Response Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Response Paper - Essay Example At the beginning of his essay, McCloskey dismantles the three established and scholarly proofs of God’s existence. Although some people may wonder why McCloskey disproves these arguments first and would even accuse him of practicality for having done so instead of attacking God’s existence itself, one should remember that the basis of Christian faith rests upon these three arguments of God’s existence, which have been established by the greatest of Christian scholars in early history. McCloskey begins with the cosmological proof of God’s existence and disproves its validity. According to McCloskey, â€Å"The mere existence of the world constitutes no reason for believing in the existence of [an all-powerful first cause or uncaused cause]† (McCloskey 63). This is logical. It would be perfectly all right to think that the existence of a computer necessitates the existence of a maker, because one knows that that is true. Nevertheless, the existence of the world is different from the existence of the computer, for the computer is man-made. Any man-made object is made by man, but since the world is not man-made, then it is definitely not made by man, OR perhaps nothing or no one really made it. The belief of theists is that anything that exists must have been made or created at some point. Nevertheless, no one can simply state this claim a priori; otherwise, it will be an assumption. Thus, McCloskey refutes the cosmological proof of the existence of God simply because he was speaking from what he knows and from the limits of his knowledge, which are simply and practically the same as the limits of any sane person’s knowledge. McCloskey is innocent in making his atheistic claims for it is true that he cannot see or perceive that the existence of the world necessitates the existence of a maker. Besides, anyone who can see such an existence must only be claiming to be able to do so perhaps on the basis of personal faith, an ima gined vision, or a physical proof to which he subjectively assigns meaning. In short, a theist believes that God exists because he has won the lottery that he was praying for, his sick child got better, the pastor said so, or just because he could â€Å"feel† it. Nevertheless, the point is that, in any case, no theist has seen the â€Å"connection† between God and the world. Moreover, since there is no way that a maker is seen as necessary, it also follows that it does not matter whether this maker is all-powerful or not. Aside from the cosmological argument, McCloskey refutes the argument from design and the teleological argument, because, according to him, in order to prove that this argument is true, â€Å"†¦genuine indisputable examples of design or purpose are needed† (64). This is also logical. What is â€Å"design† anyway? Perhaps, the theists have sought to define design as the series of events or an elaborate interconnection of things and ev ents that somehow either makes some sense to them or emotionally appeals to them. Perhaps, what the theists see that makes them believe in a design is a pattern or a cycle, like the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly, or the harmonious revolution of the planets around the sun. This is so dramatic and it feels so good to bask at these wonders of nature. Nevertheless, although it is possible that a pattern is

Petty v. Metropolitan Gov't of Nashville & Davidson County Research Paper

Petty v. Metropolitan Gov't of Nashville & Davidson County - Research Paper Example The case also involved Petty, who was a former Police Officer forced out of the Metro Police Department because of active duty mobilization in American Army Reserve. In fact, there were issues that contributed to the case proceeding to court. After returning from active duty, there was a delay in his reemployment request, whereby it exceeded the stipulated duration in relation to execution process. Moreover, Petty was not rehired under the position of patrol sergeant or any equivalent based on the information provided after completion of return-to-work form. Nevertheless, he failed to disclose the facts, which would justify discharge from the Army. Furthermore, there is a policy in Metropolitan Police Department that regard to return-to-work form, which indicates that returnee’s offices are required to compete in situations where they have been a way for a period. 2. Explain how the reemployment provisions of the USERRA were violated in this case. The aim of USERRA provisions is to provide protection of veterans’ rights during the process of seeking re-employment in order to return to service. These provisions focus on the military services and protection against discrimination concerning reemployment. In fact, they offer protection to the military and reserves in a way that prevents cases of losing of employment, relegation, losing of precedence, and loss of benefits in a situation of being called to active duty (United States Court of Appeals, 2012). There is a substantial disparity between USERRA with other laws that protects discrimination against employment and the breadth and potency aimed at protection. In this case, the mandatory reemployment imposes restrictions and prohibition against discrimination and retaliation. In this case, there is a violation of the USERRA provisions by Metropolitan Police Department through the delay involved in re-hiring the Petty in the process of return-to-work (Oubre, 2012). Moreover, the department violates the provisions by denying Petty a position, which he had met the standards and qualification. Therefore, the Metropolitan Police Department has been evidently depicted in their violation against USERRA concerning the provision of reemployment. 3. Explain why the court concludes that Petty has a claim for discrimination under USERRA. There is a conclusion by the court indicating that Petty has a claim for the allegations of discrimination by Metropolitan Police Department based on employment. In fact, this conclusion is made by the court based on the stipulations made by USERRA concerning reinstatement after petitioning for timely re-employment and discharge (U.S. Department of Labor, 2013). In this case, failure of the Metropolitan Police Department to conform with requirements of the act, which expected them to conduct a quick reinstatement of Petty to his former position led to this conclusion. After the allegations by Metro against Petty’s dishonesty, there was a response by the court, which was aimed at reminding them about USERRA. Moreover, these provisions stipulate the authority of employers to terminate a former service member for cause after re-employment. Nevertheless, this is not applicable for an employer to use this as a basis for failing to reinstate a former servi

The Impact Of Leadership Styles

The Impact Of Leadership Styles Leadership styles Leaders have their own style, which is fine if they can find a situation that requires that style of leadership. Being able to adapt the leadership style according to the situation and the state of the grope or team are flexible leadership example: taking charge when a team is forming but playing the role of coach when a team is managing itself well. One the fundamental principle of leadership style is to change according to the circumstances such as Situational Leadership (develop by Blanchard and Hersey in the late 1960s). According to Hersey and Blanchard, a leader is concerned with the task to be performed and with building relations with his employees. A leader may focus on work, building a team or building relationship with his or her employees, according to a combination of all these concerns Hersey and Blanchard proposed four leadership styles. Style 1 Indicating high concern for the task and low concern for people. Style 2 Showing High Concern for Task and People. Style 3 Having high concern for people and low for the task. Style 4 Indicating Low Concern for the task and Low Concern for people. According to them all the classified four styles are functional; it is according to their relevance situation that is important. Leadership styles in the situational model can be classified according to the amount of task and relationship behavior the leader engages in. Task related behavior also known as Regulating behavior since a leaders behavior revolves on regulating his or her group members and their task completion, other leaders concentrate on building personal relationship, which is called nurturing behavior. Regulating Behavior A Leader engages in one-way communication , who gives clear instructions of group roles and informs the group members what to do, where to do, and how to do, and closely supervises their activities and performance. Structure, Control, Supervise are the regular behavior of the leaders. Nurturing Behavior A Leader who engages in dual communication he who listens, provides support and encouragement, facilitates, interaction and involves the group in decision making. Praise, Listen, and Facilitate these are the regular behavior of the leaders Source (Pareek, 2007). Transformational versus Transactional leadership Achieving the current objectives efficiently by helping the organization by clarifying the needs and desires of the employee is known as transactional leadership. This type of leadership behavior improves employees performance and satisfaction. The transactional leaders focus on running the organization smoothly and efficiently. The transactional leader creates a clear structure and clear instructions to his or her subordinates regarding their work and rewards subsequently. Punishment is understood since it is not mentioned .The discipline system is usually in place. This type of leadership is a popular approach with the most of the managers. Transformational leadership have the ability to change the vision, strategy and culture of the organization based on personal values, beliefs, and qualities, Transformational leadership enable the followers to become leaders. Transformational leadership go beyond the immediate task that is the functions build the competencies of individuals and group and enable them to achieve targets that the organization or the individual would have not expected to achieve. Transformational leadership change the organizations strategies and culture so they are successful with the surrounding environment, they are the changed agents who show the direction to the employees to a new set of organizational values and behaviors. Empowering, risk taking clarity of mission, team building, equanimity, and evolving trust are few of the characteristics of transformational leaders Source (Theory of Transformational LeadershipRedux, Winter 1995). Transformational versus charismatic leadership Many researches do indicate that the two types of leadership as essentially equivalent, some others theorists say they are distinct and few other scholars say charismatic leadership is an ingredient of transformational leadership or charismatic leadership is the highest degree of transformational leadership. The third group of scholars separate charismatic leadership from transformational leadership. They say charisma is a personal trait referent power over followers, whereas transformational leadership is a set of behaviors that people use to lead the change process. Transformational leadership enables the followers to become leaders. Charismatic leaders are also known as heroic leaders by some of the research; they build allegiance in followers but do not necessarily change the organization. They use the power to serve others, they consider and learn from criticism and also they encourage followers to question leaders view. In many theories the leadership behaviors of charismatic a nd transformational leadership appear to be similar with very few important differences is evident as well. Transformational leaders will be doing lots of work which will make the employees more dependent on the leaders such as developing followers skill and self-confident, giving information to sensitive information and decentralizing the authorities. Transformational leaders at any level in any organization can easily be determined according to Bass since this type of leadership is globally relevant for very situation. Charismatic leaders are more proactive, do more things that creates an image of extraordinary competence for the leaders such as restricting information, risk taking and unconventional behavior. Charismatic leaders are rare, and appear to be more dependent only on favorable conditions in an organization and these leaders are very common for new organizations as visionary entrepreneurs or reformers. Charismatic leaders are usually more extreme Source (House, et al., 1994), (Avolio, et al., 1985). Distinguishing characteristics of charismatic and Non charismatic Leaders Non Charismatic Leaders Charismatic Leaders Likableness Likable leaders have shared perspective Idealized Vision and an honorable hero makes leader liable. Trustworthiness Disinterested advocacy in persuasion attempts. Leaders are passionate advocacy by taking personal risk. Relation to status quo Status quo is being maintained. Change of atmosphere is being created. Future Goals Goals are limited with very few discrepant from status quo. Vision of Idea which is highly discrepant from status quo. Articulation Articulation is weak in goals and motivation to lead. Motivation to lead and articulation of vision is very strong. Competence To achieve goals within framework of existing order with available means. Unconventional means is used to transcend the existing order. Behavior Conventional Unconventional Source: Conger, et al., 1998 Characteristics of Three Styles of Leadership Authoritarian or Autocratic This style is used when leaders take decisions from their position, control of rewards and coercion. The autocratic leaders group performance is almost good since they are characterized by positive feelings. This type of style can be used when you have all the information to solve problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated. From the experiments of Lewis et al. it was found that this style resulted in very high level of discontent. Some leaders tend to think of this style as a tool for abusing, using unprofessional language, and leading by threats and abusing their power. This is not the authoritarian style, bossing people around. It has no place in a leaders repertoire. The authoritarian style should only be used occasions Source (Patterns of Aggressive Behavior in Experimentally Created Social Climates, 1939). Participative (Democratic) Democratic leader involve their people (one or more employees) in decision making (determining what to do and how to do it) encourages participation and depends on subordinates respect for influence, this style of leadership partly explains the reason for empowerment of employees. The group members of a democratic leader perform well even when the leader is absent. However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Employees usually like democratic decision making, it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect. Democratic leadership however will find it difficult when options differ and it will difficult to arrive at a final decision. By this style is of mutual understanding it allows the employees to become part of the team and allows the leader to make better decisions Source (Field Theory and Experiment in Social Psychology Concepts and Method, 1939). Laissez-faire In this style, the leader has a minimum involvement in decision making; the leader allows the employees to make the decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is successful when the employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it, and where there is no requirement for a centralized coordination. This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you fully trust and confidence in the people below you. It was discovered by Lewin et al. that the democratic style was the most effective style of leadership. A good leader uses all three styles, depending on what forces are involved between the followers, the leader, and the situation. Some examples include, using an authoritarian style on a new employee who is just learning the job. The leader is competent and a good coach. The employee is motivated to learn a new skill. The situa tion is a new environment for the employee. The leader knows the problem, but does not have all the information. The employees know their jobs and want to become part of the team. You cannot do everything and the employee needs to take ownership of her job! In addition, this allows you to be at other places, doing other things Source (Pareek, 2007). The Impact of Leadership in Organizations The leadership has the ability to motivate and influence other leaders and the employees to achieve organizational goals through process of change. So are all the leaders are good and effective? Should all the organizations adopt a single approach to leadership? To analysis this leadership there is three types, which are individual leadership, group leadership and organizational leadership. Each of these types of leadership has a tremendous impact on how leaders are classified and viewed. The leadership theories revolve around describing traits of a leader, however, however the modern theories have tried to explain the impact through behavioral approaches. Motivation and process theories were later developed to determine the relationship and affect a leader had on the individual and group within an organization. Training has development has been a prominent development in the world of Organizational Behavior (OB) as organizations sought innovative methods for feedback and to regenerate their culture. This type of practiced has positively affected many organizations, the short-term results of coaching has given insight view of level 3 leadership which has been incorporated by both transactional and transformational leadership styles, however for organizations to achieve prominence and market share in their respective industry further development of leaders to a Level 5 leadership style was required. As the hierarchy in leadership position, power, control and achievement grew with the leaders success, some well known companies such as GE under the leadership of Jack Welch found themselves in the search of true leaders. It will be demonstrated that although such a leader may be detrimental to the organization, narcissistic leaders have also proven vital to the revival of these same organizations. Future planning is very important in the long-term growth of an organization in order to retain and attract the new leaders of tomorrow. Organizations need to be constant in terms of direction and control an effective leader has influenced in the past, and effective planning for the future leaders to continue the successful organization. The ever growing challenges that leaders face in the changing environment and coping with such difficult tasks such as interface management, change management, knowledge management and group dynamics within projects has been a task to balance and overcome. An effective leader increases the positive emotions within their organizations, they choose to do so a clear and compelling vision, but also have deep personal humility and an intense professional will Source (Sturek, 2005). Conclusions Leadership is a complex concept that has clearly demonstrated that developmental style is the most desirable style and it is associated with creation of empowerment, growth, learning, morale and satisfaction on the part of the employees. In Common terms this style creates resonance while the critical climate creates dissonance. In future the leadership programs should concentrate on the developmental style as a desirable style. This results in indicating the potential of all the situations chosen in predicting the leadership style. The style of leadership gets noticed consistently in most of the situation. Leadership style based feedback should perhaps focus on this in future.

Collin Powell Essay -- essays research papers

Secretary of State Colin Luther Powell served as national security adviser to President Ronald Reagan, and under President George Bush became the first African American to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-1993). In 2001 the U.S. Senate confirmed him as the Secretary of State. Colin Luther Powell was born in Harlem, New York City on April 5, 1937, the son of a shipping clerk and a seamstress, both of whom were immigrants from Jamaica. Powell spent most of his childhood in the South Bronx, then regarded as a step up from Harlem. Despite the urgings of his parents that he should "strive for a good education" in order to "make something" of his life, Powell remained an ordinary student throughout high school. At City College of New York, Powell discovered himself; his retentive mind and leadership abilities made him a conspicuous success in the Army's Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). He graduated from the program in 1958 with the rank of cadet colonel, the highest awarded, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He was then assigned to duty in West Germany. In 1962, while stationed at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, Powell met and married Alma Vivian Johnson. The couple had three children. Powell's next overseas assignment was in South Vietnam, where he was wounded in action. He then studied at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, finishing second in a class of more than twelve hundred officers. During a second tour in Vietnam he received the Soldier's Medal for pulling several men from a burning helicopter. The army then provided Powell the time to study for a Master's degree in business administration at George Washington University. He received the degree in 1971, after which he worked as an analyst at the Pentagon before securing what he called a "dream job": an appointment as a prestigious White House fellow in the Office of Management and Budget under the director, Caspar Weinberger, and his deputy, Frank Carlucci, two men of rising influence in Washington who perceived Powell's uncommon abilities and who would help shape his career. A man of commanding presence at six feet one inch and 200 pounds, Powell was assigned to South Korea in 1973 to command a battalion troubled by racial animosities. "I threw the bums out of the army and put the drug u... ...gure in government. During the 1996 presidential race, it was announced that Powell would run. He declined, citing various reasons. The withdrawal was disappointing to many Americans. In April 1997 Powell chaired a Volunteer Summit in Philadelphia. Powell, President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, former presidents, and other big names, including Oprah Winfrey, proposed the advent of a new volunteerism that would include people from all walks of life, place, and age. Powell's next step was to chair America's Promise, the Alliance for Youth. This organization is "dedicated to mobilizing individuals, groups and organizations from every part of American life, to build and strengthen the character and competence of our youth." Although the organization experienced some difficulties initially, Powell's commitment did not waver. Evaluations conducted in the spring of 1999 indicate that the organization has touched the lives of over 10 million children since its inceptio n. On December 16, 2000, President-elect George W. Bush nominated Powell to become the 65th Secretary of State. Following a unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate, he was sworn in on January 20, 2001.

Reflection on Teaching Essay

In order to challenge my theory of teaching I first need very briefly to define it. When I was taught science it was mostly through direct teaching. Any experiments performed were deductive in nature with very little input from me. When I got to college and I started performing experiments then I suddenly started having little epiphanies where facts I had learned off by heart were unexpectedly connected in ways I hadn’t understood before. So I came to think that this was what was lacking at secondary level, the experimental experience that allowed people to physically test the ‘how’ of the world around them. To put it simply people are innately curious and that exploiting this curiosity is the way to teach. From the moment they learn to talk, children constantly ask questions about everything, from â€Å"where eyebrows come from?† to â€Å"what do worms eat?† Asking questions is the way they find things out and this really is just one small step away from learning. From personal experience of teaching I think that Arnstine (1967) was correct when he said â€Å"the arousal of curiosity can lead to learning†¦for learning to occur, curiosity must be guided†. Designing lessons in such a way as to tap into the natural curiosity of students and to connect the topics on the curriculum with their everyday experiences is surely the best way to teach science. I find enquiry / constructivism extremely interesting as it encapsulates the whole get their attention approach but I think it’s misused by an awful lot of people. I think that analogies and real world examples need to be reflective of the scientific concept yet simple enough that the student can grasp it. Also it requires that the student be actively involved, activities must provide the opportunity to demonstrate learning.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"To instruct someone†¦ is not a matter of getting him to commit results to mind. Rather, it is to teach him to participate in the process that m akes possible the establishment of knowledge. We teach a subject not to produce little living libraries on that subject, but rather to get a student to think mathematically for himself, to consider matters as an historian does, to take part in the process of knowledge-getting. Knowing is a process not a product.† (Bruner. J, The Process of Education: Towards a theory of instruction 1966: 72) So in approaching this assignment I realise that I am an ardent supporter of teaching through enquiry. I agree with Bruners theoretical framework of building on pre-existing knowledge by presenting new material in a logical manner at a level the student can understand, revisiting topic in stages and building layers of ever increasing complexity. I find the concept of a spiral curriculum to be a sensible one, but also to be at odds with the way in which individual schools plan the teaching of science. There is far too much relience on the text book, with strict adherence to the material inside. I prefer to leave the text book at home, for the student to be assigned reading and questions from it for homework so that it is new and different and provides a slightly different aspect to the same topic. At the very least it will provide the same information as was covered in class in a slightly different manner and provoke recall instead of boredom. A consequence of supporting enquiry is an aversion to direct teaching. Those who support direct teaching say that it is a highly effective method of teaching. The basic components are careful content analysis, sequencing of information and use of appropriate examples, specific instructional formats where both teacher and student responses are scripted and testing to mastery. The part that receives the most criticism is the scripted responses. Here is an example I found at Brainsarefun.com http://brainsarefun.com/Teachtk.html EXAMPLE 1. All: Teacher and students touch the answer to be learned. 2. Teacher: â€Å"The answer to this question is, 1492.† 3. Teacher: â€Å"When I signal I want you to answer, 1492.† 4. Teacher: â€Å"The answer is 1492.† 5. Teacher: â€Å"What year did Columbus discover America?† 6. Teacher: â€Å"Get ready.† Watch the students to make sure all participate. 7. Teacher: Signal by pointing or snapping fingers. 8. All: â€Å"1492.† 9. Teacher: â€Å"That’s right, Columbus discovered America in 1492.† 10. Teacher: Reward. â€Å"Good job saying 1492.† Make eye contact with individuals. Smile. 11. Teacher: Next answer, or repeat until everyone is participating and firm. If any student is unable to participate or answer correctly, start at the top of the sequence again. Most teachers believe that this type of teaching is too restrictive and prevents the students from developing critical thinking skills. I have to say that on my first reading of this example of direct teaching I was horrified at the way the students were indoctrinated. I knew that this method of teaching was not for me and I continued to develop my lesson plans along the constructivist enquiry model. I researched guided discovery and found that discovery learning is described as an inquiry-based, constructivist learning theory that occurs in situations where the learner draws on their existing knowledge to discover facts and comprehend relationships. Students interact with the world by manipulating objects, wrestling with questions or performing experiments. As a result, students are more likely to remember concepts and knowledge discovered on their own (in contrast to a transmission / direct teaching model). Proponents of discovery learning say it has many advantages, including encouraging active engagement, promoting motivation, autonomy, responsibility, independence, aiding the development of creativity and problem solving skills and is a tailored learning experience that helps minimize classroom management problems. Detractors point out the amount of time needed to teach a topic and that students do not always achieve the intended outcome of the lesson. That is they may draw erroneous conclusions about the investigation they are engaged in. My action research Now that I have explored my theories on teaching I need to test those theories by comparing the outcomes of direct versus enquiry teaching. Ideally in order to compare the two methods I should keep the conditions of the lessons the same and only change the method of instruction. Rigor would  dictate that I teach two groups of students that have been randomly segregated. The students would be in the same year of secondary school and assumed to be at the same academic level. Ability within each group would be expected to mimic normal distribution with some students excelling and some struggling with the curriculum content. Unfortunately in my teaching practice placement I have one class of first years and one class of second years. I am also following a subject plan laid down by the science department in the placement school, which further restricts my research topic. Hence rather than directly compare and contrast two sets of lesson plans that differ in instruction but not content, I shall attempt to make my methods of instruction the subject of the action research. My intention is to design a number of lesson plans along the guidelines of both approaches and to deliver these lessons as independent of personal bias as possible. I shall assess the success of each lesson plan as a measure of student value and under a number of points such as participation, motivation to learn, interest of students, as well as proficiency in summative tests. Bearing in mind my own learning, I will also be critically examining something about my ability to deliver a constructivist lesson; do I do as I say? In assessing participation of students I will make reference to number, frequency and relevance of questions asked. Time spent on-task will be used to measure motivation and interest as will content of questions asked. In line with standard research methods I established a baseline of knowledge on the topic of energy by giving the students a questionnaire which was designed to probe existing conceptions. (more here on the results of the questionnaire) From my understanding of enquiry teaching there seems to be a number of activities that should feature in my lesson plans and I have tried to incorporate these in the enquiry based lesson plans. I have included a list of these activities here and have also identified them in the appropriate lesson plans. Enquiry activities †¢ Think about scientifically orientated questions that are at an appropriate level and ask ‘how’ rather than ‘why’ (teacher provides questions at first) †¢ Gather and consider evidence using the tools of science †¢ Make explanations based on prior gain fact and ‘new’ knowledge gained through the process of enquiry / evidence gathering †¢ Compare  conclusions to currently scientific understanding and account for differences †¢ Communicate and negotiate their findings and explanations with others After the brainstorming session I jotted down as many of the words and phrases as I could during class. Light, wave, geothermal, heat, renewable, sun, plants, photosynthesis, comes from food, plants make it, atomic bombs, it keeps you moving, you are tired without it, it can change, there’s energy in batteries, joules, oil. Then I asked a series of questions designed to clarify facts that they needed to know (3A6 Energy, 3A7 Energy conversion: Junior Certificate Science Syllabus). From the answers it was clear to me that the students could not distinguish between forms of energy and sources of energy. Because the discussion section of the enquiry lesson plan is open-ended I was able to direct questions and highlight information on the board that students could use to ‘discover facts’. I tried to give minimum guidance but I found that the students were floundering and unsure of what they were trying to accomplish. This was a recurring theme during the discovery lesson plans and it seems to me from my readings that this is the main detracting feature of enquiry instruction. Those who oppose constructivist / enquiry instruction such as Kisherner, Sweller and Clark (2006) argue that minimum guidance during instruction does not work and Clark (1989) goes further to suggest that his data shows that ‘lower aptitude students’ show a loss of learning on post instructional testing. My Conclusion It is essential that the teacher do research work, i.e., he should comb the subject of chemistry from end to end for facts and for methods of exposition that will make such facts live and real to his students. (Patrick, W. A. (1924) What kind of research is essential to good teaching? J. Chemical Education, Volume 1, Issue 1, p16.) I have come to the conclusion that there is a need for direct teaching in the classroom in order to build up foundation of facts in long term memory to provide wellspring of knowledge which can be used to provide data when needed. Enquiry or discovery learning encourages the use of this knowledge so that students can put facts together to think critically. Dewey supported inductive teaching as the way to improve scientific teaching for a better educated society and said science lessons should include learning the process of science not just the facts, (Dewey, 1903). By this I believe he meant that the two methods complement each other and need to be used in tandem. But direct teaching cannot be taken as an excuse for unimaginative lessons recycled every year with minimal input from the teacher needed in the delivery. If investigatory activities are designed deductively, ie have only one conclusion, need more here about factors to consider when designing lesson activities.

How to Drive a Stick Shift

How to drive a stick shift vehicle Driving a vehicle with manual transmission, also known as â€Å"driving stick†, can be confusing and or very difficult for people of all ages. Many drivers go through life without even owning a vehicle with a manual transmission. Learning to drive stick is a skill that can come in handy as this style of vehicle is very popular. Written instructions are no substitute for hands on activity. Driving standard is a skill acquired by time and cannot be achieved by just reading up on it.One of the most useful ways to start learning the art of driving a manual transmission or stick shift is to familiarize yourself with the car's clutch. You should already know what the gas and brake pedals do. Get in the car and make sure the emergency brake is engaged. Get a feel for the clutch by putting pressure on it and releasing it for several minutes. This is also a good time to look at the gear shifter, which is usually located on the center console to the ri ght of the driver.There is usually a map of the gear patterns on the head of the stick shifter, studying this before you are ready to go is a must. If the guide is worn away and unreadable, you should use the car’s manual to find out the mapping of the gears. Another strategy to use would be to pull in the clutch and get a feel for where the gears engage. Once you understand where the gears are, without actually pressing the gas pedal, pretend you are driving and practice speeding up. (Making the sounds is optional and can be humorous. Put the clutch to the floor and put the car in first gear. Pretend you are driving and while speeding up push in the clutch to shift into another gear. Do this for the rest of the gears until you feel comfortable shifting. When coming to a stop, you can do two things. You can push the clutch in and keep the car in gear, or you can put the shifter in the neutral position and let the clutch back up. It is sometimes good to put a stick shift in ne utral while stopped, to ease the strain on your leg and foot, and also to lessen wear and tear on your clutch.When you are ready to go again, simply press the clutch to the floor and put the shifter into first gear, and give the vehicle a little gas. If you pull the clutch out too fast and give it little gas the car may stall, but to not be discouraged if you do so. Stalling a car with a manual transmission happens to the best of drivers. Once you learn how to do it, and after a little practice, driving a stick shift is fairly easy. It becomes a habit and you’ll find yourself driving a standard vehicle like it’s no big deal. For many, this is a more exciting and fun way to drive a vehicle or truck.