Self-assessment

Introduction

1. Summary

While most people strongly believe that they fully know who they truly are, their idea may be tainted by any personal bias that they may have when trying to create a picture of the type of people they are. However, there are various self assessment tests that can give a true description of an individual by having them complete a set of questions and assessment programs targeting the individual’s personality and approach towards life. The results will then reveal the type of person an individual is without the bias that may otherwise cloud people’s judgment. After completing a self assessment survey, I discovered that I have a Type A personality. This means that it is part of my nature to want to always achieve everything I set out to accomplish and in the littlest time possible. It further revealed that other than being overly competitive, I also have a great deal of urgency when it comes to time and that I often get impatient with things that prevent me from accomplishing my goals. The survey further revealed that I am the kind of person who feels guilty when idle even if I’m just relaxing or taking a break. Furthermore, the survey painted me out to be the type of person who is likely to be absent minded or preoccupied and may even result to texting while talking to someone else.

From the survey, I also discovered that I am the kind of person who would rather do the ethical thing rather than doing something unethical just because I will get away with it. Even though I desire to achieve my goals in the shortest time possible, ethics are part of my process and it is in my nature to want things done fast and in an ethical manner. In relation to my personality, the big five revealed that I have a quite positive approach towards things. When it comes to searching for information, the survey indicated that I tend to be thorough, only deal with facts and always welcome opinions from others. When it comes to interpreting and comprehending the information, I tend to be keen when checking any exaggerations or omissions so as to relay the whole truth. I also use my personal experiences as well as opinions from others to assist in making interpretations. When it comes to determining essential factors, I tend to strongly rely of actual facts rather than personal opinions and advice from others. In the case of recognizing other people’s characteristics, my personal interaction and history with them contributes greatly. However, I find it challenging to identify relationships.

The survey revealed that I have an internal locus of control and I am very hopeful and tend to expect positive outcomes and because of this, I am quite satisfied with the job I currently have. I also have desirable cultural values as I believe in equality not only in the workplace but also in society. Managers ought to treat other employees professionally and with respect while both men and women have the right to attain any position regardless of their gender. I also practice morality and engage others in an ethical way. With a score of 26 in self motivation, my emotional IQ suggests that I have ideal management skills and am more likely to use exemplification as a tactic. I also have good perception skills which allow me to better plan and prepare for any task that I set out to achieve. As for my career, I want a job that is flexible, has a good salary, job security and one that gives me the opportunity for promotion. Other than being able to handle stress, I am also goal oriented and self motivated. When it comes to handling stress, I prefer informational support over emotional support as it provides me with the tools I need to solve the issue that is causing me stress. In relation to the role as manager, the survey ranked me as being above average and quite capable of handling any duties, responsibilities and challenges that come with a managerial position.

2. Results

The results from the survey reveal that I am a manager that is goal oriented, motivated and determined to get results. Other than assigning duties and expected them to be performed, I am the kind of manager who assist in implementing these duties through leading by example. The results also described me as the type of manager who encourages cooperation and teamwork. With such qualities, I am likely to offer good leadership by showing other staff how to work together in accomplishing duties. However, despite my good management skills, I tend to be overly focused on achieving every task with the least time possible. As such, I will have the tendency to push employees beyond their limits and want all tasks to be accomplished as soon as possible. While this may be commendable in some cases, too much may create a poor working environment for other staff members. However, the survey indicates that I value others opinions and this will greatly help in discussing areas that need change and any grievances that the people working under me  may have so as to establish a conducive working environment.

3. Strengths and weaknesses

From the survey, one of my greatest strengths is being time sensitive and striving to accomplish tasks as soon as possible. This makes it easy to finish one task and progressing on to the next. Another strength as seen from the survey is that I have good morals and always try to make the ethical decisions. As such, I am able to treat those that I deal with fairly and always achieve the most ethical solution to a problem. Hope is another strength which means that I will better equipped to solve any problem that I encounter since my mindset will be on a positive outcome in future.

As for negatives, the survey pointed out that I feel uncomfortable when relaxing or taking time off. This could lead to me overworking myself and eventually to exhaustion. It also suggested that I have poor social skills and often find myself distracted. An example is texting on the phone while talking to someone and this could create a sense of hostility or lack of communication.

4. Reaction to results

While most of the results from the survey revealed things I already knew of myself, there was one finding that I found quite surprising and this has to do with the results regarding how I feel about free time. The survey suggested that I feel uncomfortable while relaxing or taking breaks and I prefer keeping myself with work. Were it not for the survey, I would have never realized that this is something I do, nor would I have become aware of its downside. The uneasiness I felt made me want to keep working and although I thought this was something positive, there are some negatives. At a personal level, I could end up overworking myself to the point where it affects the quality of my work if I take on too many responsibilities. As a manager, it would affect my relationship with other employees especially if I expect the same of them. Overworking them too much and not allowing adequate time to rest could result to a hostile and undesirable working environment.

5. Impact of the instruments

The instruments used in the survey have greatly helped me to better understand my strong and weak points and how I can use the skills I possess not only to make myself a better person but also a better manager. Through the survey, I was able to understand my personality, my approach towards life and the reason as to why I live the way I do. It also made me aware of the negative qualities that I possess and how they affect me and the people that I interact with. However, the one thing that I found to be the most valuable, especially as a manager, is my cultural beliefs and desire to always observe ethics in anything I do. Having good morals is important as it is a way of leading by example and teaching others to always do what is right. In a world where most people often think about themselves first, having good morals is a great trait as it will ensure that people look out for the well being of others and always take an ethical approach in everything that they do.

6. Benefits

Personally, I believe I will be able to benefit from the survey and become a better person. Since I am now aware of my weaknesses, I will be able to work on them and correct them where possible. I will also use my strengths to become better and try to implement the same change in others. Professionally, the survey was beneficial in that it made me aware of the managerial skills that I process and how I can use them to be a better leader.  It also made it possible to realize my flaw especially in communication and this made it possible to rectify so that I can interact better with other members of staff. In general, the survey showed me an unbiased side of myself, where I am good at, where I can rectify and therefore made me a better person.

Federal loans to finance college education

The federal government offers various loans to cover college costs through its Federal Direct Loan Program which should be explored by students before considering going for private loans. These loan facilities include direct subsidized and unsubsidized loans and the Direct PLUS Loans. The Stanford loans is a term used to refer to these subsidized and unsubsidized loans offered by the federal government and attract very low interest loans .Direct Loans that are subsidized (Stafford subsidized) are available for students with known financial needs according to federal regulations. Loans that are direct and unsubsidized (Stafford unsubsidized) are not issued on the basis of financial needs but the school determines the amount a student can borrow based on attendance cost and other financial aides received (U.S. Department of Education, 2016).

For the unsubsidized loans, they are not offered on the basis of income and not every student is eligible for the maximum amount of loan. Students’ eligibility is determined by their year, other aids awarded and the attendance cost estimates. Students borrowing the unsubsidized Stafford Loans have to bear the whole amount of interest accumulated while in school, deferment and during the provided grace period (U.S. Department of Education, 2007).  For the subsidized Stafford Loans they have fixed interest rates currently at 4.329 percent while interest for the unsubsidized ones stands at 5.84 percent for the graduate level(U.S. Department of Education, 2016).

A monthly payment for the student loan can be determined by the formula for car loan as follows;

Monthly payment = (interest rate/ 12 months x Principal amount) (1- {1+ interest rate/ 21 months) ^{- months}.

 If a student had a loan of $ 15000, which is to be repaid within 3 years at an interest of 5.84 % , the payment amount would be as follows;

             15000 (0.584/12) / {1- (1+0. 584/12)^-36} = $463.16 monthly payment

The Perkin Loans are paid through the Federal Perkins Loan Program. They have low interest and are available for college students who have financial needs that are exceptional. The loans are accessible by students who have enrolled for both part-time and full-time programs and are attending those schools participating in this loan program. An undergraduate student is eligible to a maximum $ 5,500 each year with the highest that they can borrow being $ 27,500. Other than an interest of 5 percent, there no extra charges on the loan but skipping payment or late payment or payment less than total amount may attract late charges and any collection fees (U.S. Department of Education, 2016). The Direct Plus Loans is made to borrowers through colleges participating in Direct Loan Program. A borrower’s credit history must not be adverse and attendance cost is the largest amount of loan less other financial aids that one has received. One is required to have his or her signature in Mater Promissory Note for Direct PLUS Loan where they agree to the terms of the loans. The loan interest rate is fixed at 6.31 % (U.S. Department of Education, 2016).  

Student’s college cost can be met through grants that do not have to be paid, unless they were incorrectly awarded or one withdrew from college. Such grants includes Federal Pell Grant which is for undergraduates who have financial needs and have not earned professional or bachelor’s degrees. Another grant is Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant which is offered to students who are exceptionally in need. There are also scholarships which are awarded by individuals or organizations on the basis of selective criteria - merit based or need based – and are afforded for various national, regional or local sources (Williams College, 2017).

Reference

U.S. Department of Education, (2016).DO YOU NEED MONEY FOR COLLEGE? The Guide to Federal Student Aid 2017–18. Retrieved from: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/2017-18-do-you-need-money.pdf

U.S. Department of Education,(2007).Funding Education Beyond High School. 23-60.Retrieved from: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED490979.pdf

Williams College, (2017). Grants & Scholarships. Retrieved from: https://finaid.williams.edu/how-it-works/grants-scholarships/

Education

            The 21^st century form of classroom has changed due to the issue of diversity that has created numerous difficulties mostly to the teachers who may not have experienced this diversity while they were students. I am doing my practicum in a second grade class room. There is a girl from Mexico who speaks Spanish as her first language. She is one of the four English Language Learners in the classroom. However, she is always quiet, speaks in very low voice and is too shy to ask questions, even if she cannot understand what the teacher is asking for. What she does is observe what her peers or desk mate do, and imitate them.  In some instances where she is familiar with the routine, she seemed to follow all the instructions very well but without this familiarity she failed to follow the instructions. I can tell that she gets very nervous and uncomfortable every time I sit beside her and try to help her doing the worksheet or read with her. Whenever I ask her to chose a book that we can read together, she always choose the book that has only few words in each page despite the fact that she has already read it many times.

            As a teacher during my practicum observation on the Mexican child, I have learnt that differentiation approach in teaching is an essential as well as an effective way of giving out instructions to the diversified class. This practice of differentiation thus enables a teacher to separate instructions so as to be able to address the precise standards while responding to each and every child’s needs (Felder 2005).

            In my practicum period, I have made some efforts to offer class materials that reflect a variety of the students’ cultures as well as their home settings in-order to make the learning experience better. So as to meet the special needs of these children, it is important as a teacher to develop some of the routines that will allow these students to get the special assistance that they need from the teacher while the rest of the children have something to keep themselves busy.

References

Felder, R. M., & Brent, R. (2005). Understanding student differences. Journal of engineering education, 94(1), 57-72.

Proposal

Overview

In University of California, Davis, most students choose to live in the resident hall during their freshmen year. Most of the buildings are mixed one which means men and women live on the same floor together. Under my observation, some of the students would enter the wrong restroom. During my freshmen year, I lived on the female floor, but I could always see guys from other floors enter our restroom, using the restroom or taking shower. When I went to visit my friend in other resident hall, I could also see girls enter the men’s restroom. Living in the residence halls however come with a number of advantages thus universities urge students to live in the residence halls. The residence halls have internet thus students are able to use internet all day long (Smelser, 2010). Being exposed to the internet enables them socialize well and do thorough research using the internet and the library as well. In addition, residence halls have valuable experience that student would not like to miss out. Students who live in the residence halls can engage in a number of campus activities and events all day long either during the day or at night (Wald & Gohari, 2005). The Residence Life Staff come up with activities that ensure students are able to mingle and socialize well. Thus life in the residence halls is interesting therefore students should not miss out. Students are also able to form study groups together if they live in the residence halls since it is much easier compared to those who live at home.

However, there some challenges faced too when one lives in the residence halls. One is that one does not enjoy privacy since you students share rooms. The population in University of California is huge such that students end up sharing rooms (Wald & Gohari, 2005). One can share a room with a bad influence student and end up copying the behavior of the roommate. I love living in the residential halls but lack of privacy pisses me off. In addition one does not feel safe since both men and women share same buildings. Sharing the same buildings put students at rape risks unlike where men and women do not share same buildings. This is a challenge and if not well considered rape cases can arise which will hinder learning.

Problem

Restroom is a private place. Especially the restrooms are set with bathrooms. Sometimes when I took shower in the morning, I would see guy washing his hands outside. This really scared me. The problem is that restroom is no longer a private place for a single gender. In addition, you will get a roommate who you do not get along with. For instance if the roommate goes out and comes back late night and disturbs you. Some roommates use someone’s stuffs without permission meaning some roommates are not courteous. This is a problem since one needs privacy and if privacy lacks one feels uncomfortable and distracted. It becomes challenging to deal with annoying roommates who are even ready to listen to you. There is much freedom in the residence halls since one is longer restricted by the parents thus most students do crazy things instead of learning. Most students miss classes and involve themselves in unhelpful activities (Cuccaro-Alamin, 1998). Some students do not live healthy since they do not eat healthy and do exercises since they are no longer watched by parents and teachers.

There is little time management in the residential halls since time is not restricted. Students actually do whatever they want. If one wants to sleep the whole day, they do so since there are asked. Some students end up failing to attend classes at any specific day since they do not manage their time well. Many first year students waste most of their time since they want to learn new things. I did not waste time but felt bad seeing my friends’ waste time doing unhelpful activities and skiving classes. Students waste much money since they always say money is never enough. Money is big problems since students can do anything to get money even involve themselves in criminal activities just to get money.

Plan

There is a kind of machine on all the gates for resident halls. This machine requires residents swipe their Aggie cards to enter the building. I plan to set this kind of machine on each door of restrooms so that girls cannot enter men’s restroom, meanwhile, men could not enter women’s restroom as well. The residence management should ensure it comes up with strategies that will ensure the hostels remain private areas as they are supposed to be. In addition time should be managed to the students since most of the students fail to manage time and end up failing and getting stressed. Residence halls should have time limits in order to prevent some students coming late and disturbing the rest. There should be a restriction for instance the closing time should be around 10PM. This will ensure students manage their time and deter many unhelpful activities from happening. There should be restrictions that prevent men from entering women rooms and vice versa. Students who fail to abide by the rules should be punished or expelled from the universities which can act as a good measure to ensure privacy is maintained.

The University of California should expand the residence halls so that students can longer share rooms. This will help solve the problem of annoying roommates since students’ needs privacy. I plan to present my proposal to the residence halls management team so that privacy can be maintained in the residence halls. Everybody would enjoy living in an area that allows privacy since one feels safe. I plan to push the management team to come up with strategies that will ensure students live healthy. For instance, the students should have specific days for sport activities thus they can exercise. Most of the students in campus do not get involved in the sport activities since they are so much into other activities that are not helpful. Residence halls are important thus should be treated as important unlike how they are treated now. I plan to push for better services in the residence halls since most students are not happy with the current services especially where they are deprived of privacy and safety. 

Personnel

Student Housing Jenni Porter, Sustainability CoordinatorThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

160 Student Housing

University of California, Davis

One Shields Avenue

Davis, CA 95616

(530)752-2033

This kind of machine could swipe our Aggie card and only costs $14.99 each. There are three living areas in UC Davis.

Total XXXX XXXXXXXXXXX

*No need means rooms are in suits with all same gender.

References

Cuccaro-Alamin, S. (1998). New face of the university of california: Undergraduate admissions in the. Place of publication not identified: Diane Pub Co.

Smelser, N. J. (2010). Reflections on the University of California: From the free speech    movement to the global university. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Wald, C., & Gohari, O. (2005). University of California, Riverside: Riverside, California.            Pittsburgh, Pa: College Prowler.

Bilingual Education in the United States

Kim, Hutchison & Winsler, (2013), asserts that with the high increase of children who speak distinct native languages rather than English in America raises the necessity for more support for the English learners in gaining proficiency in English as well as maintaining their first language. In America, Bilingual education has been a major of the education scope since the 17th century but its efficiency has not been achieved (Goldenburg, & Wagner, 2015). Bilingual education has raised controversial debates handling the complexity of culture, identity as well as the issues of identity. In the quest of addressing the  minority language students educational needs, there is a great desire  in establishing effective strategies that best  equips them  in becoming  thriving  American societal members (Kim, Hutchison & Winsler, 2013).

Under the federal policy, the group of children is described as students with limited English proficiency which is highly criticized to be a primary focus on the children’s incapability thus ignoring their native language value. The different ELL education approaches that have been implemented over the years have reported differing success degrees. The most commonly utilized approach is referred to as submersion where the learning instructions are in pure English and in most cases native language learning is only given for a year before English switch. ESL is, however, different since it recognizes the student's needs for acquiring personalized instructions that helps ELLs in catching up easily without native instructions (Kim, Hutchison & Winsler, 2013).

The ELL approach utilizes  two  distinct  language  in  teaching  but  it has  faded  out in the recent  based on the  perception that  relying on the native  language while acquiring formal education  affects  the  ability  of the  students  in gaining  full  English proficiency  in the  short  run (Goldenburg, & Wagner, 2015). Based on research students involved in Bilingual education programs are performs higher as compared to their peers involved in ESL sole programs. This is mainly because the native language capability is enhanced by the Bilingual programs which in turns increase their capabilities in learning English. However, despite the effectiveness  of the  programs they are  mainly established  in district schools  which are  characterized  by  a lower  number  of ELL students or even a limitation of Bilingual teachers (Kim, Hutchison & Winsler, 2013).

According to, Kim, Hutchison & Winsler, (2013), the specifications of NCLB on the necessity to implement educational programs that are  based on increasing  English proficiency for LEP students are meant for offering a preparation for  the students in learning  in an English environment. TWI programs are specifically effective in the promotion of academic achievement, language proficiency as well as the building of a positive perception towards learning (Goldenburg, & Wagner, 2015).  Students involved in the programs achieve both productive and proficiency in English as well as the capability to sustain their native language capability as compared to those enrolled in ESL and submersion programs. This makes it apparent that the benefits are not acquired at the ELLs aptitudes cost in their particular languages (Kim, Hutchison & Winsler, 2013).

According to Goldenburg, & Wagner, (2015), Bilingual education is more efficient with regard to achieving and maximizing educational outcomes for students characterized by English language deficiency.   Higher academic gains are  upheld by the programs  as children are able to Bilingual as well as achieving similar  accomplishments in academics with those students that are involved in  English programs (Kim, Hutchison & Winsler, 2013). The success of Bilingual programs necessitates the provision of adequate resources across all the public institutions in reference to populations.  However, the implementation cannot be generalized based on the presence of a range of native languages in the country and the requirement to handle the society’s perception in regard to Bilingual education.

            References

Goldenburg, C., & Wagner, K. (2015). Bilingual  Education, Revisiting  American Tradition. American Educator. Pdf

Yoon, K. Kim, Lindsey A. Hutchison & Winsler, A. (2013). Bilingual education in the United States: an historical overview and examination of two-way immersion. Routledge. Pdf

ESL (English as a Second Language) Legislation

The radical development and distribution of settlers in the country have altered the operations of the public education at a period that is characterized by increased accountability pressures under No Child Left behind Act as well as the recent reform Every Student Succeeds Act.  The article on academic accomplishments of youths with limited proficiency in English for both fresh and established states in the country attempts to present an analysis of the demographic changes effects on the children.

According to Spees, Potochnick, & Perreira, (2016), tests scores for LEP youths remains distinct across the established and the fresh immigrant’s location states.  The academic accomplishments of LEP youths who are located in fresh destinations are higher as compared to those in the established ones. The benefits are, however, not consistent across all the ethnic immigrant's groups. Spees, Potochnick, & Perreira, (2016), asserts that LEP youths located in the new immigrant's destination states acquire more benefits  based on the favorable  demographic features  that surround them,  families as well as more  of underutilized resources.  However, the environmental, economic and social differences only present an explanation of a smaller part of the gap existing in the academic achievements.

LEP youths have always been characterized by low academic success as compared to the non-LEP youths. This is fueled by the fact that the American education policies fail to recognize and offer guidelines for the provision of effective services that would assist LEP students in improving English proficiency as well as academic achievements (Spees, Potochnick, & Perreira, 2016). ELL programs are mainly responsible for ensuring that LEP students acquire services of high quality that are required to be academically and professionally prepared.  In most of the places across the nation, English learners are subjected to low access to quality teachers, fewer resources and lowered advanced coursework availability. The students normally settle for courses that are characterized with less complexity based on their disadvantage literacy development which additionally affects their capability to solve issues.  LEP are normally not only exposed to negative academic achievement but also lowered potential for better-earning professions which are a negative impact on their future (Spees, Potochnick, & Perreira, 2016).

Every Student Succeeds Act offers all the states with the chance of considering their special confined framework in creating plans that are aimed at meeting all the diversified necessities of English learners (Congress, 2016). The accountability of the public education system cannot be met fully without the engagement of the English learners.  Their special needs must, therefore, be addressed to achieve sustainable achievements. The benefits should be distributed across the established and the fresh immigrant’s destination for an overall efficiency of the programs.

It is apparent under the Every Student Succeeds Act that the English learner’s needs must be addressed for the public education’s accountability to be achieved. The success of every student will be achieved through the incorporation of the diversified needs across the EL programs with all the states (Congress, 2016).  This implies that the established and the new immigrant’s destinations must be equipped with qualified teachers, adequate and advanced courses and increased materials to support learning. The programs are responsible for ensuring that those educational outcomes are maximized for the EL students to equip the educational sector with a better position for efficiency to be achieved (Congress, 2016). The policy is basically situated on creating equal opportunities for all the students in achieving higher academically as well as professionally.

            References

Congress. (2016). Every Child Succeeds Act. Retrieved from https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1177

Spees, L. P., Potochnick, S., & Perreira, K. M. (2016). The academic achievement of

Limited English Proficient (LEP) youth in new and established immigrant states: Lessons from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Education Policy Analysis Archives, 24(99).

Theory is a form of learning 

            A large number of students study hard with an aim of being credited and to handle examinations and they seldom think of attaining any knowledge.  This paper therefore, will discuss more on the schema and the engagement theory and it will also discuss on the way these theories informs the way in which one will teach a reading.

            Engagement theory is a form of learning in technologically based environs and it incorporates so many aspects from the past theories of learning. The main elements of this theory are founded on motivation with an aim of inspiring the students so as to find the lessons more interesting and also more valuable (Sun 2005). The schema theory on the other hand states that all the knowledge is structured into units where each and every unit of knowledge has its own stored knowledge.  Thus they are able to participate and learn effectively and maintain the information that they have attained from the learning and thus they are able to transfer this knowledge into other contexts (Rentsch et al 2009). 

            These theories therefore act as guidelines that are used to inform how a reading is to be taught. For instance, the schema theory allows a teacher to prepare units for a certain reading where each reading has its general description for thoughtful knowledge and how it is applicable. In the meantime, most of the people believe that these students basically requires need to be strengthened and thus the teachers make enormous efforts to utilize several forms of education skills so as to transform knowledge and to lead the students into paying more attention to literature and also to be able to cultivate an aesthetic education excellence of literature.

References

Sun Di. (2005). On The Enlightenment Of Engaged Learning Theory To Construct Virtual Learning Community. Distance Education Journal 6, 21-25.

Rentsch, J. R., Mot, I., & Abbe, A. (2009). Identifying the core content and structure of a schema for cultural understanding (No. ARI-TR-1251). ARMY RESEARCH INST FOR THE BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES ARLINGTON VA.

Academic success

Strategic design for academic success

Academic goals are important in my life as they will help in achieving educational success.  The main reason as to why  I am setting academic goals plan is to  manage my  education  so that  when I am in the learning environment I can  use the plan in achieving academic cusses. I want to create academic goals so that I can become accountable in achieving the target.  I will be motivated to strive for something positive and work hard to avoid negative obstacles on way.  Having set important goals in life, I will strive to achieve my highest potential and as I enter in the world, I will be in a position to accomplish endless possibilities. Generally,  my strategic design for academic success will help in achieving my academic goals  and through addressing the possible challenges that I will meet , I will  complete my education effective and achieve success.

 Academic goals

1. Find an internship

 Finding an internship is an important idea since I want to connect my education knowledge with real world experience for the purpose of creating a substantial clarification (Solomon & Amy, 6). Through experience, I will gain confidence and create a professional network and these benefits will play role when searching for a job. The connection with external environment will increase the chances of finding employment after graduation.  

2. Join a club

 I would like to join a club and share the interest and new ideas which are related with my field.  The purpose of setting this goal is that I want to develop soft skill through interaction. I want to learn new things such as work ethics, communication and become emotional intelligent (Solomon & Amy, 9).  Other point is that I will gain practical experience through engaging in project management and other events.

3. New Time Plan

 I want to set a   new time plan as a goal in achieving academic success. I understand that without self-regulation strategies, I cannot be able to study well and to be engaged in other curricular activities (Solomon & Amy, 12).  Therefore in my education life, I want to set time for my personal things and time for studying.

4. Try something new

 In setting my academic goals, I want to try something new. I have the passion of trying something new not only to gain life experience but also to broaden my horizon (Wilson & Michael, 3). When trying to do new things, I want to get skills of how solve problems and identify my weaknesses and strength in solving problems.

5. Beat procrastination down

 In order to achieve success, I want to set the goal that and  ensure that I complete the assignments whether easy of difficult.  I want to avoid the negative aspects of an assignment. I want to increase my learning capabilities and develop my brains through assignments (Wilson & Michael, 3).  Assignment will boost my practical skills which will assist when tackling practical exams.

Challenges and strengths in achieving goals

Challenges

In academic environment, there are various challenges which hinder students in achieving goals.  The possible challenges that I may meet on my way are lack of time. As a student, sometimes it is hard to have time for all my plans and as result some things go undone (Wilson & Michael, 12).  Second is a financial problem. Money is a problem and a big challenge which might act as a stumbling block in achieving my education goal. Third is lack of skills.  As a student I need skills which will help me move forward and achieve my goals. However, I have little skill and I might not be in a position to make wise decision about academic.

How I will address the challenges

 I will try to overcome these obstacles so that I can have a successful academic plan. First, I will address these challenges through finding an academic advisor who will assist in developing schedule and a successful plan (Wilson & Michael, 21). I will also create a relationship with my professor so that he can assist with necessary skills required in meeting my objectives as well as my course.  I will also seek academic skills assistance from the Learning Assistance Center.  Grants and scholarships will assist in financial problems and I will complete my education successfully (Wilson & Michael, 24).

 Strength

My strengths in this case are my innate abilities and these core abilities will help me achieve my goals. First, I am cooperative.  I like creating relation with others, listening to others’ ideas and working together as a group.  Second, I am conscientious. This means that I have my person self-control  and  I like have my personal plans in advance so that I can achieve my aims  and in case of any change be in  a position to adapt to the new situations.  I am goal oriented and this means that I am able to work for long hours to ensure that things are done efficiently.

Plan for achieving my goals

First, I need support in order to achieve my goals. I will seek support and motivation from my professor so that he can help me reach the position I want (Wilson & Michael, 33). I will try to create a strong relationship with one professor and make him my best friend in times of need. He will help me access learning services in the school where I will develop my skills and reach my academic goals. On the same note, my professor achieved his goals and so he will motivate, advice and encourage. Secondly, I will achieve my goals through practical actions (Wilson & Michael, 34). This means that I will take action plan such as reading books, conducting experiments, exploring external environment and more so that I can reach the selected goals above.  I will ensure that my goals are set high so that I can strive to reach them through hardworking.  After setting goals, I will take a positive mind so that I can avoid negativity and work toward achieving the goals (Wilson & Michael, 38). The last important point believes in me.  Confidence and positive minds are the core elements. These will help me stay motivated and accept failures.

Conclusion

Academic goals both long- term and short -term are important in achieving academic success. As a student, I believe that setting goals will help me strive to accomplish success and gain long-term vision.  The purpose of setting these is to achieve academic success, motivation and self-confidence.   However, there are challenges such as financial problems and other which hinder achievement.   I believe that by having personal strength, I will be able to find solution and ensure success in my education.  It is my responsibility to take action and use the available resources to achieve my academic success.

Work cited

Solomon, Amy, and Amy Solomon. 100% Student Success. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage

Learning, 2012. Print.

Wilson, Susan B, and Michael S. Dobson. Goal Setting: How to Create an Action Plan and

Achieve Your Goals. New York: American Management Association, 2008. Internet

resource.

What did you learn from the slides?

Chapter 5

 In chapter 5, I learnt that animal intelligence can be measured through learning procedures.  In studying animal intelligence, it is important to understand that behavior produces two consequences namely; satisfying state and annoying state of affairs (Chapter 5). The behavior and its consequences create the Law of Effect which states that a consequence of behavior determines the strength of a behavior.  In measuring the intelligence, there are two basic procedures known as positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement.  The latter means that a behavior is followed by a stimulus and in this case the stimulus acts as a positive reinforce since it will positively affect the behavior in future (Chapter 5).  An organism needs the positive reinforcement so that it can increase intensity. The former, which is negative reinforcement, means that there is a removal of stimulus and the stimulus acts as a negative reinforce which helps an organism in escape. Other important thing which I learnt is that operant learning is affected by various variables.  First, contingency affects operant learning in that when behavior is consistent to reinforcement, then there are high chances that behavior will occur. Second, contiguity explains the time difference between the organism behavior and the basic procedures.  Third, reinforce characteristic affects the learning in terms of the size of the reinforcement (Chapter 5). Last but not least, deprivation level variable means that the effectiveness is achieved with respect to the deprivation of reinforces. In this chapter, I also learnt about the theories of reinforcement.  First relative value theory asserts that reinforcement not only acts as stimuli but also as a behaviors.  Second, response deprivation theory asserts that   organism should avoid normal frequency in reinforcement so that behavior can be become reinforcing. Third, Two-process theory asserts that negative reinforcement  which is also known as escape training asserts that avoidance is also explained by Pallovian and Operant conditioning (Chapter 5).  The last theory is one-Process theory which asserts that only operant conditioning   is responsible in explaining escape and avoidance.

Chapter 7

In this chapter, I have learnt that operant learning procedures are fundamental as they help in veterinary services of captive animals.  In this case, positive reinforcing unlike negative reinforcement is used in   animal caring and training.  Under this topic of operant application, operant learning procedures are used in animal caring and training and they are applied in various areas (Chapter 7). First, it is used in self-awareness. Animals are trained to have self-awareness through internal reflection. Second, animals are trained on self-control through physical restraint, distancing and more. Third, animals are trained on verbal behavior and this is closely related with social environment. Both behavior and social environment shapes the verbal behavior. In other words, operant learning shapes the language development.  Third, operant learning helps animals in solving insightful problems (Chapter 7). When there is availability of reinforcement and organism is unable to receive reinforcement, they solve problems through trial and error. Through discovering the problem, they receive insightful problem solving. Operant learning also help animals in creativity.  In this case, reinforcement is applied as it determines the level of creativity. Other important point in this chapter is self-injurious behavior. In operant learning, veterinaries train animals in eliminating unwanted behaviors (Chapter 7).

Chapter 6

This chapter talks about operant punishment and both punishment and reinforcement are fundamental in lessening the behavior strength.  They both assert that there are either positive or negative consequences out of a behavior. Second, the behavior has the capability to increase or to decrease and third, the consequence of a behavior is as a result of change in strength of a behavior (Chapter 6). The chapter asserts that there are three variables which affect punishment namely contingency where cause and effect of punishment is required, contiguity which is the   time difference between behavior and punishment and punisher intensity where the level of intensity matters.  I have also learnt that there are theories which explain punishment.  The first is process theory which asserts that operant learning and Pavlovian are responsible in explaining punishment (Chapter 6).  The chapter introduces another important topic known as the Biology of Memory. In this part, I have learnt that Neuron is made by four parts namely Soma, Dendrites, Axon and Synapse.  In addition, the nervous system is made up by two cells called Glial which comprises 90% and Neurons which make 10%.  I was also interested in learning how neurons work and I learnt that they work in neural communication, terminating synaptic activity, resting potential and action potential (Chapter 6). Neuron also work in Long-term Potentilaition-neural change in learning, Long-term Depression-a presynaptic which controls the LTP  and Synaptic Change-which is controlled by LTP though boosting receptor sensitivity (Chapter 6).

Reference

Operant Reinforcement. Chapter 5

Operant Application. Chapter 7

Operant Punishment. Chapter 6

1. unit of analysis (independent variable or dependent variable)
2. Boys whose parents are divorced or separated (independent variable) have more behavior problems (Dependent variable) than boys living with both biological parents (independent variable)
3. The number of sexually explicit magazines sold in each of the fifty states (dependent) is positively correlated with the number of reported rapes (independent variable).
4. Residents of rural communities (dependent variable) are less tolerant of people holding non-traditional views than urban residents (independent variable)
5. How does the level of economic development in a country (independent) affect the level of human services provided to its people (dependent variable)?
6. Physical Exercise

            Regular physical exercise undertaking is essential as it contributes towards minimizing psychological stress and thus enhancing the well being of a person as they are positively influenced. However, in as much as generalizations are made that lack of exercise causes disorders, it cannot be measured. Nonetheless, the examining of the correlation between the physical exercises frequency that is the number of times that the person engages in physical activities and the effect that this has on the psychological well-being makes it more reliable to make the conclusion that lack of physical exercise results to psychological disorder. However, it may not be accurate but it is precise. It is thus essential to engage in any physical exercise or activity as it will ensure that mental health is attained (Garcia, et al 328).

            Men as well as women vary in the levels at which they get depressed and also I the manner that they get involved in physical exercises. In most case, the female gender has a higher frequency of depressive attitudes as compared to the male gender. Therefore in most cases, those women who participate in physical exercises are less depressed as compared to those who are less engaged in physical activity. It is thus clear that gender is a driving factor to interaction effect mostly in the depression and physical exercise correlation. Older men are less likely to attend personal physical exercise than older women as they believe that the correlation between physical exercise and depression may have minimal healthy impact on the men than in the women. Physical exercise relation with psychological disorder or stress is spurious as it reflects on the underlying influence of the correlation characteristics, the social support and the welfare of the physical exercise and disorder control in both male and female. Both male and female associate occurrence of aging with the lack of engagement in the physical exercises and thus most of the older people tends to lead active lives as they regard exercising as essential.  However this perception varies across the gender and with different people. Thus most of the men who are aging tend to engage more in the participation of the physical exercise with an aim of attaining physical expertise and thus they are able to project their manliness and this enables them to reduce their stress. On the other hand most of the women participate in physical activities with an aim to increase their desirability and thus allowing them to be happier as they moods and attitudes are uplifted as well as their sense of belonging. Thus, most of the women are able to reduce or minimize their stress disorders when they engage in physical activities and that’s why they mostly engage in these activities as compared to men who are less affected by stress disorders (Garcia, et al 329).

3. Level of measurements
4. Race (white, African American, Asian, etc.)- Nominal
5. Order finish in a race (First, second, etc.)- Ordinal
6. Number of children in families- Ratio
7. Populations of nations- Nominal
8. Attitudes toward nuclear energy (Strongly approve, approve, etc.) Ordinal
9. Region of birth (Northeast, Midwest, Southwest, etc.) Nominal
10. Political ideology (Conservative, liberal, etc.) Nominal
11. Reliability and validity

            In this case a poor measurement of reliability was made. This is due to the fact that different measurements were acquired. Though reliability does not guarantee accuracy but it ensures that precision is attained. This therefore is not reliable and accurate as there is no consistency in the results that are attained.

            In this case, the criterion related validity is at fault. This is also referred to as the predictive validity as the employee used this validity method to assess the proficiency of the workers before hiring them through the use of exams to test their abilities. Though different tests were administered to all of these people for more than one time, and a series of related scores were achieved per each person, the measurements were not correctly measured. Poor criterion method of validity testing occurred as the results indicated that the workers scored highly but in reality they performed so poorly. Therefore it is clear that poor measurements on validity were made and this reduced any chances of accuracy achievement from the measurement. Therefore the results failed to support the measurements that were already taken from the examination of aptitude and ability of all these interviewees.

References

Garcia, Danilo, et al. "Exercise Frequency, High Activation Positive Affect, and Psychological Well-Being: Beyond Age, Gender, and Occupation." Psychology 3.4 (2012): 328-336.

Drexel college students should not text when they are driving

Sources

The Dangers of Distracted Driving. Available at: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/dangers-texting-while-driving

This site provides information on the deadly and unintended consequences of distraction while driving. The source will equip my efforts with information on the danger that result from distraction by texting while driving.