Portfolios And Standardized Tests - Pros And Cons Essays

Portfolios And Standardized Tests - Pros And Cons Portfolios and standardized tests are two types of ways teachers can assess their students. There are many advantages and disadvantages to both assessments. Right now, whether teachers agree with standardized tests or not, all teachers have to give them to their students. Portfolios on the other hand, are not required in a classroom, because it is not a required assessment for all teachers to use. Portfolios are folders that hold students works in any or all subjects that teachers choose to use them for. They hold all different types of work a student creates. It has A work to work that needs more improvement on inside the folders. The students choose what goes in their portfolio, not the teacher. Standardized tests are tests administered to each student at the same time. They have a time limit to them and their test scores are based on the norm. Much of school-based assessment does actually prevent students from becoming thoughtful respondents to, and to be able to judge their own work. Portfolios help students learn to assess their own progress as learners, and teachers gain new views of their accomplishments in teaching. They also give students responsibility for taking the lead in evaluating their own work, enlarging the view of what is learned, a place for process and a developmental point of view. Some important things that matter when dealing with portfolios is a student's performance on the kind of skills that appear on tests, that first-draft work is good enough and achievement matters to the exclusion of development. There are centrally two aims that teachers have for student portfolios. The first is to design ways of evaluating student learning that, will be essentially providing information to teachers and school systems, it will also model personal responsibility in questioning and reflecting on one's own work. The second is to find ways of capturing growth over time so that students can become informed and thoughtful assessors of their own histories as learners. What teachers have students do is at the end of the school year, is let the student go back inside their portfolio and reflect on their own work. The students return to their portfolios or collections of work, and see what has changed from the beginning of the school year or what still remains to be done or worked on. This gives students a responsibility, because they are responsible for evaluating their own work. Authentic or performance assessments do provide opportunities for students and teachers to learn, often together, about the standards of good work with respect to more valued outcomes. Each student is often incorporated in as an active agent in the evaluative process, not as an object to be evaluated. The portfolio activity is a process of production, perception, selection, and reflection that is exercised by each student over his or her collections of school work. Portfolios even provide a school district with a level of achievement. Portfolios are profoundly important to children. All children have a natural ability and desire to tell a story through the contents of the portfolio. Student portfolios tell a story. The real contents of a portfolio are the child's thoughts and his or her reasons for selecting a particular entry. That selection process reflects the interests and the metacognitive maturity of a child and the inspiration and influence offered by the teachers. Portfolios serve as a metaphor for our continued belief in the idea that children can play a major role in the assessment scene of their own learning. Using an authentic assessment tool could provide a more realistic picture of each student's individual subject achievement and progress by demonstrating growth and development over a period of time, involving students in assessing their own growth and reflecting many aspects of students area of knowledge and understanding. Portfolios provide teachers with information about students' progress, thought processes, achievements and needs. They should accommodate teachers' and students' individual needs, while allowing students to take an active role in assessing their work and encouraging them to take responsibility for their own learning. Students should begin to set goals for themselves and check their progress toward reaching these goals. This will help promote self-esteem. Students and teachers

Fifth business by Robertson Davies Essays

Fifth business by Robertson Davies Essays Fifth business by Robertson Davies Paper Fifth business by Robertson Davies Paper In a way he is imprisoning himself with Boys affairs yet Boy doesnt seem to mind at all. The narrator has nothing and nobody in his life and the only thing he relates to are Boys affairs and he explains everything Boy does against Leola that Boy truly loves her and that all the other girls mean nothing. Then in the final paragraphs the narrator remembers Hahn 4 his past experiences with the physical act of love and how much pleasure it provided him. Now it annoyed [him] that Boy had her, although he doesnt want her but he wants to simply find someone to love his disfigured body. The narrator believed that Leola really loved him but that Boy made her believe differently. With this fact in the back of his had he was sour about the whole business although he didnt even want her back. The last paragraph talks about the narrator wanting what he had last when Diana left him since he often yearned for her. The relationship between Leola and Boy has revoked the inner feelings in the narrators heart, causing him to want somebody to love and simply become a normal human being again; accepting who he was and what has happened to him. : In the middle of this passage the narrator describes Leola staying an engaged girl and about Boys weekly visits to do some heavy petting with Leola. It also talks about Boys experience with gay girls who were experts in French kisses. This part of the passage as explained very thoroughly. Foreshadowing, which is present in this section. The narrator talks about this so in detail because later on in the passage he mentions that Leola had once thought she loved him, meaning the narrator could be the lucky man not Boy. It also foreshadows that the narrator wants to find some other girl like Leola, so he can share with her what he had with Diana. This extract ends with an allegory, the narrator realizes that what Boy has he doesnt really want but he wants a girl to love and that loves him. He knew Diana would try to make him something he was not but that did not stop [him], often and painfully, Hahn 5 from wanting her. He rejects the fact that he wants what Boy has all along yet what he really wants is a girl like Leola or Diana. This passage can be very deceiving at first sight, it seems as if it is about the narrator having a struggle between himself and comparing himself to Boy who seems to have everything but he doesnt want any of it. Yet underneath all this allusion it can be observed that the narrator really wants a girl and someone to love him. He also doesnt think Boy has earned everything he has since he hasnt been disfigured like the narrator has. I think this is a very powerful passage, of course I cant relate to it since I dont know how it feels to be so disfigured. Yet I do know how it feels to love someone and be with him or her all the time and then all of a sudden lose them. This was the worst feeling I have ever had, and that feeling combined with a disfigured body must be terrifying. Also seeing Boy who hasnt been injured in the war and has a woman like the narrator wants, using her simply as an object of lust. I believe the narrator couldnt experience more pain at moment. He has experienced pain, jealousy and envy as thoroughly as anyone will ever experience these feelings.

Broken Globe Stage 2

Characterization is the process by which authors make characters come alive for readers. Authors have many techniques available to portray characters, and they can broadly be divided into indirect and direct presentation. In the short story â€Å"The Broken Globe†, author Henry Kreisel brillantly develops the two principle characters, Nick Solchuk and his father, through indirect presentation. Consistency is the key to good characterization. From ? rst person point of view, the reader obtains a full portrait of both Nick and his father indirectly by learning what the narrator sees and hears somewhat objectively. Nick, the narrator’s friend, is a successful geophysicist studying the curvature of the earth. He demonstrates persistance, passion, and determination in the study of the earth. He asks the narrator â€Å"eagerly† with â€Å"his face reddening† about his paper to the International Congress. Even under the torture of his father, he still keeps his goal of proving that the earth moves. He even retorts his father by saying â€Å"You can beat me and break my globe, but you cannot stop [the earth] from moving. † This passage shows his determination in his belief. On the other hand, Nick’s father adopts personas of sophistication during the short visit of the narrator. His father is stubborn that he only believes what he sees is the truth: â€Å"[the earth] is ? at, and she stands still. † He is also imptuous and fractious that he â€Å"[beats] Nick like he is the devil† when he wants Nick to accept the same concept of the earth as he believes. Both characters are consistent and static, for they are still living in their own world: one lives in a ? at world and the other lives in the world of science. Another signi? cant objective of characterization is to reveal motivation. Kreisel’s story is set mainly in Alberta, a â€Å"land ? attens until there seemed nothing. † Living in Alberta, Nick’s father sees only the open prairies and ? elds every day; thus he perceives that the earth is exactly ? at and still as what he sees. Moreover, the reader learns that he is hard to change his mind because â€Å"he received an education of sorts when he was a boy. † Therefore, he believes that the earth is the center of the universe and the center is still. Similarly, Nick’s motivation is intrigued by a teacher who teaches him the earth is round and is moving. This teacher’s â€Å"enthusiasm [is] infectious† as Nick says. The teacher shows Nick a world larger than the ?at prairies, a world that is exuberent. Although the two characters’ own views of the world contradict one another, they do care and love each other. To build characters that convincing, the author must make their actions realistic and believable. Nick and his father are plausible due to their backgrounds. Nick’s father is taught that â€Å"the earth is ? at and still,† and what he sees outside in Alberta is only the far-distant prairies with â€Å"neither hill nor tree nor bush. † Furthermore, Nick, suffering from the violence of his father, always illustrates indomitable perserverence in seeking the truth. He continually shows to his father a globe can move, even though he knows his father will be mad. People with bond ? de determination can achieve their goals, just like Nick achieves his goal and becomes a geophysicist (to prove his father wrong? ). Altogether, they both are rounded characters in that they demonstrate many attributes and traits. Nick’s father is a stubborn, impulsive, and fractious father whereas Nick is a passionate, indomitable, and persistent geophysicist. In the story â€Å"The Broke Globe† Henry Kreisel effectively utilizes many techniques to develop characters, and further reveals a thoughtful insight into life. Nick’s father who insistently believes that the world is ? at and still lives in his own â€Å"broken globe†, where â€Å"Satan has taken over all the world† but him. 1. Sample Task for English 12 Writing Prepared by Seaquam Page 15 Characterization: A Father and a Son, How the Apple Falls Characters can make a short story rich and worth reading. In Henry Kreisel’s â€Å"The Broke Globe† the differences in ethics between a man and his father is seen through the eyes of a somewhat neutral narrator. Nick Solchuk is a brilliant man of science, while his father is the polar opposite. His father is a pious prairie farmer who does not value higher education or the values its teaches. Even though these characters are presented indirectly, Kreisel utilizes other methods to develop the characters. He shows them as static and round characters who are plausible and who remain consistent. Being ? rst person narrative, no direct presentation is used because the author cannot speak directly. He simply assumes the persona of a a narrator and therefore all presentation is indirect. One can ? nd out a lot about a character by what others say about him. Nick’s father is developed in the beginning during the conversation between Nick and the narrator. At this point the reader discovers that Nick and his father differ in many ways. Obviously, Nick is a man of great intelligence as the narrator say, â€Å"he studied at Cambridge and got his doctorate there and was now doing research at the Imperial College. † The reader also learns that despite being a brilliant man, nick whistfully remembers his simple childhood growing up in Three Bear Hills, Alberta. Nick’s father is developed much the same way later on in the conversation. Nick reveals that his father is a polar opposite. Nick’s father is shown as a religious prairie farmer with â€Å"a strange imagination. † Nick also explains why there is tension between himself and his father. â€Å"Curious man my father. He had strange ideas and a strange imagination too. He couldn’t understand why I was going to school or university. † â€Å"I suddenly realized that the shape of the world he lived in had O been O ? xed for him by some medieval priest in the small Ukranian villiage he was born in O But he still lived in the universe of the medieval church. : The reader now knows that Nick and his father are very different. Dialogue becomes a very important part of this story. The reader learns a lot about the father by what he says and by what he says he does. The ? rst meeting between the father and the narrator shows a lot about the father. â€Å"You friend of NickOWhat he do now? O still tampering with the earth? † Now, it has been con? rmed that Nick’s ideas differ greatly from his father’s. Nick’s father may be a simple prairie farmer, but that does not mean that he is rude. The father acts very formally when inviting the narrator inside his house. He stands as the narrator comes in, which is a sign of respect; he even brings out coffee for the narrator. The reader continues to learn about the relationship Nick’s father has with his son, and certain other people. The father explains how he exploded at a teacher for â€Å"letting Satan in† and for teaching Nick science at school. This act shows how the father deals with other people. The father goes on to elaborate on how he dealt with Nick as a child. â€Å"I grab him by the arm and I shake him and I beat him like he was the devilOAnd he made me madder and madder because he doesn’t cry or shout or nothing. † â€Å"I would of killed him right there for sure. † The reader now knows how he handles his son. Nick and his father are both static, round characters. They do not change at the end of the story, but they have many traits. Nick’s father proves he does not change by saying to the narrator â€Å"Satan has taken over all the world. † Then he suddenly rousled himself and hits the table with his ? st crying passionately, â€Å"But not me! Not me! † The characters act consistently throughout the story. â€Å"The Broken Globe† is a deeply driven character story. Both main characters are well developed. In some cases, the apple falls very far from the tree.

The opportunities for YSL to expand into the youth market Dissertation

The opportunities for YSL to expand into the youth market - Dissertation Example This essay discusses that luxury fashion now plays a significant role in society and the economy, the revenue has raised every year no matter in western or eastern countries. More and more people are willing to put their budget on buying luxury goods even for their children. Globalization has made luxury fashion consumers have more choices to purchase, based on this circumstance; luxury brands need to create their brand strategy, unique selling proposition or market extension to face competitors. YSL is a French luxury brand with high reputation in the field of fashion industry, although its legendary concept has been deeply rooted in people for a long time, however, with the changes of time, it is a fact that YSL does not make a significant profit than in the past. How could YSL restore its splendid time and create its niche are the purposes of the dissertation. Many cases have shown that there is an increasing number of brands to launch second line to expand young market, it is bel ieved that younger consumers are lucrative consumers, in addition, teenagers are more and more considered as potential luxury consumers and are therefore the focus of some firm’s marketing investments in an attempt to construct a solid and loyal consumer base. It is undeniable that today’s young consumers are tomorrow’s adult consumers, with more purchasing power; therefore, having them as loyal customers early will result in a loyal adult consumer base. Based on this trend, it could be an opportunity for YSL to launch a secondary lines in order to attract youth market. Luxury fashion industry commonly manipulates advertisement which "feature products, models, celebrities and society personalities in advertising to reflect the brand essence and message" to communicate with their consumers (Okonkwo, 2007). Advertising is regarded as an important instrument which facilitates the decision making of the young customers, if they are going to buy the products offered by YSL. Different claims had already been regarded about the influence and impact of advertisement to a specific target market. While it has been associated to other determinants, the impact of advertising with the perspective of aesthetics and beauty, specifically for women have became renowned in the global market. In this regard, this part aims on discussing the importance of advertising specifically to attract the attention of the young customers for YSL. In a common aspect, advertising has been used to impart to the target customers of a specific brand or product and how it can be accessed and purchase. In addition, it also provides crucial data and information, specifically the characteristics and features of the customers. When an efficient advertising is attained efficiently, this can result to an enhanced demand of the brand. The main goal and purpose of visual analysis is to attract young generation by using the aspect of advertising. Contents Essay 1 Context issue: critic al evaluation of the relationship

Should state legislatures be removed from the redistricting process Essay

Should state legislatures be removed from the redistricting process for congress and their own seats and would doing so improve - Essay Example In the US, redistricting is fundamentally political because legislators are responsible to draw electoral districts in many states. Courts have been intervening in the process to a great extent. These aspects of redistricting are inter-related and have made the process highly controversial because the outcomes are mostly prejudiced in favoring one political party over another. Redistricting matters a lot because people’s representatives in the state and federal governments frame regulations, which impact several issues such as taxes, security, prices and the environment in which people live. This paper will examine whether state legislatures should be removed from the redistricting process for Congress and whether doing so will improve the public policy process. Main Body Elections are held at regular intervals in ensuring that people’s representatives work towards welfare activities. All state legislators and many legislators in the Congress represent districts that pa rtition states and voters into geographical regions. In majority districts, voters are eventually represented by legislators that win the maximum votes. The manner in which voters are assembled into districts has a strong bearing on the people that will represent them and the kind of policies they will follow. For instance, a district comprising mainly of farmers will, in all probability elect a legislator who will work towards their cause. But a district that comprises of mainly urban citizens would in all probability elect a person who has different concerns. In similar vein, regions characterized with groups of similar language, ethnicity, race and political lineage will probably elect a person with similar characteristics. Therefore, the manner in which the districts are created can impact the constitution of the legislature. It is thus apparent that there would be different legislators if the districts are drawn in different ways. The process of redistricting mostly draws a lot of attention and controversies are created because the process determines the communities that will be represented and the laws that will be made (Griffith, 2011). Redistricting is resorted to in the United States in reacting to change in populations that are determined by the outcomes of the census. The state legislature is vested with the authority to create redistricting plans that are in some cases subject to the governor’s approval. Every state in the US has its own law and constitutional requirements to redistrict. There are some aspects of the law concerning the federal government that have been introduced following decisions by the US Supreme Court. The Congress established the Voting Rights Act in 1965 that was amended in 1982. The Congress also exerts some control in the context of putting restrictions on the creation of electoral boundaries during the redistricting process. The courts in the US have played a major role in developing and interpreting redistricting laws. Essentially, a redistricting plan should create districts that have a balanced population and should not reduce the say of minority voters. In order to improve upon the public policy process, the redistricting plan should give credence to conventional redistricting issues such as contiguity, density and respect towards political subdivisions and communities (Canon, 1999). According to Halper and Simon (2011), removing state

How structural and linguistic devices are used to target specific audiences in printed media texts Essay Example for Free

How structural and linguistic devices are used to target specific audiences in printed media texts Essay Different audiences expect and react to different ideas, presentational devices, linguistic devices and so on. For example teenagers may expect bright, vibrant colours and exciting design, whereas older people may look for softer, neutral colours and a more formal design. Of course, these are stereotypical views but the designers of the media texts must make them with a stereotypical view of their audience in mind. In this essay I will look at three different media texts aimed at different groups and explain how they attempt to appeal to these audiences. Firstly I will compare the ideas put forward in the three texts. In the Club 18-30 leaflet the focus is mainly on going out and having fun, in clubs, pubs and on beaches. The Superfamily piece talks about the activities that a family can participate in, such as pool games, quizzes, tennis courts, squash courts and fantasy golf. It also tells the audience about the things done to make a family holiday easier, such as baby care, childrens clubs and so on. The Forever Young brochure focuses on the older generation ands talks about the activities and facilities that they might enjoy, such as tennis, aerobics and golf, cathedrals to visit and conveniences like laundry services, money exchange, spacious bar and sun terraces. Now I will look at the presentational and structural devices in the three texts. In the Club 18-30 text bright, vibrant colours are used such as pink, blue, yellow and red. The title states the target audience straight away making it very obviously eye-catching to the right people. The pictures used are those of people dancing in a club and having fun as this is what most people going on this holiday want to do. This is not a full page advertisement as there is only a very small amount of information wanted; about the clubs, bars, beaches etc. This is all given in a fun, jaunty font with not too much reading needed. The Superfamily brochure is done in red, white and pale yellow. These are soft, welcoming, almost primary colours. This emphasises that this is a family advertisement. There are pictures a families by the pool as well as kids playing and having fun. All the borders are wavy and curved making this feel like a safe place for children and the font is plain. The Forever Young brochure has soft, autumn colours as well as natural blues and greens. Also, the pictures are serene. This is because the average older person wants a calm relaxing holiday. There is a full page layout with plain, simple borders. There are pictures of a cathedral and an empty pool. This helps add to the feeling of calm and relaxing on the holiday. I will next look at the language used in each of the pieces. In the Club 18-30 piece the language used is cool and slang with misspelled words such as in yer face. This is to target the younger audience. It is humorous yet with some facts, such as bars, clubs and beaches to visit. There are some opinions such as home to some of Europes premier DJs. It states what the younger audience may worry about when it says that youll need a fair bit of wedge. It also states that there are many things to do on your doorstep suggesting great ease, an important factor to youth. The Superfamily brochure uses informal yet informative language, like for the sporty among you. It is persuasive and serious, giving the reader a lot of reasons why the holiday is right for them. However in doing this it keeps a very friendly and approachable attitude as it wants to appeal to families. It states the many things that they will do to make family life easier, such as baby care and childrens clubs. Forever Young uses formal language as this is what appeals to a lot of the older generation. It is serious and informative, stating plainly what things there are to do and makes them seem calm for example it has a traditional, relaxed feel about it. This is important as most older people want a relaxing holiday. It is persuasive as it uses opinions about things like prettiest and traditional. Overall I believe it is very important for advertisers to use all means at their disposal to attract the target audience. They must choose the right presentational devices, the right language and the right style in order to convince the target audience to buy their product.

I Was a Willing Participant :: Personal Narrative Writing

I Was a Willing Participant Toward the end of last semester, I registered for this class mainly for one reason: I had had Emily as a professor before, I liked her class and her teaching style very much, and I wanted to again take a class she was teaching. This was my first opportunity to do so, and I jumped on it. In the bulletin, the class was described as the Graduate Writing Seminar, and through the grapevine, I found out it was not a creative writing class, but instead, a study in critical feminist pedagogies.What the hell, I thought. Ià ­ll take it anyway. After all, I really just wanted to take another class with Emily, whatever the topic might be. Over winter break, I started thinking about who else would be in the class. I am sure some of the usual suspects would be in Dixon 432 on that first day. Sure enough, when I walked, in I saw Alicia, Megan, Kate, and Kelly, just as I had expected. Before that first day, however, the number one thought going through my mind about this class and the makeup of my classmates was, of course, just how many males would be in that room. For a while, I thought I may be the only one, but I shook that thought out of my mind pretty quickly when I reminded myself that, after all, this was grad school, and the guys here were actually open minded and weren't afraid to take a class containing the prefix fem. I was right. In walked to see Gary and Leon. I had had classes with both of them before, and I knew their ways of thinking, so I felt à ¬safe.à ® (Though I must admit that when Gary first proclaimed himself a à ¬feministà ® in Sharon Lewis' class last semester, my initial thought was à ¬this guy just wants to get laid.à ® That was stupid and wrong.) So here I was, one-third of a population of a class that was certainly not going to be the topic of discussion for the next 5 or so months. I was ready to accept that. The program here at MSU had given me many chances to expand my thinking in ways that I had not previously been exposed to, and this class was yet another in that long line.