Why is it important that I understand what independent learning is Essay - 1

Why is it important that I understand what independent learning is - Essay Example Internalizing independent learning however is not easy and it would be necessary for the student to understand what independent learning is before internalizing it. It should begin in college that would later translate to our professional lives and even in our personal lives as we sought not only to become better professionals but also better individuals. Wedemeyer defined independent learning as consisting of â€Å"various forms of teaching- learning arrangements in which teachers and learners carry out their essential tasks and responsibilities apart from one another, communicating in a variety of ways †¦ Independent study programs offer learners varying degrees of freedom in the self-determination of goals and activities† (Wedemeyer 1975:11 cited in Kobuni 2013:232). This type of learning is exclusive among adults as it relates to â€Å"lifelong learning and self-directed learning† (Candy 1991; Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner 2007 cited in Kobuni 2013:232). In short, independent learning is self-motivated, lifelong and autonomous adult learning to achieve certain goals using various study programs and methods. Understanding independent learning should begin in college. It should start in college because it the stage where we prepare ourselves for our professional lives. Also, the academic rigors in college requires that we should understand and learn independent learning. College is very different in high school where many of the lessons are spoon fed. In college, we are required to look for information on our own through our research and study. We are also encouraged to think on our own and to do critical thinking. These modes of study require independent learning seeking information and learning materials using various methods such library, internet, interview, observation etch to be able to have the inputs necessary to do reports and critical thinking. It is important that

The Most Dangerous Game Literary Analysis Essay Example for Free

The Most Dangerous Game Literary Analysis Essay In the short story â€Å"The Most Dangerous Game†, Richard Connell uses conflict to create a suspenseful mood. When Rainsofrd is struggling to swim in the ocean it shows man v. nature conflict. â€Å"For a seemingly endless time he fought the sea† (42). Suspense really shows in this scene because its really nailbiting to see if he is going to give up and let himself drown, or if he is going to push and swimm to the island hes heard has a bad reputation. Man v. man conflict is shown when Zaroff challenges Rainsford to the hunt. Zaroff said, â€Å"Your brain against mine. Your woodcraft against mine. Your strength and stamina against mine. Outdoor chess! † (52). The reader feels a lot of suspense in this part because Rainsford is in an unfamiliar place, in the dark, at night, being chased by an expert hunter, his huge servant/guard Ivan, and a pack of wild dogs. The suspenseful mood reaches a turning point when Rainsford chooses to jump off the cliff instead of continuing the hunt. Rainsford also has a lot of man v. self conflict during the hunt. Rainsford has to repeat a motivational phrase to himself so he will keep calm and collected under the stressful hunt. Rainsford repeats, â€Å"I will not lose my nerve. I will not† (54). This adds suspense because it really makes the reader anxious to know whether or not he will keep his cool. In â€Å"The most Dangerous Game† man v. nature, man v. man, and man v. self conflicts are shown to create a suspenseful mood.

Child Cognitive Development

Child Cognitive Development INTRODUCTION Jean Piaget looked at the concept of cognitive development from a biological angle. To him, adaptation and organization are the key principles in the human’s intellect and growth. He argued that human beings always strive to have a state of balance in their mind. Adaptation comes about when the child experiences cognitive disability, that is, the situation what the child sees the world as expected and what she or he is undergoing. The child therefore buys new information and integrates with the already existing one. Piaget calls this accommodation. This comes about when the acquired new information doesn’t fit well into the already existing structures. For instance, a child coming across a squirrel for the first time and discovers that it differs with the rabbit. He/she therefore come up with another representation of a squirrel. The mind has to have some form of information organization hence scheme is the basic structure. In a child’s development, play is an important aspect to consider. This is because ideas and concepts are learned and also, there is an enhancement of language, motor skills and social life through play. To Piaget, there are four major stages that are involved in cognitive development. Firstly, we have sensorimotor period that occurs between Zero to two years. At this stage, the child as he interacts with the environment creates sets of concepts and the operations of the reality. There is an engagement in motor movements starting with early reflexes and proceeding towards intentional actions. In most cases, these actions are trial and error. It’s through their actions that children learn that their behaviors have effects on the environment. Their actions become sophisticated as they develop hence becoming deliberate. For example, a child grasps a rattle paper in place in his hand, this can be compared to the older child who picks up and shakes a rattle to make noise. The pretend stage in most cases starts at the age of eight months. At this level, the child can act out actions and roles of an adult and some familiar events. At three or four, the skills become symbolic; the child can substitute objects for instance, a child’ feeds ‘a doll using a toy bottle. On the other hand, the older child feeds the baby using a wooden block in pretence that the block acts as the baby bottle. This level provides a good foundation for the child play as the child gets his/her own experience. Preoperational period is the second stage and it occurs between the ages of two to seven years. The child can not still abstractly conceptualize. He needs touchable situations. At the age of around three or four, constructive play interests the child. Here he or she can manipulate materials and objects in their different worlds and come up with an end product such as sand houses, clay cows sand mountains and so on. As he develops skills in manipulation of materials and objects, they sharpen his skills in thought expressions, ideas and concepts. At the mastery play level, there is the demonstration of the skilled Moto movements and there is full engagement in forms of imagination or pretend play at the same time. Children easily move about with their environment and are more confident in their actions. There is running and jumping over obstacles on a playground as they pretend to be the cartoon superhero’s. This occurs at around four to five years as encounter new play challenges and experiences. At the age of five, they develop interest in games that have two or more sides and have rules; this is because the thinking is becoming more logical. At this level, they begin to realize activities like Red Rover, Peter Says, and rule games won’t not work unless it is followed by everyone. This level involves competition and definition of criteria that establish winners. The third stage is the concrete operation that which occurs between the ages of seven years to eleven years. As the physical experience goes up, he starts conceptualizing, logically creating structures that explain the physical experience around him. At this point, he can now solve abstract problems for instance; equations on arithmetic can be solved not only with objects but with numbers. The last stage is the formal operations that occur between the ages of eleven to fifteen years. The cognitive structure at this point has developed and is like that of an adult. He is able to conceptualize and reason. At all developmental stages, there is an interaction of the child with his environment using the so far constructed mental maps. The experience fits easily if it’s the repeated one into the cognitive structure so that the state of equilibrium is maintained. He looses equilibrium if the experience is new or different. He therefore adjusts his cognitive structure in a way to accommodate the new conditions. However, different scholars also have done researches on role of play in child development. This was perhaps the development of Piaget, s theory of learning. Mc Cune Zanes, 2001argued that infants and toddlers do involve themselves in activities that in most cases stimulate their senses and lead to the development of the motor skills. These children actively explore their capabilities by using simple non directional and repetetitios plays. To them, as infants play on their own and alone, the toddlers play with or besides other children. Sometimes, they are within speaking distance but make minimal or not communicate at all. Given a situation of two or three children playing with similar toys might pursue totally different activities. Each concentrates on his or her own needs, a reflection of egocentric behaviors with no concept of rules. Such play therefore contributes the Childs growing ability to be able to pay attention and to the total development of physical, social and intellec tual growth.(Piaget,1962) At primary grades, they play formal and informal games together for example hide and seek, computer games, jump rope amongst others. In this kind of plays, there is development of physical prowess, refinement of social skills, building of concepts such as completion and there is also the enhancement of coordination. Moreover, these games also enable children to do demonstrations of their skills, abilities and talents to themselves and to others. They do these through coded messages, riddles and game numbers.(Eifermann,1971) Children’s play becomes more organized and more structured at childhood and early adolescent. At this stage, their passion for orderly thinking is seen in the games with rules and the organization of the sporting events. Winning to them is paramount as they begin to conceptualize and internalize that winning is as a result of following rules. At this age, sports are important. As social awareness grows in the child, the attention shifts from the family to the peer group. At this point, their energies are channeled to youth groups, team sports and clubs. As they do role taking and playing in those organizations, they get to understand how they can best fit in the societal systems. (Hughes, 1999) Fromberg (2002) argues that new information among children can be owned by playing with the same information. When there is interactive balance of facts gaining and acquisition of skills by the culture and information making owned by someone, then there in learning. This cycle enables children their environment better. (Fromberg, 2002, Mc Williams, 1998).Personal meaning comes about when there is active play. When there is perception of events by children as personally relevant, their neural connectivity of situations, skills and ideas is taken to their long-term memory.(Jensen,1999) adds that intrinsic motivation is by play and play contexts that is brought about by positive motivations . For instance, curiosity improves motivation which in turn facilitates learning and performance simply by focusing on the attention of the learner. Threats, panic, stress as negative emotions detract from motivation. According to Pieget, learning is effective when there are positive motivators. There children are free to participate and play when they are relaxed and free from any kind of stress. A toddler who is threatened will shy off and therefore will not participate in any kind of information flow. Pieget’s psychological approach to the to the study therefore lays a lot of emphasis to the full understanding of the children as we attempt to bring them up. This calls for understanding the stage at which the child is at, the environment and the emotional CONCLUSION Jean Pieget holds that, development precedes learning that is, it is activated by cognitive problems. All in all, Jean Piaget’s contribution was a milestone in the fields of both the natural and social sciences. People through his theories have been able to understand intrinsically both development of their children in all stages and shaping them to be good and responsible adults. By understanding the development of the child at every stage, it becomes easy for the parent to provide the necessary support to the child and be able to monitor his or her development. Moreover, it’s through Jean’s contribution that educators have adopted different modes of communication. Having looked at the development of the child at every stage, it becomes easy for the communicator to package his or her information that is relevant to the receiver. For example, a five year old child will lean better if he or she is involved in the kind of game plays. A communicator to achieve this will employ the same communicative tool. Curriculum development in different institutions has also been a Piegets contribution. A primary school for instance has got a wider range of pupils. Their programs definitely will not be the same right from intra and extracurricular activities. There are those best for the lower classes where the juniors enjoy playing and the senior one with their own special program. Ways of communicating to different audiences for instance the idea of play in the cognitive development. His idea has also been used to develop both the intra and extra curriculum activities for the different institutions. REFERENCES Bredekamp, Sue, and Carol Copple. Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children, 1997. Ensen, E. (1999). Teaching with the brain in mind. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Deve Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society. The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.lopment. Fromberg, D. P. (2002). Play and meaning in early childhood education. Boston: Allyn Bac Hughes, F. (1999). Children, play, and development (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn Bacon McCune, L., Zanes, M. (2001). Learning, attention, and play. In S. Golbeck (Ed.), Psychological perspectives on early childhood education (pp. 92-106). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Affirmative Action Essay -- essays research papers

Since the beginning of time there has been prejudice and hate. Adam and Eve hated snakes. Jews hated Jesus. Sugar Ray Leonard hated Tommy Hearns. Prejudice is caused by two things: ignorance and hate. Prejudice and mistreatment has existed in this country, first with American-Indians and then later with African-Americans and many other minorities. The selling and trading of slaves is a shadow that has been hanging over the heads of white Americans for two centuries. Some people feel that it is the white-American's duty to pay the black population back. According to Spencer Perkins, co-author of More than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of Gospel, in reference to the long-standing racial divisions in America, "It took us 300 years to separate ourselves like this, it's going to take a while to undo that." (Perkins 26) Affirmative action is designed to give minorities, such as blacks, the opportunity to maintain jobs in our prejudicial society. For those who support Affirmative Action they define it as a way to give the disadvantaged a chance at the "American dream." Those who do not support Affirmative Action define it as giving minorities positions that they are not qualified to have. As Mr. Khalenberg, head editor of The New Republic says, "we will still reward those who play the victim" (Khalenberg 27). Just imagine that you have gone through six years of college and have gotten your degree. You go looking for a job and even though they are tough to come by you manage to get an interview with a well-known company. The interviewer tells you that you and one other person are equally qualified and in the running for the job. You get a call later telling you that you didn't get the job because the company had to hire a minority. You would most likely be angry, right? The purpose of this paper is to show the differences in how people feel about the issues involved with affirmative action. This paper was written to give different views on affirmative action. First I will give a little background and general information on the subject. Secondly, I will show how those that are in support of affirmative action feel. I will then balance the arguement out by showing how those who oppose affirmative action feel. I will also explore the minorities that are also against affirmative action. Finally, I will tell what causes the consequences that affirmative... ...America today. Because of the horrid history of this nation, the disgust directed at "White America" is not surprising, however, it does seem surprising to many Americans that there are minorities who are against affirmative action. This country, whether we will admit it or not, was built on the blood and sweat of minorities. Therefore it should not be unexpected that minorities would like a fair share of what this country has the to offer. If this happens, maybe minorities will someday have the opportunity to walk our "streets of gold." Works Cited Fredrickson, George M. Racism : A Short History. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002 Kahlenberg, Richard. "Class, Not Race." The New Republic April 3, 1995: 21-27. O’Gara, Juliane. Making Workplaces Work. Washington, DC: Business and Professional Women’s Foundation. 1995 Perkins, Spencer and Chris Rice. More than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of the Gospel, Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993. Rosen, Jeffery. â€Å"Is Affirmative Action Doomed?† New Republic 17 Oct. 1994: 25+ Waller, James. Face to Face: The Changing State of Racism Across America, New York: Plenum Publishing Corp., 1998.

Mineral and Water Functions Essay

Minerals and water are essential to health and bodily functions. Minerals are essential to body structure and to muscle functions, fluid balance and nerve functioning. Water is involved in every function of the body. It transports nutrients and waste products and is necessary for digestive, absorption, circulatory and excretory functions. Water also maintains proper body temperature and prevents dehydration. There are over twenty minerals needed in dietary intake to maintain health. Minerals are broken down into two categories; macrominerals and microminerals. Macrominerals are considered major minerals and include sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, phosphorus and sulfur. Microminerals or trace elements are needed in smaller quantities and include iron, copper, zinc, selenium and iodine amongst others. Although trace elements are needed in smaller amounts, they are just as essential to health as major minerals. Minerals are essential to various functions in the body. Sodium, potassium and chloride are all necessary for fluid balance. Magnesium, sodium, calcium and potassium are critical for proper nerve transmission and functioning. Magnesium and phosphorus are both required for healthy bones and teeth and sulfur is needed for healthy protein molecules. Although calcium is most commonly related to healthy bones and teeth, it is also important to blood clotting, blood pressure and regulation and immune system regulation. Minerals interact with each other, along with vitamins and other nutrients to maintain body functions and health. Sources of minerals are plentiful; they can be found in both food and plant sources. Table salt, soy sauce and large amounts of processed foods all contain sodium and chloride. Milk, meats, breads and vegetables are also good sources for both of these minerals as well as potassium, calcium, phosphorus and sulfur. Nuts, seeds, legumes and leafy green vegetables are good sources of magnesium which is also found in chocolate and artichokes. Iron, zinc, iodine and selenium are often found in various meats, poultry and seafood. Fluoride, a trace mineral, is found in drinking water, fish and most teas. Major minerals and trace elements are found in a multitude of food and plant sources. Equally as important as minerals, water is vital to health and bodily functions. Water provides many benefits to the body and is essential to life. Although the body can sustain on little to no food for weeks, it can only survive without water for a few days. Functions of water in the body include dissolving minerals and vitamins making them accessible to the body, flushing out waste products from the body and carrying nutrients and oxygen to the cells. It is also responsible for lubricating joints, protecting tissues and organs and regulating body temperatures. Water also hydrates the body providing moisture to the tissues throughout the body. Dehydration has numerous negative effects on the body. The body loses water on a routine basis through normal functions such a sweating and elimination waste and it is essential to consume enough water daily to offset this loss. Most people who experience dehydration experience mild symptoms such as fatigue, muscle weakness, headaches and dizziness. More severe symptoms include severe thirst, rapid heartbeat and delirium. In some cases, if unattended, dehydration can become fatal. Minerals and water are both essential to proper body function and maintaining health. Minerals are needed by the body to provide structure and regulate chemical reactions. Water provides transport, protection, lubrication and temperature regulation and must be consumed to replace the losses through urine, feces and sweat. Both support the body, nervous system and interact with vitamins and nutrients to support a healthy body.

Pope Joan Essay

During the Middle Ages, the Church and the Emperor competed for control of the Holy Roman Empire. The Church and the Emperor ruled jointly over the Holy Roman Empire. Although the Church had a great deal of power, the Emperor was equally as powerful in his own way. Moreover, the powers of Church and the Emperor conflicted with each other. This led to a variety of power struggles. The novel Pope Joan by Donna Wolff Cross explores these power struggles and vividly shows how they make life more difficult for people at all levels of society. This Is very potent and recurring theme In the novel.There are many powers that collide with one another In the novel; however, the dominating powers In the Holy Roman Empire are two Institutions that oppose each other: the Roman Catholic Church and the Emperor. Both consider themselves In charge. The Church declares Itself more powerful than the Emperor, and uses Its power to preserve loyalty to the Church and Its power over the people. Pope Gregory demonstrates his power by going to the Emperor to end the feud between the Emperor and his sons. This shows that he, as the Pope, has enough power to end wars and disputes with he Emperor.Pope Gregory comments on his own power as he prays duteous, â€Å"Christ Jesus, give me wisdom I need this day†¦ Show me the way to avert this unholy war and reconcile these rebellious sons to the Emperor their father. † (Cross 174) On the contrary, the Emperor arguably does not have as much power as the Pope; however, the Emperor, Lothario, believes he does. â€Å"Trust in God, Count Gerald†¦ I'm Heaven's anointed king; He will not fail to grant us victory. † (Cross 217) Emperor Lothario believes he is truly connected to God. Throughout the novel he feels that he should rule over doth his kingdom and the Church.The power struggle between the Pope and the Emperor leads them to try to sabotage each other and increases the misery and suffering of their people. The Emperor tri es to acquire more power by having the Pope assassinated while the Pope makes sure the Emperor's power is in check by killing the Emperors allies. An example of this is the Pope's order to kill Theodore and Leo, two of the Emperors allies. â€Å"Several times they stumbled and almost fell on the tile floor, slippery with blood†¦ The men forced Theodore and Leo to their knees and pulled their heads forward.One man raised a long sword over Oleo's neck and with one quick stroke, decapitated him. But Threshold's neck was thick†¦ It took three or four sword strokes to cleave his head from his body. † (Cross 44) This shows how the Pope uses assassination to thwart the power of the Emperor. In addition, It shows how in the struggle for power, even those at the top of society are not safe. The Emperor and the Church have different ways to maintain power over their people. These methods of control cause considerable misery for the people. The Church retains its power by thre atening the people with Hell In the afterlife.It stays In power by making the people fear for their soul's eternal damnation and this causes a great deal of spiritual distress. For example, a young boy Is despondent as he confesses to Pope Leo about the Innocent blood he has shed because he fears for his Immortal soul: â€Å"l cannot live with what Eve done. Pronounce me my penance ; I will bear any Emperor uses his armies and weaponry to stay in power. It is the loyalty of the Emperor's army that enables him to do this. The Emperor's troops' are so loyal to him and that they are willing and eager to kill anyone. With a wild shout, a group from he imperial vanguard burst out of formation, spurring their horses into a disorderly run, racing against one another for the glory of being the first to engage the enemy before the eyes of their Emperor. † (Cross 219) The Church and Emperor also use similar methods to keep their power. For example, both punish their people for crimes i n similar ways. The Emperor has knights that manage the law and the Pope has church officials that handle the law. Both of their methods of punishment for crimes are similar and harsh.For instance, in the novel the Emperor's lords boil a Nan's hand and arm for lying about stealing farm animals. An event similar to this relates to how one of the church officials handles a thief by having his hands cut off, â€Å"Benedict screamed as his severed hands dropped to the ground, spurting blood†¦ The swordsman nailed Benedicts severed hands to the side of the she-wolf. † (Cross 297) The Emperor and the Church both keep their power using similar and different methods of control which cause great pain for their people. Although the Emperor does have power, he always needs to assert it to keep the Church's power is in check.Emperor Lothario makes many bold attempts to control the Church. In one instance, when the Church does not go through with a consecration, Emperor Lothario wage s full out war on the Church. One of Pope Egregious informants comes to Serious and bellows to him, â€Å"His soldiers plunder all before them, ransacking the farms, carrying off the livestock, pulling up the vines by their roots. They take what they want, and what they do not want, they burn. Those who get in their way they kill without mercy- women, old men, babes in arms- none are spared.The horror-† (Cross 273) This action led by Emperor Lothario does not succeed, but it causes many people to suffer and die. Another attempt to decrease the Church's power occurs when Emperor Lothario conspires with Anastasia to make the people supporting the Church pledge their loyalty to the Emperor. â€Å"An oath is only words. The people need a Pope who can lead them back to their old ways- to the Freakish Empire, and to you, my liege. † (Cross 291) The last attempt that Emperor Lothario makes toward the Church is the assassination of the commander of Pope Jean's militia, Gerald: â€Å"†¦The men abruptly heeled, pulled weapons from the hidden folds of their garments, and came at Gerald. â€Å"(Cross 402) In this attempt, the Emperor succeeds, and kills two birds with one stone. The Emperor weakens the militia by killing its gallant, cunning leader and kills the Pope by putting her under a prolonged period of stress. This causes her to have a premature birth and she dies in labor. Emperor Lothario makes many attempts to decrease the power of the Church, and is successful in the end but a considerable personal cost to many. Both the Church and the Emperor dominate the Holy RomanEmpire, but Anastasia who is able to play both sides against each other. Anastasia has ties with the Church and the Emperor. Anastasia uses both connections to his advantages, which grant him powerful positions among the two. Because Anastasia knows how politics work, he is able to wrap the Emperor around his finger and earn rewards. â€Å"Once Lothario was crowned in his fathe r's place, he would know how to reward Anastasia for the work he had done here. † (Cross 176) Anastasia has helped one day help make him Pope; however, Anastasia never reaches the title of Pope.Anastasia has power that that accompanies wealth and also possesses the power of persuasion and shrewdness. Anastasia with his intellect is able to earn high positions within the Church which allow him to be an informant to the Emperor. † Soon after Egregious election, Anastasia would be appointed Bishop of Castellated, a perfect position from which to ascend the papal throne after Serious†¦ † (Cross 242) Anastasia also uses his father's influence to persuade his adversaries to vote him Pope. â€Å"Before God the priest is lying Surely my countrymen will not believe the word of foreigner over that of a fellow Roman!Anastasia uses his adversaries to vote for him as Pope, but Joan accuses him of being corrupted. Even though Anastasia never reached Pope, he had power that helped him in the Church and with the Emperor. Anastasia is one of the people in the novel who has power and who is usually discreet about using it. Although there are many different power struggles in the novel between the Church and the Emperor, there are some people who were not able to gain their desired power. One minor character that never regained their power was Jean's father, the Canon. When he lost his position asCanon, he asked his daughter to get him a position in the Church again but he died shortly afterwards. Mimi have lost your position? † [Joan inquired] Reluctantly, her father nodded. â€Å"But Doe violent, I have the strength and skill to do God's work yet. † (Cross 210) One person who never gains their full power over the Church was Anastasia. Anastasia never becomes Pope because Emperor Lothario dies before making him Pope. â€Å"Lothario was long dead†¦ † (Cross 407) Another person who never gains full power over the Holy Roman Empire was Lothario. He dies and is never able to control the Church from within with one of his adversaries. .. Having died after a few months of leaving Rome. His throne had gone to his first son Louis II†¦ † We see how these characters are unable to fulfill their destinies because of the viscous competition for power. The novel, Pope Joan, encompasses many different kinds of power struggles. The main power struggle is between the Church and the Emperor. Although both have the same religious views, they have very different views on who is in charge. Pope Joan illustrates the many different forms of power and power struggles found during the medieval era of the Holy Roman Empire.In addition, the novel shows how these power struggles affect people at all levels of society to varying degrees. Those at the top may suffer death, be disenfranchised or be discredited. Soldiers willingly charge to their deaths in blind devotion to their Emperor. Those at bottom of society may suffer d eath, disfigurement or cruelty at the hands of unsympathetic soldiers or harsh magistrates. Pope Joan shows how the conflict at the top between the Church and the Emperor permeates down through all levels of society making life during the Middle Ages more difficult for everyone.