. DIRECT METHOD BACKGROUND: This method was developed initially as a reaction to the grammar-translation method in an attempt to integrate more use of the target language in instruction. It was develop by Maximilian Berlitz. He started to use it in the schools that bear his name in 1878. It was successful in the beginning but its popularity started to decay in the 1920s when schools start to complement the method with more controlled grammar based activity. The direct method of teaching foreign languages, sometimes called the natural method, refrains from using the learners native language and uses only the target language. The direct method was an answer to the dissatisfaction with the older grammar translation method, which teaches students grammar and vocabulary through direct translations and thus focuses on the written language. ADVANTAGES: Students can learn the target language directly and systematically. Students can pronounce correctly. DISADVANTAGES: It overemphasizes and distorts the similarities between naturalistic first language learning and classroom foreign language learning and it fails to consider the practical realities of the classroom. It requires teachers who are native speakers or who are fluency in the foreign language. It is largely dependent on the teachers skill, rather than on a textbook and not all teachers are proficient enough in the foreign language to adhere to the principles of the method. Sometimes a simple brief explanation in the students native tongue would have been a more efficient route to comprehension. TEACHER ´S ROLE: The teacher usually directs the interactions but he/she is not as dominant as in Grammar Translation Method. Sometimes acts like a partner of the students. The teacher asks questions, correct mistakes, lets students speak more than him/her. Use lesson plan instead of a book, speak naturally, etc. STUDENT ´S ROLE: Students are active participants. Sometimes pair of works take place. Even the teacher takes roles in activities. Students imitate the correct pronunciation. They try to express in the foreign language and interact with the teacher and classmates in the foreign language. Therefore students learn to think and speak in their target language. The Direct method is highly motivating to students. METHODOLOGY: Pictures, realia, examples, sample sentences are used to teach vocabulary. Use of L1 is not allowed. There is a direct relation between form and meaning. Grammar is taught inductively. Examples and drills are given and students are expected to discover and acquire the rules. Introduction of new word, sentence or concept: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ SHOWVisual aid or gestures, to ensure student understands new word. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ SAYTeacher verbally introduces element. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ TRYStudent makes various attempts to pronounce new element. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ MOLDTeacher corrects student if necessary, pointing to mouth to show proper shaping of lips, tongue and relationship to teeth. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ REPEATStudent repeats element 5-20 times. Progress, from new word to new word (within same lesson) and progress, from lesson to lesson (LESSON REVIEWfirst few minutes of each lesson are to review lesson immediately completed and GLOBAL REVIEWtransition from lesson review to a comprehensive review. Here some examples of activities: Reading Aloud, Question and Answer Exercise, Getting Students to Self-Correct, Map Drawing, L1 USAGE: The use of the mother tongue is not permitted. L2 USAGE: Teacher and students only use the foreign language in class. LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING, and WRITING: oral communication is seen as basic. Speaking, listening, reading and writing are important skills. Especially speaking and listening are emphasized. Vocabulary is over grammar. Speaking is the most important skill. Reading and writing are not introduced until listening and speaking are fluent skills. EVALUATION: The ability to use the language is tested. Not about language, the language itself. In the Direct Method, students are asked to use the language, not to demonstrate their knowledge about the language. They are asked to do so using both oral and written skills. For example, the students might be interviewed orally by the teacher or might be asked to write a paragraph about something they have studied. PERSONAL OPINION: Even though the Direct Method is not a functional or notional way of teaching it is quite a good method to teach general English. But if the teacher is not native or proficiency in the foreign language he should certainly go to the class with a lesson plan to carry out the activities and to be successful with the Direct Method. AUDIO-LINGUAL METHOD BACKGROUND: The Audio-lingual method was widely used in the United States and other countries in the 1950s and 1960s. The Audio-lingual Method was developed in the U.S.A. during the Second World War. At that time, the U.S. government found a great necessity to set up a special language-training program to supply the war with language personnel. The audio-lingual method, Army Method, or New Key is a style of teaching used in teaching foreign languages. It is based on behaviorist theory, which professes that certain traits of living things, and in this case humans, could be trained through a system of reinforcement-correct use of a trait would receive positive feedback while incorrect use of that trait would receive negative feedback. This approach to language learning was similar to another, earlier method called the direct method. Like the direct method, the audio-lingual method advised that students be taught a language directly, without using the students native language to explain new words or grammar in the target language. However, unlike the direct method, the audio-lingual method didnt focus on teaching vocabulary. Rather, the teacher drilled students in the use of grammar. ADVANTAGES: The audio-lingual theory is probably the first language teaching theory that openly claims to be derived from linguistics and psychology. Making language teaching possible to large groups of learners. It aims at developing listening and speaking skills which is a step away from the Grammar translation method. The use of visual aids has proven its effectiveness in vocabulary teaching. DISADVANTAGES: The method is based on false assumptions about language. The study of language doesnt amount to studying the parole, the observable data. Mastering a language relies on acquiring the rules underlying language performance. That is, the linguistic, sociolinguistic, and discourse competences. The behaviorist approach to learning is now discredited. Many scholars have proven its weakness. Noam Chomsky (1959) A Review of B. F. Skinners Verbal Behaviorhas written a strong criticism of the principles of the theory. Not developing language competence, lack of effectiveness, and boredom caused by endless pattern drills are great disadvantages too. Learners have little control over their learning. Teacher has the domination of the class. TEACHER ROLE: Teacher is like an orchestra leader. She/he directs and controls the language behavior of the students. Teacher is a good model of the target language, especially for pronunciation and other oral skills. The teacher models the target language, controls the direction and pace of learning, and monitors and corrects the learners ´ performance. The teacher controls the learners and prevents them from doing anything that conflict with the theory. The teacher is expected to specify the language that learners are going to use. STUDENT ROLE: Students are imitators of the teacher as perfect model of the target language or the native speakers in the audio recordings. Learners are expected to interact with the language system, embodied in machines or controlled materials. METHODOLOGY: Explicit rules are not provided. Students induce the rules through examples and drills. Students acquire grammar by being exposed to patterns through mechanical drills. Drills and pattern practice are typical of the Audio-lingual method. These include: -Repetition: where the student repeats an utterance as soon as he hears it. -Inflection: Where one word in a sentence appears in another form when repeated. -Replacement: Where one word is replaced by another. -Restatement: The student re-phrases an utterance. Meaning is taught directly. L1 is prohibited because it may cause bad habit formations. Vocabulary is introduced through dialogues. The techniques used are: dialogue memorization, minimal pairs: (for teaching pronunciation), complete the dialogue, grammar games, and mechanical drills. L1 USAGE: L1 is not allowed in the classroom. It may cause interference and bad habit formation in L2. L2 USAGE: The teacher and the students only use the foreign language. LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING AND WRITING: Students can learn target language in natural order: listening-speaking-reading-writing. It lays emphasis on listening and speaking. The teacher is a model of L2 and students mimic him/her, so the listening skill is very important for this method. L2 is learned through repetition. EVALUATION: Students are evaluated at different stages and on different points of the language. Each question is supposed to focus on only one point on the language at time. Discrete-point tests are used. PERSONAL OPINION: there are many useful things we can learn from the Audio-lingual Method. If language learning were organized according to its structure, language learning would be easier, especially to adult learners. The Audio-lingual Method considers language ability made up of four skills and these skills can be taught separately. Since the natural order of skill acquisition is listening, speaking, reading, and writing, the Method gives the primary stress to the first two of the four skills. Speech is more basic to language than the written form, and listening and speaking are the basic form of verbal communication. In the classroom, the language skills are taught in the order of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Using pattern drills is the center of practice in Audiolingual Method. It can help students not only gain control over grammatical structures, but also develop their oral ability. The Audio-lingual method also provides language teachers with many useful techniqu es. The simple drilling techniques provide varied, graded and intensive practice of specific features of the language. The simple and direct approach is especially appropriate for young students and less gifted ones. Moreover, teaching technique with tape recordings and language lab drills offer practice in speaking and listening, which are considered of primary importance in language learning. In sum, we could adapt some kinds of techniques used by the Audio-lingual Method, such as dialogues and pattern drills to our students and their needs, and taking into account important factors such as sociolinguistic and discourse competences, the context of the students dialogue, and other communicative facts which are essentials when learners are studying a foreign language. SILENT WAY BACKGROUND: Cognitive Psychology is the basis. The Silent Way is the name of a method of language teaching devised by Caleb Gattegno in the early 1970,s. Not only in the past but also today, people have learned languages by means of habit formation, memorization and translation. However, cognitive psychologists and transformational generative linguists claimed that languages cannot be learned through mimicry since people can create utterances they have never heard before. Therefore people can learn languages by using their own thinking processes to discover the rules of the language they are learning. Gattegno stated his reasons for the emergence of his method as follows: As I developed my techniques while subordinating my teaching to the learning, I found that I could very early transfer the responsibility for the use of the language to my students, so that I become able to teach using fewer and fewer words. It is this aspect of my techniques of teaching that prompted me to call the approach The Silent Way of Teaching Foreign Languages (Oller and Amato 1983:73). He gives too much value to the word silent since he thinks that there are means of letting the learners learn while the teacher stops interfering. ADVANTAGES: This method fosters cooperative learning between individuals. It embodies a new approach to education in general, a respect for the individual and an awareness of the individuals extraordinary cognitive powers. If it is succeeded to teach the language the by using the rods without repeating too much, it will really save time and energy for both teachers students. The self-esteem of the students will be increased and this will enhance learning. By this way students will say I learned instead of I was taught well. (Demircan1990). DISADVANTAGES: It would seem necessary for a teacher to gain a good deal of training and skill in order to apply the Silent Way to the teaching of a total grammar in all its complexity. This method can be benefited by the teacher only in small groups of students. The teacher can gain ability in this method by trying. The teacher is expected to enrich the materials on his/her own. For some teachers the rigidity of the system (no repetitions by the teacher, no answers by the teacher etc.) may be meaningless. For some learners, one limitation is the approach to language basics which begins with seemingly irrelevant discussions about rods and which involves silence and concentration and games with the teacher about meaning. Students expectations and need for immediately relevant language learning may force teachers to abandon the approach (Celce-Murcia 1979). How such a method would in the average classroom situation or how successfully it might be used at more advanced levels is a question mark left in our minds. Language is separated from its social context and taught through artificial situations usually by rods. TEACHER ROLE: The teacher should be silent as much as possible in the classroom to encourage the learner to produce as much language as possible. The teacher is expected to create an environment that encourages students risk taking that facilitates learning. The teacher should give only what help is necessary. In other words, the teacher makes use of what students already know. The more the teacher does for the students what they can do for themselves, the less they will do for themselves (Larsen-Freeman 1986). STUDENT ROLE: The learner is expected to become independent, autonomous, and responsible in language. Learners are expected to interact with each other and suggest alternatives to each other. They must learn to work cooperatively rather than competitively. The teachers silence encourages group cooperation. In order not to miss what the teacher says, learners must give the teacher their attention. Learner-attention is a key to learning. Learners will provide each other with correct models and encourage each others initiative. Thus, this method fosters interdependence and cooperation among learners at the same time it promotes independence from the teacher. METHODOLOGY: A cardinal principle of the Silent Way is respect for the students capacity to work out language problems and recall information on their own with no verbalization and minimal help from the teacher. Vocabulary is taught by means of visual aids and word-charts. Vocabulary is always recycled by means of word-charts. There is a focus on the structures of the language although explicit grammar rules are never given. Some techniques used are: Teaching pronunciation with sound colour charts Cognitive coding with colour rods. Peer correction to improve co-operative manner. Self correction gestures Teachers Silence Structured feedback: students are invited to talk about the days instruction (what they have learnt that day during classes). Students learn to take responsibility for their own learning by becoming aware of themselves, and by controlling and applying their own learning strategies. Fidel Charts: Used to teach sound spelling association. Word Charts: Used to teach and recycle vocabulary. The words are written in different colours so that students can learn basic pronunciation patterns. L1 USAGE: native language can be used to give instructions when necessary. Also native language can be used during the feedback sessions (at least for beginner levels). If the native language is not very essential then it is avoided. During feedback sessions L1 be used at beginning levels. L1 can be exploited. For example, similar sounds in L1 and L2 can be used to make students aware of phonological similarities. L2 USAGE: The use of the target language is essential for this method. L1 can be used to give instructions when necessary. Meaning is made clear by focusing the students perceptions, not by translation. LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING AND WRITING: Pronunciation is emphasized at the very beginning. It is important that students acquire the melody of the language. All four skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) are worked on from the beginning. EVALUATION: although the teacher does not have to give a formal test, she/he assesses student learning all the time. One criterion of whether or not students have learned is their ability to transfer what they have been studying to new contexts. The teacher may never give a formal test. He/she assesses students learning all the time. Continuous monitoring by the teacher is essential. PERSONAL OPINION: Depending on my own teaching and learning experience, too much repetition does not help students. If the students are familiar with their teachers technique, they know that the teacher will repeat the subject-matter once again. Thus, they do not pay enough attention to their teachers talk. On the other hand, if the students know that their teacher will not repeat anymore, they will listen to him/her carefully. Another principle that I agree with is less teacher interference. If the teacher helps only when it is asked, then, that help will be more valuable. Sometimes teachers like me tend to give extra information when students ask something and of course this tires us too much. Therefore students do not make any effort to take the responsibility of their learning. Advocates of the Silent Way feel that more important than the techniques and more important even than the language learning results, is the process, the change that occurs in individuals. This includes understanding and tolerance of another and acceptance of others as contributors to ones own life. TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE: BACKGROUND: Total Physical Response (TPR) is a method developed by Dr. James J. Asher, a professor emeritus of psychology at San Josà © State University, to aid learning second languages. The method became popular in the 1970s and attracted the attention or allegiance of some teachers, but it has not received generalized support from mainstream educators. Language is primarily oral. It is just like the acquisition of native language. Learners first listen (silent period), then oral production starts. Oral communication is crucial. Skillful use of imperatives by the instructor can be helpful for the acquisition of many vocabulary items and grammatical structures. Asher views the verb and particularly the verb in the imperative as the central linguistic motif around which language use and learning are organized. ADVANTAGES: It is fun and easy so students will enjoy the lessons. It does not require a great deal of preparation on the part of the teacher. It is a good tool for learning vocabulary. Class size does not need to be a problem. There is no age barrier. DISADVANTAGES: TPR is reduced to the imperative form. TPR is more useful at beginners. It is not a very creative method. Students are not given the opportunity to express their own views and thoughts in a creative way. It is limited, since everything cannot be explained with this method. It must be combined with other approaches. TEACHER ROLE: the teacher has an active role in this method. He decides what to teach, which materials to use and how they are to be presented. It is important to underline that the teacher ´s role is not simply to teach. His task is offering opportunities for learning. The cognitive map of the target language that each student creates in their mind is going to depend on the way the teacher presents the materials. Teachers should take parents as their model. At the beginning, there will be wide tolerance towards the mistakes students make. If the teacher is constantly interrupting and correcting, students will not be encouraged to talk. They will be inhibited. At first, teachers do not correct children when they begin to speak. STUDENT ROLE: learners have the roles of listeners and performers. First, they must listen to what the teacher says. Then, they are expected to respond physically to those commands given by the teacher. METHODOLOGY: The key for successful language learning is the reduction of stress, such as the first language acquisition (stress-free environment). Listen attentively and respond physically to commands given by the teacher. They are encouraged to speak when they feel ready to speak. Performing physical actions in the target language as a mean of making input comprehensive and minimizing stress grammar is studied in an inductive way. Vocabulary and grammar are introduced through imperatives. Some of the techniques used are: Commands ( sit down, skip, close your eyesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦), Role reversal: Students command their teacher and classmates to perform actions, Action sequence: The teacher may give three connected commands (e.g. Point to the door, walk to the door, and touch the door). L1 USAGE: The method is introduced in the students L1. After the introduction, rarely would the mother tongue be used. Meaning is made through body movements. L2 USAGE: Teacher speaks only in the foreign language, while the students use it only when they are ready. LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING AND WRITING: Natural order of skills: 1. Listening (Very important during the silent period). 2. Speaking (teacher should not force students to produce the language especially during the silent period they are expected to produce the target language voluntarily) 3. Reading 4. Writing EVALUATION: Teachers will know immediately whether or not students understand by observing heir students actions. Formal evaluations can be conducted simply by commanding individual students to perform a series of actions. As students become more advanced, their performance can become the basis for evaluation. PERSONAL OPINION: This is a very useful method to use with all students (children, young and adult students), but only in the first stages of the foreign language learning. I completely agree with learn the foreign language in a non- stress environment, because this is a key factor of the learning. Students learn better in a relaxing atmosphere, like children learn their mother tongue. The kind of activities that the teacher can use is wide and dont require any language answer of the students until they are ready to do that. But teacher has to bear in mind that this method is not enough when students are in a higher level. In that case, students need more communicative activities. SUGGESTOPEDIA BACKGROUND: Suggestopedia is a teaching method developed by the Bulgarian psychotherapist Georgi Lozanov. It is used in different fields, but mostly in the field of foreign language learning. Lozanov has claimed that by using this method a teachers students can learn a language approximately three to five times as quickly as through conventional teaching methods. The theory applied positive suggestion in teaching when it was developed in the 1970s. However, as the method improved, it has focused more on desuggestive learning and now is often called desuggestopedia. Suggestopedia is a mixing of the words suggestion and pedagogy. ADVANTAGES: Increase oral proficiency and lower classroom anxiety. The use of music, relaxing, pleasing and stimulating environmental set-up, motivated and powerful service people (teachers) giving positive messages with their attractive appearance and never-ending energy so it has the potential to increase motivation, among the learners, to try and use the product, which is English here DISADVANTAGES: The first weakness of this method is that the techniques may not work well in all the learners and cultures. It is not a practical method as teachers face the problem of the availability of music and comfortable chairs Lozanov refers in a number of occasions to the importance of memorization, excluding any reference to comprehension and creative problem solving. In fact language is not only about the power of the mind to memorize. Its about understanding, interacting and producing novel utterances in different unpredictable situations. TEACHER ROLE: Teacher is the authority. Learners learn better if they get the information from a reliable authority. Students must trust and respect that authority. STUDENT ROLE: Students play a childs role (infantilization). They adopt a new identity (new name, job, family, etc.). As they feel more secure, they can be less inhibited. METHODOLOGY: Vocabulary is emphasised. Claims about the success of the method often focus on the large number of words that can be acquired. Grammar is taught explicitly but minimally. Explicit grammar rules are provided in L1. Dialogues are used with their translations in L1 on the opposite side. Texts with literary value are used. The textbook posters are used for peripheral learning. Some of the techniques used are: Classroom set up: dim lights, soft music, cushioned armchairs, and posters on the walls. Positive Suggestion: Direct Suggestion: The teacher tells students they are going to be successful to create self-confidence. Indirect Suggestion: This is provided by music and comfortable physical conditions of the classroom. Peripheral Learning: Posters, lists, charts, texts, paintings, and graphs are hung on the walls of the classroom. Students learn from these although their attentions are not directly on these materials. Visualization: Students are asked to close their eyes and concentrate on their breathing. Then the tea

The Legendary Camelot :: Camelot

The Legendary Camelot This king lay at Camelot one Christmastide With many mighty lords, manly liegemen, Members rightly reckoned of the Round Table, In splendid celebration, seemly and carefree (Stone 22). This is the only time that Camelot, home of the Arthurian legends, is mentioned in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The fourteenth-century poem seemingly gives no clue as to the location of the castle of King Arthur (Alcock 15). According to the Encyclopedia Brittannica, the "real" Camelot is to be found at a number of locations: Camelot, in Arthurian legend, was the seat of King Arthur's court. It is variously identified with Caerlon, Monmouthshire, in Wales, and in England, with the following: Queen Camel, Somerset; the little town of Camelford, Cornwall; Winchester, Hampshire, and, especially since archaeological

Observing a Math Lesson Essay

A standard in mathematics provides, at the very least, is a baseline or outline to loosely adhere to during the school year. They are at the most though, designed to curricular goals and guidance for the math curriculum (Ferrini-Mundy, 2000). The direction of the future of math standards is equally important. The NCTM is focusing on having every state adhere to the same standards. Traditional teaching and learning is now taking a backseat to an updated common-core driven era because the old ways are dated for the dynamic of today’s classroom. The big difference between a baseline and goal is the minimum requirement and the maximum success rate you are aiming for as a teacher. Just having standards in a classroom and pushing through each lesson to achieve the notion that you made it through each standard produce a sub-par learning experience. There should be goals, not just for getting through standards, but an actual standard of learning each standard. A certain percentage of students should be able to demonstrate a mediocre to high capability of quality work for each standard. Formative and summative assessments could be used to analyze when it is time to move to the next standard. The separation of standards by state requirements show a difference in in the challenge the standards uphold from state-to-state (GreatSchools). After the NCLB Act of 2002, states were held accountable for the test scores, and even more than scores, the progress of their students. States submit their standards and questions for approval. There was a gap however in the quality of questions from each state. The NCTM is trying to find a happy medium for this. Forty-nine states now have adapted or at least begin implementing the new subject matter standards in mathematics (Ferrini-Mundy, 2000). Classrooms are no longer made of just high and low learners. Classrooms incorporate such a vast and diverse dynamic that not only includes a plethora of students that require differentiated lessons, but also consist of students who learn in all seven styles (Burton, 2010).  Being able to transcend information above just delivering it to each student can prove to be challenging. The goal would be to not just deliver, but have students receive, comprehend and apply. Constructivist style teaching and learning offers a gateway to the success of this. Students understand even subconsciously how they learn. Taking an active role in their own learning and mathematical discovery is key to their lifetime learning journey. Peer problem solving, dynamic small group teaching and think pair share offer an engaging premise for this learner’s accountability (Burton, 2010). This however does not mean every aspect of teaching from previous generations is lost. If it is not broke, don’t fix it applies to anything that was successful from all previous teaching methods throughout time. Traditional teaching methods are ideal for basic levels of learning. This is evident when basic information needs to be construed to the students. How to do addition and subtraction type concepts do not require constructivist style learning. Both styles of teaching provide huge upside but also are handcuffed by cons if used exclusively in the class. Constructivist math programs leave low-achieving students behind. Traditional programs may be tedious to high-achieving students (McDonell, 2008). A combination of both should be used for the greatest success. Lesson The objectives of the lesson I observed was to establish two different ways to find the area of triangles. This lesson was used as a base for eventually teaching composite figures and finding not only the area of them, but also the volume. The lessons incorporated problem solving and word problems, heightening the effectiveness of the lesson. The teacher placed the students in group settings. Within each group, students were given two separate problems. After the completion of each problem they discussed how the performed the work and came to find the answer. Once they all agreed on the answer and explanation, they groups were all shifted to a new table which held a new set of questions to solve and discuss. The standards used from the NCTM fall under the measurement and the process categories. It covers a majority of the two standards because of the variety of strategies used in the lessons. Below is all of the strategies used that were pulled from the NCTM website (NCTM, 2014). Measurements Grades 6–8 Expectations: In grades 6–8 all students should– understand both metric and customary systems of measurement; understand relationships among units and convert from one unit to another within the same system; understand, select, and use units of appropriate size and type to measure angles, perimeter, area, surface area, and volume. Process Standards Problem Solving Instructional programs from prekindergarten through grade 12 should enable all students to— Build new mathematical knowledge through problem solving Solve problems that arise in mathematics and in other contexts Apply and adapt a variety of appropriate strategies to solve problems Monitor and reflect on the process of mathematical problem solving Reasoning and Proof Instructional programs from prekindergarten through grade 12 should enable all students to— Recognize reasoning and proof as fundamental aspects of mathematics Make and investigate mathematical conjectures Develop and evaluate mathematical arguments and proofs Select and use various types of reasoning and methods of proof Communication Instructional programs from prekindergarten through grade 12 should enable all students to— Organize and consolidate their mathematical thinking through communication Communicate their mathematical thinking coherently and clearly to peers, teachers, and others Analyze and evaluate the mathematical thinking and strategies of others; Use the language of mathematics to express mathematical ideas precisely. Connections Instructional programs from prekindergarten through grade 12 should enable all students to— Recognize and use connections among mathematical ideas Understand how mathematical ideas interconnect and build on one another to produce a coherent whole Recognize and apply mathematics in contexts outside of mathematics Representation Instructional programs from prekindergarten through grade 12 should enable  all students to— Create and use representations to organize, record, and communicate mathematical ideas Select, apply, and translate among mathematical representations to solve problems Use representations to model and interpret physical, social, and mathematical phenomena Standards in mathematics are important because it allows maximum learning. Being able to produce a lesson and then compare the standards allows educators to revamp or add to their lesson plans and implement more then they initially intended. A lesson can be drawn up and leave out simple elements that if added increase learning and meaning. The enhancement of the lesson will lead to a better success rate for the future lessons this one was meant to be a baseline for. A deeper understanding and comprehension of the area of a triangle makes the transition to composite shapes much easier to address. The methods used for this lesson were ideal. Strategies used were group work and a think-pair-share approach to explaining their conclusion of how they came to their answers we very effective. Although the text does not say, whole brain teaching and modeling methods were used for the first half of the lesson. Demonstration effective learning is important in this particular class because the c lass includes students who fundamentally have problems with simple multiplication even though it is 6th grade. Because of this, she also has to differentiate her instruction. This was done by not only making appropriate group dynamics but also giving low students’ multiplication charts so that they may solve the work on their own. This was not counterintuitive at all because the purpose was to understand solving for area. The school is low economic status, and technology is scarce. Technology was not used but could have been at basic levels. It could have been used to submit their work, to include their explanations. This would provide a means for accountability. It could have also been used for interactive websites intended for solving area. Technology was not used, but manipulatives were. Each problem consisted of its own cut out to measure. One of the changes I would have made to this lesson would be to allow students to measure something around the classroom. I noticed quite a few triangular shapes in her class to include an awesome Avengers kite. Assessments of the lesson included exit cards for that day  and when the section of the lessons was concluded, multiple tests were taken. The teacher used all of these assessments to her advantage. She addressed necessary review time because of them, making the overall lesson an absolute success. Other than allowing students free reign at the end I wou ld not change anything about this lesson. This will be yet another lesson I steal and use for my own classroom. Resources Burton, M. (2010). Five Strategies for Creating Meaningful Mathematics Experiences in the Primary Years. YC: Young Children, 65(6), 92-96. Ferrini-Mundy, J. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics: A guide for mathematician. Notices of AMS, 47(8), 868-876. Retrieved from http://www.ams.org/notices/200008/comm-ferrini.pdf GreatSchools Staff (n.d.). State standardized test scores: Issues to consider. Retrieved from http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/626-state-standardized-test-scores- issues-to-consider.gs Lee Yuen, L. (2010). The Use of Constructivist Teaching Practices by Four New Secondary School Science Teachers: A Comparison of New Teachers and Experienced Constructivist Teachers. Science Educator, 19(2), 10-21. McDonell, J. (2008). Constructivist versus traditional math programs: How do we best meet the educational needs of our students?. (Master’s thesis, Carroll University). Retrieved from http://content-dm.carrollu.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/edthesis/id/2/rec/14 NCTM. (2014). thstandards and expectations. Retrieved from http://www.nctm.org/standards/content.aspx?id=4294967312 Winstone, N., & Millward, L. (2012). The Value of Peers and Support from Scaffolding: Applying Constructivist Principles to the Teaching of Psychology. Psychology Teaching Review, 18(2), 59-67.

The Scale of the Post War Golden Age of Economic Growth Enjoyed

In your own words, outline the scale of the post war Golden Age of economic growth enjoyed by Western European nations. The Golden age of Economic growth occurred in the aftermath of World War two and continued until the mid 1970’s and led to the 1970’s recession. During this period of time the World economy expanded at never before seen levels, World output of manufactures quadrupled between 1950 and 1970 and at the same time trade in manufactures increased by 10 times the previous levels.Since then historians and economists have been attempting to explain the reasons for this unprecedented growth. Throughout this essay I am going to focus on the analysis of two particular economic historians Hobsbawn and Crafts. After World War two had ended the previously powerful Europe laid in tatters, France and Germany were virtually destroyed and Britain was near financial ruin. America emerged from World War two as the Largest and most powerful economy in the world and as such decided to aid the recovery of Europe.Clearly a strong Europe was better for America as a trading partner than a weak one. This resulted in America putting into effect the Marshall plan. It was a four year plan the began in April 1948 during this time America gave Europe $13 billion of aid roughly 5% of America’s GDP at the time. This clearly provided a much needed boost to a Europe that agriculture sector had been totally destroyed. Is this then the factor that enabled growth in western Europe.It was clearly a factor that aided growth but could it have been as Cradfts has suggested simply that Western Europe was playing ‘Catch-up’ with countries such as America. â€Å" This meant that growth had been below trend and the opportunity existed for rapid growth by correcting policy errors and repairing damaged economies. † The U. S. A was virtually untouched by WW2 certainly much less than Europe and this enabled rapid growth, once Europe had emerged from WW2, it was able to share in a technology boost that America had previously experienced and ultimately gain such high growth very quickly.