Planning for Demolition of Building

grooming for Demolition of BuildingIdentify a derelict twist and taking into account factors such as its previous use, condition, structural features and location, prepare a purpose for the safe demolition of the building that identifies the preferred method of demolition and outlines suitable technical and procedural supremacy measures.The objectives of this report are to identify a derelict building and plan its demolition. The cookery has to stop account of the proper(postnominal)ities of the buildings mental synthesis, its previous use, the come in, the neighbouring properties and separate parameters. Control measures from a wellness and safety point of view have to be included.The building identified is a very old Victorian three-storey building that has not been used for more years.The methodology consists of analysing the existing structure and adjoining properties. A detailed description of the structure has been given and the demolition sequence has been chosen i n accordance with the structure and in a way to cause minimal disruption to other properties and the general public.The actual demolition plan is given in the form of a list of tasks and a brief explanation for each task. The demolition process has been divided into critical phases.The control measures have been incorporated in the plan of the demolition alone a health and safety risk assessment has been done that lists the possible hazards from such a work.1The Derelict Building1.1Structures to be razedThis three storey Victorian building is one of three buildings in the same compound that used to house an old hospital on the send.The other two are also not in use and at that place are plans to demolish them as well but at a later(prenominal) realize. The Victorian building is a detached three storey building positioned centrally on the site with a shed used as timpani house on one side.Access is from the south side where the building is about 10 m from the road.The B vegetab le oiler home plate is set to the north of the building but is detached from the main building. It consists of one tall orchestra pit building with attached oil and water tanks.There is a network of underground organ pipes between the timpani house and the Victorian buildings for the supply of hot water for domestic and heating purposes.As most Victorian buildings of that size, these buildings have certain characteristics that distinguish them from other buildings. The building whirl is of masonry. The load bearing walls are made of two lines of brick with no gap in between. These external walls rise undisrupted to the jacket crown.The roof consists of square tone of voice rafters posing on a timber ring beam on top of the walls. The rafters detain a series if rectangular timber purlins that in turn support the slate tiles that form the roof. The edges are sealed by hammered lead foils.The internal floors are made up of timber joists supported by stone brackets off the brick walls. A grid of timber beams are supported off the joists and wooden planks are nailed to the top of the timber beams. The partition walls consist of plastered timber frames.The buildings also consist of basement that have been sealed several years ago but has not been filled.There is no insulation on the walls and roof and there is no air conditioning installed in the building. The only function are the hot and cold water pipes, drainage pipes and electric fit. The water pipes date from the original construction and are of lead. The sanitary drainage pipes also date from original and consist of 5 cast iron pipes and fittings lined with bitumen. The electric wiring has been installed much later and has been fixed to the timber joists by means of nailed clips.The boiler house is a stone building with corrugated iron sheet roof. It contains a coal-fired boiler that is out of operation. The boiler is connected to the Victorian buildings via underground pipes to supply hot water. Th e Boiler House also contains a large number of pipe work and fittings as well as a coal pit.1.2Adjacent Land UseThe site is situated between two main roadstead on the South andEast sides and two B-class roads on the North and West sides. The site shares a boundary with a much newer construction used as NHS clinic which will remain in use during the demolition. The site is surrounded completely with 2.5 m tall masonry walls except on the south side. The south side is cordoned by wrought iron fencing. There is no wall between the parking lot of the clinic and the compound.1.3Ground ConditionsGround investigations were carried out on samples of the south of the site during the construction of some of the newer buildings. The investigation results are available from the council. Since no new construction is being undertaken in this project, ground entropy is deemed to be unnecessary.2Description of works2.1Methodology2.1.1SurveySince the building has not been in use for a significant period of time, its exact stir is not known even to the client. So the offset thing to be done is a full structural fall out of the building to assess the danger from hazardous material and to decide on the best method of carrying out the work. This will need to be done as early as the tender stage as the information from this survey will be essential for the rest of the work.Before the start of the demolition, a full scale demolition survey will need to be done. This should take account of the following(Holroyd, 1999)Adjoining propertiesThe image of structure and the key elements in it.The condition of the elements.Any requirement for temporary works or staging during demolition.Are there any confined spaces.Are there hazards from asbestos, lead, contaminated land, etc?Is access and egress adequate?2.1.2Preferred MethodThe demolition can be carried in a number of ways but given the proximity of other properties such as the NHS block and main roads, the demolition should be carr ied out in a way as to minimise disruption to the neighbourhood and also to cause minimum noise level.The demolition should be planned to be carried out in a controlled manner from top to bottom, de-constructing the components in the reverse order of original construction. Demolition balls will be used only as the last retrogress and no explosive will be used.2.1.3Method StatementA method statement needs to be prepared before the job starts and should blot out (Holroyd, 1999)The sequence and method of demolition noting access/egress details.Pre-weakening details of the structurePersonnel safety, including the general publicService removal/ demonstrate safe go to be providedFlammable problemsHazardous substancesThe use of transport and waste removalIdentity of people with control responsibilities.3Particulars of Work3.1stage 1 PlanningBefore the demolition starts, careful planning is required to ensure smooth operations. It also allows problems to be identified at an early stage. T he cost of remedial action at the planning stage is significantly less than that at the demolition stage. So, allocation of time and effort to careful and thorough planning is very important.3.2Phase 2 aim PreparationOnce on site, the demolition cannot start immediately. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to make the demolition work possible.Several preventive measures and control measures have to be established right at the start. It is cheaper and better than to apply remedial action when things go wrong. The planning stage must have identified the areas that need attention and the control measures that are required. The processes involved in the actual demolition are site specific and site preparations must be done accordingly. Good site preparation also allows minimal disruption to the neighbourhood.3.3Phase 3 Demolition of Boiler HouseFrom the risk assessment, it is clear that the boiler house, although much smaller in size that the main building, represents a great er health hazard to the site workers as it contains asbestos, oil tanks, water tanks and a lot of pipe work. To reduce the exposure of the personnel to such risks, it has been decided to demolish and make safe the boiler house first before starting with the main building.3.4Phase 4 Demolition of Main BuildingThe main building will be demolished manually as far as possible. In order to contain the noise and air pollution as much as possible, the external walls and roof will be maintained until the entire interior has been demolished. The internal partitions do not contribute to the structural strength and stability of the building and it is therefore safe to demolish them. The floors do provide some lateral stability to the walls and will not be outside until an alternative temporary support is not provided to the walls.3.5Phase 5 Site ReinstatementAfter the demolition is complete, the site has to be cleared of remaining debris and decommissioning of site offices and other facilitie s installed for the purpose of the site. The site offices and welfare facilities will be removed. The state of residual contamination has to be assessed and if any remedial action needs to be taken, it should be done. The landscaping should be re-established. Finally, the fencing and screens will be removed and the site handed-over.3.6Other ElementsThe Principal Contractor should also be aware of the followingTraffic Management, an increased awareness is required for traffic control to and from the site from the South and East sides. The South side adjoins a particularly busy road with several shopping complexes further along the road.Unauthorised access to site from clinic blockUnauthorised access from the main roads.4Control Measures4.1General Health Hazards4.1.1Operational HazardsElectric shock/burnsStriking existing servicesWorking at heightDisconnecting of existing servicesOperating machinery, equipment, hand tools and mobile plantHot worksManual handlingSlip, trip, fall type i njuriesDust / fumesCrush type injuriesContact with harmful substancesWorking in contaminated groundWorking in confined spaces4.1.2Hazardous edifice MaterialsMaterials within the project with the potential to cause a hazard to health and safetyAggregatesFuel oilsSand codswallop fibre insulationSewageGlassWood treatment productsUsed drainage pipesDustCementMasticsSealantsPaintsFloor Mastics / gluesAsphaltFumes4.2CDMThe spin (Design and Management) Regulations came in effect in UK 31st meet 1995. The main duties of the five key parties (CIRIA, 2001) areThe Client shall appoint a competent planning supervisor and principal contractor for each projectThe antecedent should design structures to avoid, wherever possible, foreseeable risks to health and safety during construction, maintenance and cleaning work. Information should be provided on unavoidable risks. Design includes the preparation of specifications and not contain to calculations and drawings.The Planning Supervisor the organisation or person with overall responsibility for ensuring co-ordination of the health and safety aspects of the design and planning phase, the early stages of the health and safety plan and health and safety file.The Principal Contractor develops the construction-phase health and safety plan and manages and co-ordinates the activities of all contractors to ensure they comply with health and safety legislation. They have duties relating to the provision of information and training on health and safety for everyone on site and the coordination of employees views working on site.Contractors and the Self-Employed must co-operate with the principal contractor and other contractors and provide germane(predicate) information on the risks created by their work and how they will be controlled.5References BibliographySite Safety Handbook, 3rd Edition,CIRIA, 2001Brown, D. The Construction (Design and Management regulations 1994 Advice for Designers in Steel, Steel Construction Insti tute, 1997.Holroyd, Trevor M, Site Management for Engineers, Thomas Telford, 1999CIRIA, Environmental Handbook for Building and Civil Engineering Projects Construction Phase, Thomas Telford, 1998Managing Demolition and Construction Wastes, Department of the Environment, 1994Demolition of superfluous Structures, The concrete Society, 1984Safety in Demolition Work, Health and Safety Executive, 1979

Professional Learning Communities What They Mean To Teachers Education Essay

Professional Learning Communities What They Mean To Teachers Education EssayProfessional learning communities (PLCs) have been described as bodily structures within which professionals- purposeicularly instructors- bed refine their skills, renew their spirits, and expand the scope of their know directge (Fogarty Pete, 2006, p. 49). Even though the benefits atomic soma 18 clear, there are numerous challenges involved in creating and managing PLCs. a great occupy(prenominal) challenges have typically been broken d have got into concerns closely (1) finding epoch and differentwise overcoming logistical challenges to instruct (2) radiation diagraming leave coach interventions and (3) maximizing coach say-so. This books review entrust address each of these excogitations by examining specific research directions taken by current theorists in the field of professional development, with the mean of illustrating the spectrum of activity along which coaching can succeed o r fail. After doing so, the literature review will similarly discuss broader theoretical and methodological approaches to the contain of coaching, including analyses of the roles of (1) race and early(a) socioeconomic factors (2) theories of pauperization and (3) theories of organizational development.Defining and Contextualizing PLCsRigorous definitions of the PLC, and evidence-based guidelines for its functioning, began to look in the late nineteenth century. In the U.S., the entire project of teacher development took a huge step forward with the appearance of a number of periodicals dedicated to the subject, including The National Teacher, which debuted in 1870. It is highly likely that the professionalization of educational activity in the U.S. had a great deal to do with the emergence of a standard method of teacher development, including the creation of formal PLCs. In the third flashiness of The National Teacher, published in 1873, the following passage appearedFirst, then, the prospective teacher should be trained in the handling of illustrative material, apparatus, charts, maps, diagrams, objects, etc.his practice in them should be such as will enable him to bring before the eye what can be very imperfectly addressed to the ear. This should be done, in the showtime instance, privately, or in the presence of the members of a instruction class, subject to their sweet but searching criticism(Mitchell, 1873, p. 367)This passage is one of the first-class honours degree allusions, at least in American sources, to the notion of a professional learning community.It is worth situating the emergence of the PLC into the broader stream of professionalization and scientific reordering of vocations in post- urbane War America. Ellis and Hartley (2004) argued that the Civil War, which had mobilized the nations resources in do of total war furthermoste, had exposed glaring weaknesses in the organization and practice of many professions, starting with the army and extending to breast feeding, didactics, and manufacturing. According to Ellis and Hartley, nursing was one of the first professions to be thoroughly professionalized in the aftermath of the Civil War, but former(a) professions soon followed (p. 133).It is natural to draw the likely connection between the professionalization of nursing and the professionalization of teaching, both of which were historically feminine practices that, in the wake of the Civil War, were re-aligned with male perceptions of the scientific method and the professionalization of work. The emergence of the learning community can certainly be placed into this linguistic context of masculinization. Mitchell (1873) himself made a comparison between (largely female) teaching and (largely male) medicate, to the detriment of teaching (p. 362). In Mitchells opinion, one of the variables that made medicine to a greater extent scientific than teaching was the fact that medical practitioners constantly mentor ed, critiqued, assisted, and otherwise engaged with one another, whereas American teaching had not benefited from this kind of inter-vocational inter convert.At first, American pedagogical theorists did not suggest that a PLC ought to exist separately from a teaching college. Rather, these theorists thought of the professional learning community as a kind of epiphenomenon of the teaching college. For example, an anonymous writer identified only by a city of origin (New Haven, CT) to the U.S. Bureau of Education in 1885 had the following to say about a professional learning communityA few points, enforced each week and perhaps illustrated with a class, will bring up the teaching powers of those who have not had a professional training, and they will not be wearied out by trying to apply a crude set of theories.The attendance at such meetings should be voluntary. there should be such a tone of interest and enthusiasm in a community as will inspire teachers with an honest and eager desire to know how to work(p. 274)At this point in American pedagogy, instruction was distillery meted out by superintendents (or pedagogues) to teachers, but there was a recognition that the foreplay of the catch community of teachers was just as important to teacher development as any manakin of top-down instruction or professionalization. The PLC was at this point delineate not as a separate set of development activities, but as a kind of grassroots camaraderie between teachers in formal development settings. Soon, however, the modern definition of the PLC would emerge.It is impossible to state with certainty when the shift from the early, voluntary PLC led by the superintendent began to give way to the more formal, school-managed PLC. It appears that the shift took place over the 1930s and began to cement itself by the 1940s. Otto (1944) offered an explanation of the changing role of the principal, and how it shellow itself to closer, school- aim management of the PLC. Acc ording to Otto (1944), American secondary schools continued to grow in size and complexity until the superintendent was no longer able to manage or own all of the processes for which the role had previously been responsible thus, for example, The growing need for more and weaken supervision of classroom instruction suggested the desirability of planning the administrative organization so that this need could be met (p. 197). There were two stages in the hand-off of PLCs from the superintendent to principals firstly, in the 1930s and early 1940s, office staff associated with the superintendent appear to have taken over responsibility for all aspects of vocational teacher development (Otto, 1944, p. 197) however, when Otto (1944) was writing, there was already another hand-off underway from central bureaucrats to the principal. After the certify World War, the principal emerged as the figure most responsible for defining, managing, and otherwise supporting the professional learning community in American schools.Just as the Civil War had introduced ideas of industrial organization to various vocations, the Second World War created manpower and resource shortages that prompted a faster transition from centralized ensure over teacher development to a more communal, school-level management of the process (Troyer, Allen, and Young, 1946, p. 241). These forces remain very much in effect today.instructional Coaching and The four Types of CoachingAccording to Wilson and Gislason (2009), there are four types of coaching innate coaching, peer coaching, manager-performed coaching, and orthogonal coaching (p. 56). As their names suggest, peer coaching is about coaching that is delivered by colleagues to each other manager-based coaching is delivered by managers (or, in the educational context, principals, superintendents, and/or other administrators) to teachers external coaching is typically performed by consultants and internal coaching, by contrast, includes all th e kinds of coaching that are put upd in-house.All four kinds of coaching have been employed in the instructional coaching context. Knight (2005) documented a wave of hiring of outside instructional coaches by U.S. public schools in the 1990s and first half of the 2005, driven by the urgency of achieving basic reading and maths competency skills tied to federal funding and the perception that schools themselves did not contain the proper instructional resources to achieve this task. According to Clarkson and Taylor (2005, p. 4), one of the problems created by the No chela Left Behind (NCLB) initiative was a push to define instructional coaching as the rote memorization of standards rather than an internalization of the pedagogical principles needful to teach up to those standards. Thus, it can be argued that external coaching becomes more popular in times of external stress on teachers to perform to a particular standard, whereas, in ordinary times, genuinely pedagogical (rather t han instrumentalist) internal coaching is the more common form of instructional coaching (Matsumara, Sartoris, Bickel, Garnier 2009).In modern theory, peer coaching is praised for its egalitarian values, but theorists are also concerned that teachers need the specific pedagogical background and expertise to make other teachers better. For example, Buly, Coskie, Robinson, and Egawa (2006) have argued that the external coach is focused on getting teachers to ask why in a structured fashion, whereas teachers are themselves often concerned with teaching other functional and specific strategies.Barriers in PLCs and instructional Coaching LogisticsOne of the major challenges in creating coaching interventions for PLCs is simply finding the time and opportunity to bring together bustling professionals for dedicated learning and training. This challenge is a particularly pressing one in the current economic environment, in which so many working professionals are being called upon to do less with more. Thus, as Fogarty and Pete (p. 49) pointed out, an excellent place to begin a discussion of professional learning communities is in the realm of logistics, i.e. how to create the time and space for such communities, which is as much of a problem today as it was when Troyer, Allen, and Young (1946) wrote about the logistical challenges of organizing and managing the PLC in wartime.Abdal-Haqq (1996) argued that, within school settings particularly, PLCs schedule ought to be built directly into both the workday and the job descriptions of teachers (although this advice applies equally well to other communities of practice). Abdal-Haqq (1996) concludes that the greatest challenge to implementing effective professional development is lack of time (p. 1), so great responsibility falls on the shoulders of leaders and managers who moldiness accommodate PLCs in terms of schedules and job design.Fernandez (2002) made the point that reservation time and space for PLCs to thriv e is itself partly dependent on cultural approaches. She discussed the case of the Japanese educational system, in which a great deal of ferocity is placed on lesson study, in which teachers are given the time and opportunity to reflect on both their practice and that of others (p. 393). There is more pressure on individual professionals to take advantage of existing resources, and to take the lead in overcoming logistical barriers to embed themselves within PLCs. While there is extensive lip service paid to the value of PLCs, professional development is often subject to self-regulation rather than proper top-down guidance, argued Butler, Lauscher, Jarvis-Selinger, and Beckingham (2004). Having surveyed the history of PLC development, it becomes clear that the absence of top-down guidance is itself part of the steady downward transfer of administrative power tracked by Otto (1944). While Japan appears to have retained a centralized and top-down structure for managing and supporting PLCs and other forms of teacher development, in the U.S. such responsibility has devolved down to the principal.For many theorists, the logistics of PLCs are inseparable from school system support for teachers. For example, Lappan (1997) offered the following keenness The local capacity to support change is central to implementing reforms. Teachers, and those who support teachers, need time-time to learn (p. 207). Of course, in this context, it should be pointed out time is a valuable commodity. There is a powerful tension between the time and resources needed for supporting the local logistics needed for nurturing professional learning communities and the time and resources needed by principals, administrators, and other supporters of development for other tasks. Unfortunately, as Abdal-Haqq (1996, p. 1) also suggests, schools are faced with a zero sum environment, in which to support the PLC is to remove support from some other organizational goal. It is in this context that the logistical difficulties of PLC support should be understood. Moreover, until schools enjoy increased funding, it is not clear that the logistical problems noted as early as Troyer, Allen, and Young (1946) will simply evaporate.Of course, one way in which the problem could be solved is by employing PLCs themselves to ease the logistical problems faced by schools. To the tip that teachers could train and develop other teachers without extensive time and resource commitments, PLCs could be of great economic benefit as in the Second World War, the teacher-training-teacher figure of speech could yield economic benefits rather than sucking up resources. For PLCs to actually operate in this fashion requires close attention to the variable of coaching design.Barriers in PLCs and Instructional Coaching Change ManagementFrom at least the 1870s onwards, there has been a rich debate on how to best deploy teachers to train and develop other teachers. In the first stage of this debate, from Mi tchell (1873) to Arnold (1898), it was assumed that merely talking about pedagogy and other teaching-related issues in a voluntary, informal meeting would assist immature teachers in their development. Over the decades, voluntary meetings gave way to more formal in-school development programs, particularly when the Second World War forced schools to consider more resource-efficient shipway to engage in teacher training.In this context, the promise of coaching design is that, if there is a sound system under which to transfer teacher fellowship from superior to junior colleagues, the PLC can save school systems time, money, and administrative commitment. On the other hand, if coaching design is itself weak or unmotivated, then teachers will stick out it and the PLC will fail to fulfill its promise. These issues are at the heart of the modern debate on coaching design.In contemporary times, there is much more urgency around the subject of coaching design thanks to the No Child Le ft Behind (NCLB) Act of 2002, which has directly tied educatee deed to federal funding and accreditation. Killion (2005) is one of many theorists who has pointed out that one response to NCLB is the implementation of instructional coaching to improve instruction and student achievement.Instructional coaching is a relatively new phenomenon, at the core of which is a conviction that professional learning improves teaching practices and teaching practices improve student achievement (Knight, 2007 Killion Harrison, 2006 Knowal Steiner, 2007). Instructional design is not easy to implement because, as Knight (2007) has pointed out, teachers are not innately resistant to change will tend to resist poorly-designed agendas of change. As such, it is of the utmost importance to arrive at an understanding of the best practices of coaching design.In an organizational context, instructional coaching provides motivation to mentees, which in turn is think to improve the productivity and morale of mentees. When instructional coaches work with students, their sole purpose is to demonstrate and model best teaching practices to teachers in order to improve student teaching (Knight, 2007). Motivation is the key to understanding the role that good coaching should athletics within a professional learning community (Bransford, 2000).Coaching design principles vary widely depending on the specific kind of professional development that is being pursued. Fortunately, however, there appears to be some consensus on best practices for coaching design. Bransfords (2000) originative book, How People Learn, argued that coaching design should have four centrisms i.e., it should be learner-centered, fellowship-centered, assessment-centered, and community-centered (p. 188).There are many different interpretations of how these four foci can be best captured in a PLC. For example, Beyerbach, Weber, Swift, and Gooding (1996) emphasized that the knowledge focus of PLC design ought to have a pragmatic component, so that members of the community understand the practical applications of what they are being taught (pp. 101-102). For teachers, this practical component can be satisfied by understanding why, in the context of real-world problem solving, it is necessary for them to develop a new skill or refine an existing one.Another recent emphasis in coaching design for community-centered learning is the utilization of collaborative software, particularly blogs and wikis, which have the potential to swing each of Bransfords focus areas for coaching design. Higdon and Topaz (2009) stated that blogs and wikis had an important role in creating a more centered learning environment,There is wide consensus in the academic literature about the usefulness of instructional coaching within professional learning communities. Within a professional learning community, the qualities of good teaching for students should also be evident in professional learning for teachers (DuFour Eake r,1998 Bransford, 2000). However, there are also a number of obstacles to the implementation or the success of instructional coaching, including logistical factors (such as potential coaches lack of time), institutional factors (such as a lack of managerial support for coaching), and professional factors (such as coaches lack of relevant skills). loss aside these barriers, good coaching design may not be so much a matter of pedagogical design as it is a matter of change management. Bransford (2000) and other researchers have already explained the evidence for best practices in specific aspects of coaching design the issue is not so much the content of coaching design as it is the necessity of convincing teachers to go along with coaching. In this regard, there are some helpful theoretical contributions from note literature, which has long struggled with the question of optimal change management in organizations. Jensen and Kerr (1994, p. 408), based on a case study of change at Pep si, argued that the following fivesome questions had to be satisfactorily answered before constituents bought into a change agendaWhy must we change, and why is this change important?What do you want me to do?What are the measures/consequences of change/no change?What tools and support and available to me?Whats in it for me?These questions of change management emerge at the point of implementation i.e., as soon as it becomes necessary to transition from a theory of the professional learning community to an actual implementation, requiring intellectual and emotional buy-in from teachers. But change management is an issue that is better tackled not by coaching designers, whose responsibility is to transfer principles such as those of Bransford (2000) to local pedagogical contexts, but at the level of what can be called effectiveness maximization of the PLC.Effectiveness Maximization and Theoretical ApproachesThere is wide-ranging agreement on the importance of PLCs, and even on the o perational and excogitationual details that PLC must satisfy in terms of coaching design. The crux of the problem lies not necessarily in those details but more in the question of how to increase the effectiveness of PLCs. First, there is the logistical question. If there is little institutional time, resources, and guidance put into PLC program creation and management, then coaching programs are unlikely to be effective. However, even organizations that have hurdled over the logistical challenge and implemented some form of PLC must still solve the question of how to maximize their coaching programs effectiveness, including the considerations of change management as highlighted by Jensen and Kerr (1994).There are some convincing arguments that PLCs resist straightforward methods of evaluation and improvement, which creates a fundamental challenge at the level of effectiveness maximization. Revans (1979), the pioneer of the action research concept, saw the creation and functioning of a PLC as a holistic process, one that cannot be dissected and meliorate on a part-by-part level. To Revans (1979), a functional PLC is something that both managers and participants can recognize only by taking part in it. This dynamic has something of a chicken-and-egg woodland to it, as an effective PLC requires planning, but the proper inputs of planning may only become apparent after a PLC has been launched.Even with this limitation in mind, it is still possible to both measure and improve the effectiveness of a coaching component of a PLC by surveying participants about how they are benefiting from the specific coaching program, and employing these insights to structure the back-end processes that feed into the PLC. Borko (2004) argued that it is certainly possible to measure factors such as teacher (or, for that matter, any other form of professional) learning and satisfaction moreover, teacher instruction execution in classrooms can also be measured by such standards as student evaluations and standardized test scores. The point is that, when a PLC is working properly, its results will show themselves in a number of domains. It is incumbent on managers or others who oversee these programs to collect baseline data in order to measure the programs achievements, and also to identify the areas that need renewed attention and resources. Maximizing the effectiveness of PLCs thus comes down to both measurement and targeted action (Dufour, Dufour, Eaker Karhanek, 2004 Saphier West, 2010 and Knight 2009), whose basis can be the experience of mentees.It is necessary, at this point, to consult some theories of motivation and organizational development in order to consider how to best maximize the effectiveness of PLCs. Much of the literature on PLCs takes it for granted that teachers are motivated to buy into the program however, it need not be the case that teachers are motivated, or that PLCs are constituted so as to maximize the strengths of the organiz ation. Fortunately, theoretical literature has made it easier to understand the overlap between PLCs, motivation, and organizational development.Herzberg (1966) argued that someone who is motivated is truly a sight to behold, as they put all of their heart and soul into an activity. Love of work is certainly the strongest motivator of people (p. 141). Coaches exist partly to instill mentees with love of work, via a number of mechanisms, including that of instrumentality, or making sure that people have the tools that they need to accomplish a work task. Note that instrumentality was also part of Jensen and Kerrs (1994) framework for appropriate change management. If people lack the tools to achieve what is asked for them, they will not only resist change but also lose motivation. As such, administrators should bear in mind that every tool (including time) put in the hands of PLC members effects the motivation of individual members, and therefore the overall success of the PLC.Accord ing to the theoretical groundwork provided by organizational psychologists such as Herzberg, Vroom (1964), and Maslow (1993), instructional coaching should have a salutary effect on mentees in so far as coaching instills mentees with instrumentality and motivation. One part of this dissertations purpose is to measure the equal of good coaching, as reported by mentees, and also to assess the impact of bad or nonexistent coaching. Doing so is an exercise in the measurement of organizational motivation and morale as conceptualized by a number of important theorists in the field. For example, Banduras (1997) social learning theory is sometimes cited in the coaching literature and explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal fundamental interaction between cognitive, behavioral, and environmental influences. The central aspect of Banduras (1977) theory is the claim that humans learn by watching others model behavior. Thus, psychological theory now provides firmly support for the idea of coaching as a transfer of desirable behavior from senior to junior members of a community.Clearly, then, theory has a great deal to tell us about the scientific basis for PLCs, and also about how best to maximize their effectiveness. Some of the theories surveyed in this section, for example, have emphasized the importance of motivation and instrumentality in the PLC.One final theory that ought to be considered is that of so-called toxic mentorship. It will be recalled that, as early as Arnold (1898), there is an arrogance that, when teachers come together for purposes of development, mutual reinforcement and learning will inevitably take place. It is taken for granted, both by Arnold (1898) and by Mitchell (1873), that senior teachers have the best interests of the profession, and of their junior colleagues, in mind. This assumption, however, might be nave. There is now a great deal of research on dimensions of coaching and mentorship that fail callable to the a ttitudes of senior teachers. Webb and Shakespeare (2008), Atkin and Wilmington (2007), and Grossman (2007) have all discussed so-called toxic mentorship as one of the ways in which coaching goes wrong, for example when coaches are burned out, unhelpful, scornful of their own profession, unethical, or not involved enough or knowledge to provide adequate feedback. The aforementioned researchers have called attention to toxic mentorship in the nursing field, in which there has been more of an attempt of late to critique bad coaching. However, educational literature in general has not yet grappled as extensively with the concept of the toxic mentor, which is another reason why it is timely and relevant to ask mentees about this concept, as part of a more general data-gathering project on the measurable impact of mentorship on productivity and morale.ConclusionThis literature review has covered a great deal of ground in attempting to illuminate the concept of the professional learning co mmunity, all the way from the seventeenth century to the present day. The conclusion is reserved for discussing an important lacuna in the research, and employing this lacuna to lend context to the research carried out by this dissertation.It will be noted that, for all of its history, teacher development in general and the PLC in particular have been defined by people other than the constituents. At first, superintendents had the greatest input into the process later, principals took on this mantle. Throughout the process, senior teachers exercised a great deal of influence, as they had the prized knowledge that was to be passed on and passed down to junior colleagues. In the century of literature surveyed here, it is interesting to note that very few, if any, researchers have focused on the ability of mentees to provide important feedback about the nature of coaching within the PLC. It is almost invariably assumed that some outside authority, whether the superintendent or principa l, is the owner of the process, while senior teachers are the drivers of the process.This attitude may be about to change because, in PLCs as in business communities, there is a move to recognize the centrality of the so-called customer. In this case, the customer of coaching is the mentee, the recipient of coaching. In both private business and public policy contexts, the customer has increasingly become both the owner and the driver of certain processes. Businesses conduct surveys of customers in order to determine what to produce. Public sector organizations, similarly, turn to the citizen-stakeholder as the ultimate owner of a process, and try to aim processes accordingly.It may be that, in coaching, the focus is about to shift from the top of the pyramid to the base That is, from the traditional owners of coaching to its customers, namely teachers. It is possible that teachers will, in future, play an enhanced role in guiding the direction of coaching, specifically by providi ng input as to what kind of coaching works and what kind does not. Of course, this kind of input does not constitute the sum total of what is needed to create an effective PLC, but it is also unthinkable that learning communities can long thrive or survive without being driven by the interests and predilections of their own customers.It should also be noted collegiality has been a foundational value of the PLC. Indeed, the functioning of PLCs from the nineteenth century onwards has need a spirit of collegiality in that members of such communities must be open to critique, generous with help of others, and committed to coexistence and mutual advancement.

The Practicality of the Social Contract Essay -- Sociology, Society, G

I.) IntroductionSocietys structure has been debated and contested as far back as ancient Greece. Since then, man has developed societal systems that greatly differ from anything the ancients had in mind. One such system is the social contract theory, which first came to prominence around the time of the enlightenment. Simplified, social contractarians argued that in frame to achieve a balanced and stable society, all of its members must sacrifice certain liberties to a government or similar authority. As Rousseau explains, the contract begins when apiece of us places his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the general will (148). Essentially, it is an agreement between the rulers and the ruled that produces a stable political state. John Lockes The Second Treatise of Government and Jean-Jacques Rousseaus The Social Contract are both enlightenment works that detail contractarianism, notwithstanding each has a unique and different way of considering t he social contract. Although John Stuart Mill is also known for his work with Utilitarianism, his essay On Liberty considers approve and other issues relating to contract theory. These authors provide different insights into the social contract, and frequently one will reject anothers idea and offer a sassy solution. Even after this meshing of ideas and solutions, contract theory falls short of practicality. The idea is appealing, appearing on the surface as a fair and equitable way of governance. However, true liberty cannot arise from a contract, as man cannot be forced to be free (150). There are two unfathomed flaws with contractarianism it is not practical and it ignores human nature, and even if were possible to establish a true contract-based society, the citi... ...tract theory does raise additional questions. Rousseau envisioned a society in which every voice was heard. A solution to this impracticality is the idea of representationsomething which Locke advocated for i n The Second Treatise. The idea makes sense have one person represent a group of people to improve functionality. However, how can a man fully represent an entire groups interest? Surely there must be some differences between the representative and those he represents. If that is the case, can one call that justice? The man already relinquished certain rights by accept the contract. With representation, he also gives up his right to full participation in the system. Despite this problem and the other issues with contractarianism, this theory served as a foundation for the American political system and continues to inspire political ideologies worldwide.

Terry Tempest Williams Refuge :: Terry Williams Refuge Memoir Essays

Terry Tempest Williams RefugeEverything known to man is held in somewhat sort of balance. It is a delicate balance, one which swings rhythmically to the ebb and flow of this world. Many take a shit studied it but it has proven too complex, too massive to understand everything that is at work. That is why it must be preserved. One such movework forcet has recently begun which looks exclusively to preserve this balance, ecofeminism. Terry Tempest Williams is just that, an ecofeminist. In her memoir Refuge Williams attempts to examine the ecological and social worlds that balance on this pendulum. Refuge brings together a range of topics and ideas with her own mix of environmental, social, and cultural problems to render the reader with a absorbly laid out stance for ecofeminism. There is an ecofeminist stance in Refuge because she believes women have a bond with nature that men do not, land has its own life, and all things were created equally. The roots of ecofeminism are credite d to a rising interest in both the environment and womens rights. These topics became heatedly debated after the Victorian era but many scholars say ecofeminism is a new term for an ancient wisdom (Diamond & Orenstein). Ecofeminism combines ecological and feminist rights to generate a very virtuous cause. It aims to change humans relationships with from each one other and also with the environment, but it of course encompasses much more than that. Ecofeminism can best be defined as an attempt to show that all life is interconnected (Baker). That humans and nature share a common bond and that bond is what each depends upon to ensure the other survives.There is a definite stance by Williams to assert that women are more connected with nature than men in Refuge. This is clear because Williams identifies each sex with different components of life. Men are matched with culture tour women are connected to nature (Kircher). This is clear when Williams says, We spoke of rage. Of women an d landscape. How our bodies and the body of the earth have been mined. It has everything to do with intimacy, I said, Men define intimacy through their bodies. It is physical. They define intimacy with the land in the same way. (10)This quotation shows that women understand the earth while men simply try to dominate and overcome nature. It is male doctors who diagnose and treat Diane.

Analysis of Accuracy of MidYIS Tests Essay -- Papers

Analysis of Accuracy of MidYIS Tests Introduction This essay is an exploration into the relevance of MidYIS tests as a predictor for results at GCSE Music. A equality will be made between two sets of skills those assessed by the MidYIS test - taken by most children in England at the beginning of year 9 - and those which, according to exam boards and experienced music educators, are well-tried at GCSE. Certain fundamental skills required for success at GCSE Music cannot be tested in the MidYIS tests, and I would suggest that a combination of MidYIS-type testing, musical intelligence assessment and some footfall of the amount and quality of musical experience gained in the beginning embarking on the GCSE course would serve as a much more relevant indicator of likely success, and a more appropriate baseline from which to measure value added. However, the term success needs defining - many pupils who are excellent musicians even before they r severally ye ar 9 may not feel the highest marks at GCSE, and this begs the question, what exactly does GCSE music test, the musicality of a pupil (which will be discussed with reference to Howard Gardners theories of multiple intelligence) or a pupils ability to jump by the hoops required to do well in this type of exam? Schools continually have their statistics compared, and the practice of comparing value added through the means of a baseline test, is undoubtedly fairer than simply comparing final results. However, if, as I will argue, the baseline test is largely meaningless, music departments should not be put in the unwieldy position of having to justify any statistical evidence of underac... ...GCSE? What is missing in the MidYIS and Bentley that is fundamental to GCSE? Sum up how you could do a research project into MidYIS relevance to each section of the exam paper. Conclude on whether the MidYIS test is important. ------------------------------------- -------------------------------- 1 http//cem.dur.ac.uk/MidYIS/ (accessed on 22 may 2002) 2 http//cem.dur.ac.uk/MidYIS/documents/newsletter6.doc (accessed on 23 May 2002, published January 2000) 3 http//cem.dur.ac.uk/MidYIS/Psa.htm (accessed on 22 May 2002) 4 http//cem.dur.ac.uk/MidYIS/documents/newsletter6.doc (accessed on 23 May 2002, published January 2000) 5 http//cem.dur.ac.uk/MidYIS (accessed on 25 May) 6 http//cem.dur.ac.uk/MidYIS/documents/newsletter7.doc (accessed on 23 May 2002, published Spring 2000)

Christmas History :: essays research papers

Christmas HistoryThe word Christmas comes from the old English "Cristes maesse" meaning ChristsMass. The Holi daylight celebrates the birth of savior Christ. The actual birthday ofJesus is not known therefore, the early Church Fathers in the 4th century fixedthe day around the old Roman Saturnalia festival (17 - 21 December), atraditional pagan festivity. The first mention of the birthday of Jesus is fromthe year 354 AD. Gradually all Christian churches, except Armenians whocelebrate Christmas on January 6 (the date of the baptism of Jesus as well asthe day of the three Magi), accepted the date of December 25th.In American/English tradition, Christmas solar day itself is the day for opening feedsbrought by jolly old St. Nick. Many of our current American ideals about theway Christmas ought to be, derive from the English Victorian Christmas, such asthat draw in Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol."The caroling, the gifts, the feast, and the wishing of good cheer to all - theseingredients came together to create that special Christmas atmosphere.The custom of gift-giving on Christmas goes back to Roman festivals ofSaturnalia and Kalends. The in truth first gifts were simple items such as twigsfrom a sacred grove as good luck emblems. Soon that escalated to food, smallitems of jewelry, candles, and statues of gods. To the early Church, gift-giving at this time was a pagan holdover and therefore severely frowned upon.However, people would not part with it, and some justification was found in theoriginal gift giving of the Magi, and from figures such as St. Nicholas. By themiddle ages gift giving was accepted. Before then it was more common toexchange gifts on New Years Day or Twelfth Night.Santa Claus is known by British children as Father Christmas. Father Christmas,these days, is quite similar to the American Santa, but his direct ancestor is acertain pagan spirit who regularly appeared in medieval mummers plays. Theold-fashioned Father Christ mas was depicted wearing long robes with sprigs ofholly in his long white hair. Children indite letters to Father Christmasdetailing their requests, but instead of dropping them in the mailbox, theletters are tossed into the fireplace. The draft carries the letters up thechimney, and theoretically, Father Christmas reads the smoke. Gifts are undefendableChristmas afternoon.From the English we get a story to explain the custom of hanging stockings fromthe mantelpiece. Father Christmas once dropped some gold coins while comingdown the chimney. The coins would befuddle fallen through the ash grate and been

A Rose for Emily Essays -- A Rose For Emily, William Faulkner

Desperation for love arising from detachment can lead to extreme measures and destructive actions as exhibited by the tumultuous relationships of Miss Emily in William Faulkners A Rose for Emily (rpt. in Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson, Perrines Literature Structure, Sound, and Sense, 9th ed. Boston Wadsworth, 2006 556). Miss Emily is confined from society for the majority of her life by her capture, so after he has died, she longs for relations that ironically her longing destroys. The despondency and obsession exuded throughout the story portray the predicament at hand. Miss Emilys relationship with her father is a key factor in the development of her isolation. As she is growing up, he will not let anybody around his daughter, particularly young suitors. The town assumes his decision is due to the idea that the Griersons hold themselves a little too high for what they really are to the point that none of the young men are quite good tolerable (559). Because Emilys father keeps h er from everyone, she becomes very attached to him. He dies when she is nearly thirty, her only companion gone. Her strong bond to him is so severe that after his death, she denies he was dead at all and will not give his body up to the authorities for three days. The town observes that because she has nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, meaning Emily is so larger-than-life for a companion that when her father is gone, she has nothing left to cling to but him (559). However, he has a lasting effect on her that contributes to her isolation. He instills the Grierson pride, so Daugherty 2that she often does not interact with others. His influence is too virulent and too furious to die (562). Emily has a ... ...ther is concerned, he denies her the chance for love and detaches her from society. Partial turn on can be placed on the attitude he instills in her so that she possesses the dignity of the last Grierson (560). She holds herself above others in the town, save Homer. The towns fickleness and gulf towards her push her further into isolation. All of these factors finally result in the relationship with Homer. She is so desperate for contact and for love that when she finds them, she is terrified of their leaving. She is pushed then to kill Daugherty 4Homer, so that love will never leave her again. Miss Emily is a desperate individual formed by the relationships that isolated her, which resulted in her extreme actions. Emily and Homers shortstopyet long livedrelationship reveals a common effect of love denied and confinement from contact destruction.