Teacher Development Essay Example for Free

Teacher Development Essay The term â€Å"teacher development† (TD) was first coined in the 1980s. Only in the past decade has TD emerged as an identifiable area of study and ever since then much has been written on the concept of TD? teacher knowledge? teachers new role and respnosibilities. There have been many studies on the concepts of TD from many different perspectvies since 1990s. TD is a term used to describe a process of continual intellectual, experiential, and attitudinal growth of teachers. It is a ligelong growth both before and throughout a teacher’s entire career (Lange,1990;Crandall,2000;Wu Yian,2008). TD connotes continuance, it does not end when the degree is given or the certification achieved. Even superior teachers have weaknesses which should be improved. Teachers takes on different roles and responsibilities in programmes which center on TD. Teachers’ voice increasingly are being heard in literature on TD. The teacher is no longer in a subservient or subordinate role, passively awaiting guidance direction and suggestions for change and improvement. The teacher is an investigator of his or her own classroom(Richards,1989). The teacher assumes the responsibilities for inquiry into classroom practice and analysis of their experiences. The recent rise in â€Å"action research† (e. g,. Elliott, 1991; Nokffke,1989; Wu Zhongjie,1995) is the best illustration of how teachers involve them in the interpretation and representation of their teaching practice. Much research has explored the teacher knowledge and emphasized the need for constant updating of knowledge for TD. Shulman (1987) pointed out the framework of teacher knowledge: Content Knowledge(CK)? Pedagogical Knowledge(PK)? pedegogical content knowledge(PCK) and Support Knowledge(SK). Much of the work stresses the change and value of foreign language PCK: such as attitudes toward teacher control in the classroom? instructional goals for daily lessons and considerations for resopnding to student needs(Watzke, 2007). Freeman Johnson’s (1998) position that teacher knowledge should be rooted in teachers’ actual practice. They discuss the FL teachers’ concerns about how to develop their PCK through teaching practice.

Robert Goddard: The Father of Modern Rocketry Essay example -- essays

Robert Hutchings Goddard was a futurist. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on October 5, 1882. He was the son of a machinist and his father was known for his brilliance with machinery and tools. The Goddard’s moved from Worcester to Boston while Robert was just an infant, because his father went in half and half on a local machine tools shop. In Boston, is where the young Robert Goddard spent his youth as an only child, and most of his younger years were spent alone at home due to his mother’s illness with tuberculosis. Robert would not see his family’s hometown of Worcester again until he was seventeen in 1899. Much of his life was spent as an ill child (Spangenburg, 10), and he was an average student with an aversion to mathematics. Illness kept him out of school entirely in that autumn of 1899, and by this time Robert had only completed his freshman year of high school. Although he was unable to spend a lot of time within institutional walls, the young Goddard was not without a strong yearning to learn--at least to learn science. Much of the time he spent sick at home sick was consumed reading the Scientific American, or books from the library both science and science fiction novels—-especially H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, a novel he would re-examine often in later years (Burrows, 32). Robert Goddard found happiness while doing his chores and often used found this time for relaxing. Like many young seventeen year olds, the time was spent daydreaming and this was the case on the 19th day of October 1899. Little did the young man know that this entry in his diary would change his entire life: â€Å"As I looked toward the fields in the east I imagined how wonderful it would be to make some device which had even the possibility of ascending to Mars, and how it would look on a small scale if sent up from the meadow at my feet. . .It seemed to me that a weight whirling around a horizontal shaft, moving more rapidly above than below, could furnish lift by virtue of the greater centrifugal force at the top of the path. I was a different boy when I descended the tree from when I ascended, for existence at last seemed very purposive.† (Yost, 145)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This new idea was known as the linear-force-from-eccentric-rotation, and although it was only a daydream of the young man, it was the spark that would ignite Goddard’s unendin... ...f his research, the inventor was able to accomplish his goal of creating a rocket capable of flight, and his design would later reach the stars. Furthermore, had his work been sponsored by the Armed Forces after the First World War, the space race would have not been such a challenge for the United States (Yost, 144). Dr. Goddard is still revered and remembered as the Father of Modern Rocketry. WORKS CITED Burrows, William. THIS NEW OCEAN: THE STORY OF THE FIRST SPACE AGE. New York: Random House, 1998. Freeman, Marsha. HOW WE GOT TO THE MOON: THE STORY OF THE GERMAN PIONEER. Wash DC: 21st Century Science, 1993. Lehman, Milton. THIS HIGH MAN: THE LIFE OF ROBERT GODDARD. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1963. Levine, Alan. THE MISSILE AND SPACE RACE. Westport: Praeger, 1994. Spangenburg, Ray & Moser, Diane. SPACE EXPLORATION: OPENING THE SPACE FRONTIER. New York: Oxford, 1989. Stockton, William & Wilford, John. SPACELINER. New York: Times, 1981. Time-Life Books. OUTBOUND: VOYAGE THROUGH THE UNIVERSE. Richmond: Time-Life, 1989. Yost, Edna. MODERN AMERICANS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. Second Ed., New York: Dodd, Mead, 1962.

The Airline Industry

One of the major industries affected by the September 11 attacks had been the airline industry. Aside from security improvements were put in place as a response to the hijacking of four commercial aircraft, the industry as a whole lost a total of $42 billion from 2001 to 2005.The president of the Air Transport Association has called the current situation of the airline industry as a â€Å"perfect storm of adversity†. Two of the largest commercial carriers are currently under bankruptcy protection and two others have gone in and out of bankruptcy court in the years after 9/11.These losses could be attributed to lower passenger traffic in the wake of the terrorist attacks. The price for jet fuel has also been rising since 2001 which adds to the costs incurred by the carriers.   Jet fuel price in 2006 was up 168% from pre-2001 levels (Isidore, 2006).While the US air industry is slowing down, there has been an increase in global air passenger numbers. Most of these increases are coming from developing economies in Asia and Europe.Airlines in Asia grew at a rate of 20% annually while airlines in the middle east grew 11%. Similarly, air routes linking the US with Asia and Europe are also expected to see an increase in passengers (Shriner, 1994).Demand and Supply ElasticityWhile these changes could be directly attributed to the 2001 attacks and their repercussions, some changes in the airline industry has emanated from the industry itself. The older legacy airlines had to face numerous new entries in the form of low cost, low frills carriers.These new low cost carriers have kept the price of airlines travel low over the past few years. Passengers now had more choices and as a result, total air traffic had been increasing while average fares have not kept pace. Legacy airlines with larger operational costs could not compete with the lower fares.As a result, they had to streamline their operations by cutting excess manpower and retiring older, less fuel efficie nt aircraft in their fleets. The fleets of the legacy carriers have shrunk by 23% since 2001 and their workforce has dropped 38% during the same amount of time (Isidore, 2006).The proliferation of low cost carriers since 2001 has essentially increased the price elasticity of demand for air travel. While all airlines serve the same purpose – air travel – each airline can still be differentiated from one another.Low cost carriers may not offer the same kind of quality service found in legacy carriers. In effect, when passengers book a flight, they are choosing between goods from airline A, airline B etc. Since passengers have more choices due to the introduction of low cost carriers, their substitution between airlines has become easier.This relatively high elasticity is reflected in the increasing passenger counts at a relatively constant fare (price) schedule.Externalities of the Airline IndustryAirlines, whether legacy or low cost are now keen on improving their fuel efficiency due to the rising costs of jet fuel. Fuel costs account for 10-12% of annual airline operating costs. One way that airlines are trying to improve fuel efficiency is by retiring older aircraft with poor fuel efficiency (May, 2003).One industry that is intrinsically linked with the airline industry is the aircraft manufacturing industry. The US is a world leader in aircraft manufacturing with US aircraft manufacturers delivering 71% of new aircraft in the early years of the 1990s.Even with the boom in airline travel in the developing world, US airlines still account for roughly 25% of aircraft orders from US aircraft manufacturers like Boeing and McDonnell Douglas   (Shriner, 1994). Clearly, an increase in income by the airline industry will translate to more orders of aircraft. In that case, the airline industry exerts positive externalities on the aircraft manufacturing industry.The positive externalities do not end with increased production by US jet manufacturers. As airlines keep pushing for more fuel efficient and modern aircraft, they are providing an incentive for technology development in the aircraft sector.The increasing prices for jet fuel are even pushing this new technology development even further in the direction of making air travel more fuel efficient. An example of such technology development is in the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft which is due to enter service next year.Being made out of composite materials, it is much lighter and thus uses up 20% less fuel than similarly sized jets. An offshoot of using composite materials is a more comfortable flight experience as the cabin air does not need to be so dry (humidity causes metal to corrode) and the air pressure can be made much higher in order to make breathing easier.The use of metal precluded using higher cabin pressure as it may accelerate metal fatigue (The Economist, 2007). It is important to note that this externality does not end at Boeing. Advances that Boeing are ma king are sometimes tied to and sometimes preceded by fundamental R&D performed at universities (Shriner, 1994).We can therefore see how the airline industry promotes R&D and helps maintain the dominance of the US in aircraft technology.Even though new aircraft like the Dreamliner might reduce fuel consumption, it still does not change the fact that the airline industry has a huge externality in the form of pollution. Aviation is responsible for 2% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide production. Aircraft also release other noxious gases such as nitrogen oxides, soot and water vapor.However, the polluting effects of airlines are magnified since these gases are released directly into the upper atmosphere where they form condensation trails and cirrus clouds. The fact that air pollution from aircraft is released at a high altitude may have the effect of double the same amount of carbon dioxide released at ground level (The Economist, 2007).

Appointments For The Health Care System - 888 Words

Problem Statement Patients have been missing appointments or have canceled required follow up testing which were ordered by providers. These appointments are either canceled or no show within 24hrs before scheduled time. Missed appointments are a cost to the health care system in terms of personnel time, extended waiting lists, and the loss of potentially beneficial services. In the past quarter we have seen a decline in No Show Rate. We have 160 weekly spaces available for appointments in the hospital. The 10 % of the patients did not show up, which equals a total of 16 missed appointments a week at $120 per visit. $1,920 in lost revenue in a week which equals $23,040 in the past 3 months. Which means patients failed to receive a recommended care, and the appointment slots were wasted. Generally, no-show rates range from 5%-55% (6). Pediatric clinics might see a no-show rate of below 5%, urban family clinics often see no-show rates between 10%-20% (8). And certain outpatient and surgical clinics-colonoscopies, endoscopies, pulmonary tests and other procedures that require special prep or diets by the patient- have even higher rates, around 50% (8,11). In 2010 study shows specifically at heart failure patients has high no-show rates (3). A little survey to determine the reasons of no show in the John Adams hospitals were conducted last week. Total 356 patients missed appointments were invited to complete the survey of the reasons why. The 276 were returned out of theShow MoreRelatedAppointment Scheduling Systems For The Health Care Industry Essay2122 Words   |  9 PagesINTRODUCTION Health Care Providers, like any business, are facing increased pressure to improve their efficiency and quality of service, while also reducing their costs. Health care expenditures currently cost around 45% of public funding, and they are expected to double by 2050 (Gupta Benton, 2008). 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