Paradigm Transitions in Education

Paradigm Transitions in Education Introduction professional context For this piece I will look to investigate the transition to paperless education to coincide with the opening of a new sixth form centre. Alongside the research question I will look into the relevant epistemological, ontological and methodological paradigms and how they influence my professional practice. During this piece I hope the reflexly look into my personal experience, my Habitus (Bourdieu, 1993) and how this has affected the decisions made in the pursuit of this goal to become paperless. I have worked with education for the last 11 years having the predominant section of ,my career being in the secondary education sector. I was recently appointed to the position of Head of Deeside Sixth form centre, which is a brand new  £15 million build the enhance the provision of A levels for North Wales and beyond. The building is a XXX square feet and is part of Coleg Cambria, which is one of the largest Colleges in Wales with some 20,000 students. The new role has not only changed my lens in terms of sector, with a move from secondary to further, but also significantly changed my role within the organistion, by moving from a position of middle management to senior management. This has challenged my epistemology of A level provision, specifically within the field of preparing students for positive progression to employment or university. With the building of this new Sixth form centre, I made the claim that we would have cutting edge IT facilities (Deeside Sixth Website), and this gave me the perfect opportunity to make large investment in ILT (information for learning technologies). The centre had a large budget of IT facilities with some 800 log-ins around the building. Because of the large investment I was able to look at ways of developing pedagogy to best suit 21st century education. This large investment coupled with the overarching drive to become more sustainable as a college, made me look into the options of reducing paper use. In order to allow this reduction in paper use and to prepare current A level students for future employment and education, as a new Sixth form centre I have decided to make a transition from a paper based curriculum to an electronic curriculum, which makes use of Goolge as a learning platform including google classroom as a VLE, thus allowing online work submission, marking and feedback. This should best prepare students for university, where their studies will be largely dependant on this format and an employment world, which is under rapid change and has a growing reliance on technology. As head of a brand new sixth form centre this decision has fell solely with me and during the planning phase there has been no staff engagement or student voice, due to not having a staff team or student body during the planning phase. To allow retrospective planning and ensure smooth future transition this piece will look at staff and student opinion of the transition to paperless and outline stage for further progress to the Holy Grail of paperless education. Paradigms Having come from a natural science background the idea of paradigms is a novel idea, which has made me challenge my own thoughts and feelings about epistemology and how the phenomenology as opposed the the cartesian philosophy may be more applicable to the social world of a school or college. To start with a definition of a paradigm, Oxford Dictionary defines it as a world view underlying the theories and methodology of a particular scientific subject. A more grounded description would be simply a belief system that moulds the way we think and act about all aspects of life. Upon commencement of this unit I was faced with the philosophical viewpoint that There is no such thing as absolute truth and absolute falsehood. (Rowland, H, 1899), which brought about some dissonance in my understanding of the world. Previously, the idea of my research falling into a certain ontological perspective other than positivist seemed absurd, however upon making my way through some of the numerous philosophical opinions and approaches within the area of educational research, my lens has widened and allowed me to embrace some of these theories and their application in the social setting. The term paradigm, which can largely be derived from the work of Kuhn (and his  book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions published in 1962) and can broadly be described as the ways in research be investigated and interpreted. Further work by Patton (1978) in Sparkes (Ed.) (1992, p.11) takes the idea of a paradigm a step further and refers to it as a world view. This world view has shifted throughout the progression of this unit to acknowledge the strengths and applications of the interpretivist paradigm. This paradigm shift, would show strength for the work of Kuhn, Kuhn argues that changes in paradigm is brought about by a series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions, and in those revolutions one conceptual world view is replaced by another. (Kuhn, T 1962). I dont feel I am in a position to fully move away from the positivist paradigm, but I feel my Lens has significantly altered. As previously mentioned, my natural science background has largely ingrained the positivist paradigm with my outlook and this has embedded in my professional practice. Positivism is an epistemological standpoint that looks for experimental testing , where controlling bias and the importance of subjectivity is vital. Ledoux (2002, p. 34) defines natural sciences as disciplines that deal only with natural events (i.e. independent and dependent variables in nature) using scientific methods. According to work Bà ¼chel (1992), the birth of natural science was initated by those who questioned earlier explanations about the world and wanted systematic / scientific methods for research.

Dead Poets Society Assignment Essay

1. Make a list of the major characters and think of two or three apt words that describe that character. Neil Popular leader actor passionate Todd Introverted timid Knox Academically focused , idealistic, romantic Charlie Rebellious reckless recalcitrant Cameron Ambitious assiduous compliant Pitts Socially awkward , introverted, takes risks Meeks academically gifted, embracive Mr Perry Dominating, closed minded, Mr Keating Inspiring , challenging, resourceful Kris Sweet, assiduous Chet Spoiled, popular, bully 2. Write a blurb for the cover of the video of Dead Poets Society. You will need to summarise the essentials of plot, characters and themes and keep your word length to around 150 words! New England, the 1950s. Todd Anderson, a lonely timid teenager, who is under pressure by his strict and controlling parents because he must live up to his older brother’s reputation to attend Yale to become a lawyer. This semester begins during an orientation gathering with a speech given by the stern Headmaster Nolan, who states the academy’s four pillars: Tradition, Honor, Discipline, and Excellence. Todd meets Neil Perry an ambitious student whom becomes his dorm roommate. Together, Todd, Neil and other class mates join to create ‘Dead Poets  Society’ which had been inspired by Mr. Keating, who becomes known not only as a teacher but a role model in these student. Keating begins to push the students to strive and seize the day. With encouragement and joy also comes tro uble, hurt and loss. Watch the heart telling story unfold a realistic perspective of students striving for independence. 3. Write a detailed description of one of the following characters: character: Mr Perry Mr. Perry is Neil’s paternalistic and dominating father. He is determined that Neil will finish school at Welton and study medicine. To this end, he ensures that Neil is focused and not distracted by unnecessary extra-curricular activities such as the school magazine. Neil rebels against this but unable to confront his father, ultimately decides that he is â€Å"trapped†. Mr. Perry’s refusal to support Neil’s acting aspirations ultimately lead to Neil’s death 4. One of the themes of the film is conflict, both the conflict characters feel internally and the conflict that occurs between characters. Explain this statement and give examples to illustrate how this theme was dealt with in the film. Conflict in the film ‘Dead Poets Society’ had played a major role in this movie. Certain aspect of the movie not only showed physical conflict but also the mental conflict of the boys that had then began contemplating whether they should do certain action or not. One of the major conflicts in the movie ‘Dead Poets Society’ had been between Neil and His Father who was known as Mr Perry. Neil battles the courage to follow his dream as an actor after realising his father and himself had different life goals. Mr Keating help Neil to realise to strive for what he thought was more important instead of living his life working for his father’s approval and expectation. Neil concluded in losing his battle to confront his father on his interest in becoming actor, which concluded in his suicide. Which caused some of boys to blame Mr Keating for his death. 5. The first poem Mr Keating reads in class is Robert Herrick’s To the Virgins, to make much Time. Read the poem carefully and explain how the poem relates to one of the themes of the film. Keating served a similar role to his students. He ‘led’ them through the rough years of High School, all the while encouraging them to try new things and live their lives as t hey wish, rather than to society’s standards. The kids in the movie begin to refer to Keating as â€Å"My Captain† 6. Mr Keating asks his students to address home with â€Å"Captain My captain!† Walt Whitman, a famous American poet wrote a poem entitled O Captain! My Captain! The poem is about Abraham Lincoln, the 16th. President of the United States. Read the poem carefully and then read the biography extract. Within the poem there are symbols that represent things associated with Abraham Lincoln’s life. A writer uses symbols to emphasize the point he or she is making; to underline the theme. When a writer uses a symbol or symbols extensively the piece of writing is called an allergy. O Captain! My Captain! Is an allegorical poem. Explain the Symbols used in the poem. That is, explain the allegorical nature of the poem. Throughout the poem, the poet uses metaphors to share his ideas. He uses â€Å"captain† Abraham Lincoln. The â€Å"ship† is the civil war. He refers to the civil war as the â€Å"victor ship†. This is because Lincoln had served as a commander of the civil war. At the end of the first verse, Lincoln dies while â€Å"bleeding drops of red†. â€Å"From fearful trip the victor ship comes in the with object won.† Whitman focuses on that right after the Civil war ends, Lincoln dies. He does that with the poem too, by saying, â€Å"The port is near† and then later saying â€Å"where on the deck the captain lies, fallen cold and dead.† Whitman also refers to Lincoln as a father, because he is the father of his nation. The speaker of the poem does not want to believe that the captain is dead, by saying, â€Å"My Captain does not answer his lips pale and still, My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will.† But then, sadly, he realizes that the captain will not return. 7. Mr Keating tells his students, â€Å"Learn to savour words and language; words and language can change the world. â€Å"On the 4th of June 1940, Britain was surrounded by an invading German military force. The situation seemed completely hopeless; Britain, protected only be the twenty miles of the English Channel prepared for invasion. (a) Explain how you think these words inspired a nation in a time of crisis: I guess it inspired the nation as to become the better people of the situation, and not only that but words do become more meaningful when words are savoured. (b) After Martin Luther King’s speech ‘I have a dream’ people realised that they have the same goals  for life and that everyone could dream together. Also that they had been discriminating for no reason because at the end of the day, our character isn’t defined by the way you look, but the person on the inside. 8.†Mr Keating was responsible for Neil’s death.† Do you agree? No. Mr Keating had been an inspiring character for Neil to look up to. He pushed Neil and encouraged him to seize the day and follow his dream. 9. Neil: Sorry for becoming the person I have been urging to set free, Sorry I see what I had been longing to be, Me!  Someone I haven’t thought about in a long time and it’s the first time I am beginning to become like a tree, Free flowing as the wind gust blow the braches to where it must flow, But are the braches blowing in the wind gust, flowing just to be free? So many time I have been expected to follow, and do as you say. But for once I feel a sense of control in my life that does no end up where you want me to be. Carpe Diem, seize the day, an eye opening phrase which has had me thinking†¦ Are you doing what is bests for you or doing what’s best for me. 10. What impressed the students the most about ‘Dead poets Society is the realities that appear throughout the movie. It shows the boys standing up for their rights and believing in themselves and also the struggles and pressure of living up to their parents expectations. Mr Keating is very realistic in certain aspect of life and that’s what the students really liked. (b) The poem shows a sense of independence. Though all the doubts and excuses they had gone through, at the end they soared, and became independent and had heard there inner voice and opinions. They learnt how to express themselves through words they spoke. And the spoken words were confident. 11. ‘Strive to find your own lives’ Mr Keating tell his students. This statement tell us that we should no longer follow expectations and commitments that our hearts don’t follow. It tells us that we should work hard to become what we want in life, but not only that but do things that  make us happy, explore into the world and discover what we urge to become. Create yourself a life that does not revolve over someone else’s satisfaction. 12. Mr Keating left that class room with the upper hand. He left with respect from the boys and also the purpose he had been trying to fulfil in these boys. He watched them come to the edge and protest for what they believed was right. He held his dignity high above his head, as he knew that at the end of the day, the boys seized that moment to protest their respect for Mr Keating.

Difference Between Qualitative And Quantitative Research

One of the major differences between the qualitative and quantitative research in regards to the sample was the size of the sample. The qualitative sample had nine participants and the qualitative had a return rate of 1695 students and 1556 teachers. Another difference between the two studies is the quantitative used a random sampling method, whereas the qualitative study used criterion sampling with the criteria being that they were teachers in K-12 who taught/used mobile learning devices. The quantitative sample was from 32 state secondary schools in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyrus. The qualitative was derived from using the maximum variation strategy in order to maximize the â€Å"diversity of gender, geographic regions, public and private schools, subject areas, and who primarily was using the devices† (Grant et al., 35). This strategy produced five females, four males, age from 27 to 53, five were Caucasian, and eight out of nine were from private schools, fo ur secondary teachers. The states that were represented Kentucky, New York, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Michigan and the participants had to already be using the technology. In the qualitative article participants were located through various means such as magazine articles, Google searches, professional contacts, invitations, or even social media. In contrast the quantitative used stratified random sampling and used a survey model and questionnaire on the sample. The usable questionnaires was 304Show MoreRelatedDifferences Between Qualitative And Quantitative Research Essay1510 Words   |  7 PagesQualitative research, still called in-depth study or study of motivation. The studies on expectations, motivations, images and other value judgments of the consumers while giving results which we cannot quantify. 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Greece A Major Economic Crisis - 700 Words

To start off, Europe (as a political entity) is in a major economic crisis. The IMF (International Monetary Fund) was set up after World War Two in order to rebuild Europe and other countries of the world. The eurozone and Greece have been at a gridlock since the Greek economy has dropped so significantly. As stated in the article, (paraphrasing here) the eurozone will only give aid to Greece if the IMF agrees to give them funds as well (pushed by several countries in the European Union). The IMF is refusing to help bail out Greece any further until it is certain that Greece will uphold the terms of the bond agreements. In February, both the IMF and the eurozone agreed to subject Greece to more measures to ensure that Greece meets its†¦show more content†¦Discussion In my opinion, the IMF is protecting its interest when it pertains to not becoming laxed on the policies for another bailout of Greece. The European countries are also protecting their interest to ensure that they are not feeling the full burden of Greece’s economical downfall. Also, I think the European countries are trying their best to ensure that Greece does not lose control of its political systems. During a time of economic and political instability, the populace of a country can become desperate and may not have any places to work, thus causing anger and frustration to rise up against the current ruling regime. Also, the IMF is losing its influence in many countries as it is having a hard time competing against the Asian Bank. On top of the competitors, the IMF has historically had a difficult time in obtaining the funding it has lended out to various countries. In my opinion, both the IMF and the countries of Europe need to help out Greece one last time. If Greece†™s economy continues to drop further, both the IMF and the countries in Europe will lose their influence. 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