Get Prepared My Speech Essay Example for Free

Get Prepared My Speech Essay Regarding our introduction speech as my first formal one in front of the class, I felt so awkward that I forgot every details which we should pay attention to. First is the Eye Contact. There was a kind of hook that I can’t control myself from moving my sights out of the back row, where our professor sat. The second Delivery part is Vocal Pause which was my most serious issue during all the speech. Words just went out of my mind since I wrote my name on the board. I was a little unaware when my name was called on the second because I preferred the third place so that I got enough time to calm down and organized sentences. Every preparation I did was showing randomly in my head. For example, my personal considerations on how tough will a military mission be had appeared first rather than an interesting getter. Some details I added to make a rich description became a simple word, not including some parts I even forgot to say. The last issue is about Body language that it may help audiences to know where the person in the speech is. Thanked for the outlines paper so that I knew where I should put my hands on. I was easily lost my minds but caught up on time by fingering which line I would read next. By recollecting fragments of my speech, I keep telling myself it would be better if I performed in that way. An interesting beginning, more eye contacts or less pause while I was expressing. All the problems I mentioned above is because I didn’t realize there was more nervousness than I expected. In another words, I didn’t rehearse enough to conquer that as Ronald B. and George states, â€Å"A smooth and natural delivery is the result of extensive practice. Get to know your material until you feel comfortable with your presentation† (page 342). After switched to a listener, contents were not the only part that attracted me but how different they performed from mine. By observing their moves, their body languages were perfectly coordinated with the rhythm of presentations. It became a talk like he or she was introducing a friend of his or her to you instead of reading a research paper. About the cadence they spoke, the variable tone caught my attention all the time and I couldn’t wait to know what was on the next. I confessed that I am the selective listener who responds only to the parts of a speaker’s remarks that interested me. With those changing tones and plentiful body languages, the contents were easily understood and appealing. I am very pleased to be enrolled in this class to figure out what is my weakness and how I can beat them to be a qualified speaker. Works Citied Adler, Ronald B. and Rodman, George. Understanding Human Communication with Carrie Cropley Hutchinson, 11th edition. Print.

Pre-match competitive anxiety

Pre-match competitive anxiety Pattern of Pre-Match Competitive Anxiety in Elite Male Rugby Union Players. 1. Introduction Significant progress into the understanding of anxiety in sport has been made in recent years with the aid of research by such researchers at Burton (1988), Gould et al. (1987) and Martens and Gill (1976). In turn this has enabled sport psychologists to gain a deeper understanding into what causes competitive anxiety and the way in which athletes cope with it (Jarvis, 2006). The ability to cope with anxiety in all sports is essential as it could make the difference between winning and losing a competition. 1.1 Identifying the Problem There is a lack of research into the effects of anxiety on sporting performance, especially in male rugby. In team sports it is particularly important to breakdown all aspects of the performance. The key issues researched in this paper are somatic and cognitive anxiety. From research it is clear that the failure to control these areas leads to unsuccessful teams (Yerkes Dodson, 1968; Feltz, 1988; Martens et al., 1990; Cox, 1998; Weinberg Gould, 2007). 1.2 Research Aims and Questions The main aim of the research is to examine the pattern of pre-match competitive anxiety in elite male rugby union players. With the use of the CSAI-2 and interviews, the effects that anxiety has on sporting performance will be investigated. There are three questions to be answered in this research piece: How does cognitive state-anxiety affect sporting performance? What affects does somatic state-anxiety has on sporting performance? How can self-confidence affect the level of sporting performance? According to LeUnes (1996), developments in the literature written around anxiety have focused on the multidimensional nature of the phenomenon. Therefore, all results will be analysed and compare with the predictions proposed by the Multidimensional Anxiety Theory by Martens et al. (1990) which is explained in the Methodology section. 1.2 Importance of Research The findings from this research will be beneficial to coaches as they will provide a better understanding of how anxiety levels affect performance. The research will also be important to athletes, in this case rugby union players, as they will gain a deeper understanding into the reasons behind their feelings of anxiety and self-confidence. By gaining a further understanding in this area, performance levels can be increased with the aid of appropriate preparation during training and before matches. Coping strategies could also be introduced to the players to enable them to control their levels of anxiety prior to matches. 1.3 Context The research for this research project will take place at a local amateur rugby club. The club was set up in July 1898 and just before the Second World War the land was purchased and the pitches were laid. By 1975 the club had a fully erected club house with squash courts. The club consists of 6 senior teams; Colts, Ladies, Vikings, Rhinos (Veterans), Wanderers and 1st XV. There are also teams for youth boys from U7 through to U17, and U15 and U18 teams for girls. The selected team for research is the 1st XV mens team. Although the research is being carried out in this local rugby club, the results and findings can be applied to any other sports club across the country. The level and gender of the club or team will however make a difference to how the players react to certain situations. 1.4 Outline of the Study This research will be split further into five further chapters: Chapter Two: Literature review in which I will be developing an overview of the field. Chapter Three: Methodology will explain how I set out to investigate my research and why I chose the methods used. Chapter Four: Results will present the findings of the research piece in chart form. Chapter Five: Discussion Analysis explains what I found out during the research project. It will relate them back to my literature review and compare them to the Multidimensional Anxiety Theory. Chapter Six: Conclusion will explain my findings and close up the research project. 2. Literature Review This literature review will be written in four sections. Each one will be looking into the effects of anxiety on performance in sport. Section one will look at the definitions of trait and state anxiety and self confidence. Section two will be looking into the research around anxiety and its effects on performance, both positive and negative. The third section will be investigating the causes of anxiety; fear of failure, parental, peers and coaches influences, social physique anxiety, and location. The final section will be exploring the characteristics of anxiety during performance in sport. Objective and Data Sources This research project provides an insight into the affects of anxiety on the performance of a selected rugby team. Database searches were done using SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO and EBSCOhost in order to find significant literature. The key words rugby, anxiety, performance, coaches, location, parents, and team were entered into the databases to bring up relevant articles. Only appropriate, peer reviewed data was extracted for this review. 2.1 Trait and State Anxiety, and Self-Confidence. Anxiety can be defined as, A state in which the individual experiences feelings of uneasiness (apprehension) and activation of the autonomic nervous system in response to a vague nonspecific threat. (Barry, 2002:p230; Carpenito-Moyet, 2006:p11). Anxiety is viewed as an enduring personality factor or trait referred to as A-trait (Davies, 1989:p70). 2.1.1 Trait Anxiety Trait anxiety is part of the personality, an acquired behavioural tendency or disposition that influences behaviour (Weinberg Gould, 2007:p79). Individuals with a high level of trait anxiety have a tendency to regard certain situations as threatening, and respond to these with an increased level of state anxiety (Spielberger, 1971). For example, two hockey goal keepers are of the same standard yet one has a higher level of trait anxiety and finds pressure of saving the goals too much. This leads to him displaying higher levels of state anxiety. Anxiety is also viewed as a temporary state, A-state which is evoked by particular situations (Davies, 1989:p70). 2.1.2 State Anxiety State anxiety can be defined as an emotional state characterized by subjective, consciously perceived feelings of apprehension and tension, accompanied by or associated with activation or arousal of the autonomic nervous system (Spielberger, 1966:p17). For example, the level of an athletes state anxiety will change during a rugby match. Before the game the player may have a high level of state anxiety, during the game it may lower as they settle into the game, and finally during the last few minutes of a tight game it may rise again. State anxiety can be split further into cognitive state anxiety, and somatic state anxiety (LeUnes Nation, 1996). In support of this proposal that the two aspects of state anxiety can be dealt with as independent constructs, both Burton (1988) and Gould et al. (1987) have proven through research that sporting performance is affected by the type of anxiety being measured. Cognitive anxiety can be defined as the mental component of state anxiety caused by such things as fear of negative social evaluation, fear of failure, and loss of self-esteem (Cox, 1998:p98). Somatic anxiety refers to the physiological and affective elements of the anxiety experience that develop directly from autonomic arousal (Martens et al., 1990:p6). Somatic anxiety is shown in responses such as increase in heart rate, breathlessness, sweaty palms, and muscular tension (Martens et al., 1990; Morris et al, 1981; Cox, 1998). Research by Hanton et al., (2000) examined the cognitive and somatic anxiety levels in 50 rugby players and 50 target rifle shooters. Hanton et al. (2000) concluded that rugby players were more likely to report that somatic anxiety had a positive impact on their sporting performance. However, the target rifle shooters reported that it had a negative impact on their performance. Somatic and cognitive anxiety can be tested using the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) developed by Martens et al. and first presented in 1982. 2.1.3 Self-Confidence Vealey (1986) defined sports confidence as the amount of confidence athletes possess about their ability to be successful in sport. Vealey (2001) suggested that self-confidence can be more traitlike or statelike depending on the time that it is measured. In essence, confidence might be something that an individual feels on a particular day (state self-confidence), or it might be part of their personality (trait self-confidence). Research carried out by Hall et al. (1998), suggests that self-confidence is closely related to perceived ability and is depressed with the onset of competition due to the increase in anxiety. As explained in literature by Horn (2008:p66), self-confidence is rooted in beliefs and expectations. If overall self-confidence is low and the player(s) expect something to go wrong, they are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy (Weinberg Gould, 2007). This means that expecting something to happen actually helps it to happen. For example, if a team thinks that they will lose the upcoming match because they lost last time they stand a greater chance of losing than winning. The expectation of failure leads to actual failure, which lowers self-image and increases expectations for future failure (Weinberg Gould, 2007:p323). 2.2 Anxiety and Performance. As a result of the development of the CSAI-2, the Multidimensional Theory of Anxiety has been recognised in the field of sport psychology (McNally, 2002). The Multidimensional Theory of Anxiety is based on the idea that anxiety is comprised of two distinct parts; cognitive and somatic (as defined in section 2.1). Both of these components have different effects on performance and can be manipulated separately in any occasion (Burton, 1998; Cox, 1998; McNally, 2002). The Multidimensional Anxiety Theory predicts that cognitive state anxiety is negatively related to performance. However, the theory predicts that the somatic state anxiety is related to performance in an inverted U shape which can be seen in Appendix 1 . Certain levels of anxiety can be advantageous for the performers, but only but to a certain level. Beyond this level the anxiety causes performance to decline (Martens et al., 1990; Hanin, 2000; Weinberg Gould, 2007). According to Endler (1978), there are five factors that can be responsible for an increase in state anxiety in an athlete; threat to an individuals ego, threat of personal harm, ambiguity, disruption of routine, and threat of a negative social evaluation. A high level of anxiety is disadvantageous for optimum performance in competitive sport (Davies, 1989:p71). This is demonstrated by the fact that more anxious individuals generally do worse in important events compared to less important events and practise sessions. This is supported by research carried out by Martens et al. (1990), Martin Gill (1991), and Eys et al. (2003). Martens et al. (1990) suggests that somatic anxiety has an Inverted-U shaped relationship with performance, whereas cognitive anxiety has a negative linear relationship with performance as shown in Appendix 2 . Similar results had been found by Parfitt and Hardy (1991). They found that there were both positive and negative effects for somatic anxiety during performance related activities just before an important event or match during the time that cognitive anxiety was at a high level (McNally, 2002). Anxiety can be a huge setback for many athletes, especially those who take part in individual sports, such as tennis singles, and for those who play in exposed positions, such as goalkeepers in hockey (Davies, 1989). Research has proven that there is an optimum level of anxiety for maximum performance. It was also proven that both high and low levels of anxiety are related to poor levels of performance (Yerkes Dodson, 1968; Feltz, 1988; Martens et al., 1990; Cox, 1998). According to research carried out by Martin and Gill (1991), a players level of anxiety varies depending on how important or challenging the match or competition is. More able players will therefore not be so adversely affected by high levels of anxiety, where as less able players will be as they see the match as challenging and good results will seem unrealistic. Sigmund Freud (1962) did a lot of research into anxiety. In 1962 he focused on the anticipatory nature of anxiety. From this research he concluded that some individuals expect to win or fail, and therefore become more or less anxious according to their expectations. An important piece of research into state anxiety among successful and unsuccessful competitors who differ in competitive trait anxiety was carried out by Martens and Gill (1976). From the research they concluded that the individuals who maintained low levels of A-state throughout the competition were highly successful. This supports the research carried out by Martens (1990) and Parfitt and Hardy (1991) with the Inverted-U shaped relationship between anxiety and performance. Anxiety, therefore is a central factor in performance in competitive sport (Davies, 1989:p72). It is exasperating and disheartening for a talented and committed sportsman when their performance crumbles during competition due to over-anxiety. This is avoidable if the individual is suitably prepared emotionally and emphasis is on the learning and enjoyment of the game. However, this could be difficult to enforce with a professional sportsman who may potentially have external rewards undermining intrinsic motivation (Weinburg and Gould, 2007). 2.3 Causes of Anxiety. This section will be looking into the issues surrounding the causes of anxiety in sports performers. These will include fear of failure, parental, peers and coaches influences, and event importance. Relevant literature has been reviewed and presented in the section below. 2.4.1 Fear of Failure For many people, sport is an important arena in which ones ability, motivation, and personality are scrutinized and evaluated by other people (Leary Kowalski, 1995:p122). Whenever individuals step onto the sports field they are at risk of showing themselves in an unflattering perspective. They may worry about displaying signs of being out of shape, unskilled, incompetent and unable to handle pressure to their fans, teammates, coaches and family (Passer, 1983; Davies, 1989; Leary Kowalski, 1995; Jarvis, 2006). Research by Pierce (1980) concluded that youth sport participants worried more about making mistakes and underperforming than getting hurt and what others thought of them. One of the most potent causes of anxiety is the fear of failure (Davies, 1989:p73). This fear of failure would also be connected with the loss of prestige and humiliation. Research by Passer (1983) supports this theory as he found that fear of failure is a major cause of threat in competitive-trait-anxious children. This fear of failure can be evident in superior performers as there is an increased pressure to perform well when playing a less able opponent. Losing to a lower ranked team or player could be humiliating and result in a loss of prestige and reputation (Davies, 1989; Leary Kowalski, 1995). The player may have the ability and skills to win the match, but due to their constant worry of how they are going to perform they end up underperforming (Passer, 1983). However, for professional athletes this adverse affect of anxiety on performance will be less as they have learnt to cope with such situations and are able to deal with them accordingly. An example of a highly skilled player is Roger Federer (aged 27). Federer met the young Spaniard, Rafael Nadal (aged 22) in the Wimbledon finals in 2008. Federer was the current Wimbledon champion and had held the title for 5 consecutive years; this would have been his 6th World Championship title. Federers defeat could have been due to the excessive amount of media coverage before the match adding to the pressure of him winning yet another title against a younger competitor. At the same time, the pressure would have equally been placed on Nadal to knock Federer off the top spot. Federer commented after the game Its not a whole lot of fun, but thats the way it is. I can only congratulate Rafa for a great effort (BBC Sport, 2008).The game was incredibly close; 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7 (BBC Sport, 2008), and has gone down in history as the longest ever Wimbledon final. 2.3.2 Parental, Peers and Coaches Influences Parents and coaches can sometimes be far too pushy and ambitious and in turn increase the stress and anxiety levels within the athlete. According to Jarvis (1990), it is apparent that both high and low expectations of performance can be linked to levels of anxiety. The over-concern and high levels of anxiety shown by anyone close to the athlete is likely to heighten their anxiety also, and in turn could damage the chances of success. Too much pressure from teachers, coaches and family can add tremendously to competitive anxiety (Jarvis, 1990: p118). Passer (1983) concluded from his research that highly anxious individuals are very worried about performing badly as this will bring about criticism and disapproval from their peers, parents and coaches. However, Smith et al. (1979) developed a coach-training program designed to help coaches create an environment for the athletes to feel comfortable and less anxious in. The Coach Effectiveness Training gives the coaches the skills and ability to create a socially supportive environment through frequent use of positive reinforcement, encouragement, and technical instruction, while discouraging the use of punitive behaviours (Smith et al., 2006:p492). Smith et al. (1995) discovered through research that there were significant reductions in performance-anxiety among children who played for a coach that had experienced the Coach Effectiveness Training. The children who were exposed to trained coaches showed a decrease in levels of anxiety over the season, whereas the other group who were exposed to untrained coaches showed an increase on the Sports Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS) (Smith et al., 2006). A frequent source of anxiety is the presence of spectators; these can be friends, family, coaches or even complete strangers. Sometimes performance is enhanced, sometimes it deteriorates and sometimes there is little discernible difference (Davies, 1989:p83). According to literature the performance of stable and confident players usually improves when an audience is present, whereas that of anxious players tends to decrease (Weinberg Gould, 2007; Jarvis, 2006; Martens et al., 1990). Research also shows that the effect of an audience on superior players is positive, and for the less able player the audience presents them with an increase in anxiety and stress which in turn causes them to underperform. According to work carried out by Haas and Roberts (1975), Martens and Landers (1972) and Green (1983) the perceived role of the observer is an important factor for the athlete or performer. It has been suggested that if the observer occupies an important, judgmental role then this gener ates feelings of anxiety. The researchers found that on the other hand, if the spectators are seen as being positive and supportive, for example a coach, they will be generally welcomed by the performer. 2.3.3 Event Importance. The more important a sporting event is, the more stressful we are likely to find it (Jarvis, 1990: p118). However, it is important to remember that it is the importance of the event to the individual that is counts, not the status of the competition. An event may seem insignificant to most people but may be important to an individual (Weinberg Gould, 2007). An example of this could be that an individual is competing against their old club team; there would be an increased desire to perform well and potentially beat them. Research carried out by Sanderson in 1977 on 64 of the best badminton players in England aged between 18 and 21; found that the perceived importance of the competition was a significant factor leading to A-State reactions (Sanderson, 1981). Marchant et al. (1998) conducted an experiment with pairs of golfers. The golfers were either competing for three new golf balls, or a pair of new golfing shoes. Obviously, the golf shoes made the competition into a high importance one, and therefore the players experienced more anxiety than those competing for the golf balls. An example of a player who was able to cope with the increase in anxiety is Jonny Wilkinson who took a drop goal to win England the 2003 Rugby World Cup in the final play of the game. If Wilkinson had been affected by the anxiety and pressure of the level of competition, he may have missed the goal. 2.4 Anxiety: Performance Characteristics. In sporting competitive situations, the anxious performer tends to become over-aroused, tense, and far too worried to perform to the best of their ability. The increase in muscle tension can interfere with coordination causing the performance levels to decrease (Burton, 1988; Smith et al., 2006; Weinberg Gould, 2007). The feeling on inadequacy and lack of self-confidence hinders the sporting performance (Davies, 1989). For example in a competitive rugby match a player who suffers a high level of anxiety may lack confidence when going in for a tackle. This could result in the player passing him and scoring a try, but most probably resulting in injury as they are not fully committed to the tackle. The highly anxious person is slower to react in the stressful competitive situation than he is in the relatively relaxed conditions of practice (Davies, 1989:p75). During tense, crucial parts of the match the over-anxious player may show unforced errors; for example in rugby they may miss a penalty kick and in tennis a double-fault may be played. Unforced errors may occur during the match; this can include forward passes, a knock-on, or a late tackle. 3. Methodology In order to achieve the objectives of this research project, a variety of appropriate research methods have been chosen, using both primary and secondary data. Before research was collected it was important to establish a research process which acted as a framework throughout the research project. During this chapter the strengths and weaknesses of the potential research method is discussed and only the suitable and most relevant have been selected for this study. 3.1 Paradigm Rationale There are two broad research traditions; qualitative which answers questions such as why and how, and quantitative which answers questions such as what and when ( See appendix page 27 table) (Gratton Jones, 2004). As I am interested in researching a particular phenomenon I mainly carried out quantitative data collection. I measured how anxiety affects performance, both positively and negatively within the mens 1st XV at Reading Rugby Football Club. It was decided to mix quantitative data with qualitative data to make the research more credible and valid. Many researchers such as Nau (1995) and Jayaratne (1993) have suggested that blending qualitative and quantitative methods of research can produce a result highlighting significant findings from each. Henderson et al. (1999) suggests that using anecdotes and narratives to support quantitative data can provide clarity to the findings. Linking the two types of data can give a bigger picture of the issues around the subject. During this research project, quantitative data was collected to provide numerical data from a large sample, whereas the qualitative data collected provides rich data from a smaller sample (Gratton Jones, 2004). 3.2 Research Approach The research question Pattern of pre-match competitive anxiety in elite mate rugby union players includes elements taken from both an inductive and deductive approach to research. When researching around the subject of how anxiety affects performance, a deductive approach appears to be more appropriate to the research project as it was unnecessary for the researcher to come up with a new theory. A large amount of research has already been carried out into the affects of anxiety on sporting performance, evident in the literature review. For this piece of research the Multidimensional Anxiety Theory proposed by Martens et al.,(1990) was used. The theory is based on the idea that anxiety is comprised of two distinct parts; cognitive and somatic. The Multidimensional Anxiety Theory predicts that cognitive state anxiety is negatively related to performance, and that the somatic state anxiety is related to performance in an inverted U suggesting that there is an optimum level of anxiety (Weinberg Gould, 2007; Burton, 1998; Cox, 1998; McNally, 2002). 3.3 Participants For this research into the effects of anxiety on performance, the mens 1st team of the amateur Reading Rugby Football Club was chosen. They were chosen as there is the opportunity to meet with the meet every week. From talking to the players it is apparent that the club has a mixture of professions; students, army personnel, mechanics, and business men. However, they all have one passion, and that is rugby. The ages of the players range from 18 to 38 years. There is a variety of experiences within the team; some players are in their first season of National 3 level rugby, whereas a number are in their fourth of fifth season at this level. Training takes place on a Tuesday and Thursday from 7:30pm until 9:30pm. During this time the players train, have physiotherapy (if it is needed), and they also have a meal together before going home. The amount of time that the team spends together off the pitch is vital for the development of team cohesion. 3.4 Data Collection During this research project, data was collected using both questionnaires and interviews. This section will look at questionnaires and interviews separately explaining the different types of question, and the advantages and disadvantages of both. 3.4.1 The Questionnaire Survey Following the research in Chapter 2, the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 has been chosen for this research. The inventory is a sport-specific, self-report that has been proven to be a reliable and valid measure in competitive situations of cognitive and somatic state anxiety and self-confidence. The CSAI-2 consists of a three 9-item subscales that measure cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and self-confidence (Burton, 1988). Each of the 27 questions are rated on a 4-point Likert scale from not at all to very much so. The questionnaire was administered during the final hour before competition over a period of 14 weeks. The scores collected on each of the three scales provided a reference point from which to examine the rugby players patterns of multidimensional anxiety. 3.4.1.1 Types of Questionnaires According to Gratton and Jones (2004) questionnaires are possibly the most common method for collecting data in sports-related research. A questionnaire is simply a standardised set of questions to gain information from a subject (Gratton Jones 2004: 115). Questionnaires are associated with quantitative research where data is required from a large sample group. In this case the questionnaires measure the anxiety levels of the 1st XV team before matches. There are three types of questionnaire; postal, telephone and face to face questionnaires. Postal questionnaires are given or posted to the participants who then complete them in their own time; they are then posted back to the researcher. Telephone questionnaires are completed by the researcher while talking to the participant over the telephone. Face to face questionnaires are completed with both the participant and researcher in the same location. For this research the most appropriate way to collect data was to hand out self-completion questionnaires that were carried out face to face. Handing out the questionnaires saves postal and telephone costs, and also time. This was the best way for the researcher to collect the data that was needed before summarising it using tables and graphs (Gratton Jones, 2004). 3.4.1.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Questionnaires Advantages A well designed questionnaire provides little opportunity for the introduction of bias into the results. However, a badly designed questionnaire can sometimes lead to bias data, and therefore using questionnaires does not automatically mean that there is a reduction in bias (Thomas et al, 2005; Gratton Jones, 2010). The use of a questionnaire enables the participant to remain anonymous. This is advantageous when researching sensitive issues such as violence, drugs and, in this case the personal issue of anxiety. Enabling the participants to remain anonymous may increase the validity of the researchers results. As the CSAI-2 is being used the research has been provided with a well-structured means of collecting quantitative data.

Physical And Cognitive Development Of Infants

Physical And Cognitive Development Of Infants Select one of the following age groups: infants, toddlers or young children. Focus on two developmental domains (select from: physical, social and emotional, language and/or cognitive development) of the child. Describe how these two domains develop within your chosen age group with the support of human development theories and concepts studied in this course. Identify a range of teaching strategies that promote a childs development in each of the two selected domains. Development describes the growth of humans throughout the lifespan, from conception to death. The study of human development helps to understand how and why people change throughout life. This includes all aspects of human growth, including physical, intellectual, language, social and emotional and spiritual development. Papalia and Olds (1998) define lifespan development as a lifelong process of development (p.10). This essay describes the physical and cognitive development of infants (birth-12 months) and also discuss about some teaching strategies that promote physical and cognitive development of infants in the early childcare centres. Physical development refers to progressively gaining control over large and small muscles. Gross motor (large muscle) skills allow a child to do things like roll over, sit, crawl, walk, and throw a ball. Fine motor (small muscle) skills enable children to do things like draw, and eat with spoon. The development of new motor skills allows children to make new discoveries. As they explore, they begin to make sense of their environment (Berger, 2001). The physical development of infants is very important. Although children develop at different rates, they learn to control their bodies in the same progression (Berk, 2006). Arnold Gesell, an American psychologist, is one of the first theorists who approached to determine developmental measure for children. He developed his theory by studying a number of children (Terry, 2008). Newborn babies have very few motor skills. Their muscles are not strong enough to control their body, while their sense of hearing and smell are keen. Infants move by reflex when they are newborns. They move automatically in response to various stimuli. Some reflexes help parents to make sure that infants will get what they need to survive (Berk, 2006). For instance, when the mother touches the cheek of a newborn, the baby starts moving his/her mouth in search of a nipple. When the mother touches his/her mouth or when his/her mouth touches the nipple, the baby starts sucking. Also, infants have other reflexes such as reciprocal kicking (Terry, 2008). In five months, most babies gain control of their arms and head. Gesell considered this process of physical growth a genetically determines series of events that unfolds automatically (Berk, 2006, p.14). He believed that physical development occurs to each child in a fixed order, and a certain development happens when an individuals inner system is prepared. Gesell also suggested head-to-tail and centre-to-edge sequence (Berk, 2006). In other words, control develops from head to toe, and from the centre of childrens bodies out through their arms and legs to their fingers and toes. For example, a child learns to lift his/her head first and then sit, crawl, walk and run (Terry, 2008). Gesell also stated that an infant gains control of the head before arms, and masters moving arms before fingers. According to milestones of motor development, infants can lift their upper body by using their arms two months after their birth, and sit by themselves a few months later. Then, infants become able to control their lower body to do things like walking and jumping (Berk, 2006). When the children are of nearly one year, they are gradually developing their fine motor skills like grabbing objects. They begin to stack blocks or other toys. Also they can pick up small pieces of cereal, open and close small boxes, and turn knobs on toys because their pincer grasp becomes more coordinated (Berk, 2006). Another aspect of physical development is shaping senses. A childs sense of taste, smell and hearing are more developed than sense of sight. Infants can recognize the difference of flavors, peoples smell and tones of voice, while their vision is unclear. In addition to these four senses (taste, smell, hear and vision), infants develop their sense of touch (Berk, 2006). Teachers play an important role in promoting childrens physical development. They should provide safe indoor and outdoor spaces for children to move their bodies. Educators should provide materials and equipments according to the age and developmental level of infants (Dodge, Dombro Koralek, 1991). Educators can promote physical development of infants by reinforcing and encouraging them. Educators should help and encourage children when they are learning new skills (Dodge, Dombro Koralek, 1991). For example, when an infant is taking the feed from his/her bottle, educator should encourage him/her for holding the milk bottle (Terry, 2008). Educators should provide the opportunities for children to use their senses to explore, shape, volume and other characteristics of objects (Dodge, Dombro Koralek, 1991). Educators can promote physical development of infants by providing equipments and opportunities for gross motor skills. To do this, educators should set up the room in a way that infants have the freedom to explore in a range of safe spaces (Dodge, Dombro Koralek, 1991). For instance, some infants have started crawling, so teachers should divide the space so that the infants, who do not crawl, wont get hurt. Educators should provide a range of materials and equipments that helps children to use their large muscles. For example, push bikes, tunnels and so on (Dodge, Dombro Koralek, 1991). Educators can promote physical development of infants by providing equipments and opportunities for fine motor skills. To do this, educators should provide opportunities for infants that help them to develop small muscles by grasping, dropping, pulling and fingering (Dodge, Dombro Koralek, 1991). Treasure basket is a good resource that teachers can use to develop fine motor skills of infants (Terry, 2008). As human beings grow, they gain knowledge and produce different thoughts, and also their ability of memorizing develops. This change of intelligence is called cognitive development. The early years of a childs life are crucial for cognitive development (Berger, 2001). Cognitive development of the baby means the learning process of memory, language, thinking and reasoning. Babies develop at their own pace. So, it is impossible to tell exactly when every child will learn a given skill. Jean piaget and Lev Vygotsky are two of the famous cognitive theorists (Tesar, 2008). After birth of a baby, their intelligence develops rapidly during the first two years. According to Piagets cognitive theory, infants explore and understand their world by using their senses. For example, smelling, sucking, throwing, and mouthing and so on. Piaget proposed four stages of cognitive development, which he believed occur in a certain order to everyone at individuals own rate (Berk, 2006). The first stage of development is called sensor motor stage that applies to children from birth to two year. During this stage, an infants knowledge of the world is limited, but developing, to their sensory perceptions and motor activities. Behaviors are limited to simple motor responses caused by sensory stimuli. Children utilize skills and abilities they born with, such as looking, sucking, grasping and listening, to learn more about the environment. This stage has further six sub-stages (Berk, 2006). During first sub-stage, which is reflexive schemes (0-1 month), the child understands the world through inborn reflexes such as sucking and looking. The second sub-stage, which is primary circular reactions (1-4 months), involves coordinating sensation and new schemes (Berk, 2006). For instance, if a child accidentally puts his/her finger in mouth and has started sucking it, then later on, that child intentionally repeat this action. By repeating these actions, infants find them pleasurable (Tesar, 2008). During third sub-stage, which is secondary circular reactions (4-8 months), infants start paying attention on the world around them and begins to intentionally repeat an action in order to trigger a response in the environment (Berk, 2006). For example, a child intentionally picks up a toy from the floor to put that toy in his/her mouth (Tesar, 2008). In the fourth sub-stage, which is coordination of secondary circular reactions (8-12 months), object permanence occurs, demonstrating that memory is developing. Infants realize that an object exists and they begin to recognize certain objects as having specific qualities (Berk, 2006). For example, if the mother shows the baby an attractive toy and then hides that toy under the blanket. The child in this sub-stage can find the toy (Tesar, 2008). According to Piaget, infants develop their memory and imitation skills through these sub-stages. New born babies respond to what they feel through senses and also imitate facial expressions. As children grow, they enjoy repeating actions as well as becoming able to remember familiar people and objects (Berk, 2006). The ways children adapt to situations were described by Piaget as assimilation and accommodation. Children organize their own experience when they encounter the similar events during assimilation, whereas in accommodation, the children adjust old knowledge to new understandings when unfamiliar situations come (Bruce Meggitt, 2005). According to Vygotsky, childrens learning is influenced by people in their society. His idea of zone of proximal development is that childrens intelligence expands more when they are supported by adults or older children than when they are working by themselves. Infants gain knowledge not only from their own discoveries but also from what other people illustrate to them (Nixon Gould, 2003). According to Piaget, the teacher should provide an environment where children can explore themselves. Teachers play an important role in the development of children. Teachers should create an environment where they can interact with the children and observe them closely (Tesar, 2008). Teachers should provide opportunities for infants to use all senses to explore the world around them. For example, providing treasure basket is a good example to promote infants cognitive development. By doing this, educators can help children develop new concepts and gain thinking and reasoning skills (Dodge, Dombro Koralek, 1991). By providing musical instruments, teachers can help children to acquire knowledge of different sounds and children know the difference of high and low volume (Dodge, Dombro Koralek, 1991). Teachers should provide finger food to the infants. By doing this, children can smell, taste or squish the food. This helps infants to get familiar with the taste, hardness, softness and smell of the provided food (Dodge, Dombro Koralek, 1991). Teachers can promote infants cognitive development by interacting with them in different ways. This helps children to promote their confidence and curiousity. Educators can promote infants confidence and curiosity by praising their successess. For example, if a child roll over or hold a toy for the very first time, then the teacher should praise that child. By doing this, teachers can help children in buliding their self confidence and inceases their curiosity for achieving success for next time (Dodge, Dombro Koralek, 1991). In conclusion, physical development occurs to infants automatically according to genes in the fixed sequence. Also, babies gain control of their upper body before lower body. Infants gain knowledge of world through explorations by using their senses as well as organizing previous experiences when they face unfamiliar situations. According to Vygotskys point of view, an infants cognition expands with the support from people around them. Educators play a prominent role for the physical and cognitive development of infants.

Use of Biblical Imagery in Cather’s Sapphira and the Slave Girl :: Cather Sapphira Slave Girl Essays

Use of Biblical Imagery in Cather’s Sapphira and the Slave Girl Throughout "Sapphira and the Slave Girl", Cather uses Biblical imagery to depict critical events. Specifically, Nancy's flight to freedom, and Mary's overcoming a potentially fatal illness. Cather continually uses Biblical imagery when describing Nancy's journey out of slavery and into freedom. For example, Mr. Colbert sees Nancy as going "up out of Egypt to a better land", clearly connecting her with flight of Hebrew slaves out of Egypt in the Bible. Connecting Nancy's escape to the Biblical pilgrimage of Moses to the "promised land" serves to reinforce the underlying righteousness of her actions-- as well as the inherent evil of slavery. In depicting her actual journey, the reader once again encounters Biblical allusions. This occurs in Cather's description of the black preacher who will protect Nancy on her way to Canada. Cather portrays this man almost as a disciple, his voice being described as "solemn yet comforting" sounding "like the voice of prophecy" (239). Ascribing such a sage-like persona to this man solidifies the righteousness of both Nancy's, and Mrs. Blake's, efforts to defy slavery's bonds. Mary's "communion" strikes me as another important event whereby Cather uses Biblical imagery. In this particular incident-- which invariably saves Mary's life-- she "walking in her sleep" drinks the bowl of broth intended for Mr. Fairhead (259). Cather depicts Mary as preternatual, being "a white figure" which "drifted"--rather than walked-- "across the indoor duskiness of the room" (259). Mary, seemingly in an altered state, in guided by what one can interpret as instinct, or "divine forces", which lead her to the soup. Similar to the black preacher's voice, Mr. Fairhead sees Mary's actions as "something solemn. . . like a communion service" (259). From a Catholic perspective, the purpose of communion is receiving the "body" and "blood" of Christ, thereby receiving "new life". One can see, in this instance, why Cather would deliberately paint this scene in Biblical terms, because Mary-- wuote literally-- receives a new chance at life from the soup she drinks. Similar to Nancy's flight from slavery, Mary's drinking of the soup is an instance of an individual defying detrimental societal conventions. While taken as correct, the remedy for Mary and Betty's illness is not only wrong, but fatal. Cather thereby uses Biblical imagery to reinforce the righteousness of Mary's actions, even though they go against what society--specifically medicine-- sees as the "correct" course of treatment.

Narrative and Opinion in Notes of a Native Son Essay -- James Baldwin

Choices James Baldwin is considered to be one of the great writers of modern time. There are many characteristics of his writing that could be used to show his talent but the one that is most often cited is his ability to interweave narrative and opinion seamlessly into his essays. One example of this ability is in his â€Å"Notes of a Native Son† essay. He interweaves narrative of his father and his death with his opinions about the relationship between blacks and whites at that time. James Baldwin uses contrasting ideas such as public vs. private, father vs. son, and past vs. present to switch back and forth between the narrative and his opinions. The major contrasting idea that Baldwin uses in the essay is the contrasting idea of public life vs. his own personal private life. The first paragraph starts by giving the date of his father’s death, then moves to telling about the Detroit riots and then brings them together in the end of the paragraph by stating that they â€Å"†¦drove my father to the graveyard through a wilderness of smashed plate glass† (63). This shows how both their personal life had been ‘shattered’ and also the town around them. But this is only a hint of how Baldwin switches between his personal, private life and his public life in society. However, he always manages to pull what seems like two completely opposite ideas together into one combined thought. By drawing similarities between his public life and his private life, Baldwin is able to create the sense that the problems facing society were very similar compared to those that he faced on a personal level. Be cause of this Baldwin is able to make his opinions apply to the reader on a more personal level. The best example of Baldwin usi... ...art when taking a stance on an issue. That way you are sincere in your decision and you stand behind it. But he is also saying in the rest of the essay that when you are deciding if you should take a side or when you decide what side you are going to take, you must not rely on merely the past or the present. You must not merely on the word of society or the word of your private family. And you must not rely on the words your father says because you are his son. You must look at the entire picture, both past and present, both public and private, and both your thoughts and your father’s when you make a decision on a subject. Only in this way will the world ever be fair and just, and without racial tensions. Works Cited Baldwin, James. â€Å"Notes of a Native Son.† 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84.

Reflecting on Developing Teaching Practice Essay

The word reflection has been used consistently throughout our first module and has been seen to be prerequisite of good teaching and development. Reflecting itself has been a very useful practice. Taking the time to observe and analyse, whilst using a detailed checklist has also enabled us to use this process correctly. I have found that there are patterns within my reflective log and an awareness of what is needed to change in terms of improvement in my teaching practice and how I implement that in a classroom. Phil Race (2014, p228), describes reflection as having the intention to improve by finding out what is going on in an element of learning. By considering what elements of learning I need to address through my ILP I can now adopt feedback and apply improvements for future teaching. Observing has also helped my reflection Donald Schà ¶n (1987 p121), talks of imitation through observation. He links the ideology of education to â€Å"thinking for one’s self† and th e draws upon the term â€Å"Copycat† as a negative expression. However, he goes on to say â€Å"Reflective imitation demands, on the contrary, a willingness to do as the studio master is doing and, at the same time reflect on what one does.† Therefore, by observing and imitating we take on the role of our mentor/teacher and at the same time our reflective practice allows us the freedom to explore our own avenues of teaching and the ability to adapt, improve and develop what doesn’t work for us and, what we believe we could do better. Although I appreciate Schà ¶n‘s models of reflection, I have found I have not yet had enough experience to draw from to â€Å"reflect in action† but I can still use that method where applicable and in future practice. I’m fond of (Gibbs, 1988) methods pictured below. Gibb allows for a description of what happened, an analysis and evaluation of my experiences. This not only helps me make sense of my experiences but also helps me to examine my own teaching practice. Gibbs is very similar to Schà ¶n’s model of reflection but seeks a little more from the reflective practitioner. Like Schà ¶n, it is about â€Å"reflection in action† but aligns further with â€Å"reflection on action.† Gibbs model considers taking action and using what you have learned and applying it to practice in the shape of an action plan so if the same situation were to arise again I would have the  capacity to reflect â€Å"in action.† Personally my own areas of development have been in confidence and time management. By using Gibbs model of reflection I have been able to analyse where I am going wrong. I recognize the value of what I am doing and actively reflect both descriptively and emotionally. As (Brunner, 1994) states the fusion of the inte llectual and the emotional must be present or there cannot be a true reflective practice. For example, in my own practice I have sometimes tried to cover too much ground in a lesson, that has made me worry about the time frame, in turn this has affected my confidence. By analysing both what happened, what I am feeling and then evaluating this, I am able to make sense of the situation and formulate an action plan. I can reduce the amount in my lesson plan but have an activity if the lesson finishes early. If it doesn’t it can be given for homework. This helps me in practical terms, but in addition will help me with any confidence and anxiety I may have regarding the time management. â€Å"Reflective thinking†¦ involves a state of doubt, hesitation, perplexity, mental difficulty†¦[Reflective] persons†¦ weigh, ponder, [and] deliberate†¦ a process of evaluating what occurs to them in order to decide upon its force and weight for their problem.† (Dewey, J, 1997) p9 Gibb echoes Dewey above in â€Å"How we think† and uses the same ideologies of praxis and then draws upon the application of this to the Pedagogy. I will say I have had difficulty selecting the right method for my reflective practice and have employed parts from all models. Steven Brookfield’s (1995) Four Lens Theory uses a different model of reflection that encourages an individual to look at the situation from different viewpoints in order to maintain pedagogical rectitude. This is a process that never stops (as are all forms of reflection), and it seems to be the one that works best for me at the present time, as it fits perfectly within the trainee teacher milieu. The first of the four lenses Self would be the foundation of my critical reflection. Perhaps looking at my own experiences as a learner/teacher and the period in between now and qualifying and beyond that. Taking into account the â€Å"paradigmatic assumptions and instinctive reasoning’s that frame how we work.† (Brookfield.S, 1995) p30. This moves into the realm of the Students eyes and my Peers. I can do this by observing and being observed as  well as the process of feedback and self-evaluation, (from both my peers and students). This will help me to reveal aspects of the pedagogy that I am strong with and reveal areas of weakness. I can then apply the Scholarship lens, which is something I am currently working on as a trainee. By looking into theoretical literature, I can expand the Epistemology of my subject specialism, the discourse and discursive practice in addition to the pedagogy and learn to put my assumptions and reasoning’s to one side. I am then able to approach reflection openly and un-defensively. Geoff Petty (2010) explains, if we attribute our problems to something that is out of our control, we are defensive and will not feel the need to change our own practices. However, we should not blame ourselves. Instead we should think about how the lesson could have been made to go well and apply these principles to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Something that I have found hard is planning my lessons as this has proved to be rather time consuming. Film, Photography and Media Studies all include a broad range of skills for the learner to ascertain. In addition to creative and theoretical input on my behalf I have to also think about the particular technical skills regarding technology that need to be addressed. Once this has been decided, I still need to know where to start and how to simplify the subject as well as the introduction to technology and software. This is to make sure the students at the level I am teaching can understand it. As Muffoletto (2001, p296) suggests; â€Å"educators need to be reflective, that is self-aware, engaged, and not passive in their relation to the discourse and practices relating to technology.† I know from experience in the classroom that I have to critically reflect on the idea of technology and software in order to keep up with the students that live in the ever-changing world. Just recently I was told I would be giving a class on Final Cut Pro X, an upgrade from the Final Cut Pro 7 that I had previously been familiar with. From previous lessons I have come to accept that some students may know more than I do about this software package, when I first went into the classroom I was very nervous about the students asking me questions and how I would find the answer for them as well as how I would deliver the lesson. At lunchtime I spoke to the teacher who teaches the class next door. He told me he too was not up to date, that it takes time to learn the new packages. â€Å"Use the students† he said, â€Å"they probably know more than us†. His comment made me  feel at ease, as when a question was asked about the software that I was unsure of I asked the class. â€Å"Does anyone know how to do this?† There was always one who put up there hand and volunteered and when a question that no one could answer regarding transition’s popped up, I gave the student something else to do, whilst I quickly browsed a two minute tutorial on Youtube and gave them the help they needed with my findings. (Reflecting In Action’) This may not have been the best idea, but on reflection I would probably still do the same. For me to ask the other teacher to explain would have taken almost the same amount of time if not more, (not to mention the focus being taken from his own class) and to make the student wait until the next lesson would be unnecessary, slowing down the progress of work. However, in hindsight I can â€Å"Reflect On Action† because looking back I should have explained the transition method to the re st of group, but I have made note of it now for my editing class. Delivering learning was one of my areas for development in regards to confidence and projection of my voice; I know from feedback that I sometimes focus the lesson too much on my own person and my delivery of the subject. As a new teacher I am very aware of the focus on me and it affects my confidence greatly. I found this especially hard for my micro teach in front of my peers and find I am very nervous in this environment, one it’s because I know they are observing me as a teacher, rather than following tasks as a student might and two they have a higher level of education, which makes me feel a little insecure. Reflecting on this has helped me look at it from their viewpoint and understand that we are all in a similar situation and all feel the same pressure. Taking the saying a ‘problem shared is a problem halved’ is true, given the benefit of hindsight I can look back and know that we were all nervous, so when it comes to a similar situation, (such as me knowing less than some of my students about a new software package) I can look at it from the perspective of Brookfield and not be afraid to seek answers from students and peers. In addition to this I have researched different methods of planning my lessons after receiving feedback suggesting I focus the attention on the class itself, instead of myself. I have looked into the perfect Ofsted Lesson In Moving English Forward, where we are told to simplify lesson plans and concentrate on important learning objectives. At the beginning of a lesson we are encouraged as educators to give the class a  starter activity to â€Å"stimulate curiosity and †¦prepare the brain for learning.’’ This is something that would take the focus from myself until I build my confidence. It also seems a good way to motivate learners and get them engaged with the subject before moving on to the more in depth, main body of a lesson. I have found a lack of motivation to be very prominent feature in the BTEC Media classes. The self-regulatory approach to the BTEC means that students have a coursework deadline to work to, for which they have a number of components to hand in. It is all too easy to give the student the work and hope that they complete it. I have found a lack of motivation in the BTEC Media classes and have found it hard to get students working towards handing in components of their work. In the lesson I try to give them positive feedback when they are doing well and provide them with areas of development. As a result they work hard to meet targets set for them. But giving them positive feedback in the classroom is not enough. It is one of the negatives of Skinner’s behaviourist’s theory. Since most of their practical work takes place in their own time, when they are out of the classroom in their own environment there is no positive reinforcement and so it doesn’t work. The same could be said for Photography. As when it comes to creating their own photographic projects, motivation is affected by â€Å"Judgement of their own abilities to complete a specific task† (Bandura,2003). The student’s self-efficacy is sometimes poor, which restrains a learner’s progress. I ask myself; Ho w do I motivate a learner outside of the classroom? What can I do to make them want to engage with their chosen subject beyond the space of the classroom? How do I impart the necessary time management skills and contingency planning that is needed for their coursework? The answer is I am still learning and reflecting on this, through theoretical research and observing other teacher’s work. There are very few video productions or photo-shoots that go seemingly without any problems and students have encountered problems out of their control such as the weather or lighting. The students with high self-efficacy will work harder and be more persistent when trying to overcome obstacles. It is when motivating the students with lower self-efficacy when it becomes hard for me, as I do not yet have the experience. For this I have again taken the Brookfield’s  approach and asked my peers how they do it. I have learned that they use strategies and don’t leave the skills of self-regulation up to the learner to grasp for themselves. They find the student often struggles with regulating their own study and motivating themselves to study. They rely on the facilitation of metacognition by setting tasks within the learning material and assignments to hand in, so that the coursework is broken down into compartments of the learning material. By having clear aims of what is needed from them in a lesson and deadlines within the coursework deadline as a whole, they can assess learning and build the students skills, such as scheduling, budgeting, trouble-shooting, contingency planning where needed (weather problems etc) which also falls in with time management. Zimmerman (2011), suggest there are three successive phases pictured below. With vocational or self-regulated projects the students usually learn whilst doing a task. The cyclic phase is a continuous circle of self-monitoring, a lot like the lenses of reflection. To meet set targets the student needs to continually self-observe, self-evaluate and continually assess their aims to make sure they are achievable and if they are not, reflecting on that and finding ways to trouble-shoot where necessary. In addition the use of SMART targets can be applied so that they can be met for motivational purposes. These can be done in the lesson so they can learn from each other (imitation) to promote a positive ‘reciprocal determinism’ (Bandura,2003). It was a teacher that also suggested the Cyclic phase to me and explained that sometimes a lack of work does not mean the student is de-motivated, but instead they may be overwhelmed and does not know where to start. By helping them break down course work and compartmentalising it for the first year of a BTEC and supervising it yourself, you give them the necessary skills to do the same in their second year without supervision, thus building towards a high self-efficacy and motivation. With the support of the media studies teacher I have been able to observe how clear aims can be set out using a tick sheet. The more aims a student meets the more ticks they have next to their name on the projection monitor. This has helped when reinforcing targets within the lesson. After giving positive feedback a new list of aims are set and we can reach those who have fewer ticks to find what we can do to facilitate them. On a short note; In addition to classroom motivation I  have tagged along to a few trips to film festivals and Q&A’s, the students are always buzzing after speaking to people within the industry and learning how they got to where they are, they realise that the goals are achievable if they want to work hard enough to grasp them. It is something to think about in the future when planning my own trips with students. In the first module of my teaching practice I have learned a lot about myself as a teacher by applying the reflective process. During our personal lives we reflect on how we handle certain situations so that negative circumstances are not repeated and apart from in the medical occupation we don’t seem to do this in a professional working capacity, instead of taking a step back and thinking how did this happen? How can I make sure it doesn’t again? We tend to repeat the same or similar mistakes. Overall the self-reflection process has been an eye opener, I did start off a little sceptical on just how important it was to be reflective but I have to say I did start off not knowing how to be effectual in my refection process and how valuable that is before making judgements about my teaching capabilities. I found that by using Brookfield’s model of reflection and observing my practice from different perspectives, I can now look at my teaching objectively I have found that the constructive feedback for my micro teaches and the feedback I have received from teachers in the classroom have really helped and informed my reflection for an action plan to improve my teaching methods. Whilst I am happy with some elements of my teaching such as the visual aspects and my use of scaffolding, I had been unaware that I wasn’t projecting my voice and that my body placement was sometimes bad. Being made aware of these factors by observers highlighting them, is invaluable and will aid me when I come to do presentations and lesson planning, as I can incorporate this into my practice. As I have previously stated, I have problems with my confidence and so with that in mind I aim to focus my lessons on the class, especially at the beginning of a lesson. In doing this I will be able to gage the students and if I feel comfortable bringing the focus back to myself, I can. I aim to do this gradually until I have enough confidence not only in myself but also my ability to lead a class. In regards to Motivation in the vocational BTEC Media and project led assessments that might crop up in Photography and film, I aim to use Zimmerman’s model and methods that other teachers implement in their classrooms. This is a learning process for me,  which I will reflect upon to make the necessary progress needed, but applying theory to my practice should only help it whilst I’m learning the ropes. (Plato and Aristotle, 2005) both defined ‘good’ as performing to the best of your ability and that being moral and reflective were stages of ethical development to reach a Socratic intellectualism which is â€Å"One will do what is right or best just as soon as one truly understands what is right or best† (Socrates,2011) and to understand we must keep reflecting, as the situation is ever changing. BIBLIOGRAPHY ARISTOTLE (2005), The Art of Rhetoric, trans. Hugh Lawson-Tancred London: Penguin classics EFKLIDES, A (2011), Interactions of Metacognition With Motivation and Affect in Self-Regulated Learning: The MASRL Model. The American Psychological association: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group Available online at http://www4.ncsu.edu/~jlnietfe/Metacog_Articles_files/Efklides%20(2011).pdf [Accessed 12th November 2014] BANDURA, A (2003), Bandura’s social cognitive theory: an introduction, Davidson Films DVD (Available from IOE Library) BROOKFIELD, S (1995), Becoming a critically reflective teacher, San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers BRUNNER, D. (1987), Inquiry and Reflection, Framing Narrative Practice in education, Albany: State University of New York Press DEWEY, J (1997), How we think, Republication of original works 1910. USA: Dover Publications, Inc GIBBS (1988), Model of reflection Available online at http://pdp.northampton.ac.uk/PG_Files/pg_reflect3.htm [Accessed 12th November 2014] MUFFOLETTO, R (2001), Education and Technology, Critical and Reflective Practices, USA: Hampton Press Inc. OFSTED – Moving English Forward Available online at www.ofsted.gov.uk/sites/†¦and†¦/Moving%20English%20forward.doc [Accessed 12th November2014] PETTY, G. (2010), A Practical guide, 4th Ed. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes LTD RACE, P (2014), Making Learning Happen, a guide to Post-Compulsory education, London: Sage Publications LTD Schà ¶n, D. (1987), The Reflective Practitioner, Towards a New Design for Teaching and Learning in the professions, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers SOCRATES (2011) Socratic intellectualism. Available online at http://philosophyfaculty.ucsd.edu/faculty/rickless/Rickless/PHIL100_files/Intellectualism3.pdf [Accessed 16th November 2014] ZIMMERMAN, B. (2011), SCIENCE WATCH Zimmerman discusses self-regulated learning process, Emerging research front’s commentary Available online at http://archive.sciencewatch.com/dr/erf/2011/11decerf/11decerfZimm/ [Accessed 14th November 2014]

Inferno Essay

The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, are classifications of objectionable vices that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct Christians how to avoid committing any sins. These sins are actually recognized as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. One of the 7 deadly sins that man can commit but should not commit is the lust. Lust comes with the things about human sexuality. It has something to do with being attached sexually with someone whether opposite or same gender. Lust in layman’s term is the very strong sexual desire or excessive sexual desire for someone. In Dante’s Inferno, all the women that we encountered there seems to be there because of their misconduct connected to sexuality. These people have committed sins that gradually show excessive love and desire for someone else and because of this, they are punished with eternal damnation. Lust is caused by excessive love or desire for someone, but lust and love is a two different thing. Lust is self-gratification without thought or consideration of your partner. You just use him or her to gratify your urge. And this is obviously wrong on any level because lust is not taking responsibility for your actions, nor in having any forethought as to the consequences. Meanwhile, love is a strong emotion. It is an intense feeling of deep affection for someone or something. In this case, we could say that lust really is a deadly sin because most of the time we say that it’s love that allows us to do that, but the truth is we just often times mistake lust as love. Here in Inferno, people who were overcome by lust were placed in the second circle which is the Carnal. In this specific circle, Dante has placed all those sinners who committed sins because of lust. Dante condemns these â€Å"carnal malefactors† for letting their appetites sway their reason. And as a punishment, these souls are blown back and forth by the terrible winds of a violent storm, without rest. This symbolizes the power of lust to blow one about needlessly and aimlessly. In this circle, Dante has placed several known people who were able to commit sinful crimes because of excess love and desire and most of these known people are women. If you have noticed, most of the women, if not all, are sinners of the second circle. These women were able to commit adultery and too much sexual passion for their lovers. One good example for this is Francesca. Francesca was able to commit adultery against her husband when she had a relationship with his husband’s brother which is Paolo. Her husband which is Giovanni have caught them while they were in a room and Giovanni have killed them both. As a punishment for committing adultery, their punishment in the second circle was to be whirled and buffeted endlessly through the murky air (symbolizing the beclouding of their reason by passion) by a great gale (symbolizing their lust). Next in line is Semiramis. Semiramis is a legendary queen of Assyria who assumed full power at the death of her husband, Nimus. Same punishment was applied to her. Another known woman can also be found in the second circle. Dido she is the Queen and founder of Carthage. She had vowed to remain faithful to her husband, Sichaeus, but she fell in love with Aeneas. When Aeneas abandoned her she stabbed herself on a funeral that she had had prepared. Actually, if you will follow Dante’s system of punishment, Dido should be placed in the Seventh circle with the suicides. But the reason why she was placed in the second circle is because â€Å"she killed herself for love† and that makes her sing more acceptable. Next is Cleopatra who committed a very lustful relationship with his lover Antony. Cleopatra was actually known to be the â€Å"Queen of the Lust† during her time. Cleopatra took her own life to avoid capture by Octavian (the future emperor Augustus); Octavian had defeated Mark Antony, who was Cleopatra’s lover (she had previously been the lover of Julius Caesar). Finally, Helen can also be found in the second circle. We all know that Helen committed adultery against her husband and so because of this she was placed in the second circle still considering that she was only able to do such sin because of extreme love for Paris. On the other hand, it’s not only women that are capable of doing such crime but also men. There are several men who were also able to commit sins because they were overcome by lust namely, Paolo, Achilles, Paris and Tristan. Paolo eventually was the lover of Francesca who committed adultery against his brother Giovanni. Next, Achilles as we all know was a warrior/fighter. He was placed among this company because of his passion for Polyxena, the daughter of Priam. For love of her, he agreed to desert the Greeks and to join the Trojans, but when he went to the temple for the wedding he was killed by Paris. Next to Achilles is Paris who eventually had an affair with Helen who was the wife of Menelaus. They have committed adultery that actually caused the Trojan war. Lastly, Tristan, nephew of King Mark of Cornwall, and Iseult (Mark’s fiancee) became lovers after they mistakenly drank the magic potion intended for Mark and Iseult. Mark shoots Tristan with a poisoned arrow, according to one version of the story popular in Dante’s day, and the wounded man then clenches his lover so tightly that they die in one another’s arms. Generally, the stories and sins of these souls shares a common ground and that is â€Å"everything in the name of love. † Because of this, people commit sins that they thought are acceptable because there is an intervention of love. Moreover, I personally believe that sinners like them do not deserve to be in the second circle and receive the lightest punishment. Why so? Simply because no matter what you do, committing adultery and destroying the sacred thing of marriage or union is a sin. It is a sin not only ethically but most importantly it is a sin in the eyes of God. Destroying a sacred union is an awful sin and receiving such light punishment should not be. I feel that these souls should also be given a harder punishment since they have committed a very big sin. In conclusion to this, the second circle generally is a circle for those who sinned by excess of sexual passion. It is the most natural sin and the sin most nearly associated with love, so its punishment is the lightest of all to be found in hell proper. But I still believe that since man has given the will and choice, each one of us has the power to follow our wills and choose our choices as dictated by ourselves but of course with considering all the possible factors. We always have a choice, so these sinners could have chosen to commit it or not.