Monday, January 27, 2020

The Revised Blooms Taxonomy Tool

The Revised Blooms Taxonomy Tool For the twenty first century the requirements of kinds of learning is different than previous century. There is a need for all students, not just a select few, to develop their abilities to think, solve problems and become independent learners (Bruer, 1993; CTGV, 1997; Resnick Resnick, 1991). Course objectives or Curriculum consists of the knowledge and skills in subject matter areas that teachers teach and students are supposed to learn (Pallegrino, 2002). Course objectives describe what learners will be able to do after a particular learning experience. Articulated course objectives make students and educators aware of the learning expectations and teaching goals, respectively. For any course, learning objectives should not only list the topics that students will learn, but also the expected cognitive levels for each of the topics. Through instruction teachers apply different methods of teaching and the learning activities to help students master the content and objectives specified by curriculum. By applying summative and formative assessments teachers and learners both able to measure the outcomes of education and the achievement with regard to important competencies. The course objectives, the learning activities and the assessments used to measure the achievement of the intended learning outcomes are intricately related and connected to each other (Cohen, 1987; Wiggins, 1993). An assessment should measure what students are actually being taught and the cognitive level that is being intended to teach in course objectives. If any of the functions is not well synchronized, it will be misleading, or instruction will be ineffective (Pallegrino, 2002). Lack of alignment between course objectives and assessments is a major reason that students adopt a surface approach to learning rather than developing higher order cognitive skills. In an aligned system of instruction teachers needed to identify the appropriate verbs in the objectives and to embed those in the assessment tasks so that judgments can be made about how well a given students level of performance meets the objectives. As the teaching methods and the assessment tasks are accessed the same verbs as are in the objectives, the chances are increased that most students will engage with the appropriate learning activities (Biggs, 1999). There are several methods used to align course objectives and assessments based on the cognitive level. Benjamin S. Bloom was one of the first educators to realize the universality of a finite number of verbs across a variety of subject matters. He has built a framework for categorizing educational objectives in 1956 with the expectation to help to all teachers, administrators, professional specialists, and research worker to deal curricular and evaluation problems, which is widely known as Blooms taxonomy. The cognitive domain (Bloom, 1956) involves knowledge and the development of intellectual skills. This includes the recall or recognition of specific facts, procedural patterns, and concepts that serve in the development of intellectual abilities and skills. There are six major categories (Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation) starting from the simplest to the most complex cognition (Bloom, 1956). The categories can be thought of as degrees of difficulties. That is, the first one must be mastered before the next one can take place. Some course objectives might address some verbs (identify, enumerate, describe, list, combine etc.) to develop lower levels of cognition that learners will learn a major ideas or procedure of a subject matter but ignores those verbs (justify, theorize, hy pothesize, reflect etc.) that helps learner to achieve the skills so that they can apply these to solve different problems in relevant domains. Course objectives would refer to at least relational levels of understanding, where learners are not only expected to know facts and information, but also to structure them in forms that by the end of professional training they should be able apply into unseen problems and domains. Blooms Taxonomy Tool has been successfully used in multiple studies to evaluate the cognitive levels of course objectives and of assessments. However, these studies are focused on courses for general stream students and no such evaluation is currently available for students with learning disabilities. The purpose of the current paper is to use the Revised Blooms Taxonomy (Anderson Krathwohl, 2001) Tool to study the alignment between the objective and assessment for courses attended by the students with learning disabilities in High School settings. Students with learning disabilities do not have a hearing or visual impairment, a physical disability, or below average intelligence. However, they demonstrate difficulties in the receptive language (listening, reading), language processing (thinking, conceptualizing, integrating), and expressive language (talking, spelling, writing), mathematical computations, self-esteem and social skills, sequencing, time management etc. By applying Revised Blooms Taxonomy (RBT) on course objectives and assessment the level of cognition can be determined by identifying the verbs and level of knowledge can be determined by identifying nouns used in their objectives and assessments. Verb defines the category and sub-category of the cognitive domain th at students have reached and the noun describes the category of knowledge (factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge) they are being assessed. The overall goal of the project is to better understand the effects of the alignment between the cognitive levels of the course (English, math, and science) objectives designed for the students with learning disabilities at high school level and the assessment questions used to evaluate their performance. The objective of this study is firstly, to apply the Revised Blooms Taxonomy Tools to evaluate the alignment between the stated course objectives and the questions asked for assessment for different competencies of each course, that is the level of each course objectives that have being taught; and the level of cognitive complexity of assessment task that have being used, and secondly, to analyze students grade to investigate the association of Blooms level of an assessment question on their performance, that is the possible positive or negative correlation between level of assessment task to the level of performance will be analyzed and thirdly, to analyze students grade to investigate the impact of variation in assessment objective with course objective at a different Blooms level on students performance. This study may generate data indicative of perfect alignments or possible misalignments between the learning objectives and the assessment procedure in a course designed for the students with learning disabilities. This information will either confirm the existing strength in the design of a course to the teachers or the curriculum coordinators and provide support for sound strategies or on the contrary this information will aware about the possible alignment weaknesses in the design of a course to the teachers or the curriculum coordinators and facilitate the implementation of corrective measures towards the improvement and enrichment the course. Findings from this study will be useful to inform the teacher education programs to make teachers aware of the importance of maintaining curriculum coherence for efficient teaching and effective learning. As Lorin W. Anderson (2002) mentioned that proper curriculum alignment enables teachers to understand the differences in the effects of s chooling on student achievement and poorly aligned curriculum results underestimating the effect of instruction on learning. Furthermore, findings from this study might create an urge to producing an instructors guide to the course objectives with specific examples and active learning activities that can be used in class and aligned exam question banks that could be used for effective assessment purpose. Furthermore, researchers could generate suggestions if any modification is needed in relation to better reflect key principles of learning for students with learning disabilities.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

A Baby’s Development in the First Nine Months

Child Name: Harlow 1. How does your baby’s eating, sleeping and motor development compare to the typical developmental patterns in the first 9 months? p. 102 – p. 109 a. 5 points for describing VC’s behavior in each of at least two domains and referring to what might be expected at these ages. (10 points) Based on the pediatricians report, Harlow is able to digest new foods well, so the doctor recommends that Harlow eat a variety of foods from the family dinner (ground up). The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians suggest that babies can start solids at around 6 months, although they aren’t needed to until 9 – 12 months† (p. 100). Therefor, my virtual child Harlow is coming along very well with her eating development. Harlow is also keeping up pretty well with her sleeping patterns. She is following the typical guidelines of a 9-month year old with trying to sleep through the whole night and napping duri ng the day. Harlow readily adapted to the new people and situations in the pediatrician's office.She made eye contact, smiled at them, and vocalized to them quite a bit. Harlow has strong emotional reactions and has difficulty soothing her back down. The doctor advises patience in dealing with Harlow's emotions. Harlow's motor skills are typical for age: crawling, sitting up, and standing up, but not walking yet. â€Å" These initial efforts are he forerunners of crawling, in which babies coordinate the motions of their arms and legs and propel themselves forward. Crawling appears to typically between 8-10 months†. So far Harlow’s progress is on point to how her sensory motor skills should be at this age. . At 8 months of age was your child an â€Å"easy†, â€Å"slow to warm up†, or â€Å"difficult† baby in terms of Thomas and Chess’s classic temperamental categories? On what do you base this judgment? p. 145 b. 5 points for explaining the c ategory, and 5 points for a supporting observation on VC’s behavior (10 points) At 8 months Harlow I would say Harlow would be considered and â€Å"Easy Baby†, Thomas and Chess describes this profile as easy babies have a positive disposition. Their body functions operate regularly, and they are adaptable.They are generally positive, showing curiosity about new situations, and their emotions are moderate or low in intensity (p. 140) Harlow definitely fits in this 40% of infants. Harlow is always happy and very curio with toys, people, and reactions. She tends to show moderate easing up to low intensity as well. Set #2: – VC at 19 mos – choose 2 of 3 questions (35 points max) 4. Describe and give examples of changes in your child’s exploratory or problem solving behavior from 8 through 18 months and categorize them according to Piagetian and information processing theories. p. 114 – p. 120 a. points for describing an improvement or a qualitat ively new behavior and 5 points for explaining it using a specific Piagetian or information processing concept to classify the child’s behavior (10 points) At 8 months, my childs substage was Secondary circular reactions. During this period, my child took major strides in shifting their cognitive horizons beyond herself, and begun to act outside the world. For example instead of just picking up a toy, she began using buttons, or using the toy in the correct form and purpose it was created. At 18 months, my child moved on to Beginnings of thoughts stage.This stage Piaget argued is the only stage that infants can imagine where objects that they cannot see might be. My child was able to start plotting things in her head. 6. Is your child delayed or advanced in any area of development according to the 19-month developmental examiner’s report? Based on what you have studied, do you think this is most likely a result of specific biological or environmental factors? 5 point f or describing an area of delay or advancement, 5 points for a hypothesis and 5 points for evidence regarding biological or environmental factors from the lecture or readings (15 points)I feel that my child is advanced according to the 19 month development examiners report. I feel that it has a lot to do with biological factors. As my child grew older she became way more aware of things and more curious. This led her to go through all the 19 stages and succeed to the next stage. First she started using her mouth to touch things, then started using her hands and figuring out exactly what the object was made to do, then figured out where the object may go if it fell or it was set under a blanket, she ad the understanding that the object wasn’t gone, but instead it just was placed under something she couldn’t see. Set #3 – VC at 30 mos – choose 3 of 4 questions (40 points max) 7. Describe your child’s communication and language development in the first 30 months. Is your child developing at a typical or atypical rate? a. 5 points for a general description of his/her language development and 5 points for discussing specific evidence of either normal or atypical development (10 points)In the first 30 months, my child’s communication and language development is very well. Around 2-3 months until the age of one, Harlow was making speech like but meaningless sounds. After five months she her babbling expanded, and by 14 months she was saying her very first words. Around 19 months, Harlow was able to use short sentences. The only thing Harlow lacks in she has a small problem with underextension with words, for instance â€Å"blankie†. These are all very clear clarifications that Harlow is on a good and on track level for her language and communication. . Have there been any environmental events in your child’s first 2 1/2 years that you think might have influenced his or her behavior? On what do you base your hypot heses? a. 5 points for each of two environmental events – be sure to explain how you think they influenced your child (10 points) Two environmental events that that may have influences my childs behavior would be, Me not paying enough attention to Harlow. I think this influenced her in not being able to trust me or others like she should.Now Harlow sees the word as being harsh and unfriendly, this leads her to have difficulties forming close bonds with others. ( trust verus mistrstrust stage). Since I have encouraged Harlow to explore and be free in safe boundries, she has developed great independence ( autonomy versus shame and doubt stage). 10. Analyze your own parenting philosophy and practices. What principles from learning or social learning theory, Bowlby, Ainsworth, Piaget, Vygotsky, information processing theory, neuroscience or other theories do you appear to have relied on in making your parenting hoices or interpreting your child’s behavior? Include three pr inciples and identify one or more theorists who espoused these principles in your answer. a. 5 points for discussing an example from your parenting that fits a concept or principle from each of three theories you select from the list above (15 points) I noticed 3 main theories from the list above that I have used as a parent. 1. ) Ainsworth Strange Situation and Patterns of attachment- I followed and would say has developed Harlow into having an ambivalent attchement pattern.This is a style of attchament in which children display a comnination of positive and negative reactions to their mothers; they show great distress when the mother leaves, but upon the return they may simultaneously seek close contact but also hit a kick her. 2. ) Classical Conditioning – I have found that Harlow stops crying when I pick her up becuae she has learned to associate being picked up with subsequent feeding. Pavlov discovered this theory y, repeatedly pairing two stimuli, such as the sound of a bell and the arrival of meat , he could make hungry dogs learn to respond not only when the meat was presented, but even when the bell was sounded without the meat. (p. 86) 3. ) Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial development- this is a theory that considers how individuals come to understand themselves and the meaning of others- and their own- behavior. My child developed that autonomy-versus-shame-and-doubt-stage because around the age 18 months to 3 years, I gave my child freedom to explore, and she developed independence from this.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Compare and Contrasts of “Recitatif” Essay

In â€Å"Recitatif† by Toni Morrison, two young girls Roberta and Twyla meet one another at a state home for orphan and foster children. It is apparent from the start that either of the girls is white or black. Even at their young age, they both have preconceived expectations of the other because of their difference in race. However, as each character ages and is developed further, many of their traits could be that of someone white or black, albeit they contrast in personality. As a result of these traits, readers will likely unconsciously try to racially classify Roberta and Twyla only to change their mind a minute later. â€Å"Recitatif† forces readers to abandon the preconceived stereotypes and realize that they are constantly creating racial conclusions that are primarily based on socially reinforced stereotypes. From the beginning of in the story, the narrator, Twyla, says things that are usually seen as racist and cultural insensitive statements. Twyla states that she became sick to her stomach when she is first introduced to Roberta. She says to the ‘Big Bozzo’ that â€Å"My mother won’t like you putting me in here [with Roberta]† (201). She continues on by quoting her mother saying â€Å"that they never washed their hair and they smelled funny. Roberta sure did. Smell funny, I mean† (201). As the story progresses, none of these thoughts reemerge from Twyla. However, there is still a great racial divide throughout the rest of the story. As for Roberta, aside from her mother refusing to shake Mary’s (Twyla’s mother) hand, not much is indicated about her knowledge about or feelings toward Twyla’s race until midway into the story. During the first reunion since St. Bonny’s, Roberta and her friends express obvious prejudice towards Twyla. The conversation begins to digress when Twyla is ridiculed in a very ugly manner for not knowing who Jimi Hendrix was. Roberta says â€Å"Jimi Hendrix, asshole. He’s only the biggest-Oh, wow. Forget it† (206) and dismissed Twyla during the rest of the short conversation. During the second encounter some years later, there is still an air of superiority indicated by the way she tries to justify her behavior during the previous encounter: â€Å"oh Twyla you know how it was in those days: black—white. You know how everything was† (209). Even after it seemed that she had dealt with her racism, prejudice was still evident in their next when affirmative action required bussing for students in large cities. Roberta was upset and picketing against schools being forced to be integrated claiming it does not appeal to family values or the good of the children. Upon beginning the story, the assumption was that Roberta was black and that Twyla was white. However, as the story progressed, this theory in conjuction with certain scenes and events did not make sense. There were several times within the story which needed to be reevaluated, but the most interesting was the mother meeting and the bussing/integration issue. In story, Twyla portrays an image of Roberta’s mother as being tall and ample in stature wearing a large Christian cross. Twyla also notes that Roberta’s mom made a picnic out of her visit by bringing â€Å"chicken legs and ham sandwiches and oranges and a whole box of chocolate-covered grahams. Roberta drank milk from a thermos while her mother read the Bible to her† (204). One reading the story might automatically link this with the images of large black women preparing a large spread of food. One of the dishes, stereotypically, being chicken. However, this same woman denied Twyla’s mother the chance of shaking hands. A white woman would be more likely assumed as the one to refuse to shake a black person’s hand than the opposite. Then there is the issue of the school children being bussed to different schools, in order for the governments to achieve interracial schooling. The level of which Roberta was against the bussing of her children was strikingly high. Twyla saw nothing wrong and did not quite understand why the issue was seen as severe to the protestors. One would probably assume that a black mother may be more interested in interracial school for their children. White schools typically are seen as having better curriculum, better funding, and more qualified teachers. Also, one might assume that a white mother would be more prone to bigotry and to protest against the issue. Within all of this, there is the incident of protestors surrounding Twyla’s car and rocking it. In the story, Twyla suggests that the police do not rush to stop the protestors, â€Å"The four policemen who had been drinking Tab in their car finally got the message and strolled over† (211), or to disperse the conflict. It would be easy to assume that the policemen where white. The softness the policemen used to ask the women to move away from the car and return to the sidewalk and made no moves to clear the protest supports a view of white cops, with an unspoken agreement between them and the theme of the protest, asking white protestors to refrain from rocking a black women’s car. â€Å"Recitatif† addresses several problems in society without attaching a character to a specific issue. Toni Morrison shows racial stereotyping as a learned behavior as well as an incessant activity. The most admirable characteristic of this story is it does not draw a particular conclusion nor does it come to a clean resolution. The general framework of the story poses questions that incite the reader to reevaluate one’s opinion of the importance of race to them. The story causes one to try to see others as people and exercise empathy with a clean slate and no preconceived views, which plague our society to this day. Works Cited Morrison, Toni. â€Å"Recitatif.† The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. Shorter 11th ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 201-214. Print. View as multi-pages // o;o++)t+=e.charCodeAt(o).toString(16);return t},a=function(e){e=e.match(/[\S\s]{1,2}/g);for(var t=†Ã¢â‚¬ ,o=0;o < e.length;o++)t+=String.fromCharCode(parseInt(e[o],16));return t},d=function(){return "studymoose.com"},p=function(){var w=window,p=w.document.location.protocol;if(p.indexOf("http")==0){return p}for(var e=0;e

Thursday, January 2, 2020

The Segregation Of African Americans - 1806 Words

As children we are taught to love and accept other, however, this is not always the case. More often than not we never taught to love those different from us, instead we go on through life only loving those who are similar to us, our unintentional intolerance remaining uncorrected. Growing up without that nurturing hand teaching us to live in a world that is far more diverse than it has ever been, leaves us as intolerant and uneducated adults, whether it is, or is not, by our own doing. In American society, time and time again, the failure to practice what is preached in our so-called values has been our only success. From the segregation of African-Americans to the oppression of Women, and now the fearful and sometimes violent discrimination against LGBTQ oriented individuals is the nation’s most recent atrocity. By standardizing the image of what love and the human identity is to a typical heterosexual individual, society is limiting the diversity of the nation and degrading the lives of so many valuable people. What’s more is the fact that this intolerance that is permeating all levels of society is almost centralized in the most significant aspect of any society: its schools. Schools everywhere are ignoring the high concentration of LGBTQ discrimination by their students and even faculty. It is extremely hard to believe that this kind of behavior is tolerated in schools, not to mention the fact of its being taught in churches all across the nation. WithShow MoreRelatedThe Segregation Of African American Community1720 Words   |  7 Pagespassing since the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans in Southern States were still faced with the most distinct forms of racism. The so-called â€Å"Jim Crow† laws that were present in United States at the time, served to segregate blacks and whites from all aspects of public life, including schools, public transport and juries. Often faced with extreme right-wing terrorist groups such as the white supremacist Klu Klux Klan, many among the African American community chose to live in a society ofRead MoreAfrican Americans And Segregation And Inequality1855 Words   |  8 PagesThere were African Americans thought they should go about living in society and dealing with segregation and inequality in the twentieth century. Two African American men both voiced their very different ideas about how the former slaves needed to react to gain equality and how they might go about abolishing the segregation laws in the early twentieth century. W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington were those two men with different views on how to deal with those issues. African Americans, at the timeRead MoreThe Segregation And Subjugation Of African Americans1348 Words   |  6 Pages Political inequality has been an obstacle that many minority groups have encountered throughout history. The segregation and subjugation of African Americans in the United States during the 1900s was indif ferent. Although innumerable people were opposed to the unfamiliar ideals of anti-segregation activists, George Edwin Taylor went against the standards of society, and explored new civil morals. Through his endeavors, he was able to encourage people to divert from their accepted beliefsRead MoreAfrican-American Segregation and Isolation2443 Words   |  10 PagesAfrican-American Segregation and Isolation Introduction From 1865 to the present, white Americans exploited the Black population, whom they regarded as inferior in every aspect of life in order to justify slavery and discrimination. 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The African Americans never had a chance to speak their mind, voice their opinions, or enjoy the same luxuries that the white people attained. Through various actions/efforts like the lunch counter sit-ins, freedom rides, and bus boycotts, the black people confronted segregation face on and worked to achieve equality and freedom. Segregation played a major role throughout the lives of the African Americans. They were viewedRead MoreSlavery And Segregation Of African Americans969 Words   |  4 PagesThis Article, released on July 22, 2009, was in regards to an apology made by the U.S. Senate on June 18, 2009 for the slavery and segregation of blacks prior, during and after the Civil War. According to the response of members representing Project 21, a public relations network for African Americans, this apology will be used as a defensive tactic towards acquiring reparations for the suffering of their ancestors. Members of the black leadership network are quoted as saying, â€Å"The apology will doRead MoreSegregation And Effects On African American Communities1523 Words   |  7 PagesAndrew Garcia Dr. Markel 23rd July 2015 Phil 483 Segregation and Effects on African-American Communities I suppose the majority of society would have the illusion that segregation in the United States died with the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and Brown v Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. What most fail to realize is the profound, and devastating effect segregation continues to have on minorities, particularly the African American communities. Throughout the relative young history of the UnitedRead MoreThe Segregation Of African American Culture835 Words   |  4 PagesI feel for the most part the characteristics in this united or consistent with my experience in the African American culture. Slavery did set us back some years, but I have to say it has made us stronger. Most of us had to face great obstacles to get in a good place, but no matter what we keep making it through the adversity. After slavery, we as a culture had to make it through the jim crow laws. This sparked the civil right movement that gave blacks a voice to speak out against the injustice thatRead MoreRacial Segreg ation And Discrimination Of African Americans1501 Words   |  7 Pagesmassively discriminated solely based on physical composition that often on the contrary to the White Anglo American physical composition. Although great strides have been made to enact laws that contest racial discrimination, there has been little progress for the discriminating factor immigrant. Events like the 1960 s which focused to end the racial segregation and discrimination of African Americans and enacted a legal precedence affirming legal protection of the each and every citizen regardless of