The Last Full Measure :: essays research papers

The Last Full Measure is a vividly detailed account of the events that took place in the Civil War after the Battle of Gettysburg. In the novel, the author tells the story of the war after July of 1863 from several points of view. He uses three main characters to depict these points: Ulysses S. Grant, General of the U.S. Army, Robert E. Lee, General of the Confederate Army, and Joshua L. Chamberlain, a simple professor from Maine. The reader can gain a detailed understanding of the war by seeing it through Grant and Lee’s eyes. The reader can experience a more firsthand account of war by seeing it from Chamberlain’s point of view, who is not a professional solder. After reading this novel, the reader begins to realize what war actually means. To Lee, it is fighting for a way of life, while for Grant, it is the value of the Union and it’s dwindling future. The reader also realizes the hardships that come from war. For Lee, it would be not being able to see his family grow, while for Grant, it would be his struggle with alcoholism and depression. Also while reading the book, the reader is able to pick up two sides to almost every situation, the sides of Lee and Grant. In the foreword, Shaara states that his objective is to tell the reader the feelings of the men of the Civil War, which he achieves by using an immense collection of knowledge to probe into the lives of the soldiers. Shaara gives the audience an objective novel that shows the hardships in one of the greatest wars ever fought. Toward the end, Shaara takes a clear, anti-war stand. It is obvious that he realizes why wars are fought, but cannot understand why we have never learned from our mistakes. The novel is ended eloquently by showing the war’s effects on each of the main characters and what has become of them in the time after the war. Lee tries to make up lost time with his family, while Grant serves two terms as President and later enjoys retirement. Chamberlain was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and later became a governor. Both Lee and Grant eventually publish their memoirs at the end of the novel and look back on the war, which is told by Shaara to be a key event in The Last Full

Philosophy for a Society in this Day and Age of Virtual Reality :: Philosophy Philosophical essays

Philosophy for a Society in this Day and Age of Virtual Reality ABSTRACT: Virtual reality is more than only high tech. We encounter this phenomenon in everyday media worlds and economy. The sign dominates the signed. Philosophy can describe this phenomenon by means of a different ontological analysis following Poppers theory of the three worlds and can prepare new ontological categories for knowledge of acting. After twenty minutes the test person seems to be absent. With a cyberhelmet on his head he looks around the virtual room. Whereever he looks, he faces a computer landscape from every perspective. The hand in the cyberspace glove gropes for its way like in a vacuum space. But it touches the things which cross the way. The test person is located in the middle of a virtual world. In the room, where the computer is located, other people wait for the test. If the topic is virtual reality, scenes like described above are associated: High tech cyberspace on fast parallel comuters - if possible with a complete datasuit that allows to immerse almost completely into artificial worlds -, hovering through space, digital labyrinths and yet not built houses. But this examples only describes the tip of the iceberg. Under the watersurface of the extraordinary there is a wide ranging phenomenon of virtual realities: The economy with its big companies, transfers capital and networks dissolves to virtual entities. People get lost in entertainment in virtual landscapes and make friends via chatting. Scientists investigate phenomena of nature by reconstructed simulation and practicians design the future by a CAD program. People order pizza by internet, they flirt, make business, take journeys, join further education or talk with a coach. There is a virtualisation of the whole being. The classical differenciation between appearance and reality becomes blured. The simulation, in which people can walk around, is not fictive. It is not pure imagination, but something realized. It is reality although it is virtual. Economy makes it clear: Money and Capital are virtual entities. They determine our everyday life and they often decide about prosperity and poverty. The autonomy of virtual reality is even growing while gathering momentum. A computer simulation for example generates itself without external influence. That could be compared with numerous experiments with cellular machines (Herber P. Franke, Das P-Prinzip. Naturgesetzt im rechnenden Raum, Frankfurt am Main 1995). But also media worlds have their own dynamic. Tv world news and ezines do not only report, but create own realities.

Letter To My Children

As I lay awake in bed with Carol by my side, sharing my insomnia, it occurred to me, totally out of the blue, that Neo had opened up for me a new world of understanding, which is to say that my conversation with him had led me to the realization that there was a way out of my conflicts here and now.   I was being selfish aforetime: it occurred to me.   Although I could not go to the Vatican all the way from America in order to express my new understanding of Christianity – rather than to pose questions that the authorities on religion there were not expected to appreciate – I could express myself before my children, as though nakedly.But what would I teach them?   I certainly did not wish to confuse them by sharing my conflicts.   Neither did I desire for them to catch on my negative emotions surrounding the wonderful truths I was learning my entire life.   One such negative emotion was my slight fear of various authorities on religion because I could not get over my miserable misunderstandings with them.   I understood that the authorities on religion are meant to be peacemakers, and yet I could not see eye to eye with them on many issues of peace, which, in my awareness, is often a result of increased knowledge and new understanding of faith.These misunderstandings, I knew, were tormenting me alone, while they slept soundly night after night.   I recalled then the words of Jesus, virtually unaware at the time that Carol had started to sing in bed a song from the film, Evita:Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.  Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (Gospel  of Matthew, Chapter 5, Verses 3-6).Did I have to share myself with the various authorities on religion in order to find peace?   I did not believe so.   All the same, my torment was asking me to somehow stand in front of the whole wide world and declare myself to be a true seeker of truth.   Then, and only then, I thought, would I find peace.   However, it was impossible for me to stand on the stage before the entire Christian world and declare myself to be true.   As soon as I realized that my mind was straying away from my children, I said â€Å"Yes.†Ã‚   Carol asked me right away, â€Å"What?†   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Oh, nothing,† I said.   â€Å"I am enjoying your song!†Ã‚   Carol continued singing from that point on.I got back to my reflections through insomnia.   I thought that I knew that I could die very soon, and I did not have the kind of oneness Jesus experienced with God Almighty to know when.   I could express my understanding to my children – yes I could do that, I thought again – and my children in turn would develop their own understanding of religion based on my teachings and their own experiences in lif e.As I lay in bed reflecting on the new questions that had perhaps occurred to me through supernatural inspiration, it did not take me long to figure out what exactly I would be teaching my children and how.   I would write a letter to them, directing Carol to deliver it to them only  when they have all reached maturity at the same time.   I would not want one child wanting to know more than the others at any given time.   I would like them to grow in spirituality altogether.   I did not want them to have to go through the experience of single handedly dealing with the problems of realizing the truth as I did.   I did not want them to feel as alone in the world as I felt.But perhaps I would eventually leave the letter in Carol’s hand to decide when to give it to each of my kids, I thought.   I was â€Å"hungering and thirsting after righteousness.†Ã‚   I knew that expressing my understanding of the religion to my children would grant me a sense of complet ion from the Almighty – somehow.   I did not know how He worked on such completions.By the time I had reached this point in my train of thoughts, I realized that Carol had gone to sleep.   Her singing was over and done with; she was snoring, in fact.   I suddenly realized a sense of greater freedom in my thoughts.   Increased confidence was aroused to boot.   Although I knew that Jesus had said, â€Å"Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven† (Matthew, Chapter 5, Verse 10), I neither had the strength nor the courage to stand before the world and discuss my concept of religion.   I should have had the courage, I thought, but sadly, I did not.   I then realized that perhaps this kind of courage is unnecessary, given that Jesus had also said: â€Å"Agree with thine adversary quickly, lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison† (Matthew, Chapter 5, Verse 25).Was Jesus right there with me to teach me something of the essence?   How was it that verses from the Gospel of Matthew were appearing in my self without notice, and perhaps out of context?  I got out of bed then, with the awareness that I had the courage to teach my understanding of Christianity to my children, even if I could not teach the whole world.   Yet I did not want to express my entire self to my children.   I only believed that they had a right to know the basics that I was working with.   I believed in their right to question religious practices of the world.   I also trusted that they would eventually find the truth using the tools I would provide them with.I turned on the lamp on my desk.   Carol moved a little in bed, responding to the click of the lamp.   Fortunately, she did not get up to ask what I was up to.   I did not want to bother her at all, and so I sat down to write, as though in a wh isper:â€Å"Dear children,  Ã‚  By this time you must be old enough to feel the need to know God.   You will be exposed to many practices in the Church†¦.†Ã‚  I gave up writing at this point, tore the page in half, and took a fresh sheet of paper to begin again.â€Å"Dear Children,  For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.â€Å"’Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:â€Å"’But I say unto you, that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire.â€Å"’If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother h ath aught against thee,â€Å"’Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift’† (Matthew, Chapter 5, Verses 20-24).I comprehended what I was doing.   Comparing the Pharisees and the scribes to the majority of religious authorities in the world, I was directing my children to go to the scriptures whenever they require guidance from the divine authority.   I did not have another way of teaching them the truth.   I wanted to say that they must never go to any religious authorities except the scriptures in the process of seeking truth; and that they must be good to each other, no matter what.I had written the words of Jesus in my memory with great enthusiasm.   And I did not doubt that my children could – given the right direction – show equal respect to the word of righteousness.   Yet I doubted whether I should tell them everything about the Church as it existed in the world today.I gave a moment of attention to Carol at this point.   She was snoring, fast asleep, and looking lovely.   I thought with tenderness that her children were mine, and I had a right to teach them whatever I felt I must.   I did not have to mention the Church and the circumstances surrounding my role in it that very day.   It was not important, given that the circumstances surrounding the Church were expected by me to change, perhaps drastically, in the years of my offspring’s maturity.I went back to my letter.   Without explaining myself in it, besides the purpose of my letter, I felt that I had to write something else I remembered from the Gospel of Matthew:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"’At that season Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes:â€Å"’Yea, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight’ (Chapter 11, Verses 25-26).Confident in my writing, I continued:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"My dear children, after reading the above scriptures you must be thinking that perhaps I felt in my years in Church that these are some of the most perfect verses in the Gospels.   As a matter of fact, I did not think so.   And the only reason I am writing you today is that I want you to learn how to trust yourselves in seeking the truth.   The scriptures are the best guidance I can offer you now.   Hold on to them, learn from them, and do not mind questioning the practices of others  when you do not believe them to be correct.   This is, in my opinion, the best attitude to take into maturity.   Let us leave the rest in God’s hand.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Your loving father on earth.†

Bullying in the Schools Essay

Bullying and intimidation are a major social problem in many cultures. Since it is widely considered immature and mean to perpetrate violent or threatening acts, it is not surprising that incidents of bullying are usually found among young people where they gather to socialize. Schools are a hotbed of bullying activity, and many children are victimized. Bullying has two key components: repeated harmful acts and an imbalance of power. It involves repeated physical, verbal, or psychological attacks or intimidation directed against a victim who cannot properly defend him or herself because of size or strength, or because the victim is outnumbered or less psychologically resilient. Bullying includes assault, tripping, intimidation, rumor-spreading and isolation, demands for money, destruction of property, theft of valued possessions, destruction of another’s work, and name-calling. There are different categories of school bullying, and some of the categories overlap. Here are some of the most important categories that are frequently discussed: 1) How Many Bullies †¢ Pack bullying is bullying undertaken by a group. Pack bullying was more prominent in high schools and characteristically lasted longer that bullying undertaken by individuals. Pack bullying may be physical bullying or emotional bullying and be perpetrated in person or in cyberspace. †¢ Individual bullying is one-on-one bullying that may take place either in person or online, as well as being physical bullying or emotional bullying. 2) Mode of School Bullying †¢ Physical bullying is bullying that takes the form of physical abuse, such as pushing, shoving, hitting, fighting, spitting, and tripping. †¢ Emotional bullying is bullying that involves factors other than physical interaction, such as insults, derogatory remarks, name calling, and teasing. 3) Medium of School Bullying †¢ Face-to-face bullying is bullying in which students confront each other in person. †¢ Cyber bullying is bullying that takes place online, through either email, chat rooms, social networking services, text messages, instant messages, website postings, blogs, or a combination of means. 4) Specific Targets of School Bullying †¢ Homophobic bullying is sometimes distinguished because it has a particular target population. †¢ Bullying of students with disabilities is another type of bullying with a focused target population. †¢ Racist bullying is a third type of focused bullying that targets people of a specific race or cultural. †¢ Religious bullying targets people who have specific religious beliefs. International research suggests that bullying is common at schools and occurs beyond elementary school; bullying occurs at all grade levels, although most frequently during elementary school. It occurs slightly less often in middle schools, and less so, but still frequently, in high schools. High school freshmen are particularly vulnerable. Most students do not report bullying to adults. Surveys from a variety of countries confirm that many victims and witnesses fail to tell teachers or even parents. As a result, teachers may underestimate the extent of bullying in their school and may be able to identify only a portion of the actual bullies. Studies also suggest that children do not believe that most teachers intervene when told about bullying. The same is true of student-witnesses. Although most students agree that bullying is wrong, witnesses rarely tell teachers and only infrequently intervene on behalf of the victim. Some students worry that intervening will raise a bully’s wrath and make him or her the next target. Many of the European and Scandinavian studies concur that bullies tend to be aggressive, dominant, and slightly below average in intelligence and reading ability and most evidence suggests that bullies are at least of average popularity. The belief that bullies â€Å"are insecure, deep down† is probably incorrect. Bullies do not appear to have much empathy for their victims. In Australia, research shows that bullies have low empathy levels, are generally uncooperative, and, based on self-reports, come from dysfunctional families low on love. Their parents tend to frequently criticize them and strictly control them. Dutch researchers have found a correlation between harsh physical punishments such as beatings, strict disciplinarian parents and bullying. A number of researchers believe that bullying occurs due to a combination of social interactions with parents, peers, and teachers. The history of the parent-child relationship may contribute to cultivating a bully, and low levels of peer and teacher intervention combine to create opportunities for chronic bullies to thrive. Most bullies victimize students in the same class or year, although 30 percent of victims report that the bully was older, and approximatel y ten percent report that the bully was younger. It is unknown the extent to which physical, mental or speech difficulties, eyeglasses, skin color, language, height, weight, hygiene, posture, and dress play a role in victim selection. One major study found the only external characteristics†¦to be associated with victimization were that victims tended to be smaller and weaker than their peers. One study found that nonassertive youth who were socially incompetent had an increased likelihood of victimization. Having friends, especially ones who will help protect against bullying, appears to reduce the chances of victimization. Victims of bullying suffer consequences beyond embarrassment. Some victims experience psychological and/or physical distress, are frequently absent and cannot concentrate on schoolwork. Research generally shows that victims have low self-esteem, and their victimization can lead to depression that can last for years after the victimization. Boys and girls who were bullied at least once a week experienced poorer health, more frequently contemplated suicide, and suffered from depression, social dysfunction, anxiety, and insomnia. Sociologist Robert Crosnoe in his book â€Å"Fitting In, Standing Out† provides new and disturbing evidence that socially marginalized youth, including victims of bullying, are less likely to go to college, which can have major implications for their adult lives. He found that feelings of not fitting in led to increased depression, marijuana use and truancy over time, which were associated with lower academic progress by the end of high school. That, in turn, lowered students’ odds of going to college. In an effort to address the widespread social ill that stems from of bullying behavior, many schools have established anti-bullying groups comprised of students and teachers. Courses are taught by administrators, community groups, and nonprofit organizations to raise awareness of the problem. Since suicide and criminal convictions are very real considerations, it is important to make the issue less of a hidden shame and more of an open discussion in classrooms everywhere.

MBA career

It is always a major life decision to choose to return to college and obtain a graduate degree. Throughout my career I have been setting goals for myself that I could accomplish with the skills and organizational abilities that I already possessed, always looking for the next step in a successful career, but at this point in my life it has become apparent that I cannot accomplish the goals that I have set for myself without first returning to college and obtaining a Masters of Business Administration, and of all of the colleges that I have researched Rice University has the one program that best fits my needs and my goals is the MBA program in Accounting and Entrepreneurship. An MBA would help me develop the skills necessary to succeed in starting and managing my own business, and eventually expanding my business internationally, and the MBA program at Rice University would help me add to the repertoire of skills that I have developed through my current work experience and allow me to grow into the leader and manager that can accomplish great things in the world of business. When I began my career in my current position as Operating Manager at Marble Slab Creamery in Houston, Texas I became instantly aware of the potential for growth that existed within the company as a franchise. In fact, Marble Slab Creamery encourages entrepreneurs who want to think outside the box, who wish to become business owners and managers, and who have a vision for the expansion of the franchise. This vision can only be accomplished with the proper leadership qualities, accountancy training, and business management skills that I can gain through an MBA program, and the MBA program at your university fits the needs that I have for having a successful career as a franchise owner and investor. My goal after obtaining my graduate degree from Rice University is to join the franchise of Marble Slab Creamery and open my own business within the United States as a way of jumping into the role of business owner and manager. Following that, my ultimate goal is to bring Marble Slab Creamery international, opening stores in my native China. There is a great deal of economic growth happening in China, and especially within cities there is a great market for expanding American businesses, like restaurants and stores, and millions of potential customers who are seeing economic growth not only in their country and communities, but within their own households. My understanding of both Chinese and American culture will become an asset because it will help me successfully develop a business plan and follow my goals for long-term overseas investments. Marble Slab Creamery has the potential to become a successful and popular store in China, and it is my hope that after developing the skills, abilities, and leadership growth that I can gain from the MBA program at your university I can move forward in my career and bring Marble Slab Creamery global. By doing so, I hope to be able to gain more financial support from the successful expansion of Marble Slab Creamery to invest in other, bigger business projects, both here and in China. My life and work experiences have allowed me to develop into a strong business and operating manager. My ambition, drive, work-ethic and ability to think outside the box are all assets that are important in accomplishing a great deal in business, both in the United States and internationally. By obtaining a graduate degree from your institution I will be able to build upon the foundation of my own abilities to become a successful business manager, investor, and owner. My strengths will also contribute to the strong environment present at Rice University, and I believe my experience will bring a great contribution to the academic environment and to my fellow students in the MBA program. Â  

Articulate Thought Essay

â€Å"Articulate speech marks [people] out as [individuals] and in some settings, this can be rather dangerous because people are often suspicious and frightened of articulateness. † (Humanities). Articulateness describes a person’s ability to express an idea coherently. A well articulated idea, concept or opinion, does not use proof based on a fallacy to back up its view. When people speak or write articulately, they are able to convey a message to others in a way that cannot be distorted. It can even be said, â€Å"[a]rticulateness builds the human community. † (Humanities) Without the ability to understand each other there would be no way for a society to function. Each person would not be able to communicate a message from his or her thoughts to another person, thus any sort of teamwork would be impossible. It is the understanding of others’ ideas told to a person in a way more specific than basic gestures or grunts that allows humans to be more successful in groups than any animal. Properly expressed thoughts are the best way to communicate in any form of society, because failing to articulate properly often leads to misinterpretation. A lack of articulation, and thus a lack of complete understanding, leads to people being misinformed. Sometimes people in power use the ability to misinform others to their advantage. By deliberately explaining campaigns vaguely so that the general public does not fully understand, people in power, or people who wish to be in power, can skew facts in their favour. â€Å"We are taught to read and write so that we can obey the traffic signs and to cipher so that we can make out our income tax† (Humanities), but people are deliberately expected to maintain only a level of intelligence sufficient to allow them to participate in society at a minimal level. People are kept in a docile state so that they will not question generally accepted ideas proposed by the government. People are only provided with education to a level insufficient to challenge the inarticulate ideas of those considered superiors. The general public is expected to automatically respect the opinions of superiors, and the people considered more powerful in society are thus able to fool the unintelligent general public. If campaigns proposed by governments were explained articulately, the people would be able to understand the true intent and make fully informed decisions. Privileged to all of the information, the general public would be able to spot any deceptions and each campaign would be subjected to scrutiny. Inarticulateness is nearly as powerful a tool as true articulateness, in some respects. By extending the human capacity of knowledge further than allowed in fundamental schooling, it is possible to overcome the system that attempts to keep society unintelligent. People are able to absorb and think about ideas of others that they have not physically met or spoken to through reading well-written literature. The more people read and are able to understand literature, the more they will develop their own articulate ideas. â€Å"As we challenge ourselves to read more and more difficult literature, we become able to extend ourselves further† (Literature). Literature allows people to â€Å"[leap] over the boundaries that usually separate us from other selves and worlds† (Literature) and increase each person’s base of knowledge substantially. It is only with prior knowledge of a subject that humans are able to intelligently articulate their ideas. However, society is not quick to embrace the powers that articulate thought gives individuals. People do not wish to pick up books unless they are necessary for their immediate success in a submissive society. â€Å"A society like ours doesn’t have much interest in literacy† (Humanities). Governments work to keep society in a level of cautious unintelligence, and are hesitant to embrace articulate ideas because they are truly powerful things. Powerful and well articulated ideas often lead to change, and change is something most people are apprehensive of. People with individual thoughts are marked out and scorned by the masses, and in many less democratic countries than Canada radical thinkers are silenced by means of intimidation or imprisonment. â€Å"Understanding and articulateness lead to [government’s] destruction† (Humanities). The government, as we know it, the system that works in a way which is not always beneficial to the general public because society remains afraid to challenge, could not exist. A well-articulated idea that goes against the government can cause upheaval in society. If people were to act on those ideas and rebel against laws put in place by the government, any sort of order would be in a state of constant flux, moving from one extreme to another. Without radicals, there would be no forward movement in humanity. Radicals such as Aristotle, who believed that there was a proper way to think and that many of the things society automatically accepts as truths are nothing more than fallacy, were scorned during their lifetimes. Many scholars’ ideas were immediately dismissed because people were frightened of their ability to articulate ideas that were radically different from those commonly held. In society there is a nature ingrained into each person, a feeling that one singled from the group will be defenseless and vulnerable. This instinct may be a result of evolution, something that humans needed in order to survive. Now it could be said the need that humans feel to conform to a group because it is presumed safer, is holding society back. Radical thinkers move humanity forward. The need for acceptance, and the desire to fit in rather than stand out in a community is something common to each person. â€Å"Young adolescents today often betray a curious sense of shame about speaking articulately† (Humanities). There is an almost paralyzing fear shared by many people, most noticeably in school children but in adults as well, of not only public speaking but also even raising their hands in a classroom setting. A child asked to give a speech to a classroom of peers about a topic, to share ideas and opinions unique to that child, will often become frightened that his or her opinions will not be shared by the rest of the class. The need for acceptance is often greater than the need to articulate and stand out. People in many cases would rather believe and agree with an idea that they have valid reason to believe to be false in order to be part of a community than voice their own opinion and be rejected. Fallacies are a barrier created by the structure of society in order to discourage articulate thought. People are often afraid of articulateness because it conveys well-formed and direct ideas, something uncommon in society. Humans are naturally afraid of something that is unfamiliar to them. An intelligent individual who thinks differently from the masses, even if his or her idea is perfectly valid and conveyed in such a way that makes their reasoning clear, are often ridiculed because society tends to accept fallacies as proof of validity. An example of a commonly believed fallacy is Circulous probando, or â€Å"thinking in circles† (Think). This term created by Aristotle, â€Å"often entails joining an intellectual herd charging round and round† (Think). The drive that humans have, the instinct to stay equal with the group both in a physical sense and an intellectual respect, leads society to want to believe in fallacies. The notion that if â€Å"everybody thinks such and such; it must be so for the simple reason that everybody thinks it is so† (Think). is safe. If everyone in the group believes a fallacy, those people are all on the same level intellectually, and there is safety in numbers. No one in the group will be singled out. The more people believe in something, be it fallacy or truth, the more likely it is that other people will believe the same simply because it is commonly accepted. This way of thinking can be detrimental to a group of people, because if the group believes in commonly held fallacies over intelligent articulate thought. â€Å"The surest way to destroy freedom is to destroy the capacity to articulate freely. † (Humanities) Without articulate freedom, human society will never progress or evolve.

Formative Assessment Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Formative Assessment - Research Paper Example In this paper, I describe how I will create a formative assessment for a class I will be teaching and the role the psychometric models will play in my creation of the assessment. Moreover, I explain how I will use observation situation in my assessment and discuss the challenges I expect to encounter during creation of my assessment. 1. Creating a formative assessment for my class According to Brookhart (2010), it is necessary to organizing a formative assessment as a regular part of a learning instruction. The formative assessment will be organized in such a way that it will be incorporated into my teaching instructions. Before creating it, I will first decide what its purpose will be by selecting a formative assessment strategy that will serve my intended purpose better. I will then apply the formative assessment strategy I have selected to choose particular learning goals I will be assessing in my formative assessment. In addition, I will select what I will look for as my students undertake the assessment. Together we will think about how this assessment will help us in improving the learning process. Formative assessment chain consists of four activities which are: taking student response, monitoring the response, diagnose this response, share feedback based on this diagnose, helping student to use this feedback to learn better (Tuttle, 2010). In designing my formative assessment, I aim to consider all the four activities. I will first put into consideration the students’ responses based on what I suspect their learning skills and abilities are when selecting what to assess and how to assess it. After this, I will design a method that I can use to diagnose their response so that I can be able to determine their strength, weakness, and abilities. Then I will share the feedback from diagnose with my students and lastly using my knowledge and experience I will help my students to use this feedback to improve their learning. My formative assessment will have three components that are the feed-up, feedback and feed-forward. The main aim of feed-up will be to ensure that my students will always understand the purpose of the assignments, tasks, and lessons in use as part of my assessment. According to Frey and Fisher (2010), purpose drives both feedback and feed-forward. Thus, by ensuring that my students understand what they do and what they come across, I am certain I will be able to obtain accurate feedback that will be easy to implement in my feed-forward. I will use the feedback to obtain the information about the strengths and needs of my students. I will also use them to provide my students with this information. My main source of feedbacks will be assignments outcomes, observing how my students undertake the tasks, and assessing those tasks. I will observe how they learn during lessons. Most of this feedback will be in data form and, thus, they will require analysis and interpretation. I will use my statistical analysis and st atistical modeling to enhance my understanding of this data to give my students feedback that is as accurate as possible. I will use my feed-forward to guide my students’ learning based on the feedback I obtain from their performance data. In this component, I will put into consideration the students’ strengths, needs and weaknesses to design a teaching framework that can improve the learning of my students. In addition, I will be helping