Learning Skills Improvement Service Essay

In my position as a workshop trainer at Deerbolt young offenders’ institute, the education I deliver for The Manchester College as part of their Offender Learning is supported, monitored and shaped by various professional bodies. The purpose of these bodies or sector skills councils vary however they all have a common goal in ensuring and enriching the quality of education being delivered. LSIS or the learning and skills improvement service are such a body who umbrella over every organisation that delivers qualifications throughout the country, and they do exactly what they say on the tin. LSIS improve quality, participation and increase standards in education and training. A lot of their work involves developing resources, implementing schemes, sharing delivery aids that improve quality and achievement and tailoring support to learners needs. â€Å"Colleges and providers helped by LSIS improved by one inspection grade at their next inspection.† (LSIS [ND] [online]) LSIS don’t just support the educational improvements though; in 2010 they recognised The Manchester College as a Healthy FE college, healthy initiatives offered throughout the college like loyalty cards, gym memberships and better eating schemes aimed to improve the health of students and staff. Another group that oversee our work as teachers is the professional body the IFL or the Institute for Learning. Their role is to register everyone practicing as a teacher or trainer in FE on to their database. They promote themselves as supporting professional excellence; they aim to increase the status of teachers as professionals, requiring a membership fee and proof of qualifications which is supported by the employer. They also champion the importance of CPD and require members to provide evidence of this and their teaching hours each year. This is seen to keep standards of teaching high, and promote quality and teaching as a profession. Until very recently this is how the IFL worked but due to the loss in government funding and teachers reluctantly to pay their own subscription the number of people renewing their subscription to the IFL fell by over half to just 85,000 signalling a loss of confidence in the body and an end to its presences. For many teachers and trainers in FE it was seen as a welcomed downfall as many believed the IFL did nothing for them, however now this professional body has collapsed there is no one regulating the qualifications or standard required to teach in FE which may lead to competiveness for jobs and or poor standards of teaching and training. These developments seemingly leave only Ofsted in place to assess the quality and standards of colleges and the individual teachers. â€Å"Ofsted would be made responsible for ensuring that FE teachers were appropriately qualified through inspections† (TES [30/03/2012] [Online]) However I see a huge flaw in this method of assessing quality and knowledge, not every Ofsted inspector can have the depth in knowledge of every subject of every teacher he or she is going to observe. For example if I am teaching bricklaying and I’m teaching unacceptable practices how is that inspector meant to know I am teaching the wrong methods? Surely the only way to overcome this problem is to have employed properly qualified teachers and trainers and not just people with some subject knowledge. Now that the IFL is a voluntary body the employers themselves have discretion over this matter. Construction Skills is another organisation that oversee and support the vocational training we deliver in offender learning. They are a massive organisation and have a lot of different strands from providing qualifications, courses and assessment and training support through CSkills as an awarding organisation. They also developing courses and provide support and training to local businesses through being an industry training board. In 2003 Construction Skills were awarded Sector Skills Council status, this allowed them to deliver valued support across the industry. Their main aims are to help reduce a shortage in specialise skills and help to bring a diverse workforce into the industry. They are also involved in improving business performance and developing professional standards for construction occupations both trade and professional. The other area that they cover is probably most relevant to my work as a vocational trainer; they have a large input on the improvement of education for apprenticeships and higher and further education. They achieve this by awarding grants for training, providing businesses with advice on getting the best from their work force offering card schemes, recognised qualifications and helping to link college learning with on the job experience. Professionalism As teachers, trainers, tutors or whatever you what to call us in FE we all have more than one hat we wear that makes us a professional. The IFL although seemingly no more used to keep everybody who worked as a ‘teacher’ under the status of a professional. They did this by having in place the requirement to achieve QTLS or ATLS within five years of working within the education sector. QTLS stand for qualified teacher learning and skills and ATLS associate teacher learning and skills. Everybody working as a teacher was required to register as one or the other of these statuses depending on your level of teaching qualification, the full Cert Ed being a level 5, I myself would have had to apply for QTLS status. However the following quote suggests that very little teachers working in the sector today have taken out the required status of QTLS/ATLS. â€Å"Only a small number of lecturers have become ‘fully qualified’ under the current arrangements: between 2,900 (GHK, August 2011) and some 6,000 (IfL submission, 2012). Whilst this number may rise as the five-year watershed approaches, some 85 per cent of FE lecturers have not embarked on the final supervised practice phase, following the diploma. We do not believe that so slight a result after such a long delay makes this qualification credible as a licence to practise which, properly speaking, should be earned before starting work, as it would be in other professions.† (Bis [03/2012] [Online]) By making this a requirement the IFL aimed at ensuring each individual teacher had the ability to work at the standards expected of a licenced practitioner. To meet this requirement you were expected to submit evidence of your teaching practice, subject and background knowledge, your continued professional development and your own reflective practice. I feel this was affair approach to the matter They may say the â€Å"licence to practice should be earned before starting work† but the profession of teaching is like no other. Its not really something you can learn out of a book you have to get out there and do it then reflect on it, prepare and do it again. My personal two hats consist of my subject specialism, Carpentry and Joinery level 3 qualification, and hopefully in a couple of months my Cert Ed teaching qualification. Other training and development also comes into it, like holding a CSCS card, which is the Construction Skills Certificate Scheme. Another initiative that Construction Skills mentioned earlier are responsible for putting in place. It means you must hold a valid card to work on any building site in the country. To get a card you must pass a construction health and safety test, the cards also state on the back your profession and level of qualification. This is another method of keeping this industry safe, to required standards and professional. â€Å"Professional formation allows teachers to describe how these standards are evidenced in their teaching practice, along with aspects of subject currency, teaching and learning, reflective practice and planning for continuing professional development.† (IFL [11/2008] [Online]) Professional formation isn’t just about your status or qualifications though. It’s a lot about your actions too. As professionals we are expected to present, conduct and discipline ourselves in a particular manor. However with this status we also have the benefits of being rewarded recognition for our work, enhancing collaborations, sharing good practices and having support and respect from our colleagues, colleges and partnering bodies. The importance of engaging in CPPD CPPD or Continuing Personal and Professional Development is something as professionals we should all be doing on a regular basis. It was a requirement of the IFL to record our CPPD hours each year and although a lot of teachers possibly never took this serious it is a good method of keeping in touch with current affairs and adapting to changing trends. The key thing to remember is that this is not just about completing a list of activities undertaken during the year that add up to 6 or 12 or 30 hours. The time spent can be meaningless unless it makes a difference. (IFL [08/2009] [online]) Education is one such sector that never stands still, the requirement to change and reform is evident and we do this to keep things interesting, relevant and to continually push up standards. From a personal point of view, if I’m teaching my subject specialism I want to be a fountain of knowledge in it, I think it’s important to have good subject knowledge and as I have been out of the trade a couple of years now this is something I aim the address on completion of the Cert Ed. I will look at gaining further qualifications in my subject, or maybe completing an assessor’s award. I have even considered going back to construction site work to gain further experience and update my knowledge. Ideally being out in the field working on actual jobs with students would be the perfect scenario for continually developing myself and I feel this would also benefit the learners immensely. As for CPPD in my teaching, I aim to complete all training events offered, for example we had smart board training at work the other day. I also aim to relish being thrown in at the deep end which regularly happens as a cover tutor. I’m lucky in the way my support role at the prison lets me observe a lot of different teachers each week and taking on their good practices and addressing learners needs is excellent CPPD for me. The importance of reflective practice Reflecting on our work as teachers is the best way to develop, its important to have regular teaching practice. We learn valuable things when were in lessons, under pressure and on the spot, however the real learning comes afterwards when we reflect and analyse the session. This is our time to put things right in our heads and prepare ourselves for the same scenarios the next time. It would be extremely difficult to pre-empt every situation that could occur and almost impossible to prepare for each. â€Å"teachers who explore their own teaching through critical reflection develop changes in attitudes and awareness which they believe can benefit their professional growth as teachers, as well as improve the kind of support they provide their students.† (tttjournal [ND] [Online]) Not only should we be reflecting from our own experiences but it’s also extremely valuable to reflect on observations, hearing opinions from another person’s point of view can really pin point things that may have been frustrating us for weeks. Critical reflective practice is more complex than just reflecting. It’s about planning how you will evaluate a lesson or even a CPPD event; it is good practice to critically review these situations through different people’s points of view. Your colleagues, students, boss, or even a person in the field actually doing what you’re teaching or being taught. With this in mind reflection is one of our most important tools. Bibliography Bis [03/2012] Professionalism in further education [Online] http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/p/12-670-professionalism-in-further-education-interim [Accessed 27/05/2012] IFL [08/2009] Guidelines for your continuing professional development (CPD) [online] http://www.ifl.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/5501/J11734-IfL-CPD-Guidelines-08.09-web-v3.pdf [Accessed 12/06/2012] IFL [11/2008] Professional Formation [Online] http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/IfL-professional-formation-overview.pdf [Accessed 12/06/2012] LSIS [ND] Our Impact in the Sector [Online] http://www.lsis.org.uk/AboutLSIS/LSIS-impact/Pages/default.aspx [Accessed 20/06/12] TES [30/03/2012] FE professionalism gets radical shake-up [Online] http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6202944 [Accessed 15/04/2012] Tttjournal [ND] Towards Reflective Teaching [Online] http://www.tttjournal.co.uk/uploads/file/back_articles/towards_reflective_teaching.pdf [Accessed 03/06/12]

CONTEMPORARY DOCUMENTARY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

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Scientology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Scientology - Essay Example Thus, it is through spiritual enlightenment that human beings are able to understand their creator, and enlightenment is only attainable through gaining infinite knowledge. However, the departure of the new religion from those of the past occurs in the belief that personal enlightenment, as opposed to enlightenment through religious doctrines, principles and beliefs, forms the basis of enlightenment, which then enables the individual to understand the creator (Davis, n.p.). Scientology is a religion that borrows from the ancient religions of the west, but applies none of the basic tenets of such religions, rather preferring to apply the technological language as the basis of developing and advancing spiritual concepts in daily life (Fox, 131). The faith of this new religion is in technology, and technology is the basis of running the new faith2; thus, the basis of Scientology is clouded by controversy, making it difficult to differentiate between the faith of Scientology and the way the Church of Scientology is run. The fundamental principle that qualifies scientology as a religion is that; the religion holds the belief that man is basically good, and that his fate regarding salvation ultimately depends on how man relates with the others and the universe at large (Urban, 22). This principle therefore postulates that man is the sole determinant of his own salvation fate, considering that it is based on how he develops relationships with humanity and the universe that determines his religious fate. Therefore, in a way, the religion of scientology advances morality as the basis of mans spiritual life, since it is through his awareness and capabilities to apply morality that determines his final religious fate (Davis, n.p.). Simply put, the basis of scientology as a religion is freedom; where man should live in a free world, where he is able to apply his capabilities to advance, prosper and rise to greater heights, without the limitation of social ills such as crim e, war and prohibitory laws. However, while advocating for a free world that transcends all limitations that can hinder man from rising to greater heights based on his capabilities and morality, the religion of scientology addresses the basic and fundamental principle of every other religion, whether modern or traditional; that of addressing the spiritual and natural concerns of man, in relation to eternity (Weldon, 20). This is the actual point where the confusion around scientology religion emanates, since it does not place its belief system on the religious doctrines that clearly demonstrates the relation between human life in the world and eternity, since most of the doctrines of the church of scientology are vague even to the adherents, and can only become apparent to them, after many years of followership (Fox, 133). The origin of the Scientology religion is traceable to the scientific experiment undertaken by Hubbard3, a scientist and the pioneer of the religion, who set to e xperiment on the state of mind of humans, eventually coming up with scientific findings that have been vaguely disclosed, but which forms the basis of the doctrine of the Scientology religion, referred to as the Dianetics Doctrine (Urban, 47). The field of psychology and psychosocial analysis is a field that has been widely researched, but the knowledge in this field is only held by a few. Similarly, while the issue of technology in the modern world is no longer new or associated with a

DQ-4-Terence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

DQ-4-Terence - Essay Example The new information threatens the regulatory requirements as they provide conflicting information. Concerns though have risen to whether the different uses of internet guidelines are beneficial to the organization and whether the new patterns should align or contradicts the general communication patterns from the body. Investigations into this inquiry are therefore the paramount objective of the paper, articulated through discussions and evidence from the scholarly articles by different researchers. Organizational structure determines the operational policy and the work process of any company that the business employs. Actions as the managerial reporting, movement of knowledge, decision-making process and dissemination of information are the essential components ensured by the organizational structures (Im, Hong & Kang, 2011). The structures whether they move within the organization and between the groups levels has no inherent of being better than the other. Rather, the structures have their sole benefit to the organization that suits them well in a particular situation (Wixom & Watson, 2012). Information flow in the major organizations has been structured on a departmental level and organizational level. The corporate level can be referred to as the flow of ideas within the organization that is inherent from the other organizations branches. The department heads use their own internet rather than sharing a broader network in the whole group. The organizational level uses a different internet in communication to other regions. Many individual will argue that it’s due to the independent nature employed by the organization to ensure each unit performs to its best. Whether the idea of separating internet usage within and between the groups’ levels remains a question for debate? Operating with the same policies and work procedures means the organization has similar goals and objectives to accomplish and why separate their internet

What Is The Value Of Theory To Practitioners Of Guidance Essay

What Is The Value Of Theory To Practitioners Of Guidance - Essay Example A sound understanding of theory is of utmost importance to a practitioner of guidance towards developing such clarity of thought and processes. Theory provides structural pillars for defining the client's situation, around which the practitioner can give practical and actionable advice. It is very important for any practitioner who has taken on a counselling role, to disassociate from his/her own personal emotions, values and judgements. The guidance practitioner has to have complete objectivity in order to achieve a complete and unbiased understanding of the client's situation. Theories are the essential tool with which the practitioner as an individual can use to classify and understand the client's individual situation with objectivity. With the aid of theory a practitioner can be fair in evaluating a situation outside his/her personal context. The methodology and analysis leading out of theory provides great objectivity to the practice of guidance. ii. Gives a better understanding of how disparate personal histories influence decisions and choices Apart from helping the practitioner disassociate from the personal context, theory also helps the practitioner in developing an understanding of the various factors that impinge on the individual during the decision making process. These factors could be either articulated or benign. Theory helps the practitioner to correlate factors like social, economic and ethnic background and parental influences etc. to the personality of the individual and hence the decisions that he/she takes. By developing a more contextual fingerprint for each individual, with the help of theory, the practitioner is better equipped to provide more pertinent and workable guidance solutions. iii. Keeps them ethically and practically grounded Sound knowledge of theory gives the practitioner of guidance the requisite understanding of the ethical and practical implications of decisions. It is very important for a practitioner to be aware of these factors even if they are not immediately apparent, since the person in the guiding role has to take responsibility for the consequence of the actions and decisions of the client related to their careers or education. Theory is based on verifiable fact, which is why an understanding of it, gives the practitioner the adequate wherewithal to weigh the plausibility of decisions on both ethical and practical parameters. iv. Provides the foundations for a disciplined practice which is coherent and un-prejudiced All the above mentioned benefits of theory are instrumental in creating the foundation of a fair and effective guidance practice. With the framework of theory in place, a practitioner can involve himself/herself with greater integrity and objectivity towards solving the client's problems. Even though there are many theories of guidance it is important for the practitioner to crystallise his/ her viewpoint so that each individual case can be guided through predetermined, though not rigid, frameworks of the practitioner's understanding. Hence, it is impossible to ignore the importance of theory to practitioners of guidance. The only caveat that one should keep in mind is that theory should not be relegated to a cerebral level. Instead it is very important for practitioners to attune theories to the current requirements and dynamics of the community in particular, and the society as a whole. Offer an ethical and intellectual critique of

Problem, search and selection Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Problem, search and selection - Research Paper Example In Australia, over 1000 people died in 2005 as a result of lower limb ulceration. This was a representation of 8% of people who died of diabetes that year. Every year 10,000 patients with diabetes ulcer foot are admitted in hospitals (Diabetes Australian, 2005, p.7). Diabetic foot infections occur as a result of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the only way to arrest the ulcers is to arrest bacteria reaction until the wound is healed (Molan, 2006, p.40). One of the effective remedies established to treat diabetes foot ulcers is honey. Clinic studies found that honey has a high anti-bacterial activity making it suitable treatment for bacteria that is anti-biotic resistance (Taks, 2007, p.54). Honey has an antioxidant that provides an anti-inflammatory reaction causing the wound to heal without inflaming the ulcers (Eddy and Gideonsen, 2005, p.533). Patients come to the hospital with serious wounds showing no progress insist on honey treatment, wounds are dressed under the supervision of O.R superintendent at the hospital. The honey treatment has appealed to many clinicians at the hospitals because of its wound healing effects. There is currently no specific research at my institution but this unconventional way of treating wounds may attract attention due to its healing properties. It has been found by French, cooper and Molan (2005, p.228) that wounds heal faster if given due attention. Honey has been used for years for wound treatment and in this case diabetic foot ulcers yet this traditional treatment has barely been recognized in clinical circles. There is need to establish in the clinic practice an effective therapy for foot ulcers (Pierre, 2008, p.342). II.Why honey works well on diabetic ulcers According to Gottrup, Apelaqvist and Price, (2010, p.239) if a wound is infected it will not heal. Too much bacteria stops the cells responsible for repairing the wound from growing. The bacteria’s outer coat also causes inflammation to the wound preventing it from healing. Serious wound infections that do not respond to therapy lead to amputations to stop the wound from spreading. Reports reach clinicians on the use of honey for clearing wounds but most claim it is not yet an assurity (Gottrup, Apelaqvist and Price, 2010, p.239). Because of a lack of a clear benchmark to treat diabetes foot ulcers, the hospital checks wound progress and if there is no improvement the patients are referred to an MFCT department. During treatment the hospital to stop infection educate the patients on importance of self care and foot inspection. Most patients with extreme wounds fear the risk of having their limbs amputated. The debridement, wound dressing, offloading, good glycaemic control, potential antibiotic therapy and vesicular intervention sometimes fail to treat the foot ulcers making the wounds deteriorate which leads to disfigurement, burns or amputation. In 1999 Capilano, Australia’s largest honey company came up with honey products a nd sold it to pharmacies, clinics and hospitals for medicinal purposes. The main aim was to use the honey products for healing untreatable wounds, ulcers and burns (Diabetes Australia, 2005, p.7). The therapy instead of going through the four stages, it arrests the problem at the inflammation stage. The anti-oxidant in honey was discovered two millenniums ago and that is why it is used to treat sunburn Gottrup, Apelaqvi

Paranormal Activity 2 Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paranormal Activity 2 - Movie Review Example The film is set into the exotic locations of San Diego. One of the most crucial reasons behind as to why the movie has been set up in San Diego is because that place is notoriously known to be famous as a haunted place and a lot of incidents have taken place there, and due to such reasons it is imperative that the shooting took place at a place which has a history of ghost sightings, thus adding value to the movie and in turn improving the overall picture. The Ouija Board is the tool, which is used to communicate with paranormal species. It is a board, which has the numbers, alphabets, and is used for spiritual reasons. It is a spirit board and a talking board, through which communication can happen with other spirits present around human beings. It functions in the film series as a way of communicating with the spirits. Ali and her boyfriend used is as a tool for communication and they realized that the haunted spirits were also talking to them with respect to the communication with the positive spirits as a means for spiritual enlightenment. The use of the board is misused and due to this reason there are paranormal activity taking place in the place of San Diego in USA. Toby wants the first born male instead of the female as he thinks that is more spiritually better for him and that he should follow the instincts and his gut feeling of having a first born male into the family. This crucial and imperative to note as Toby wants to have this desire for only positive spiritual reasons. Toby locks Katie and Hunter into the room thinking that the spiritual experiment he is going to perform with the Ouija Board would be a successful experiment to being back the positive spirits in his life. It is crucial to note that he wants to experience this for the sake of his experiment and nothing more. Hunter and Katie disappear outside the home of Sane Diego and no one knows by the end of the movie where they have suddenly gone and the precise reasons for the same, however, with speculation one can assume that they disappeared due to the experiment carried out by Toby. The found footage works very distinctly in the movie. The fact that spirits are found in the movie alongside the humans is the true art with which the movie is made. Editor edits the movie at the end of it and that matters since the point of the movie is to show spirits and the ghosts taking rounds with the humans as an added physical and tangible objects. It is imperative to note that the editor does this trick by including the faces and bodies of the spirits they wanted to have in their movie. The nuclear family functions in a very strange fashion in the movie. It must be understood that the roles and the relationships, which have been created in the first installment of the movie, do not apply to the second and the third installment. The characters change and shift however the entire installment of the movie remains the same. In the first movie Denis’ first wife was someone el se and she succumbed to her death due to certain unsaid reasons, which are crucial to the final two installments taking place. The characters go into limbo with respect to the movie. The concept of after life exists in the movie while the definition of heaven is a construed one. Work Cited Paranormal Activity